Perhaps the strongest reason to select a local advertising agency is that nobody will understand the local market better than an agency with staff members who live and work there. For most of the world, Orlando is synonymous with theme parks, attractions, and tourism. Those of us who call the city their home know how much more Orlando offers in terms of lifestyle and business. One example of that are the talented creatives, strategists, and media planners who work at many of the Orlando agencies and moved here from larger markets and agencies.
While email, phone calls, and video chat can facilitate communication, there is nothing like grabbing a cup of coffee at Barnie’s CoffeeKitchen and talking in person.
You can also come into the offices of your Orlando-based advertising agency to see some of the work that’s in progress, mock-up, discuss design revisions directly with the artist, and even visit the agency’s owner to ensure your campaign is on track.
While central Florida isn’t cheap, it is a lot less expensive than northern metropolis’ like New York or Chicago. This means you can actually afford the services of the agencies you choose to retain in Orlando..
The hourly and project rates of your marketing firm or advertising agency will be much less than they would have been had you hired an agency from up north. This also means that you can afford to have a real conversation with the professionals serving you without great financial concern. For example, New WindowThe Wagner Agency doesn’t track hours and charges everything on a flat-fee basis. Instead of retainers, the agency charges a flat monthly fee that assumes an average amount of billable hours per month but if they are exceeded, The Wagner Agency will never charge their clients for the overage.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, a recently snapped local photo is worth a million. These days, it is easy to grab a stock photo off of the internet — but your customers know the difference between a generic shot they may have seen on another ad before and one that has been taken recently by an agency directed photographer who understands the area.
If stock photos are bad, stock video is even worse. A local videographer, with the agency’s creative direction, can capture current day to day photography for your website, advertisements, and collateral pieces. You can shoot video testimonials from customers and feature your business and employees directly. Or you can have your agency help you with producing a live video stream for Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram.
A national agency may have insight into industry trends just as we do but they will not be able to connect you with co-op marketing opportunities with other businesses in the area. Whether it is a shared mailer, a local festival, or a feature story on WESH news, an Orlando-based agency is more likely to have those direct direction relationships.
When you purchase goods and services from Fortune 500 companies, you’re sending your money out of the community and market. Local businesses must do their part to keep as much money in their local market as possible. Certainly you have had some moments of disappointment when you lost your sale with a local customer to a national or global brand.
Hiring a local advertising agency is one way to generate good karma that will keep central Floridians coming to your business instead of a national chain.
Research data from Agency Spotter has estimated that there are more than 500,000 agencies in the world including 120,000 in the United States alone. It’s an understatement to state that you have many agency options from which to choose. In your selection process, be sure to take into consideration that hiring a local agency such as an HomeOrlando advertising agency will provide you with great opportunities
Support a central Florida Homemarketing agency and you are supporting your own business at the same time.