Ad Agencies

[JoeKitchen]

Finally I am able to afford to begin phase 3 of my long term marketing plan which means going after ad firms, but I am not totally sure who to market to.  There is the Art director, Art buyer, Creative buyer, Creative director, Creative manager, and so on.  I plan on e-mailing all those who are open but can only afford to send direct mail pieces to the most important decision makers.  Who are they (out the titles listed above or others)?  Who should I concentrate on?

[Ken Bennett]

You might find some good information paging through the last year or so of the A Photo Editor blog. He has some interviews with art buyers and others at ad agencies. You also might find it useful to spend a few dollars talking with a consultant about your approach -- there are several former art buyers doing this now.

For example, this thread has some good info:

http://www.aphotoeditor.com/2010/06/03/ask...93-the-meeting/

[LiamStrain]

Alot depends on the size of the agencies you are going after. Many (unfortunately) no longer have a dedicated art buyer role.

I love the A Photo Editor blog that Ken linked. Read through that and do some research on your specific targets (if going after specific local agencies). Many people also like the various list subscriptions (Adbase, Agency Access) - which will offer appropriate contacts for given target agencies.

Also, heading to the library to go through the red book can be helpful.



FWIW, in lieu of an art buyer, I usually aim for art directors, since the vast majority of creative directors seem to come from the writing side. Also having worked as an AD, its fun to get well made, well thought out promos.