I was brought up to be doubtful about advertising agencies and their claims. In my life to date I have probably been responsible for millions of pounds of advertising spend living under the Henry Ford aphorism that half the money I spent on advertising works the other half I wasted, trouble is I didn't know which half.
Obviously the internet has revolutionised that part of the world and google analytics can tell you very precisely which part of your advertising works. By simply timing certain advertisements and linking them to on-line calls to action you can waht works.
Communications jedi Peter Saville only confirmed my views about ad agencies when he explained that if you do something worth writing about, the press will carry the story for you, and give you more coverage in more places than advertising ever could. A view I wholeheartedly agree with.
Imagine my surprise then on meeting Ian Helsby and Richard Forman of Frank, an Ad Agency, and hearing them talk about behavioural economics. Frank, who look after some very big clients in the leisure and tourism field, have gone some lengths to remove the doubt about marketing impacts and their approach left me thinking that Henry Ford can be consigned to the last century.
What was even more interesting is how fully they embrace the Saatchi Lovemarks argument about sensory impacts in marketing and the pursuit of memorable experiences. If you are in a dilemma about ad spend I think they are worth checking out.
