Tim Manners had an interesting post last Thursday.  Has your Cincinnati advertising agency or Cincinnati marketing firm become irrelevant?  He thinks so, primarily because he says they've become too dependent on the advertising and not enough on the merits of the actual products and services themselves.

I see a lot of this - great ad campaigns that are well written, artfully designed, and oozing with carefully deliberated marketing strategy - and yet, they seem to talk over the consumer.



As Mr. Manners relates in his new book:

Relevant brands understand certain principles:

  • Insight. Relevant brands care about what we actually do, not just what we think.  (Side note:  Here's a great company that helps you figure that out.)
  • Innovation. Relevant brands know the difference between what's purely remarkable and what actually works.
  • Investment. Relevant brands understand the imperative of sparing no expense when it comes to satisfying our needs.
  • Design. Relevant brands live and breathe simplicity.
  • Experience. Relevant brands realize that it's more important to touch us in real life than on television.
  • Value. Relevant brands are more than worth every penny.
So, are we creating the advertising because we depend on it to justify our businesses or are we truly speaking to the consumer?