Creative Advertising Agency Methods They Don’t Want You to Know

Have you ever wondered why you rarely see an agency creating advertisements for themselves? Their main purpose in life is to promote companies, so you’d think it’s a given that they’d do it for their services as well. In reality, most agencies do, we just don’t notice it, primarily because they steer clear from mass-market media. The reasons vary, but it’s common knowledge that going that way won’t reach their prospective clients. In the rare cases that we do see creative agency advertising methods that promote themselves, they’re sure to be purely creative. Here are some examples of agencies using advertising methods on themselves. If you’re looking to produce creative agency advertising methods, Penji can help you with high-quality graphic design. Learn these ad strategies to inspire and use on your own:

Use Transparency

Whether it’s transparency in your pricing, performance, or processes, prospects would want to see them. Being upfront with your fees, how you do things, and how well your agency is doing is a great way to advertise yourself. WebFX has a “Project Quote Calculator” that allows you to understand their fees directly. 

Likewise, SiegeMedia proudly displays their accomplishments on their website for potential customers to see. These agencies have shown transparency in how they conduct their business and the outcome from it to lure prospects and see what they can expect.

Pose Naked 

New York design agency, Sagmeister & Walsh, released a mailer ad that shows all their staff posed naked. This was inspired by what Stefan Sagmeister did back when he started promoting his new agency by mailing photos of his naked self to potential clients. Today, their promo made quite a stir in the industry, and now, the company handles top brands such as HBO, Levi’s, and Standard Chartered, among many others. It looks like they’re having so much fun as well. 

Create a Side Project

An old agency tactic that is now resurfacing is the side project marketing. This is creating a product to generate leads for your agency. The product is usually something that connects to your original offering but can stand on its own. The defunct agency Crew, now a part of Dribbble, created Unsplash, a stock photography website, as its side project.  

Today, it’s quite ironic that Unsplash has become a big thing while the original company it was created for is long gone. But during its run, Crew was flooded with referrals and new customers, so it’s definitely an ad strategy that works.

Flex your Creative Muscles

Flex your creative muscles like what Paravel did. They showcased what they’re capable of on this website that they designed for TMFO. The site featured the agency’s artworks and design that may seem of no actual use, but it’s entertaining and fun to look at, especially for their target audience. Not only did it show their artistic prowess, but they also generated lots of leads from it. 

Mock the Trend

Going against the grain and actually mocking what’s trending in the industry is what made john st. become one of the most awarded agencies in Canada. Their self-promoting videos poke fun at what’s gotten the industry obsessed. Plus, their video “Buyral” shows how going viral isn’t the answer as there are tons of ways to gather clicks.

Their most popular video, “Catvertising,” and all the others that promote their brand is typed as experiential advertising, also known as Shockvertising or Prankvertising. 

Go Viral

Touted as the world’s maker of the craziest viral video campaigns, Thinkmodo has closed shop. Their founders went separate ways, but the agency’s legacy still lives on in their videos. Producing videos that go viral can be risky as there are a lot of things that can go wrong and damage a brand’s image instead of boosting it.

However, Thinkmodo had done it flawlessly, and their repeated success was a testament to it. Every video was a showcase of their creativity and influence.

Go the Straightforward Route

On their self-promotion video, Cypress Entertainment went the straightforward and blunt way. The actor says, “They say that cream always rises to the top. Ironically, so does feces. Perhaps it’s time that you reevaluate who your advertising agency is.” Ouch, that probably hurts if your agency isn’t generating new customers.

Advertise Yourself Through Writing

David Ogilvy wrote a 3,000-word article to promote Ogilvy & Mather in the New York Times in the 70s. It was all words and no imagery, which would lead you to think that it won’t work to show creativity. Ogilvy was a talented writer and considered as the father of advertising for good reason.

The campaign worked effectively that the points he raised in those articles are so powerful and still resonate up to this day. The agency was confident in their skills and understood that no other agency could do what they did with their self-promotion. They are one of the biggest agencies the world over. 

Show Them What’s Missing

According to its website, Y&R promises to resist the usual. Their method of promoting themselves may come as a surprise because it’s so simple and basic. It is minimal in the design approach but definitely not lacking in substance.

The ads show the world how empty it would be without their agency. It is impactful, fun, unique, and very creative. When asked the question, why them? These ads will give you sufficient answers.

Final Thoughts

Taking a leaf from these agencies’ books can help you understand how to market yours effectively. Unfortunately, not all agencies are capable of creating gems such as these. So if you’re planning to make yours, it’s recommended that you take a look at how these were made. To help you along the way, get unlimited graphic design services that are high-quality and affordable.