Getting what you pay for.

Rick Stanton, Creative Director / Managing Partner
Stanton & Everybody Advertising + Design

Times are tough. New work is scarce to non-existent.
I can’t tell you the last time an RFP came across my desk that was worth the effort to respond. And consumers don’t seem to be streaming back to buying much of anything.
All of this adds up to one key point: the services of a proven advertising agency are worth more than ever before.
With fewer customers the need to get more than your fair share is immediate.
So finding ways to differentiate and create meaningful connections to those customers is key. And you don’t need to drop your prices or your pants to make it happen.
This is where smart thinking becomes a valuable asset.
As a result your advertising agency needs to be paid what it’s worth to come up with that thinking. Too many times the decision to hire an agency comes down to price.
We all want to get more for our money but in the arena of intellectual property, our services are not a commodity. They are unique. And when we spend a day thinking about ideas for a client, those eight or ten or twelve hours are gone. We can’t sell them to someone else. Long ago I read an article about how to select an ad agency.
The gist of the article was look at their work, call their existing clients, decide if you like the people you will be working with and pay them, and I quote … “more than fairly.”
In today’s business environment you need smart people thinking about your business, people with a track record of creating results.
If all a potential client cares about is beating us up on price, does anyone really think they’re going to get the best we have to offer? Sure times are tight. But investing in smart advertising is just that, an investment. There are always going to be people in our industry who will do whatever a client wants for whatever they are willing to pay. I believe that is defined by the words cheap and whore.
My advice to my contemporaries is simple; if you don’t value who you are and what you know, how do you expect your clients to do so?
And if they don’t, they are probably getting what they deserve.

Related article.
http://adage.com/agencynews/article?article_id=139951