An Annual Check-Up.

I read an article not too many minutes ago in the Economist. 

Like many articles in that august weekly, this one was written with both wit and a different perspective. 

The Economist also edits its articles with a time-sensitive machete. They're never more than one-magazine page long
--1,000 words--perfect for a TL/DR universe. They're also good training for today's generation of writers who never learned to write-to-fit, because in the digital world, there's no bottom on the page, or respect for the reader.

The article itself is about a new kind of check up. Not your annual trip to the dentist, but a financial evaluation. You can read the short piece here. Just as a trip to the dentist or the doctor might make you healthier, the article suggests, so might a trip to an economist. 

Though GeorgeCo., LLC, a Delaware Company is having, by far, its best year ever, I wondered what would happen if the clients reading this post gave their brands an annual advertising check up. I wonder how much more business GeorgeCo. might get if more clients were Agency-Introspective.

According to the popular AI-powered search-engine Perplexity, many business leaders do read these pages. Perplexity reports:

With that in mind, as you have your gums, molars, canines and bicuspids checked annually, I suggest clients give their brands and their agency relationship a similar check up. Here are ten aspects you might want to consider when evaluating the healthy of your brand and your agency relationship.

1. Define. Does my advertising tell people what my company does and why it's important?

2. Differentiate. Does my advertising tell people (including internal constituencies) what makes our product or service better? Or has our advertising allowed us to become commoditized and a "me too."

3. Demonstrate. Does our advertising "show," not merely "tell" what makes our brand different and better. In other words, does it provide "reasons to believe." And real proof rather than adjectives and puffery.

4. Disciple-ize. Does our advertising help our brands' most-loyal customers spread the word about why they love our brand? If you believe in the 20/80 rule (the Pareto Principle) that 20% of your customers account for 80% of your sales--there must be some way of willingly putting those loyalists to work for you.

5. Liked. Is your advertising memorable? Is it unique? Is it liked?

6. Yours. Do you own a look/feel and voice? Such ownership makes every ad you run punch above its weight.

7. Dedicated. Do you know the people who work on your brand? The creatives, the planners and the account people? Do they love your brand and have a history on it. Or do they spend two hours on it a month, whenever they have time and when scope permits.

8. Disagree. Will your agency fight with you? Not in with rancor but constructively.

9. Delight. Do you love the work you put out into the world?

10. Impact. Do your ads stop people or inundate them? Do people look forward to your ads, or are you instead "always-on" for "always-on's" sake.

11. Damn fast.  Does your agency take weeks to present work or do they respond with more fervor?

12. Do more. Does your agency over-deliver? Or supply the MVP, minimal viable product?

There might be a few things I've missed in this check-up. There might be a few things you'd add, or a few things you'd cross-out. But I think asking yourself these questions is a good start.

A good next step would be to have a talk with me.