Let's Talk About Us
Long Advertising was founded in 1990 by Richard J. Long, formerly the creative director of a small New York
based agency, specializing in trade advertising. At first, we worked
only in the business to business field, handling the advertising, collateral,
direct mail, PR and strategic marketing needs for predominantly Fortune
500 industrial companies. Over the years we gradually moved into consumer
advertising. Our current client mix is about two thirds trade to one
third consumer.
Long Advertising is a full
service agency. We do the creative (and the majority of production work)
in-house for the full range of advertising media. This includes; print
ads, radio, television, outdoor (billboards, transit posters, etc.), corporate
video, direct mail, fund raising, collateral material, sales kits, presentations, corporate ID, trade shows, websites... you name it, we do it.
We also do a great deal of
consulting work, centering mostly around strategic marketing and positioning
issues. We do some market research and public relations work, but mostly
farm those out to our associates. We place most of the print media ourselves,
but work with some of the top media buying services for broadcast and
outdoor buys, both regionally in the tri-state area and nationally and
internationally.
Why Long?
Why go to Long Advertising as opposed to the other gazillion agencies out there? Here's why:
Creative
We are absolutely committed to the quality of our creative product.
We look at every job as another opportunity to push the limits of our
own talent and reach higher and higher levels of kick your butt creativity
that sells product. We've won a number of national advertising awards
for our creative work, so the commitment appears to be paying off.
Strategy
We are as committed to the marketing strategy behind the creative as we are to the creative. You won't see any shock-for-the-sake- of-shock schlock coming out of our shop. If it's not in line with the positioning statement, it's not on the table.
Service
This is a biggy. When you take a look at the first two points, you could
reasonably argue that most of the larger ad agencies deliver fairly
well on the creative and strategic mission (although some exceptions
come to mind). But what we keep hearing from our BIG Fortune 500 clients
is that the BIG advertising agencies (they used to work with) were not
giving them access to their top creative people, were not pro-active
in advising them on dangers and opportunities, were not involved in
their day to day real life business challenges and were not giving them
the hand holding, damage control and consulting service they deserved.
And so they came to us. And from the letters we get, they seem to be
pretty happy about it.
Areas of Expertise
Even though we've consistently
shown that a small shop can deliver the same range of services as the
big boys, it pays to have a few aces up your sleeves. Here's ours:
Business to Business
This is where we started, where we grew and where we still do a better
job than the vast majority of agencies that specialize in trade advertising.
What makes us so good? Long ago, we came to the amazingly obvious conclusion
that business people (from the President right down to the Purchasing
Manager) need to be captivated, entertained and compelled to make a
purchase in much the same way as consumers. Wow, what a concept! Sure,
you'll always need some hard facts for the engineers out there, but
there's no reason why they can't be conveyed with humor and drama and
power. So we make ads that get noticed, get remembered and get results.
We've worked with some of the largest (and most conservative) corporations
in the world...and guess what?
A) They know a good ad when they see one.
B) They even have the guts to run them.
Radio Ads
First class, knock 'em dead creative with mind blowing state of the art sound design. Winners of numerous national awards including a Silver Microphone award for best copy writing in all ads / all categories submitted
nationally for our Car Cash campaign. We'll stack up our radio ads,
both for writing and production values against any agency, anywhere,
anytime. And we do jingles too!
Sales Videos
Top notch production values coupled with the same expertise we bring
to our direct mail letter writing. Do you know what most production
houses forget about when they put together a corporate video script?
The beginning, the middle and the end.
Our skill in formulating the most convincing and persuasive direct mail
arguments (we write the recruitment letters for the Direct Marketing
Association) is channeled into crafting video's that grab you, hold
you and won't let you go.
Print ads
We've been doing it since we learned to walk. And they keep getting
better and better. They sell product, they entertain, they get remembered.
What more do you want?
Outdoor billboards
We love doing outdoor. It's fun and funny and eye-catching and traffic
stopping. We've won lots of awards and we want lots more of this work
... OK?
Point of Purchase/Poster design
More fun for us and for our clients. Every time we show the retro-art-deco
posters we've done for International Paper on a sales call, we get requests
for copies ... so they can frame them!
Consulting
We help our clients get waaaaay outside the box and offer up practical,
hard-nosed battle plans. We have exceptional skills in all phases of
strategic marketing and have a special flair for positioning, branding
and corporate ID. Long and Associates can lay out more money-making,
money-saving, check-mate winning advice in one hour than you might get
all year from the other big shot consulting firms.
Ten More Reasons
Talent
You want it. We've got it. Spend a little time with us and you'll see it. Spend a little money with us and you'll have it.
Brains
We learn fast and we mean FAST. Our experience, intelligence and on the fly marketing savvy slashes our education curve to half the time it takes most agencies to get cozy with your people, your market and the challenges you face. This saves you time and money. Lots.
Brawn
We dig in fast and muscle our way through the biggest projects in record breaking time. If we had to count the number of times we've had to create 24 hour start-to-finish ads, we'd run out of fingers and toes (of course you have to pay for that kind of turnaround, so don't get your hopes up too far).
Proactive
We don't sit around waiting for you to come and tell us that you need
a new ad for the Sunday paper. We make it our business to come to
you with new ideas and strategies. And when we see a new
opportunity that could make you lots of money, we make sure you
get the news before the competition.
Comprehensive Organization and Implementation
Sounds fancy but it couldn't be more simple: we have the ability not
only to see the big picture, but create the big picture and then
oversee, organize and orchestrate every component in the plan.
Partnerships
Time and again we've demonstrated an ability to identify desirable
marketing partners for co-operative ventures and put a winning deal
together. We're extremely skilled at negotiating (saving you lots of
nasty legal fees) and putting together a package that makes both
sides happy (with the emphasis on your side). There's some good
stories here, so ask about them.
Straight Shooters, Team Players
If you're looking for hinge-neck 'yes men', look further. If you want a
marketing partner that won't lie to you, you've come to the right
place. We tell you what we think and we tell you when we don't
agree, but keep this in mind; ultimately it's your work and your
money. So like the good soldiers we are, we go out and get the job
done...without all the whines and snickers. Well, a few whines,
maybe.
Cost Effective
We're used to working with tight budgets. In fact, we can't remember
a time when advertisers had loose budgets. If you compare our
prices with the big agencies, you'll be grinning from ear to ear. If you
compare our prices to other small agencies, you'll...well you'll still
be smiling. Not because we're cheap...we're not...but because you
can't get what we offer from other small agencies at twice the price.
Hands On
With bigger agencies, the top brass might come out for the
presentation (more likely the contract signing), then as soon as the
ink is dry, you find yourself in the hands of Junior AEs and Junior
creatives doing Junior-class work. You're left wondering, "What
happened to all the beautiful stuff I saw in the portfolio?" and more
importantly, "What happened to all my money?" We give you access
to all the top people for every phase of every project, from the core
strategy to the color approvals.
Location, Location, Location.
New York, New York, a helluva town. Our offices, in the cast-iron
landmark 'Little Singer Building' are right in the heart of downtown
Soho. It's a pleasure meeting with us here or lunching at the fine
restaurants nearby. Fun and comfort aside, our location gives us
access to the most talented professionals in the world.
Photography, illustration, film, video, audio...all the people that do it
best...do it in New York. And if you're looking to form some joint
marketing ventures, chances are, your new partners are working
here too.