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Chapter 34

Working With Graphic Design & Advertising Firms

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"Get More From Your Graphic Artist"

 Please note: This article is about working with graphic design and advertising firms in general – it is not specific to working with Professional Advertising. For pricing and information about working with Professional Advertising, please read Working with Professional Advertising, or Contact Us directly.  

 We really do want you to succeed with your advertising, no matter what advertising firm you choose to help you. The following is a list of suggestions on how to get the best quality work from your advertising firm. As always, honesty is the best policy in business, and you will find that this list is quite frank.

 1. When you start with an advertising firm, they will not know you, your products, or your customers. Don’t make them guess. Random creativity is very wasteful and demoralizing, and it leads to poor results. Worse still, you may think they know more than they actually do. Set clear goals about what you expect. Tell your advertising firm what you are thinking.

 2. You want to give them a written brief describing the precise advertising objectives and goals, the target audience, and the product. Your brief should include your advertising budget if they are working on a commission basis. Your advertising firm should tell you exactly how the work will be conducted.

 4. Don’t have too many people review the final work. Everyone will want changes, and advertising should not be done by committee.

 5. Good advertising takes time. Plan in advance. Six months advance work will give you much better results than six weeks. No advertising firm works well on a short time line [no matter what they tell you], even when you pay them triple.

 6. Make sure you have terms and a payment schedule in advance. Get the money part down, so there is no confusion.

 7. Pay the advertising firm a fair rate. Doing high quality advertising is professional work, and you want good results. You want to pay for top quality production work, because you are going to spend a fortune to buy the media space. Don't waste your media money by doing low quality production work.

 8. Create an atmosphere of trust with your advertising firm. Everybody wants to do a good job and create great ads. So you must be honest, and you must listen and take criticism of your ideas. You must clearly state your goals, your timetable, and what results you expect. And you must entrust the advertising firm with information about your company if you want them to go a good job.

 9. Deliver requirements to the advertising firm in a timely manner. Yes, they can return a finished product to you in 48 hours, but do you really want it?

 10. Yes, your advertising firm is just another supplier to your company. But if you treat them like they are delivering a commodity, than a commodity is what you will get. And you do not want a commodity when it comes to your ads. Treat the advertising firm in a professional manner in all respects. Your advertising is too important to take chances with.

 We are not asking you to treat us nice. Seriously, if you work on building a professional relationship with your suppliers, you will get better results. If the people that work for those companies like you, they will bust their butts to give your the most effective advertising they can. That's what you want.

 11. Know what good advertising is. Spend some time and read over these pages, or other books on advertising. Graphic designers are not extensively trained in marketing, business, advertising, or advertising law. They are visual communication designers, not copywriters. It’s up to you to know good advertising when you see it. Don't trust a regular graphic artist to know how to create professional level, effective advertising.

 12. Tell the advertising firm the reasons for your decisions. They need to understand your business and your thinking. Tell them about your company.

What Services to Expect  

Basic Service from Graphic Artists

 Basic service from a graphic arts firm should include the layout and design of ads, brochures, business cards, etc. into a photo-ready format that a printer can use to print the documents.

 If you know what you want your ad to say, all you really need are graphic art computer services. A graphic artist can arrange your words, images, and ideas onto the page.

A Little More Help

 If you need a little more help, a good graphic arts firm can bring together the talents of several specialists. Copywriters, photographers, illustrators, printers, graphic artists, and their suppliers and related firms, all work together to better serve your needs. If you can picture the idea of what you want to capture with your marketing materials, these experts can get it done for you.

 However, for all of their talent, these specialists are not advertising experts. Graphic artists are just that – communication design artists. They can visually capture your ideas in many creative and exciting ways. But serious marketing, advertising, business, and advertising law are not taught in design school.

Advertising Agencies

 More than graphic arts firms, advertising agencies help you to define, create, and focus your marketing communications. Branding, company identity, catch phrases, jingles, and an integrated, consistent look are examples of work in this category.

 The level of work at advertising firms involves a more complete examination of the marketing and advertising process. A company answers questions about their customers, and makes sure that the message is on target. This is professional advertising.

Marketing Consulting And Design Firms

 Finally, a marketing and advertising firm can help you to define, create, and focus your overall marketing strategy. This is where serious research, targeting, media and advertising tracking, surveys, and customer retention management come into play. A marketing and advertising firm works to help you really build your business. This is professional advertising at its best.

Understanding Pricing At Advertising Firms

 Every job in advertising is different, and each has it’s own requirements. The following chart will give you an idea of how much you might pay to a graphic arts firm for their work.

 Advertising Firms often work on a commission basis. To represent a client, most advertising firms expect the client to place a minimum of $100,000 per year in advertising. The advertising firm earns a commission of around 15% of all media expenditures.

 Marketing and Advertising firms [like Professional Advertising] often charge by the hour or by the job.

 The Notes and Terms section that follows the chart will show you how advertising agency contracts work. Remember that your advertising firm should give you a written estimate for the job before any billing begins. Please see Working with Professional Advertising for our specific price list and terms.  

Job                              Client Provides         Firm Provides      Cost Range

Notes on Fees Advertising Firms Commonly Charge

 Advertising firms base their fees on the complexity of the work. The number of images, the complexity and quality of required samples, copy length, the number of colors, the size of the audience, and the distribution of the work all affect job costs.

 The client normally pays for all additional special requirements and expenses on a job. These may include file preparation, service bureau output, mechanicals, postage, special supplies, subcontractor fees, travel, etc. These services normally are marked up 15-20% to reimburse the advertising firm for management costs.

 Rush jobs at advertising firms normally cost 150% - 200% over regularly priced work.

 If the work is canceled through no fault of the advertising firm, a fee is normally charged which reflects the amount of work completed and expenses incurred.

 If the work is rejected because it is deemed unsatisfactory, a fee is normally charged based on completed work, depending on the reasons for the rejection.

 There are normally no fees related to work for speculation.

Understanding Contract Terms at Advertising Firms

 The creation of art [advertisements, illustrations, photos, logos, etc.] carries with it automatic copyright protection. The creator of the art owns it, until 50 years after death, unless specific contractual terms transfer that ownership.

 In addition, each artist has copyright protection for his or her component of a given piece of work – the photographer, the illustrator, the graphic designer, etc. Each artist must sign a release. With artwork, it is important to understand the terms.

 For example, it is common industry practice to license the use of artwork for a limited amount of time, with limited media usage, and a limited number of exposures.

 Advertising firms normally charged 50% - 100% of the original price for reuse of the materials, including minor changes to the work [like updates]. An outright transfer of ownership of the rights to the artwork may cost 100% - 200% more. 

 The following  terms commonly appear on graphic design or advertising firm contracts.

 Warranty of Originality - Included in the terms should be a statement from the advertising firm that all of the work is original or is being used with permission for the intended purpose.

 Payment - Payment is usually made in thirds, with 1/3 due upon signing of the contract, 1/3 upon approval of the layouts, and 1/3 due upon completion of the work.

 Usage Rights - Contracts normally describe how, when, where, and how long the work will be used. Additional usage and revision, and their related costs, are covered.

 Expenses - Additional related expenses are normally the responsibility of the client. Sales tax is collected. Consultation fees are normally charged separately from the contract fees. When jobs are billed hourly, it is common practice to put a cap on the total billable amount.

 Client Responsibilities - Normally the client is responsible for copywriting and proofreading. All original artwork, digital media, files, and mechanicals are the property of the advertising firm.

 Cancellation and Rejection Fees - These fees should be outlined in the terms section.

 Job Modifications - Charges are normally incurred for job modifications. For example, if three layouts are rejected, and three more are required, the client would be billed for the additional work.

Ask For Help

 As always, we strongly recommend that you hire a quality advertising firm for your advertisements, and ask a marketing professional to help plan and review the work. It’s a very small investment for creating professional ads that really bring in qualified prospects and customers. Please contact Professional Advertising for these services and additional information.

Professional Advertising

Print Advertisements - Brochures - Direct Mail - Logos

Advertising & Marketing Consulting Services

Copy Writing & Communication Design

Please see Working with Professional Advertising for more information. 

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