Task 3

Obviously, an essential part of any business is promotion. Again, this is a different situation for advertising agencies, as they don't promote themselves in the conventional way another business would. For an ad agency it's the quality of the work they produce that gets them the jobs, therefore it's the exposure of this work that promotes them. One of the best ways an ad agency can get exposure is by winning awards. The industry has several annual awards for different areas of the business, for example D&AD and the IPA Effectiveness Awards. Winning any of these wil make you more attractive to potential clients, but obviously it doesn't makes sense to rely solely on this to promote your business. Given that an advertising agency is successful based on its creativity and ideas, one way to promote it would be by publicity stunts. An advertising agency could stage various stunts to raise awareness of itself and also demonstrate their ability to create publicity in creative ways. This not only promotes the business, but also shows potential clients what could be done for their product. This form of promotion would be most beneficial when used with new and emerging media, such as online, Augmented Reality, Social Networking etc. The reason for this is that it shows that the agency is progressive and aware of new forms of communication, which is a major benefit in todays market. I thin that its important that, whatever promotion is done for the business, it is done in a creative way. After all, what client would choose an ad agency that can't advertise itself?

Task 2

As i said in my previous entry, I would want to place myslef in the Greater London area, as this is where the majority of my clients would be based. The client base for advertising is many and varied, as anyone who has a business needs advertising. This makes it dificult to say where they are in particular. The way it would work in terms of reaching clients would be using a body such as the IPA. The IPA list clients who have work that you can pitch for and then you would compete with other agencies to win the account. Another way to reach clients would be to check the industry press for details on what accounts are available or have been recently lost then approach the client. You could also do speculative work, where the account may not be available, but you create a campaign for it anyway and then approach the client. From a PEST point of view the advertising industry is not affect by most of this directly. An advertising agencies success is dependent on the clients media spend. For example, in the current recession the first thing that a struggling business will cut back on is its advertising spend. This is an economic factor that while it does not directly effect advertising, does affect the businesses that advertising agencies depend on. The same could be said about political, social and technological factors. Each agency wil have its own style of advertising, so this wil affect what clients are more likely to go with them. It is therefore important that client know what your style is. It is rare for an agency to segment themselves in terms of style, however this could be done in terms of digital media, direct marketing or ful integration.

Task 1

As I am an advertising creative, essentially the product I'm trying to promote is myself and my skills. This being said, it is difficult to use standard marketing practise for something that is fairly intangible. In terms of the skills that I have, at present they would be copywriting, design, Photoshop etc. These skills could be used by advertising or design agencies, or I could work freelance in either of these fields. When it comes to the product i.e. me, it is important that i promote myself as a creative thinker. If my intention is to set up my own advertising agency, then the promotional material would have to demonstrate a certain level of creativity and grasp of design. This is also true if i wish to work freelance, as either way I need to demonstrate my ability. In terms of price, it is very difficult to judge this, as in advertising there is no standard price plan. It would be very difficult to compare myself to other agencies or freelancers. The best way i can judge this is to establish what the minimum amount that I need to earn is, by completing an expenditure sheet. Once I have established what i need to cover my costs, I am free to negotiate on price with individual clients. In terms of placement I would want to be in the Greater London are, as this is where the majority of clients are based. Being in other ares would not stop you from pitching for work, however travel longer distances to meet clients would add to time and costs. There also a larger creative community in London and more resources to call on if you need to out-source work. In terms of promotion, if my intention is to work for an existing advertising agency, then I would need to promote myself and my skills. Since thy would be looking for someone with creative ideas, i would need to demonstate this. It would be done with self promotion designed to grab their attention followed by examples of my work.