Don’t Forget To Get The Basics Right

Mar 8, 2017

Don’t Forget To Get The Basics Right

by Mar 8, 2017

by | Mar 8, 2017 | Business

Too often we get mired into the weeds of our businesses. I like to say that we get too busy working IN the business to work ON the business.

On Marketing is guilty of this, too. We drill down and stay in the weeds on all of this marketing communications stuff we do. We spend time on the details of SEO, social media tools, and content marketing best practices.

That’s okay. It can be complicated sometimes.

But we can’t forget to remind ourselves of some of the other important aspects to this business.

Today, lets take it up a couple of levels and get back to some of the high level basics that matter so much.

As an agency, it’s very easy to get distracted by the “material” nature of this industry. In other words, to chase the next shocking idea, or win the most awards during an awards season.

We try to avoid all of that.

In fact, FSM has a pretty simple philosophy – be good people, be talented people, build businesses, and build communities.

We find if we keep those 4 things in mind we end up reliably creating very good work that we feel good about, and that our clients feel good about.

Awards in the marketing communications world are tricky. Winning them often requires tooling the creative to the demands and interests of the awards program and the judges. Sometimes it means just generally pushing the industry forward by doing something really cool and edgy.

But mostly it’s pursuing the awards criteria with work engineered to do so.

That’s why FSM does not submit any work for awards. On purpose.

Over our collective years of work in the industry… both on the client side and on the agency side… we have discovered that a) most clients don’t care about awards because b) they want success and positive results for their business.

And the awards don’t necessarily indicate that. In fact, awards are no indication of business impact at all. Awards are only an indication that an agency can win awards.

My hope is that, eventually, the marketing communications industry and its awards – including the Addy’s, the Silver Anvil’s, the Clio’s and many others – will have a popular award that aligns creativity with business results.

Any agency should be an extension of your team. That means we should always comport ourselves in a way where, should we ever end up in the news for one reason or another, we will make you proud.

We’re an extension of your team. We figured you should have the confidence every time you walk into to FSM that we are a collection of people who you could see yourself hiring.

In the flurry of this award season, and as we all observe how marketing companies react to the various plaudits they may receive, it’s a good time to consider how to evaluate agencies.

When you’re out looking for a marketing partner, even if you never consider FSM, at least consider two basic questions to start with:

1) Can these people do the work?
2) Would I hire these people?

If you can answer those 2 questions yes, you are probably in line to have a long and successful partnership.

If you can’t answer those questions, then be careful how you proceed. The allure of the “creative shop” … complete with all of its awards and zaniness … may be what you need on a short project.

But it’s more likely that a steady dose of humble fundamentals – with proven, professional creativity layered on top – is a solution that better serves your business on short projects and makes a long-term business impact.

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