The Advertising Agency Selection Process

Commercial avoidance and audience erosion are two interrelated problems that marketing executives and media planners have been aware of for more than 30 years. With the rapid advancement of technology the problem of ‘zapping’ has become even more predominant. In this article the intensity of the problem is examined and several concrete recommendations are made.     

Ethical Problems of Advertising Agency Executives

Abstract

A mail survey reports on ethical problems faced by 330 advertising agency executives. The most frequently cited difficult ethical problem is “treating clients fairly.” Creating honest advertisements and representing clients whose products or services are unhealthy OT not needed were also frequently mentioned. Many agency executives reported that such ethical problems affect both their performance and their relationships with co-workers.     

Advertising Agency Philosophies and Employee Risk Taking

Abstract

On the basis of an exploratory survey of executives from a cross-section of U.S. advertising agencies, this article examines the relationship between agency creative philosophies and agent creative risk taking. The natures of both creative risk and agency philosophy are discussed. Multiple measures of risk taking are applied and the findings suggest that agency executives working in agencies with clear identities are more likely to take risks than are those in agencies without such identities (hybrid philosophies), but not for all measures of risk. The extent to which the size of client plays a role also is assessed. After an assessment of the findings, limitations and suggestions for further research are discussed.     

U.S. Advertising Agency Productivity

Advertising agency growth through mergers and ac- quisitions became a common strategy in the 1980s, pdculady among the largest finns in the indusby, yet little research has examined ils effects. In this study, U.S. advertising agency size and mergers and acquisitions are related to agency productivity. Size was found to be a clear advantage for advertising agencies, as larger firms were consis- tently more productive in both b i g s and gross income per em- ployee. The postmerger performance of merging and acquiring ad- vertising agencies was worse for most of those firms than their prior Formance when compared to firms of similar size, indicating that tlus strategy for growth tends to be less successful in the short-run.     

The U.S. Multinational Advertising Agency and Public Policy

The overseas activities of U.S. multinational advertising agencies raise several important public policy issues. Host governments are likely to watch U.S. advertising agencies for unwanted signs of domination over local firms. They will also be sensitive to undesirable cultural influence along with several other real or imagined evils.

The U.S. government is unlikely to have significant interest in the specific activities of multinational advertising agencies. But. advertising agencies should be very wary of the impact of indirect regulation. Agency operation is going to be caught up in the increasing web of legislation designed for general regulation of multinational businesses.     

Searching for a New Advertising Agency: A Client Perspective

The recent downturn in economic conditions has motivated many organizations to reevaluate their advertising. Many companies have cut their spending and others have changed agencies in the hope of achieving a better return on their advertising expenditure. This article records information from a survey of ninety-five Australian companies which recently changed their agency, and sixty-one companies which thought they might change in the near future. The findings focus on the reasons for changing agencies, the types of information used to help select a new agency, and characteristics of the group of managers which selected a new agency.     

An Historical Analysis to Explain the Evolution of Advertising Agency Services

Abstract

Young people interested in careers in advertising often ask: Do advertising agencies offer good career opportunities? What functions do agencies perform, and why? How will agencies evolve in the future? This article traces the evolution of services that advertising agencies perform and identifies major factors that explain such evolution. The reader may wish to perform the same kind of analysis to predict or anticipate future evolution of advertising agencies. The intent is not only to explain or predict changes, but also to exhibit “systems thinking” which is appropriate for the historian.     

本土广告赢家——户外广告

过去十年，在中国广告业营业额增长6倍的同时，户外广告以整个广告业2倍以上的速度迅猛发展。[第一段]     

The Death of Advertising

Abstract

Mass media advertising as we know it today is on its deathbed, and its prognosis is poor. Advertising agencies are restructuring to accommodate a harsher advertising climate, agency income is flat, agency employees are being laid off, direct marketing is stealing business from traditional advertising, and the growth of sales promotion and integrated marketing communications both come at the expense of traditional advertising. The reason for advertising's impending demise is the advent of new technologies that have resulted in the fragmentation of media and markets, and the empowerment of consumers. In the place of traditional mass media advertising, a new communications environment is developing around an evolving network of new media, which is high capacity, interactive and multimedia. The result is a new era of producer-consumer interaction. Because of the speed of technological innovation, the new media advertising paradigm that results will attain prominence faster than did mass media advertising. The new paradigm of 21st Century Marketing and advertising will be dominant by 2010 and should last well into the middle of the century. If they hope to survive, university advertising departments will have about ten years to 1) think of themselves much more broadly, and 2) transform themselves into departments specializing in information transfer in the new media environment.     

The Internationalisation of Advertising

World expenditure on advertising has grown faster than world gross product in recent years. Organisational structure is highly dichotomised between small and large firms: the latter have engaged in restructuring into major transnational networks co-ordinated by holding companies. This is the most effective way to service multinational clients which have globalised product development but sell locally. But trade in advertising services is restricted by barriers to market access, national treatment and the opportunities created by global agreements such as the GATS. Technology may, however, be a more important influence on the internationalisation of agenceis than trade liberalisation.     

Advertising Ethics: The Use of Sexual Appeal in Chinese Advertising

With increasing social awareness of unethical advertisements in today's advertising, this study explores consumers' ethical judgements about the use of sexual appeals in advertising in a Chinese context by replicating LaTour and Henthorne's study. It specifically focuses upon responses on the Reidenbach-Robin multidimensional ethical scale, attitude toward the ad, attitude toward the brand and purchase intentions. The results show that sexual appeal was evaluated as the most frequent use in Hong Kong print advertising and they were also perceived as the most attractive instrument. Similar to LeTour and Henthorne's findings, regardless of respondent's gender, the use of a strong overt sexual appeal was not well received by Chinese consumers and resulted in less favorable attitude toward the ad itself and the purchase intention than using mild sexual themes. However, the degree of sexual content used in advertising has no direct influence on brand attitudes. Due to the conservative nature of Chinese culture, the advertisers should be careful in the use of sexual appeal for Chinese consumers.     

The Global Challenge to Advertising

Abstract

Written by several executives of the International Advertising Association, “The Global Challenge to Advertising” was first made public at the 23rd IAA World Congress in Dublin in early June of 1973. The study, with detailed examples from many areas, brings into focus the two main currents of world-wide opposition to advertising: mounting consumer dissatisfaction with product quality and claims, and increasing government regulation and control of advertising. It is reprinted here by permission of the International Advertising Association, 475 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10017.     

The Advertising/Marketing Union

Abstract

Previous research has suggested that people form an unfavorable or favorable attitude toward a particular ad, which in turn affects their attitude toward what is being advertised and other measures of advertising effectiveness, including brand choice. This study found that idea substantiated: a favorable attitude toward an ad for a smoking cessation kit was associated with four measures of advertising effectiveness.

A hypothesized link between perceived humor and favorable attitude toward the ad was found, but direct relationships between perceived humor in an ad and three of the four advertising effective-measures were not observed. A conclusion drawn from the study is that perceived humor may aid advertising effectiveness, but the relationship is for the most part moderated by the degree to which people like the ad in which the humor is perceived.     

The Status of Physician Advertising

No abstract available for this article.     

The Advertising of Legal Services

Previous studies indicate attorneys have generally negative attitudes toward the advertising of their services, while consumers have positive attitudes. This article explores the reasons behind this disparity in attitude. It further argues that legal services firms must come to a greater understanding of both supply/demand relationships for their service, and the role that advertising can play in adjusting demand to meet supply.