The website of Portland’s Rosey Awards takes a few jabs at the culture and creative output of other cities around the country. All in jest, but there are some nuggets of truth in the jabs.
So, in today’s connect-from-anywhere world, can you really do great advertising from anywhere?
Despite the rise of chain restaurants and strip malls, America is not as homogenous as you might think. I got reminded of that on a recent trip to the other side of the country. Regionalism still plays a large role in defining our culture. And even if the ad agencies in a smaller market have their tentacles out far and wide for new business, many clients still display a provincialism in their outlook that can creep into the advertising they seek from their agencies.
Outside the transient nature of the ad industry, where people move constantly, many people are perfectly content to live and work in or near the cities they grew up in. So there will always be regional agencies who have a deep knowledge of the businesses, cultures, and idiosyncrasies of their part of the country. They can, in many cases, deliver better, more effective work than an agency 1,000 miles away could.
It’s the subject of my new column on Talent Zoo.