As most of you probably know, part of my blog title is a quote from what has been called the best Star Wars movie. This line is spoken by Yoda during an iconic scene in the film. Luke Skywalker's X-Wing is sinking in the swamp. He tries his best to use the Force to lift his ship out of the water. Try as he might, he just can't do it. Yoda, who until this point in the movie has been mostly shown as a very small and feeble creature, not only lifts the craft with ease, but flies it around the swamp before gently setting it down safe and sound.
Besides making you want to watch that movie again, what should this mean to you? It means that you shouldn't assume bigger is better, especially when it comes to your media agency. We've worked with clients who have come to us from bigger agencies. And, we've also had clients leave us for bigger agencies, only to return. Here’s why we feel that our model of remaining a small, independent agency that focuses exclusively on media gives our clients a competitive advantage.
Our Team > Their Team
Oftentimes, larger agencies will have a team of people working on your account. This team is made up of Account Executives and Account Managers, plus Planners, Buyers, and Assistants for each media channel (TV, Cable, Digital, Radio, and so on). At a larger agency, this is pretty standard. Each person has their specific job and they only do that job. Media Planners plan. Media Buyers buy. Assistants...well, they do all the work.
At our agency, we prefer all our team - whom we call Media Strategists - be cross-trained on all aspects of the agency process.
I said Cross-TRAINED...not cross FIT
Our Media Strategist is your Account Executive, your planner and buyer, your invoice reconciler, your Everything. This circumvention of departmental layers equates to time savings through quicker communication and direct access to the person who is managing every piece of the business. That also means greater accountability. Our clients are always impressed by the breadth and depth of our team's knowledge.
This knowledge is especially helpful in executing our programs. In the large agency model, the planner may develop a program without talking to the buyer. Then the plan can't be fully executed because they didn't account for the hoops the buyer will have to go through. We never present an advertising program our Media Strategists haven't fully considered from start to finish. This guarantees our clients always see their media plans come to fruition.
Our Team = Their Team
There's a misconception that working with a big agency means you'll automatically get a large group of senior talent working on the account. This is not necessarily true, especially if you’re not a Fortune 500 brand. Our team approach means that you’ll have all members of the agency working in collaboration, with the Media Strategist as the lead. Our staff is second to none; senior-level talent with cross-channel and multi-category experience. And, if the account demands additional support, we have an extensive network of trusted freelance media professionals that allows us to expand our team as needed. This keeps us nimble and scalable, while providing excellent service at a great value for our clients.
Our Team is YOUR Team
Our best clients are the ones that allow us to be an extension of their own marketing team. I've yet to hear from anyone I know at a larger agency who can honestly say they feel part of something bigger. We can, and it's a point of pride with us. To that end, we want to be in attendance at all marketing strategy meetings, just as you'd invite your in-house marketing team. This allows us to hear first-hand about your marketing programs, challenges and needs.
Actual meeting photo. I'm second from the left.
We’re always investigating new ways to reach your customers and looking to improve on what we've done in the past. Our team meets regularly to brief each other on new information and trends in the marketplace, as well as discuss our clients' current status and see if there's room for improvement. This keeps us singularly focused on your success.
Our Team is Ready
The only way you can find out is if you try it yourself. We're always prepared for the challenges that new clients can present. If you're ready to make a change, let's talk! I think you'll be extremely happy with the results.
McCulloch+Company is an advertising media services company that integrates the innovation of digital media with the strengths of traditional paths. Founded in 1994 and located in historic Roswell, Georgia, McCulloch+Company is regarded as one of the Southeast's preeminent media agencies. The agency is skilled at managing B2B and B2C clients in a multitude of industry categories.
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