There’s an article in today’s Raleigh News & Observer titled: “Ad companies go all out: As competition for advertising dollars heats up, agencies find novel ways to market themselves.” Click here to access the article online. The reporter, David Ranii, gives a nice snap shot of the lengths agencies go to in order to win new accounts – everything from producing videos to using outrageous props.
Paige Zinn, one of my partners in crime at Jennings, was interviewed for the story and is quoted a couple of time. She tells the story of Jennings pitching Volvo Trucks North America. We were pitching against much larger agencies, including the incumbent Carmichael Lynch (of Harley Davidson fame). One of the more outrageous steps Jennings took during the pitch process was to rent a huge Volvo truck (you know – the tractors that pull the trailers) and have it parked in front of our building when the Volvo folks arrived. We draped the truck with a welcome banner. The marketing team from Volvo quickly learned that not only had we immersed ourselves in their brand, and spent a lot of time at truck stops interviewing truck drivers, but we are also resourceful enough to procure one of their trucks. Since none of us have a commercial driver’s license (CDL) we had to hire a driver for the day to deliver and return the truck. Did the stunt work? It was just one part of the overall pitch package that helped us win the account. The gimmicks don’t win accounts, but they can be that little bit extra that puts you over the top!
