Chicago: Creative Agencies

In Chicago, creative agencies are practically a dime a dozen. They all make similar claims, and they all offer similar services, from website development to guerilla marketing. Chicago creatives starting their careers at major agencies all believe the same thing: someday, they think, they'll start their own agencies, where they will break out from the restrictive atmosphere found at large Chicago creative agencies, and do things their own way.

The problem is, too many start-up agencies never take the time to learn the fundamentals of traditional advertising that underpin truly successful campaigns. The result: a proliferation of small Chicago creative agencies whose knowledge is a mile wide but an inch deep, and whose work lacks the insight and strategy required to motivate customers and make a positive impact on their clients' business. It's all style, no substance.

Plan B is different. Collectively, our team members have decades of experience working at some of the largest and most respected Chicago creative agencies-agencies whose names are synonymous with America's best-known brands. The deep understanding we've developed through years of experience informs everything we do, and helps us avoid "flavor of the month" trends, and create campaigns that actually attract customers, rather than merely chasing them.

Take, for example, our approach to guerilla marketing. Chicago creative agencies jumped hard on that bandwagon when the guerilla marketing trend emerged a few years ago. The result: campaigns that incorporated guerilla marketing tactics indiscriminately, often inappropriately hitched to products and brands that would have benefited from a more measured, strategic approach.

Many companies then experienced the downside of guerilla marketing. Chicago and other major urban areas suddenly became awash in silly sidewalk paintings and pre-printed sticky notes, leading to fines and arrests for littering and vandalism. The "2007 Mooninite Scare" that shut down expressways in Boston, and generated police responses in San Francisco, Chicago and elsewhere, is a perfect example of guerilla marketing run amok-and it cost the client millions to compensate the government for the chaos that ensued.

Just like with everything we do, Plan B approaches guerilla marketing with an eye toward our ultimate goal: to move our clients' businesses forward. We believe that "shock value," in and of itself, isn't helpful unless it is used judiciously and appropriately, in service of a smart overriding strategy, and in harmony with the client's brand. Yes, it's always important to capture customers' attention. But what's far more important is how you connect with those customers once they're paying attention. That's just advertising 101, and it applies to everything we do.

Call it guerilla marketing: Chicago style. Or just call it Plan B.