Do I really need an ad agency?

I hear this question a lot, perhaps too much, but given the economic climate it is understandable, we are all questioning everything and re-writing the way business is being conducted.

To answer this I will turn to a sports analogy that is very familiar to me and I feel answers the question as good, if not better than just about anything else:

I grew up sailing, as a young child I spent hours in a boat learning to read wind and feel shifts, and as I got better, sailing progressed to racing sailboats. I had to learn how to strategize, make decisions and react all while maintaining control of my little boat. I made mistakes that cost me races but I learned and moved forward. With time I got better and the boats got bigger, so did the races, the competition and the stakes. Now, instead of just me and a small boat I find myself at the helm of a much larger and significantly more complicated yacht. I have a full crew, all with very specific, focused jobs and all depending on me to drive the boat fast and safe from start to finish.  I still have to read the wind, feel the shifts and make decisions all of which can affect the final outcome of what we set out to do but in addition, I now have to keep an eye on the crew.

This is where my tactician comes in…

In the world of yacht racing, when you reach a certain level, there is a person on board know as a tactician. While the skipper is busy driving the boat the tactician stands aft and watches the entire race unfold, he sees it all, the competition, clean lines to the mark, and possible problems. The tactician relays all this information to the skipper so better decisions can be made, and as with most things in life, the better the decisions, the better the results.

So to bring us back to a small to mid sized business owner asking if they need an agency or not is not a yes or no answer but as someone that has been there I can tell you, it is a lot easier to drive the boat, go fast and win races with a good tactician behind you working with your best interest in mind.