Marketing deserves the wider picture

Alan Mitchell in his article “Whole new vision of marketing” (MW November 22).correctly observes: “Where the marketing strategy is off-beam it adds up to less than the sum of its different elements. And where it’s on track, it generates massive positive feedback, reinforcing the effect.”

Whatever mix of agencies is used, successful marketing pivots around having the right brief.

It may be that the person issuing the brief has failed to put the problem into perspective.

This is when an outside consultancy can come into its own by taking the wider picture into consideration and coming up with a solution which addresses the relevant issues.

The brief might simply demand more than the budget can deliver.

The first step should be to define the objectives, discover the underlying problem and question the brief.

The second-most important decision is what type of agency should answer that brief.

If you take your business problem to an agency which employs intelligent, creative and well-trained advertising people, it will devise an advertising solution because that is what it does.

If you take the same problem to a multidiscipline agency which employs intelligent, creative people trained in a multitude of different marketing disciplines, it might recommend an advertising solution. But it will also have considered the other marketing options.

The examples of successful campaigns cited by Mitchell have something else in common. They have put the customer first, found a brand proposition which delivers what they want and then created the message and planned the methods of delivering it.

Success is based on information and communication, as well as creativity and the use of various disciplines in harmony. Only agencies which can provide strategic advice as well as a tactical creative solution can deliver this.

Matthew Hooper

Managing director

Interfocus

London W8