From the Ashes...

Two thousand and nine started out great, but the last two weeks we have begun to see things slow down with our existing clients as a result of the economic recession we are facing.

I believe we are in a pretty good position to weather the storm, our pricing is still well below the majority of competing advertising agencies and we operate very efficiently. But, this position is only good if we have work to do and clients to do it for.

Luckily, we have a terrific reputation in the marketplace and finding new customers has never been hard... it's never been a focus though, until recently.

Aside from some minor technical challenges that have plagued us recently (accounting system crash + bosses system crash = lot's of wasted time) we have still managed to bring in some new clients in the first quarter. New clients are great for a number of reasons: they invigorate staff, stimulate fresh thought and give us new projects to focus on.

Now, more than ever, is a great time to be a new client, believe me on this. Here's why: when I first set out to create Francomedia, my vision was to provide clients with a professional team to offer a creative approach to their projects and as we grew (doubled twice in two years), we slowly became more deadline focused and had little time to collaborate and flush out ideas to their fullest potential. Now, don't get me wrong, we still did great work, we were just unable to put an entire team on every thought. As we slow down with our existing clientele, we have more time to work together again on projects/issues, for new clients and for existing clients. We can 'blue sky' everything and will - removing the boundaries on creative thought is what got us to where we are today and a renewed focus on creative approaches will be just what our clients are looking for in this economy.

It's also a good time to be an existing client of Francomedia, for many of the same reasons. Our staff are very familiar with your brand and your market position, believe me when I say, just because we're not working on something for you at the moment does not mean you are not being discussed and thought of on a regular basis. We are always uncovering opportunities and pitch ideas internally and this is a direct result of a understanding your goals and objectives as a client.

So, here we are, back into problem solving mode, creative ideas will abound and focusing on what we are best at will generate the results our clients are looking for. Each of our staff are very talented in different areas, I didn't just hire them to make me look good, I hired them to make our clients look good - and they never disappoint.

I am excited about this spring and the influx of new work as well as a renewed focus on our existing customers.

We are happy to be working with the following new clients: Noise Solutions, Laura Schlosser Real Estate, Beautiful Blooms and the United Nations (Calgary). Welcome to Francomedia.