The U.S. election campaigns for the 2019-2020 cycle are predicted to involve a lot of spending on advertising. It is estimated that about a total of $6 billion will be spent on paid ad placements by the U.S federal office during this period.

The 2020 U.S. presidential election will, hence, bring a lot of complicated business opportunities for advertising agencies in the States. Everyone should expect competition between various advertising firms to be more rigorous than ever before. Politicians will be looking to influence as many people as possible through effective and large-scale campaign advertisements.

Amidst all of this, an advertising agency needs to be prepared to make the most of such seasonal opportunities. It needs to be in a stable position before tackling such situations. Any agency that runs in an organized manner, and has every area of its business figured out, will be better equipped to attract new clients during the 2019-2020 cycle and deal with RFPs.

Below are some of the few tips from experts in the advertising industry that can help ad agencies understand what to expect this upcoming season.

Deeply Understand the Clients’ Industry

This works in a very straightforward manner; better understanding of your potential and current clients helps in serving them in a more personalized manner. This simplistic idea should be at the core of every single ad agency, in order to develop a solid relationship with prospective clients.

This involves showing genuine interest in a client’s industry and business as a whole by doing research and staying updated about the latest news and trends. Knowledge about their industry will help you in communicating with your clients in a way that would speak directly to their wants and needs. It will also allow you to provide useful solutions for your clients’ pain points.

Attend Conferences

This marketing tactic for seasonal business opportunities can prove to be very effective. It may not bring significant results under normal circumstances, for most average-sized projects, but it surely can help advertising agencies in getting new seasonal (and probably longer-term) clients.

Attending conferences held by important people or those relevant to your target customers in any way can give you a stronger chance of interacting with them. This interaction has the potential to grant advertising agencies a chance to build healthy relationships with your prospective clients. For seasonal opportunities and events, such as meetings, conferences and other areas of interaction, these opportunities can be leveraged to generate electric first impressions.

Have a Committed and Devoted Team

What makes advertising agencies successful is a combined effort, just like any other business. However, here, teamwork and the value of teamwork play an immense role in selling new clients, especially during times of high business (seasonal) opportunities.

All departments of an advertising agency need to be integrated fully. One department that should specifically be working at its best, throughout and during a certain ‘season’, is the marketing department. Its efforts should be spot on to brand the agency in a way that adds positively to its reputation. A good reputation plays an essential role in earning referrals for the agency. And of course, as you probably know, referrals are one of the greatest drivers of new clients for any advertising agency.

Hence, it is extremely important to have skilled and experienced people on your team. It may also be wise to review this team before a ‘heavy business season’ commences.

Good Luck!

We hope this serves as a helpful resource to your agency business in 2020 and beyond. If you have any questions for anyone on our team, please don’t hesitate to reach out.