Beau Fraser said an ad agency is only as good as its account executives.  It’s true.

Many great, inspiring ideas are locked in a “comps” folder on every designer’s computer with no client to their name.  That’s because the client believes that those ideas do not represent her company.  She believes those ideas will not sell more product, fill more seats or create social change.

Good advertising is not cheap, and a successful president or marketing director will (should) spend precious time and resources only on what she believes will produce the best results. It’s the account executive’s job to convince the client to believe in the agency’s creative to do such a job and to measure it going forward.

Unfortunately, some account executives are too convincing for the client’s own good, and you get highly creative work that doesn’t sell anything.  A golf partnership trumps quality work, and the client’s business suffers.

A client and her agency should look to the same simple formula:  great idea + success = more work.

Many advertising award competitions exist so that creatives can pat themselves on the back for the most spectacular ideas and execution.  But which ideas were most successful in serving the best interests of the client?

The Effies are awarded to those ad campaigns that produce the best results. Period.

Client:  If you’re looking for the best ad agencies, look to the Effies.
Designer:  If you want to be “free” to create, quit your job and look for gallery space.

We question every jingle, design and slogan. We poke fun at every idea. We turn every message–every strategy–on its head.

130 people packed the Percolator to capacity Friday night as many stood, even outside, to watch the 16 films that made the deadline. We laughed, we cried, we screamed, we drank coffee.