WAY·NIK Works' Agency Creed
What we believe & know to be true about branding, marketing, and advertising
WAY·NIK Works approaches our profession with an open mind, a desire to learn new things, and a readiness to engage in respectful debate about what works best in marketing and advertising. Our firm's guiding principles are as follows:
First, do no harm
We believe that the Hippocratic Oath is not just for doctors. Every marketer should take this ethical oath as well.
Respect the brand
Our role is that of your brand’s custodian. To move your brand forward, we must honor its history and heritage. Our job is not to tinker and put our stamp on every little thing.
Don’t believe the hype
The “old” ways of marketing are not dead. Digital hasn’t killed mass media. What's more, consumers remain fairly predictable.
Know thy customer
You must let go of your own beliefs, biases, and interests in order to properly market your products or services. Instead, speak to the customer in the language of the customer about what matters to the customer.
Seek fame
Pound-for-pound, nothing fuels long-term brand building and profitable growth more than fame-creating advertising campaigns.
Effective marketing demands that your brand be easy to think of and easy to buy. Period.
Reach trumps targeting
A broad-reach advertising campaign that targets ALL buyers in the market delivers the most efficient brand growth.
Distinctiveness matters more
Marketers overstate the importance of differentiation. Distinctiveness—how your brand looks like itself and stands out from the crowd—is far more important and easy to achieve.
Be recognizable
Creating a tight “palette” of distinctive brand codes is how you stand out in a noisy world and make people take notice. But don’t half-step things here. Instead, codify everything to ensure your brand remains appealing, memorable, and always top of mind.
Win the admiration and applause of your audience
People should find your ads interesting and enjoyable. Creating positive feelings and associations will cause people to favor and choose your brand above the competition.
Creativity matters in advertising (and it happens to matter a lot)
Humor, metaphor, characters, dialogue, and drama lie at the heart of every memorable ad campaign.
Go BIG!
Marketing is mostly a numbers game. Brands with a high share of voice relative to their size tend to grow, while those with a low share of voice tend to shrink.
Be consistent
An audience must stay reached as a well-manicured lawn stays mowed. Campaigns using long-term repeat exposure and “always-on” advertising campaigns are much more effective than short, sporadic bursts.
Short-termism stunts brand growth
Achieve a balance between long-term brand building and short-term sales activation. A 60/40 split typically delivers maximum effectiveness.
Loyalty IS mostly a myth
Consumers are generally promiscuous and buy from a repertoire of brands. Brands grow by acquiring new customers rather than retaining existing ones. Research proves that loyalty is a function of brand size. The greater your market share, the more loyal your customers are to your brand.
The media mix multiplier is NOT a myth
Generally speaking, the more media vehicles (i.e., TV, radio, billboard, etc.) you use to deliver your message, the more effective your ad campaign will become. Sadly, your marketing budget will have a lot to say about how you allocate your ad dollars.
Research must inform NOT replace
When done correctly, research should guide your strategic and creative choices. That said, the role of research in brand building must remain secondary. Never allow data to replace, cloud, or suffocate creativity.
We believe in courageous operators
The market rewards the brave and favors brands that reject the herd mentality of the category.
Ready to supercharge your brand's growth?
Shoot us an email and we can chat about what service makes the most sense for where you want to go.