at about the little guy? If you’re a small business that places ads on a regular basis, consider a single marketing person with the ability to design and place ads. It’s the beginning of an agency with a much lower cost. It’s how I began in the business. I was a designer for a small firm during college. I worked part-time and they used me as they saw fit. The investment doesn’t have to be large or long- term. But you’ll find more loyalty and cost benefits, for the most part.

That’s not to say that using a quality, advertising agency or consultant on occasion, wouldn&rs

In my thirty years as an advertising consultant, I ran into many businesses that could have benefited from an in-house advertising agency. Instead, they spent fortunes on various agencies that were more concerned with making money than helping the client. So perhaps it’s time to set the record straight and offer some advise to anyone that fits the following criteria. There are several types of businesses that could be better off if they created a small division to handle their marketing needs.

If you have a product you manufacture, you are tops on my list. It’s your product and you should be controlling every aspect of the promotions. That includes: product development, packaging, logo design, national media placement along with trade publications, public relations and press releases, trade show booths, annual report publication and any supplemental support materials like brochures, spec sheets, and documentation.

It sounds like a daunting task, but any company that requires any or all of these marketing tools should consider doing it in-house. Why? Because of two things: control and self-interest. The business gets to control every aspect of the things the public sees regarding the image of the company and it’s in the businesse’s best interest to make the right decisions that will affect them most. In other words, would any advertising agency give them all the time and effort it takes to produce the work they desire? Perhaps they might, but at what cost?

Which brings up another issue: expense. Hiring a marketing director, copywriter and artist will be cheaper in the long run if the company can support the investment. It will prove more advantageous down the road to build this department and have a say in the personnel that runs it. You will have to provide the technology needed for the department to function, but having the ability to create internal collateral material is a time and cost saving luxury even a medium-sized business can appreciate.

Another point raised: business size. At what point in a business’s life can they begin to contemplate hiring a staff for an in-house team? Review your current advertising expenses. What would a staff cost in comparison, realizing the control you are achieving? Look at the media costs. Most media allow fifteen percent agency commissions that you gain through your own in-house marketing. What is that worth?

But what about the little guy? If you’re a small business that places ads on a regular basis, consider a single marketing person with the ability to design and place ads. It’s the beginning of an agency with a much lower cost. It’s how I began in the business. I was a designer for a small firm during college. I worked part-time and they used me as they saw fit. The investment doesn’t have to be large or long- term. But you’ll find more loyalty and cost benefits, for the most part.

That’s not to say that using a quality, advertising agency or consultant on occasion, wouldn&rsq

be controlling every aspect of the promotions. That includes: product development, packaging, logo design, national media placement along with trade publications, public relations and press releases, trade show booths, annual report publication and any supplemental support materials like brochures, spec sheets, and documentation.

It sounds like a daunting task, but any company that requires any or all of these marketing tools should consider doing it in-house. Why? Because of two things: control and self-interest. The business gets to control every aspect of the things the public sees regarding the image of the company and it’s in the businesse’s best interest to make the right decisions that will affect them most. In other words, would any advertising agency give them all the time and effort it takes to produce the work they desire? Perhaps they might, but at what cost?

Which brings up another issue: expense. Hiring a marketing director, copywriter and artist will be cheaper in the long run if the company can support the investment. It will prove more advantageous down the road to build this department and have a say in the personnel that runs it. You will have to provide the technology needed for the department to function, but having the ability to create internal collateral material is a time and cost saving luxury even a medium-sized business can appreciate.

Another point raised: business size. At what point in a business’s life can they begin to contemplate hiring a staff for an in-house team? Review your current advertising expenses. What would a staff cost in comparison, realizing the control you are achieving? Look at the media costs. Most media allow fifteen percent agency commissions that you gain through your own in-house marketing. What is that worth?

But what about the little guy? If you’re a small business that places ads on a regular basis, consider a single marketing person with the ability to design and place ads. It’s the beginning of an agency with a much lower cost. It’s how I began in the business. I was a designer for a small firm during college. I worked part-time and they used me as they saw fit. The investment doesn’t have to be large or long- term. But you’ll find more loyalty and cost benefits, for the most part.

That’s not to say that using a quality, advertising agency or consultant on occasion, wouldn&rs

age of the company and it’s in the businesse’s best interest to make the right decisions that will affect them most. In other words, would any advertising agency give them all the time and effort it takes to produce the work they desire? Perhaps they might, but at what cost?

Which brings up another issue: expense. Hiring a marketing director, copywriter and artist will be cheaper in the long run if the company can support the investment. It will prove more advantageous down the road to build this department and have a say in the personnel that runs it. You will have to provide the technology needed for the department to function, but having the ability to create internal collateral material is a time and cost saving luxury even a medium-sized business can appreciate.

Another point raised: business size. At what point in a business’s life can they begin to contemplate hiring a staff for an in-house team? Review your current advertising expenses. What would a staff cost in comparison, realizing the control you are achieving? Look at the media costs. Most media allow fifteen percent agency commissions that you gain through your own in-house marketing. What is that worth?

But what about the little guy? If you’re a small business that places ads on a regular basis, consider a single marketing person with the ability to design and place ads. It’s the beginning of an agency with a much lower cost. It’s how I began in the business. I was a designer for a small firm during college. I worked part-time and they used me as they saw fit. The investment doesn’t have to be large or long- term. But you’ll find more loyalty and cost benefits, for the most part.

That’s not to say that using a quality, advertising agency or consultant on occasion, wouldn&rs

needed for the department to function, but having the ability to create internal collateral material is a time and cost saving luxury even a medium-sized business can appreciate.

Another point raised: business size. At what point in a business’s life can they begin to contemplate hiring a staff for an in-house team? Review your current advertising expenses. What would a staff cost in comparison, realizing the control you are achieving? Look at the media costs. Most media allow fifteen percent agency commissions that you gain through your own in-house marketing. What is that worth?

But what about the little guy? If you’re a small business that places ads on a regular basis, consider a single marketing person with the ability to design and place ads. It’s the beginning of an agency with a much lower cost. It’s how I began in the business. I was a designer for a small firm during college. I worked part-time and they used me as they saw fit. The investment doesn’t have to be large or long- term. But you’ll find more loyalty and cost benefits, for the most part.

That’s not to say that using a quality, advertising agency or consultant on occasion, wouldn&rs

at about the little guy? If you’re a small business that places ads on a regular basis, consider a single marketing person with the ability to design and place ads. It’s the beginning of an agency with a much lower cost. It’s how I began in the business. I was a designer for a small firm during college. I worked part-time and they used me as they saw fit. The investment doesn’t have to be large or long- term. But you’ll find more loyalty and cost benefits, for the most part.

That’s not to say that using a quality, advertising agency or consultant on occasion, wouldn’t pay off. They may still be needed for a special project or second opinion. But consider the value of an in-house person dedicated to your business. You may find that it was the best investment you ever made.