3 reasons why brands are better than salespeople

We've all heard (or said) this one: "I don't need to advertise. I get plenty of business through my sales team." Fair enough. But are you sure you want to build your company's image on a foundation that's so unpredictable? So ever-changing? So... human?

Don't get us wrong, we love people. Some of our best friends are people. But for a stable, long-lasting corporate identity, we love brands more. Here's why:

Brands are consistent.

To customers, your sales rep is your company. So when customers see a flaw - say, your rep is late for a meeting - they assume your whole company is unreliable. He's poorly dressed? Your company's unprofessional. Even if you do your best to hire great people, it's always a struggle to make sure they're portraying your company's image and values.

Your brand, meanwhile, offers another kind of personality: One you can control. One that represents your values perfectly. One that will never put off a prospect with its bad breath.

Brands won't leave you...
Studies have proven that people will do just about anything to avoid "breaking up" with a long-time sales rep. Yes, that includes switching vendors, and even buying an inferior product.

Brands don't retire, or leave you for another company because it offered five more vacation days. Sales reps, on the other hand, come and go all the time. 

Losing a rep hurts - but hey, it's part of any business, right? You're more worried about losing a customer. Well, since you bring it up...

...and take your customers, too.

So when your rep leaves for a competitor, what will your customers do? Stick with the person they've been friends with for years? Or stick with your company - which they only knew through their friend anyway? Those customers are as good as gone, and your products probably won't have anything to do with it.

Your sales force is an important part of your identity. But it shouldn't be your whole identity. If you want your company to last, a strong brand is more than important. It's vital.

New Work: True Celebration 2012

Every year Todd Allen Design produces the welcome video for IU Health Goshen Center for Cancer Care’s True Celebration, an event that pays tribute to all of their cancer survivors.

Countless hours of planning, interviewing and film editing are poured into this project each year, and it is one of our favorites. After all, what could be more inspiring than talking with people who face cancer with such strength, courage and determination? 

To put things into perspective, one survivor jokingly testified, “Some folks complain about ‘bad-hair days.’ Try having a no-hair day.”

This year’s video theme "It’s a new day” is beautifully filmed by Overdun Productions and features emotionally-charged testimony from five Goshen Center for Cancer Care patients who have fought and defeated cancer. The setting is the historical Ruthmere Mansion in Elkhart.

We’re sure you will enjoy it, but you may want to grab a box of tissues before you watch it!

One Wrong Way to Choose an Ad Agency

Is there anything more nerve-wracking than hiring an ad agency? There are so many to choose from, and no surefire way to make the right choice.

But there is one surefire wrong way: Letting yourself be sold by a "pitch team."

Maybe you've already seen The Pitch on AMC. If not, we'll sum it up for you. Two agencies bring together their best and brightest employees to win an account. Naturally, the agencies' best employees produce great work. The clients are blown away, pick a winner, and presumably live happily ever after.

No reason you can't do the same, right? But before you buy into an agency's dog and pony show, ask yourself: If I give my business to a talented pitch team, what's next?

Surprise! They'll never touch your account again.

Sorry, your future is now in the hands of the other people - the ones who didn't make the cut for the pitch team. Meanwhile, the pitch team is off to win someone else's business.

Don't panic, there are ways around this. The first one's obvious: If agency reps introduce themselves to you as "the pitch team" or something like it, tell them not to let the door hit their portfolios on the way out.

Second, find out who will really be working on your account. Can you meet them? Can you interact with everyone instead of just executives? These are fair requests. If an agency turns them down, turn down that agency.

Third: Look at small- to medium-size shops (10-15 people). Agencies with fewer than 10 people usually can't afford stars. Meanwhile, the giant agencies often spread their stars too thin. Medium-size agencies, on the other hand, have stars who work on your account daily. And there's no room for pitch teams.

Finally, take your time. Choosing an agency is a big deal, like a marriage.

Will yours be made in heaven, or hell?

Facebook is no substitute for advertising

Reason #4,389 businesses think they don't need advertising: "I get enough publicity through Facebook."

We can understand that. With everything Facebook can do for free, it's easy to think it can build a brand for free, too. It's also very, very wrong.

Here are a few things people say to convince us that Facebook is just as good as advertising... and why we're not convinced.

"Facebook is how new customers find us."
Does anyone ever truly "find" a business they've never heard of on Facebook? More likely, they'll visit you in real life first, THEN find you on Facebook. They're existing customers, not new ones. If your goal is for someone to buy from you, they've usually done that by the time they see your company profile. They already liked you before they "Liked" you. Same goes for people: You meet them in real life first, THEN friend them. Unless you're creepy.

"Why pay for a website when Facebook is free?"
This only makes sense if your goal is to stand out as little as possible. Because currently, the only ways to really differentiate yourself on Facebook are through a profile picture and cover photo. Meanwhile, your competition will use ads, websites, and whatever else it takes to beat you. Think your Facebook page is enough to stop them? Ever heard the expression "Taking a knife to a gun fight?"

"But if someone Likes us, their friends will see it!"
Sure, if Likes weren't the hardest things to see on the whole site. When someone "Likes" you, it pops up on the news feed. "Steve likes Hopmonster Brewery." Yes! Free publicity! Two seconds later, that measly little line is pushed down by a friend's hilarious status update. Then by pictures of someone's vacation (or more likely, their baby). Then by an entertaining news story - also with pictures. In just a few minutes, your free PR is swept away and buried. So much for that.

OK, that's enough Facebook-bashing for now. After all, we're probably using it as you read this. It's one of the greatest inventions of our time, one that can help you find old friends, and turn acquaintances into new friends.

And best of all, it's FREE!

Just beware: You'll get what you paid for.

TAD "Moments" campaign wins 2012 Telly Award

We knew our "Moments" spot for IU Health Goshen was good... but was it good enough to beat almost 11,000 entries at the most prestigious TV award show in the world? Only one way to find out.

Turns out, our confidence wasn't misplaced. "Moments" landed among the very top of its class at the international Telly Awards, winning TAD's fifth Telly since 2007.

Bringing home some of the ad world's most coveted hardware is great. But we're more proud of what the commercial has accomplished - namely, helping IU Health Goshen cement its position as the premier cancer care center in the region. This one's for them.

Already beating the competition? Advertise anyway

Recently, a few of us were watching TV with friends when a Coca-Cola commercial came on.

"Why does Coke keep advertising?" one of them asked. "They're already one of the biggest brands in the world. What more could they possibly get out of it?

Us: "Well... does your wife love you?"

Him: "Yeah, of course."

Us: "Then why don't you stop talking to her?"

Just like your loved ones have a relationship with you, Coke drinkers have a relationship with the Coke brand. It doesn't end at a single purchase - like any relationship, it needs constant communication and reaffirmation to survive.

Many companies rely on their salespeople to maintain their relationships. But beware: Competitors can lure your salespeople away with just a small pay raise. And when they leave, the relationships you count on can go with them.

Communicate with your customers through your brand, not just your sales staff. That way, when your staff changes, your customers will have a constant reminder that your core values are still the same.

Of course, "not communicating at all" isn't an option. Even if, like Coke, you don't get any immediate gains from it. On the contrary: When you're the leader, communication is more important than ever.

Being #1 doesn't mean you're special. It just means you have the most to lose.

TAD rocks NYC

Have we told you lately that we have the greatest clients in the world? Last week was proof: Vandoren sent us to the Big Apple to photograph a dozen of NYC's most famous woodwind musicians for their We Are Vandoren campaign.

How famous, you ask? Well, we had Grammy-award winners David Sanborn, Paquito D'Rivera, and Jon Manasse; Grammy nominees Jimmy Heath and Bruce Williams; and the highly acclaimed JD Allen, Ralph Bowen, Sharel Cassity, Dennis Diblasio, Mike Dirubbo, Pascal Martinez and Lenny Pickett.

We were especially excited to work with Sanborn, one of the biggest contemporary saxophonists in the world (24 albums and six Grammys). He played on Stevie Wonder's Talking Book album, jammed with the Rolling Stones, and toured with David Bowie. Remember that great sax solo on "Young Americans?" That's him.

Then there's Jimmy Heath. He's performed with nearly every jazz icon from the past 50 years, including Coltrane, Dizzy, Miles and Wynton. But our favorite part of his career may have been just before this shot was taken, when he said Todd has "Justin Bieber hair."

We agree with Jimmy on this one.

After that we met another David Bowie connection: Lenny Pickett, tenor saxophonist and musical director of the Saturday Night Live band. It's a good thing cameras have gone digital, otherwise we would've run out of film by this point.

Another day, another degree closer to Bowie.

Believe it or not, all this excitement was just a lead-in for the grand finale, the VandoJam. That's where we got together with Vandoren artists Ralph Bowen, Denis Diblasio and Mike Dirubbo for an exclusive midnight session at Iguana Lounge.

Mike Dirubbo, VandoJamming.

Of course, the trip could only end one way: With a monster pastrami on rye from Carnegie Deli. We took home some of their incredible cheesecake too, but forgot it in the hotel room fridge. Sorry for such a sad ending to a happy story. But at least we can sleep at night knowing that no one can ever take the pastrami away from us.

I will remember you... will you remember me...

All told, it was definitely a time to remember. But if you think that was cool, wait until you see the finished product.