Drive your brand in the right direction

At a time when advertising agencies are experiencing first hand diminishing spend on marketing and brand awareness, the current economic climate is also creating streams of opportunity. For the astute, that spells unbridled opportunity.

by Jason Oxenbridge

 

SEEKING ways to leverage over competitors during a slowing economy should be a no brainer. Metaphorically, if the marketing wheel stops spinning and is left to sit, the spokes rust, the tyre perishes and the bicycle – once a means to go forward – is thrown onto the scrapheap.

Gold Coast advertising agency Quadrant Creative, says the current property market downturn and general economic climate presents a new scope of opportunity.

The agency’s CEO Tony Scott, says property sales teams, developers and business operators generally who could ‘look through the immediate business climate’ towards a 12 to 18-month horizon had the opportunity to greatly increase market share.

“We get excited in times like these because there are real opportunities out there for people who are prepared to think differently and adopt a positive and proactive approach to their property marketing,” he says.

“We are finding that while very conscious of where their advertising dollars are going, the ones that are prepared to hit it are reaping the rewards with solid sales. It is in difficult times such as those we are currently experiencing, when astute operators can grab a larger slice of the market and also make significant sales by thinking strategically and adopting creative marketing tactics.”

Servicing clients such as Mulpha Developments, Laing O’Rorke, Potter Group, Macquarie Bank, FKP, GEO Property Group, L2 Capital, the company has been involved in some of the biggest property and leisure developments in Australia.

“Strategic thinking and developing a creative marketing plan are the keys to successful selling today,” says Scott.

“It is no longer sufficient to simply create an appealing advertisement and sit back to see if it attracts prospects. We encourage our clients to think outside of the square and we have the team and the skills to work with them to develop creative and innovative strategies which are results driven.”

Scott says many property developers today are ‘confused’ by the market, not knowing what to do to generate sales and interest in a climate where traditional methods are not working.

“There are many small operators out there who purport to be advertising agencies, but in reality they are just graphic design studios,” he says.

“You need to identify trends, identify where the potential buyers are and also drill down to ascertain what they are currently thinking, whether they are a real buyer and what key buttons need to be pushed to get them to commit.”

The challenge, says Scott is to cut through the mass of communications that people are bombarded with each day and lift awareness of a particular development, product or brand.

Scott Corfield, the director of Carbon Studio, has relied on crisp campaigns that challenge the traditional construct. With a client list including Dream World, City Beach and West Coast Choppers, Corfield is used to stepping out of his comfort zone and taking customers along for the ride.

“Companies need to reassess what their core business is in these times,” says Corfield, whose company will achieve 10 per cent growth this financial year.

“I haven’t really been through a recession as a business owner until now so I don’t know any different, which makes it an interesting time.

“Most clients think there is no need to change anything when the times are good, but we like change, it creates a new dynamic.”

Carbon Studio specialises in the development of advertising campaigns, short films and feature films. Corfield realised a creative dream when he produced and acted in the Australian gangster satire feature Crooked Business, penned by Coast criminal lawyer Chris Nyst. Juggling film and advertising projects works for Corfield and his boutique firm which employs five staff.

“We operate in less traditional avenues and have not noticed a decline in clients due to our niche market,” he says.

“There’s always an element of risk when you’re doing something different, but it’s important to offer solutions that suit budgets. You have to be realistic.”

Marketing and development manager Louise Wysoczanski says the paradigm is shifting and that marketing managers who to date have been ‘sitting in ivory towers’, must step down and re-direct their focus.