Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 9, 1994 TAG: 9401040333
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: F3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Mag Poff Staff Writer
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
will be mining for new clients outside the valley.
"Five agencies here have closed their doors within the last three years or so," said Judith Shelburne, vice president and creative director for John Lambert Associates.
"The local advertising climate will only become more competitive, as agencies look to strengthen their client base and enhance profitability," Shelburne said.
In the past, she said, there was a kind of hands-off policy if a potential client had a well-established relationship with another agency. "Now it's open season," she said.
And the lack of local economic vitality has forced agencies to solicit clients outside the market more than ever before, she said.
Another impact, Shelburne said, is the widespread availability of desktop publishing technology. It has affected agencies on two distinct levels.
Initially, freelance copywriters and artists converted to computers and offered design and production services at lower rates.
Now, many companies are bringing these same functions in-house. The agencies, meanwhile, are "scrambling to keep up."
Shelburne said she believes the keys to success are smarter ways of doing business, competitiveness on costs and increased specialization.
"We're feeling pretty positive" about 1994, said Claire Maddox, owner of The Maddox Agency. There was caution in the past for economic reasons,
she said, but now clients marketing in a community will tend to stay aggressive.
As in the past, she said, agencies must seek clients throughout a region rather than just Roanoke or even Virginia.
Although her role at the agency has always been creative, Maddox said there is increasing stress on marketing and communications skills.
People in advertising today need all three skills, Maddox said. "That's going to be a critical factor for all agencies."
Bill Thomasson, an owner of The Packett Group, predicted a good year for his agency because its clients are diverse and financially strong.
Clients are more aggressive, he said. They want to "project strong, targeted messages. That's the kind of strategy we're working on."
At the same time, he said, they are not increasing their advertising budgets. They want their money "to work hard," according to Thomasson.
The agency is getting dollars from clients for marketing research so it can measure consumer attitudes, he said. Thomasson said a client might
come to an agency and ask for creation of a brochure. In today's marketing-oriented climate, he said, the agency should ask: "Why are you doing a brochure?"
That means the role of an advertising agency today is research and development of ideas, not project work, Thomasson said.
by CNB