Growing up I had the pleasure of dining with a successful advertising executive almost every evening. He entertained our family with his original jokes. What he really wanted to do was write jokes for comedians. And, he was good. That same creative spirit enabled my dad to succeed during more than 35 rewarding years of managing his own agency and producing award-winning campaigns for major banks, shopping centers, insurance agencies, politicians and a myriad of other organizations.
What I learned at the dinner table was subliminal, because I really wasn’t paying close attention when he talked about client concerns or issues that come up in his line of work.
However, today I can draw on knowledge I must have gained over more than a decade or so of dinners with dad.
Today as the owner of a public relations agency I find that we are integrating advertising tactics with public relations. Our clients want an integrated campaign built around common themes and powerful messages. I counsel clients to apply many of the things I learned from the advertising pro—my dad. Here are 5 tips that still apply:
1. Campaigns need to run consistently over time; short-term placements are a waste of money unless they are designed to advertise a single event.
2. Great purchased space or time whether on signs or within media is wasted if the professional and creative development is not there.
3. The message has to be simplified—ideally to three meaningful words or two to three short and powerful phrases, accompanied by images that evoke the right emotion.
4. Advertise when business is going well, not just when it slows.
5. If you want to distinguish your product or brand, consider the more creative concepts; the ones you initially favor are likely to be the ones you recognize; they are probably spin-offs of concepts you’ve seen many times before.
Today my dad’s agency is specializing in billboards, and the concepts work well online.
We’re moving into a new era together. I still have much more to learn from Dad!
