AoR or À la Carte?

Think before you hold the onions.
À la carte can be great, but it doesn't always translate.

Choose wisely.

You like it à la carte? Then these are exciting times for you, neighbor, because you can get it à la carte.

And by “it” we mean just about everything. These are the days of ordering off the menu, and of selecting only those bits, bytes, and bargains that work for you. From your entertainment content to your purchased commodities, you’re empowered to skinny down your bill-of-goods to only those items you really want.

Nothing wrong with that, right?

Well, maybe. We’re most qualified and most comfortable talking about the marketing field, where we’ve seen the undeniable proliferation of à la carte empowerment. And although there’s nothing we like better than an empowered client, we must warn that the outcomes of à la carte marketing aren’t always what the clients go looking for.

Agency-based marketing, the traditional model, is about a lot more than advertising and business-card design. It’s about relationship-building. It’s a team of creative consultants and business-growth experts getting to know your company, becoming part of your team, and leveraging their skills, craft, and connections on your behalf.

On the à la carte side, you get freelancers and online print mills. You get low, low prices and fast turnaround. You get exactly what you ask for, nothing more and (hopefully) nothing less.

But you don’t get a relationship. You don’t get an Agency-of-Record to build the consistency and persistence which create marketing synergy. You don’t get motivated members to augment your team.

In this à la carte world, that choice is yours. No one can make it for you. Maybe, if you examine your marketing needs rationally and dispassionately, you’ll find that the no-frills, no-attachments providers are right for you. More power to you, we say.

On the other hand, perhaps you’ll see you need experience, tenacity, and collaboration. Maybe you’ll agree that you need a team.

If so, give us a call. We’ll show you how a collaborative agency creates a long-term marketing strategy. We’ll show how your business becomes our business.

And if you start missing that à la carte mindset, never fear. We’ll take you out for lunch; feel free to order off the menu.

The C4:

1. These are great days to be a consumer. Providers are gearing almost everything they sell for personalization, or for the à la carte buyer. “Don’t want the full dozen? Never fear — we’ll break bulk just for you.”
2. As cool as that is, we advise caution. À la carte isn’t for everyone. And it is not ideal for all industries.
3. Take marketing (please!). There’s no shortage of bargain-priced vendors. You can create business cards from online templates in minutes, and have them shipped in days, for a pittance. À la carte marketing is absolutely an option. You just need to ask yourself — is it the right option?
4. The value of the traditional Agency-of-Record is that it works. The business cards we create cost a bit more because they’re part of a synergistic whole. Your AoR builds marketing programs, geared to your business, monitored and managed in real time. You can’t get service like that à la carte, but we guarantee: You get all you pay for and more.