Cleveland's Advertising, Mar-com Industry

For those college students who think that if they want a career in advertising they have to move to Chicago or New York... you are wrong! We, meaning Cleveland, finally have the stats to prove Cleveland has a strong marketing-communications industry.

According to this article by The Plain Dealer, our industry employs more than 39,000 people in Northeast Ohio! You'll be shocked by the other stats as our industry is larger than any other industry in Cleveland. Yes, it out-ranks manufacturing, transportation, etc.

Thanks to Dick Clough and the Northeast Ohio Communication Advocates (NOCA) along with The Plain Dealer for conducting the research!

For more local advertising information, check out American Advertising Federation-Cleveland's new website: www.aafcleveland.com.

~ Michelle Hirsh, Felber & Felber Marketing

Something to hold close

If you had asked us, last quarter, "what will be the most popular service being requested from our firm during a recession", I would have told you it will be public relations. Although a slow burn, with the time it takes to build editorial relationships, story interest and content, for all that, publicity can and should be a more cost effective investment.

So, as we near the end of the first quarter of the recession to end all recessions (you heard it here first!), what are our client projects? Well, surprisingly, we are seeing a greater interest in direct mail, targeted dimensional promotion, print advertising, web and social media. Yes, we are very surprised! Except for web and social media, the rest of these projects are physical. You can touch and feel direct mail and graphic design elements. My only thought is that these are tangible. People are feeling more comfort in the products and services that provide a physical presence. PR is not dead by any means. It can and should be measured. Perhaps we will see a renewed interest as the economy improves.

What are you working on? Are you seeing the same phenomena?