The art of choosing a toothpaste. And an advertising agency.

Choosing a toothpaste can be quite tricky. Even so, that’s nothing compared to choosing an advertising agency. But, let’s start with the toothpaste.

When you are standing in the shop, it doesn’t take long to get a clear idea of what differentiates the various alternatives. One of the toothpastes gives you whiter teeth, another ensures that you avoid plaque and a third has a fresh pine flavour. You select the toothpaste with the qualities that you feel are most important, and perhaps, somewhere in the back of your mind, you also have an idea of which toothpaste manufacturer feels most trustworthy. Or, you simply choose the tube that’s cheapest.

A few hours later you are humming in front of the bathroom mirror and thinking, OK, this tastes fresh, but it actually tastes pretty much like your previous toothpaste. And it is then that you suddenly get the idea to read through the toothpaste’s ingredients list and compare it with the old empty packet that you pick out of the wastebasket.
You see that the two toothpastes contain almost exactly the same ingredients, even though they claimed to be good in totally different ways and that one was considerably more expensive than the other. Quite simply: different messages, same content. It’s quite fascinating isn’t it?

But, the most fascinating thing is that it’s more or less the same situation with advertising agencies (and yes, that’s the point we were coming to). Except it’s the exact opposite.

The strange thing about advertising agencies is that they all claim to be the best at exactly the same things. “Building brands”, “creative solutions” and “based on your company’s needs” are some of the most common formulations linked to why you should choose their agency rather than another. And this would all be hunk-dory, except for the fact that this is actually far from the truth.

The truth is that the differences between agencies, in reality that is, are considerably larger than you would believe when you read their descriptions of themselves. Here we have a situation that is the exact opposite of the toothpaste example: same message, different content.

So, how does this happen?

Well, it’s linked to the fact that agencies consist of the people who work for them, and really it’s no more complicated than that. So, it is quite natural that the different agencies actually are quite different. Just like, fortunately, every person is different as well.

An advertising agency consists quite simply of the staff’s collective experience, talent and competencies, plus, of course, the agency’s ability to get these people to work together in an optimal way. And ultimately it is this, and only this, that we have to offer you as a client.

And just as you have the right to expect that refreshing feeling (and hopefully some kind of tooth decay prevention) from the toothpaste you buy, you have the right to expect that the money you pay to your advertising agency actually helps your company to become more successful.

Never forget this. Regardless of whether you are a client of ID, or another advertising agency.