Preparing for the first meeting with your ad agency

If you’ve never enlisted the help of an advertising agency, you might not know the kind of information needed to properly convey your business message to your market. Here are some general guidelines for what you should be prepared to talk about during your first meeting.

Give us the lowdown
First, you’ll want to give a synopsis of what your business does and who your markets are, as well as what your goals are for growing your company. Usually, we’re pretty good at asking the right questions in order to fit your company into an advertising and marketing context, but don’t be shy. The more we know about your business and where you want to go with it, the better campaign we can develop.

Identify the players
Who’s your competition and how do they brand and market themselves? Have samples of their advertising on hand for reference if you can. Be prepared to discuss what you like or don’t like about their campaign.

Determine why you rock and they don’t
What makes your company different from the competition? What are your strengths and weaknesses compared to theirs? Differentiation is one of the most powerful tools in marketing, and determining yours allows us to highlight what you do better and work on what you need to improve upon. Think about how brands like Harley Davidson or Apple stand out from their competition. Now think about your company. Is there a clear differentiation from your competitors?

Let’s see whatcha got
What advertising have you done already? Did it work? If you had to do it over again, would you know how to attract those customers you already have? Again, having samples of your advertising on hand for reference is helpful in giving us a look at the whole picture.

Who do you wanna be when you grow up?
Are there companies you would like to emulate? Do you have samples of their ads and branding strategies? While differentiating yourself from the rest is a critical strategy, having a good perspective on what has made others successful can often provide an idea of the right path to follow.

Don’t let us go hungry
Lastly, remain in regular contact after that initial meeting. While we’re experts in getting your business message across to your market, we rely on you to provide the message itself. Quality advertising campaigns don’t just make a big splash and cease. They’re maintained and renewed on a regular basis. Feed your agency often with all the news coming out of your company, from the seemingly trivial things like new hours of operation to the major info like new products and services. If the agency doesn't call you, call them. If they don’t call you back, call us!