Design Your Ad Agency’s Website for New Business

An excellent example of an ad agency’s website designed for new business with their audience in mind.

I really believe that a lot of advertising agencies are designing their promotional materials and websites with other agencies in mind rather than designing it for their prospective audience. I could possibly be wrong but that is my perception.

For instance, even though we know that most of our audience dislikes a flash intro and the majority will skip it, agencies are still intent on including it as part of their website design. I don’t get it.

I review dozens of ad agency websites weekly. I recently came across an agency’s redesigned website that greatly impressed me. It was clear to me that it was designed for their audience without fear of another agency’s critique.

off-madison-ave

 

Why do I like this agency website design so much?  My answers are strictly from a new business perspective:

  • It’s very clean, easy to read
  • It’s interactive and provides are reason to come back more often
  • Agency information is very easy to find
  • It includes a call to action for continual engagement with their audience through their email newsletter
  • It demonstrates experience with social media and provides easy links to make connections and build relationships with their audience
  • This site does a better job than most leading with benefits instead of capabilities
  • Their list of agency services is very succinct. They weren’t trying to check “all” the boxes of agency experience
  • Ways to contact the agency was easy to locate. You’d be amazed at how hard it is to find this info on other agency sites
  • The ‘contact’ tab at the top requesting more info was thoughtful. I even filled it out. I wasn’t surprised that they were monitoring it well and I received a personalized contact back shortly after sending it

The Off Madison Ave is an early adopter of both digital and social media. I’m told that they are generating at least five new inbound new business leads daily through their web presence and through social.

To review their site go to : http://www.offmadisonave.com

And just for the record, Off Madison Ave has never been a client, so I’m completely unbiased in my praise.

 

Also of interest, some advertising agency blog sites that are differentiating to appeal to particular target audiences:

 

Share

About Michael Gass

Consultant | Trainer | Author | Speaker

Since 2007, he has been pioneering the use of social media, inbound and content marketing strategies specifically for agency new business.

He is the founder of Fuel Lines Business Development, LLC, a firm which provides business development training and consulting services to advertising, digital, media and PR agencies.

Comments

  1. Michael,

    Thanks for writing this post. So many agencies are still in the dark about how to design a website that appeals to their audience: prospective clients. Flash is for art directors who want to be thought well of by other art directors.

  2. I agree. You’ve got to put your target audience first. Here in Sweden so many agencies seem to stick with Flash for some reason although it smacks of a couple of years ago. That’s because there’s such a focus on design over content.

    Although I’m a firm believer in images and copy working in unison to convey a strong message, I’m wary of businesses that overly rely on the visual. I want to see their dialogue; the way they engage.

  3. Michael,

    Thanks for this information. As our agency is designing a new website, your blog has been a big help. We are moving away from flash, and focusing on the personal connections and proven results.

    Thanks again!

    @Thedanhealy

  4. Michael,

    Thank you for bringing this to light. An agency I worked for struggled mightily with trying to find direction for its new website design, and never quite succeeded.

    I’m not an ad agency but I think your principle applies to anyone providing a business service. For my own clients, I like to think I address their needs first, with simple navigation that quickly gets them to the information they need. I use jquery to provide dynamic eye-catching interest, but this (I hope) serves the purpose of, again, providing essential information.

  5. Thanks for your insight and taking the time to comment Roger.

  6. Great article here, such a wealth of information.

  7. Jocelyne Saulnier says

    Great article… i like the way the agency categorizes the Portfolio section into Industry and Medium. It probably makes more sense for the client.

  8. Good point about promoting client business benefits vs. agency services. Many prospective clients will not even be familiar with marketing industry nomenclature. Using client business terminology not only makes the content more comprehensible to prospects; it makes it more likely they will find you via search engines.

  9. Michael Gass says

    Thanks for sharing your insights Austin.

  10. Michael Gass says

    Thank you Jocelyne.

  11. Michael Gass says

    Very much appreciated Dan. I’m glad to know my blog has been a help.

  12. Mike Ogden says

    I’m not seeing what you’re seeing in Off Madison Ave. I get the positioning but who’s the target audience? It’s the same build better brands storyline. Services are soup to nuts. Blog? Most recent one is Aug. 12, 2012. Help me out. I don’t get it.

%d bloggers like this: