Practicing Ultimate Advertising

By: Ryan Kovach
Date: 7/1/2006

For us advertising geeks, there is nothing like the look, touch, and smell of a brand new full-page ad in a slick industry publication. We love creating and designing the look and feel of a new ad campaign. We certainly love it when it hits the stands. We dream big dreams of how our designs will reap huge rewards for our clients once their customers see the ad. If we are really good at what we do, and the client is really good at what they do, it will.

But for a moment, let's forget about the big romantic dreams of being in the limelight and let's roll up our sleeves and talk about the "dark side" of advertising. Let's talk about the shadowy, often overlooked and underappreciated concepts of advertising. Let's talk about those things that you know, deep down, are important, but you feel you don't have the time to accomplish.

Picture yourself, for a moment, being in the unfortunate position of being unemployed. You open Sunday's paper to discover a company in your area is hiring for a position that sounds like it would be a great fit. You contact them and line-up an appointment for the initial interview. You shine your shoes, put on your make-up and do your hair. You put on your best suit and go over all the questions you have for this company. You are ready to "wow" them with your stellar qualifications.

When the day of the interview has arrived, you get into your car, stop off at Starbucks, so that you are alert and ready, and you head down the road to their office. You check the street address and sure enough, there they are. But there is a problem: The trees have grown over the sign so you are not sure if it says "Smart Temporaries" or "S Mart Groceries."

You pull around to the parking lot and you see an open spot to park. But wait, it has a sign that reads "Reserved for J. Smith - President of Smart Temporaries." So you go around to the company down the walkway in the office complex and you park. Now you are ready to knock their socks off and grab that job by the horns!

So, there you are all dressed up and in their lobby but no one is at the front desk. You wait a moment, and then a 20-something girl comes to the front twirling her hair and chewing gum, and she asks, in a California valley-girl voice, "So, like, did you have an appointment?" By now you are thinking, "What have I gotten myself in to? Is this company for real? The ad in the paper said the word 'professional' in it. Was it a scam?"

The funny thing is that during your wait in the lobby, you noticed a great industry magazine sitting on the end-table and you decided to thumb through it. All of the sudden an ad reaches out and grabs you. The ad is a great-looking ad with a well-written message. It's a full four-color ad, and it's extremely well designed. At the top of the ad is a logo that says "Smart Temporaries." You almost can't help but laugh.

Sound extreme? It's not. This company has forgotten that everything it says and does is advertising. Anything that can be viewed with a pair of eyes is advertising. Anything that can be heard down the hallway from a person in your lobby is advertising. It's not just your brochure or ad in a magazine or newspaper. Smart Temporaries might as well throw the $1500 it cost to run that ad out the window. Media advertising that isn't backed up by delivered results is money wasted.

What should Smart Temporaries and all other staffing companies do to ensure that their applicants don't have the same bad experience as this poor soul? They should start practicing and implementing "Ultimate Advertising." Ultimate advertising takes each job duty, each position in the company, each person and function, and drives it towards excellence. Ultimate advertising says that ultimately everything is advertising. It forces us to pay attention to everything we allow to be seen, or heard, with regard to our company.

You may want to start small and work on a few things around your office that could be improved, or you may want to hire a company that can identify your ultimate advertising weaknesses and who can offer solutions to each of the areas of concern. Either way, you need to address it. No matter how big or small your company is, or how well your reputation might be, there is always room for ultimate advertising improvements. The sooner you start addressing it, the further your other advertising dollars will go.

Stay tuned for the next Recruiting and Staffing Solutions Magazine issue in which I will discuss, in greater detail, the ultimate advertising concept and how it can benefit your organization. And remember, ultimate advertising's ultimate goal is to increase billable hours, energize your staff and turbocharge your company's image throughout your community.

Ryan Kovach is the Vice President of Dillinger & Kovach. He can be contacted at 817.691.3231, or by email at info@dillingerkovach.com.