When the Campaign is Ready but the Message Isn’t

Basic Ad

I’ll share a brief work story in such a way that the guilty shall remain anonymous.  We have a client for whom we are doing extensive branding efforts. A foreign company looking to reach American shores, we are going above and beyond for them in getting their name out there. And yet, their website is fairly basic (certain features don’t work and the English is poor).  The ads they provided us with are also best described as ‘basic’, and again, the English is merely passable- no errors, but definitely not idiomatic. It makes me wonder, why invest in expanding your reach if the product or service is marketed in a lackluster way?

I don’t have any experience on the agency side, so I have little knowledge of what goes into these decisions. Does one person green light the marketing budget, while the creative folks pass the buck? Is it simply a lack of resources? Or do people get so eager to market their wares that they don’t stop and think about HOW they’re marketing them?  It doesn’t take long to come up with a plan. Who do we want to reach? What do they want? How can we convince them that we are exactly what they want- and are better than any alternative? Getting these things clear is the important first step before launching an all-out ad blitz. Because regardless of all the exposure you’ll get…you’ll get no sales. And the public will not be impressed.