Creative Ideas Agency has been in business for more than 35 years. They have been making advertising plans for hundreds of businesses from start-ups to global world-wide businesses. Business was good and yes; Creative Ideas has an advertising budget. Yes, we do what we tell others to do. But, one year, the owner thought she would like to see what happened if she did not have an advertising budget or was less than 1% of gross sales. Everything was fine for the first quarter. Business was still coming in and even new clients that had heard of Creative Ideas Agency were contacting us. Creative Ideas Agency has been branding its look and style for many years. The second quarter was good, but we did not see the flow of new business coming in. By the third quarter the owner knew that she would never do this again. Thank goodness the business had surplus and because Creative Ideas Agency advertised as we help our clients to do, we were able to regain the business flow and get new clients as well as keep the clients we had. It was a lesson learned. Yes, what we have been telling our clients is true. You must spend money to make money.
Yes, the type of advertising and the places you buy your advertising change as your company grows and as the times change. When we began Creative Ideas Agency in 1989, we didn’t even have the internet. Newspaper was a big way to advertise. As newspapers go away and readership is actually read online, we adjust to what are the trends and we adjust the advertising dollars.