ADVERTISING AGENCY SERVICE PLUS EDITORIAL CONTENT

Energy MC offers a fully integrated service - across the advertising media, public relations (media) and online communications resources. See http://eco-insulation.blogspot.com as an example of an expert technical blogging service for clients. My current area of expertise is B2B, technology, business commercial and pecialist industries.

It is important for business to realise that editorial needs to be independent from advertising. There are few agencies that offer the integrated service that this freelance one does. Clients generally do not pay for the advertising management service, since these costs are recovered from arrangements that Energy MC has in place with the various B2B or tech magazine publishers, whom we represent.

Editorial - consisting of copywriting (words) and professional photography is charged independently on a completely different fee basis.

Clients are free to enter into the full service, consisting of 3 legs of editorial, advertising and online, or engage only one or the other individual service.

This is a highly effective freelance service.

I have many satisified clients .Call me for details. 072 905 0252 (leave message).

GARETH

Preserving your reputation

It's the little things that can cost your years of effort to build your brand image. A prominently branded vehicle blew past me on a speed-restricted country road the other day. Not only was the driver seen to be exceeding the speed limit by 50 - 100 %, he also overtook on a solid line and tailgated numerous other drivers on the road. Joggers, cyclists, horse riders, dogs and other drivers were certainly at risk.

However infuriating the experience must have been to various road users, not to say downright dangerous, the joke may end up being at the expense of the brand. Reputation is something that takes a very long time to build up but is highly fragile and easily broken.

What's my point? I guess that people who openly represent brands, such as driving a vehicle with logo and contact details prominently displayed, need to watch their P's and Q's. In this case, the company concerned trades in the field of Sustainability Projects. Surely, I mused, sustainability begins with driving carefully, using as little fuel as possible and also showing respect for both human and animal life?

There's certainly no way I would have any respect left for a company whose officials behave like this and most probably many other road users have moved from being brand supporters to brand detractors.

ECONOMIC DOOM AND GLOOM - WHERE TO?

It is amazing how many companies view advertising and image-promotion as ad-on, cut-out activities at time of economic distress.

This is a pennywise trend which does little to add value to one of the most neglected assets on a companies' register - Brand Equity.

I think the company that continues its marketplace or stakeholder communications stands a far better chance of coming out of an economic downslide than those that simply bring the communication shutters down - battening the hatches down might work at sea, but not when you are dealing with Reputation and Brand Equity.

A thought - leverage the goodwill you have generated with the media. Sure, reschedule some advertising BUT do not give up on PR !!

Integrated Communications - more compelling truths

We surely live in challenging times, with the power of computer technology propelling cyberspace communications options to greater heights on an exponential path. What sense do we make however of the numerous prophecies of doom and gloom for the future of the conventional media, and of advertising?

I have read many well thought out pieces on the looming death of paper-based and other communications, so where does this leave the future of marketing communications as we know it?

I think the internet, website, email and cellphone marketing communications present a fleeting opportunity for communication with the target market and that this can conflict with the processing time of the human brain. A kind of information overload - hence the possibility of diminishing long term brand building - in the case of many (some, but not all) brands. I guess it's the old argument of frequency vs. impact.

The conventional media, radio, print, etc present more solid opportunities for argumentative and rational communications and brand building campaigns. This is important for the B2B communication market.

Know this, however, that there is a convergence of these various media, and that they are not as seemingly in conflict as some younger, fresh-faced cousins in the creative world make out. My view is that they are completely complementary and that not one can survive without the other in this age.

Just like the co-existence of the written word (copy) with graphic devices and images. I watch with interest, but feel vindicated in my view that integrated marketing communications is the way to go.