Some areas of the country have more ad agencies than others. Cities and metropolitan locations support the greatest number of agencies. If you are looking for a job in a city of any substantial size, it will take you more time to sift through all the agencies. If your visions are directed toward a more rural environment, you may have a very limited selection.
If you are totally unfamiliar with the advertising agencies in your area, begin getting acquainted by looking in the phone book. An initial sweep and the first round of weeding out undesirables can often be made based on address preferences. As superficial as this may sound, sometimes you know instinctively that one area of town is definitely unattractive or inconvenient to you. If location is not important, another equally superficial starting place can be the quality of the listing you find in the Yellow Pages. The smaller one or two person agencies will often have non bold listings. If you are considering a small agency, I would recommend that you bypass those that are that small. Not that these agencies are of poor quality at all. It is just that you will rarely find an available position in such a small agency. Unless you have heard that a certain one is looking to bring on another person, or you have seen an ad somewhere, it is usually a waste of time to research and then approach the really small agencies. Many of these one or two person shops are either new or have strict financial limitations. However, if you are considering the possibility of freelancing, these "little" agencies are the perfect target. Even if the agency owner(s) do all the creative work, when new accounts come in or the work load is heavy, they do not have the staff to handle the activity.
There is a second classification of small agencies those that consist of four, five, or more people. These are worth your time and research. Most of these agencies are interested in growth. But because their revenues are still lower compared to the mid sized and larger agencies, their listings in the Yellow Pages may still be the one or two line, non bold listings. So you will probably have to make a few phone calls to separate the "little" one or two person shops from the "larger" small agencies.
You will notice that some of the agency listings have four bold as after their name. This means that they are members of the American Association of Advertising Agencies. That is a good recommendation in itself. But do not be too concerned if some of the agencies you are interested in are not members. Many of the small to medium sized agencies and even some of the larger ones never join, although their work and reputations are first rate. In addition to a listing, some of the agencies will have ads that describe their specialties and range of services. This can help you to more clearly identify those that you might find interesting.
Another source for identifying and targeting potential agencies is trade publications. If you are not familiar with national publications like Adweek that publishes regional editions or Advertising Age, stop by your local library. If your library does not carry these publications, you can find out which libraries do. Many states also have their own local advertising trade journals. The library can help you check these out as well. Or you can try contacting a local advertising club, if your area has one, for more information on agencies in your immediate area.
Adweek's Agency Guide is an excellent resource for specific information on local and regional agencies. This is a special issue, published annually, that includes listings of most local agencies, their number of employees, the types of accounts they specialize in, and general philosophy statements from one of the principles.
The trade journals run articles that feature the various activities of national/ regional or local agencies. They are the best way to keep up with which agencies are adding new accounts or losing old ones; new people being hired; partnerships, mergers, and acquisitions; and when agencies are expanding and looking to hire new people. If you are unable to locate any copies of trade journals in the library, you can at least get the address and phone number for each publication in the reference section. You can then call or write the publications you are interested in and order a subscription or just that month's issue. Some publications will also send you on request a listing of articles that appeared during the last 12 months. That way, if there is a particular agency or account you are interested in, you can order that specific issue.
Finally, word of mouth is always an excellent way to get up to date information on local agencies. Ask friends, relatives, business associates, classmates, teachers, or career counselors if they have any knowledge of area agencies. Be sure to explain what kind of agency you are looking for. If any of these people have personal contacts at the agencies and can give you a name to call or write, that can be a valuable means of introduction.
Keep a file, containing a list of all the agencies you found interesting. As you gather additional information about each agency, from either conversation with people or press clippings, put that information in your file. When your initial research is complete, go through this list and eliminate any agencies that are totally out of the question for any reason. This could be based on location, agency size, or anything else you have managed to uncover about each one. Now you are ready to begin the in depth research phase of Step Four.
The in depth research phase
Start by making a phone call to each agency that you have selected. Ask for a brochure, a flyer, or any informational material the company might be willing to send you. If they do not have any, take that as a possible warning signal. I am always skeptical about agencies whose profession it is to advertise and promote other businesses and yet they fail to do an adequate job for themselves. To be completely fair, however, before you cast any judgments, ask them why they do not have any information available. It could be that the new brochure is at the printer or that they are temporarily out of stock. If they simply do not have any and never did, put a minus check mark next to their name on your list. But do not give up on them entirely. It is possible that a perfectly sound agency has been so busy making money and servicing clients that it never saw the need to print up promotional literature.
Whether an agency has a brochure or not, once you have them on the phone ask as many questions as you can to gather additional information. Your questions should address the following points:
- Explain that you are reviewing area agencies for employment purposes.
- If there is something especially desirable about an agency, and you know that there are no openings, ask if you may send a letter and resume to be kept on file anyway.
Your homework
It is extremely important to set aside some time to read through as many trade publications as possible before you make inquiry calls to agencies. First you will need to become familiar with the lingo used in this business terms like "pitching accounts" and "media flights." It can be pretty embarrassing if you happen to get into a conversation on the phone or in an interview with an agency principal who mentions that their agency is pitching against XYZ Advertising and you think they are talking about the competing team at an after work softball game. Along with the professional buzz words, you will need to become familiar with the agencies that handle important local and national accounts. Along with that, do some research to find out what the latest market trends are in the specific industries you think you might be interested in. For example, if you have a pull toward high tech industries or sports gear, then bone up on what the agencies have been doing for the last year to reach these markets and what they are looking to do in the next several months.
Compare agencies to preferences
When you have collected a substantial amount of information on your selected agencies, review that information with a critical eye. That eye should be turned toward matching up the agencies you have researched with the personal preferences you picked in Step One. You may need to go back and review your preferences. With these foremost in mind, look at the information you have collected on the agencies. Some should begin to stand out as more appealing than others. You want to begin to narrow your choices down to only those agencies that are really suited to you. If you are having trouble deciding, ask yourself the following questions:
- Which ones are the right size to suit your preferences?
- Which of these agencies handle the type of accounts you would like to be working on?
- Which agencies have locations that are agreeable to you?
