Philosophy
"To pursue what is true and practice what is good are the two most important objects of philosophy" — Voltaire
A simple belief in delivering quality work
Over the years advertising's reputation has suffered greatly. Sometimes at the hands of unscrupulous agencies eager to pick the pockets of their unsuspecting clients. Other times by foisting on the public bad ads that confuse, irritate and alienate potential customers. Sure, some agencies may win awards for their creative brilliance, engineering prowess and amazing special effects. And in their quest to achieve recognition for their technological wizardry they have forgotten their main objective - to increase sales for their clients. But what's even worse is that countless companies have allowed themselves to be seduced by these slick agencies' and their awards. They clamor with enamor at the glamour; the smoke and mirrors; the shock and awe of it all. These agencies offer nothing but optical illusion and little in the way of substance. Company sales don't increase, revenues are down and their advertising costs are rising. Unfortunately many businesses don't realize it until it's too late. Now that doesn't mean to say all flashy ads are bad. To the contrary, some are incredibly successful. And even well crafted advertising and marketing can fail to induce the public to buy something they don't want or even need. However, I believe good advertising and marketing are more than just about increasing sales. They should enlighten, educate, enrich, edify and even entertain. This in turn can entice people to want to try a company's product or service even if they don't need it. Once they try it they might like it and voila! a customer is born. Often this takes time and can't be achieved overnight. But many enterprises have unrealistic expectations from their advertising and marketing. They demand immediate results or they will go elsewhere. This kind of attitude does a disservice to their agency and themselves. I've heard some so called 'advertising gurus' say that "you can't make someone buy something they don't want." Well, it happens to people all the time. They may not "want" to get a new muffler but they "want" to avoid getting a ticket, so they get a new one installed. Then there are those who believe that good advertising and marketing should be able to sell refrigerators to Eskimos. But it's not a question of "can you sell them refrigerators?" The pertinent question is "should you?" There's a world of difference between meeting a need and fostering greed. It all comes down to a matter of ethics. A man lives by what he believes and in doing so he reaps what he sows, good or bad. I believe advertising is vying to be known as the fifth estate. As professional marketers we walk a fine line of selling clients wares while maintaining a critical eye of what is best for the consumer of those wares. There are much more important things at stake than simply money. Our reputation and that of our clients are on the line. We are risking our honesty, integrity, believability, trustworthiness and our very name. So we have a duty to our clients, ourselves and the buying public to paint as accurate a picture as possible. But whatever our client's canvas may be we can use the palette of ingenuity, creativity and imagination to give their portrait its unique appeal. Also, there is this insipid drive to get the job done as fast as possible, so they can squeeze out more productivity and ring in more dollars. Don't worry about whether that productivity is shoddy, shabby and shortsighted, just keep that cash comin'. The fact of the matter is good creative can't be rushed. It must be cultivated, nurtured, developed, encouraged and supported at its own pace. Some people are faster than others, require different stimuli, excel in one area over another etc. Haste usually turns out poor quality work. The ad world is rife with it. If a client comes to me saying they need the work like "yesterday", then they should have come to me last week. There is no way I am going to sacrifice my quality standards because of their poor management skills. As the owner of Styker International it is my top priority to advise my clients on the best methods to achieve their goals. It's my job and I take my job very seriously. My client's success is my success. I empathize with my clients. If they suffer a setback or loss it affects me too. Our relationship is dependent on each other, so I strive to create the most effective advertising and marketing possible. Nothing is more rewarding than the praise from my clients for a job well done. Giving my clients the very best that my talent has to offer is the mission and philosophy of Styker International.