Extra Help

Over many years of observing, teaching and creating communications, we've felt the need for common-sense summaries that demystify the process. These opinions and insights might help clarify a confusing world.

HOW A CLIENT CAN GET THE BEST POSSIBLE WORK
OUT OF AN ADVERTISING AGENCY

How Bad Ads Happen, What the Client Does Best, What the Agency Does Best, When and How the Client Should Overrule the Agency, When and How the Agency Should Overrule the Client, Where Agencies Get Themselves into Trouble, Where Clients Get Themselves into Trouble, A Path Through the Jungle
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HOW TO PICK AN ADVERTISING AGENCY

Do You Need an Agency At All? How Much Should an Agency Cost? RFPs, Pro and Con; Making the Short List; The First Round; Sorting Out What's Real and What Isn't; Understanding Creative Work and Finding Out Who Actually Did It; Do You Need an Agency With Experience In Your Industry? Chemistry; Cost Control, Good and Bad
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THE DRILL

Nine Questions to Answer Before You Begin Any Marketing Communications Campaign.
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ADVERTISING'S TEN COMMANDMENTS

Ten Obvious, Impossible-to-Argue-With Principles that Advertisers Violate Every Day; why they're ignored and how to keep from breaking them.
Download PDF [27K]