How to Get Your Advertising Idea Off the Ground

So you've thought of the greatest advertisement ever and you're looking to capitalize on it. You're completely sure that it's going to be a hit and you have no doubts that this time next year you'll be trying to figure out what series BMW you want to buy. Before you start counting the dollars in your head, you should be warned. There's a ninety eight percent chance that your idea will never get off the ground. That's just the reality of it, and I'm sorry I had to be the one to tell you. However, there is still a small chance you can get it done if you go about it the right way. Also, it's important for you to understand the challenges you face head of time so that you will not invest a lot of time in something that you know will not work. With that said, let's get started.

First of all, the way it works in most big business world's is that they actually contract an outside advertising agency to conduct the market research, campaign ideas, scripts, visual concepts, etc. The advertising agency will then, in return, present this material to the internal marketing department at the big business and once it's approved the production begins. However, if you're thinking about submitting your idea or storyboard to an advertising agency then I recommend losing that approach. I can tell you from personal experience that advertising agencies will not accept unsolicited materials for a number of legal and financial reasons. For instance, an advertising agency may look at your idea and decide, at the time, that they don't like it. Five years could pass and they make a commercial that is similar to your idea. You, in return, sue the company. The company sues the advertising agency. The advertising agency loses the account. I hope you can see why they may be reluctant to accepting your submission.

Your best bet is to completely bypass the advertising agency. After all, the business is paying out the big money so why take a "no" from someone that can't give you a "yes?" An agency will be insistent on creating their own advertising campaigns. They're not about to have someone from the outside show them up. They're very close minded and it's best if you just completely skip over this part. Also, the companies in need of advertising are also going to be tough to convince. They've invested boat loads of money into an advertising agency so they expect results from the agency. So if there are absolutely no doors open then what direction are you supposed to take?

Well, your biggest downfall right now is probably either a lack of expertise in the advertising world or lack of contacts. The thing that you need to build up is your portfolio. Start by researching which companies are more receptive to consumer-generated advertising. This could either be a start-up business looking for ideas, or a larger company that is offering a contest for individuals to design a winning advertising campaign. I know that Kodak has been known to offer individuals the opportunity to submit photos and create their own commercial. The winning entry had the commercial nationally televised, and thus the advertising career for one person was born. Most recently, GM had a contest for marketing geniuses across America to design a commercial to represent their company during the Super Bowl. Of course, this is on a much grander scale, but what you'll need to do is find small companies that will entertain your proposal. Once you've filled up your portfolio then you're more likely to have an advertising agency listen to what you have to say.

Also, another way to do it is create a buzz. Instead of trying to sell an advertising agency on a particular marketing promotion, show them what you can do. Sometimes experience doesn't necessarily correlate with the overall quality of the work. What I recommend is creating a series of spec ads, and sending them out to different agencies. Don't be afraid to use a specific company in your example of an advertisement. Begin to circulate the spec ads so that you can generate interest and show agencies the examples of the quality of your work. Think of this as more of a "demo." You're not necessarily selling them on a particular idea, but you're selling the agency on the most important thing; you. You could also create your own commercial and post it on a site like YouTube. If you create a lot of interest and generate a lot of hits on the website then you can show the advertising agencies that your ideas clearly appeal to the masses.

Those are just a few ways that you can try to break into the advertising world. Another piece of advice that I would give to you is to be persistent. I've been shot down time after time, but with every "no" I've come one closer to getting a "yes!"