Comments on: Dell Decides One Ad Agency Better Than… 800??

By: Brainify

Brainify — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 05:31:50 +0000

I have been looking through graphic design portfolios all day and Dell is coming up alot.

One of the main reasons big companies (e.g. Dell, KPMG etc.) hire lots of digital agencies is to capitalise on their business relationships – there is a good write up on this sort of thing here -

http://www.demonzmedia.com/DemonzBlog/?p=11

By: Tom Chandler

Tom Chandler — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 14:20:39 +0000

Give me a day, and I’ll find a way to blame that on Wordpress.

By: Victoria

Victoria — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 06:21:20 +0000

Dear fellow copywriter,
As a junior in this profession, I read your blog to be always posted. It’s very interesting, thank you. Typo (?) in the post above:
“While Dell’s situation was largerly it’s own making (…)”, just so you know.
Keep it up!

By: Tom Chandler

Tom Chandler — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 18:02:51 +0000

It’s likely the “single client agency” created for Dell will manage many of the existing agencies for them; an improvement in appearance, if not reality.

Still, I think a simple solution to Dell’s PR problems lies right here with this blog; they simply send a couple of us their latest, coolest laptops, and in return, we promise to rave endlessly about the Dell Dude.

By: Quality Doctor

Quality Doctor — Sat, 31 May 2008 08:16:32 +0000

Tom,

The pendulum swings, as Poe once wrote. I deal with Dell’s supply chain regularly, and that’s over 3500 firms. Talk about fragmentation! But that’s at least manageable. Over 800 ad firms, that’s not. Customers don’t see the supply side, but they clearly want a single voice and vision from the company they make large-ticket purchases from.

That said, I think it’s also a mistake to go to 1 agency, and drop 5% of revenue a year into it. I don’t know what the proper balance is, but I think this will lead to yet another round of “Dude” (or was it dud?) commercials.

Dell has other challenges as well, so streamlining on marketing is important. This economy may challenge all the computer companies to develop viable visions. Or we’ll all be buying ASUS or Lenovo soon…

By: Tom Chandler

Tom Chandler — Thu, 22 May 2008 14:40:13 +0000

Charles: I agree with you. When you’re buying into a PR agency, more often than not what you’re really getting is contacts, so getting the right agency makes sense.

Sarah: I’d say they pretty much failed on that front. The silver lining is they’re currently practically giving away PCs, so their failure is our gain…

Graham: Naughty.

By: Graham Strong

Graham Strong — Thu, 22 May 2008 12:58:43 +0000

Wow, after their 33rd round of cuts, they now have marketers than personnel in their customer service centres…

~Graham

By: Sarah McIver - The Global Copywriter

Sarah McIver - The Global Copywriter — Thu, 22 May 2008 11:11:33 +0000

I find it incredible that Dell stuck with up to 800 different agencies until now.

How can you possibly maintain your brand voice with 800 agencies all vying for their own brief second of recognition??

By: Charles Jacobs

Charles Jacobs — Wed, 21 May 2008 14:47:01 +0000

800 is a pretty sizable number, but I have to confess, I steer away from “one size fits all” PR firms. When I recognize that my promotions need a boost in a specific area,I cherrypick that segment from a firm that specializes in it. I’m just a little guy promoting a book with a budget that fits into Dell’s tiniest thimble. But my approach seems to work.