Is Your Digital Agency Giving You Blue Balls?

Toppings Are a Must

A burger without ketchup is like a business without an advertising agency. Incomplete. Digital advertising agencies and brand consultants lend incredible value to businesses that help them grow, flourish, and define who they are in ways they can’t do on their own. In many cases today, you don’t see one without the other.

If you picture a digital advertising agency as this indispensable bottle of ketchup, squeezed from the most plump and creative of tomatoes, you can start to see one of the biggest problems businesses run into with advertising agencies. The fact that they don’t always make total and complete use of their digital agency, oftentimes squandering their full capabilities and leaving gobs of delicious dipping sauce at the bottom of the bottle.

But not at Rock Candy Media. At our digital marketing firm, we spank, shake and spin that bottle till you get every single cent you paid for. Not just because it’s right by you, but because we are a team of creatives that believe our skills and talents can actually propel your business to a realm you never thought it could go before. And to do that, we need every drop of that delicious sauce.

To ensure you get the full-treatment, we’ve made a list of suggestions that will assist you in making the most out of your experience with your digital advertising agency.

Fully Commit

When you’re thinking about hiring a brand consultancy or marketing agency, consider if you are going to invest every single aspect of your marketing front with them. This includes your social media, website, email chain, and any other platform and channel you are operating on. Personalized advertising and a consistent brand message stem from having reoccurring themes across the board, everywhere your company is seen.

At times, companies choose to retain control of one of these platforms while the agency controls others. And while this may help reduce costs, it can inhibit beneficial forms of personalized advertising and hyper-targeted marketing techniques that come from having a unified message. This doesn’t mean relinquishing total control of your marketing fronts. In fact, if it ever feels like you are, a red flag should be raised in your head.

A good marketing consultant and brand strategist should be able to include the client in every single aspect of the marketing assault as they were before. The reason being is because they should have new practices and techniques to implement, and shouldn’t just assume the ones the company already had in place. A great question to ask your agency before starting work is what exact types of marketing services you can expect to receive, and how your overall marketing arsenal will grow as a result.

While it’s important to do a full dive into an agency you decide to work with instead of just getting your feet wet, we also highly emphasize clearly defining the roles on your team.

Establishing Defined Roles

At the beginning of every good partnership with a digital advertising agency, you should clearly define each individual’s role on your team and how it relates to agency coordination and final deliverables.

Poor communication between a client and an agency has more of a debilitating effect on creativity and motivation than some think. And with so many reliable methods of communication, this is such an avoidable defeat. At Rock Candy Media, we hold monthly meetings in addition to regular phone calls and weekly status emails from every member on the team regarding their particular area (SEM, SEO, SMM, ETC.) This way, we keep clients informed on every step of the way and every significant action that takes place.

Additionally, don’t feel hesitant about inquiring more about each member’s role on the agency side. Digital advertising is a growing sector constantly getting more complex and integrated. Knowing what your agency knows is never a bad thing. In fact, the more you do know about what the agency does the better you will be at collaborating and finalizing deliverables.

We are constantly sharing news and updates in the marketing industry with our clients. Oftentimes, they are as excited as us to try out new digital advertising techniques and branding services that rise on the scene. Which brings us to our next piece of advice – taking risks.

Getting Gutsy

If you are considering partnering with a digital advertising agency, chances are you need a change. And if you want a change, you’re going to need to take a leap on some things. Do things you’ve never done before and are unfamiliar with. At Rock Candy Media, we always say that what we pitch you should scare you. Big rewards take big risks – a bold statement, but one our Austin advertising agency takes to heart.

In today’s marketing environment, taking risks is practically the only way to stand out anyway. With such crowded and cluttered forums, brands and companies continue to blend in with one another by mimicking each other’s marketing tactics and trying to recite the same line of copy in different words. It’s embarrassing, and what makes it even worse is that businesses and companies are wasting what little budgets they have on these redundant techniques that are going nowhere.

Which is why you shouldn’t shy away when your digital advertising agency or brand consultancy suggests you try something new. Don’t be afraid to ask questions about it, or why they are suggesting it. There should always be an open line of communication where people don’t take criticism and opinions personally. We call this a “no butt-hurt zone”. Which takes us to our final piece of advice – to be passionate, not emotional.

Leaving Emotion at the Door

As career creatives, we’ll be the first to say that we know what it’s like to get your emotions involved with your work. We are extremely passionate about what we do, so it’s easy to let things pour over at times. But as a skilled digital advertising agency, we also know that gets you nowhere.

We do all we can to avoid situations where clients feel hesitant about saying their true opinions because they think it will hinder work. That’s why we establish immediate grounds on how we conduct ourselves when opinions conflict. All perspectives must be heard. If we disagree with you, we will let you know. We never have just changed work because the client asked us. When we get to differences like these we simply work through them. It’s what creative collaboration is all about.

If you can leave emotion at the door, and know that the advertising process is personalized, but not personal, you’re on your way to an open line of communication that will grow and benefit the relationship you have with your agency.

Your Success Is Ours

If our clients don’t succeed, then our digital advertising agency doesn’t succeed. Both come hand in hand. That’s why we do all we can to provide them the tools and information needed to maintain a reliable and established relationship.

By adopting this teamwork minded direction, we are able to do incredible work and turn brands into lifestyles, and companies into landmarks. Check out what the last drop of ketchup really tastes like, and grab a bottle of Rock Candy Media today.