What It Means To Be A "Big" Advertising Agency Brand

by Steve Fodor.

I’ve worked in the advertising business for over 20 years now. During that time, I’ve worked for big agencies in Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. I’ve worked for agencies that handled major consumer brands and positioned themselves as “one-stop shops” and that have won countless creative awards.

I used to think that “bigger was always better” and you had to be in a big city to be “big-time” in advertising and marketing.

But I see the world differently today. I’ve come to realize that what you stand for is far more important than how big you are or how many accolades hang on your wall.
Twenty years ago, I never thought that I would end up working for an ad agency in, of all places, Marion, Ohio. Marion is a Midwestern manufacturing town. We’re going through some “rust belt” changes. It’s not a big city by any means. The people are nice and have humble values. And I work for a smaller agency now that does one thing: Business-to-business, industrial marketing. We’ve even been recognized six times as a “Top U.S. agency” by Business-To-Business magazine.

I guess in today’s world, it really doesn’t matter how big you are or where you’re located. It matters more that you know what you’re good at and that you make it your mission to work hard and do the best you can. It matters that you have fun at what you do, that you like the people you work with and that you share common values.

Dare I say it: Size doesn’t really matter (sorry, Viagra). What matters is that people respect you because you respect them and that you go to work every day with the intent of doing your best at what you’re good at. That’s your brand, after all.

It took me twenty years to realize that.

Flickr Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/a2gemma/