The Charge (marketing)

Make the critical connection. We’ll help you create and execute a plan that delivers measurable results. Good marketers build on success and capitalize on experience. We’ll help you do both. From single promotions to full campaigns, we can engineer a grid of messaging and media to power your success.

The S.P.A.R.K. Process

One of the questions asked most often of advertising agencies is how they do what they do. Often, advertising is thought to involve more imagination and improvisation than proven process. So, it’s natural for clients to look for reassurance that an agency actually has a plan for delivering on its promises.

At Redstone, we call that plan the S.P.A.R.K. Process. It’s a proprietary
program we developed to help make sure every client receives the biggest return on their marketing investment.

“Most marketers today don’t want their agency to be a black box where money goes in and ads come out,” says Gail Johnston, Client Relations V.P. “At Redstone, we’ve created an efficient way to get the client involved in the process right from the beginning.”

The first three letters in S.P.A.R.K. refer to Situation, Product(s) and Audience.

These three subjects become the focus of an upfront investigation of the client’s overall marketing environment. Redstone begins by bringing together key client and agency staff for a structured discussion facilitated by one of the agency’s senior account managers.

“It’s amazing to see what happens,” says Sandy Douglas, New Business Representative. “The structure of these meetings often brings out ‘aha’ moments for the clients, too. They get a chance to look at things that seem very familiar to them from all new angles.”

With respect to Situation, Redstone systematically examines both internal and external factors affecting the client’s marketing. What are current sales? What has and hasn’t been working? What is changing? Who are the competitors? What is the market climate? These questions and others are examined from a number of perspectives.

Discussion of Products is a natural outgrowth of the Situation analysis. Here we critically study a client’s products. As a partner and advocate for our client, we not only have to know about a product’s features, but also be convinced it has real value for its users. To get to these important insights, Redstone looks at how and why each product was developed, how it stacks up against the competition, and the role it plays in the client’s overall business model.

Audience is the final key factor. Redstone works with the client to define target audiences. We examine their current perceptions and spell out how we want to influence those perceptions. We uncover their motivations and decide on the appropriate media to deliver our motivating messages. Finally, we match up each product with appropriate audience segments and rank our points of greatest leverage. Occasionally, we find that there are serious gaps in the data the client has collected on customers and prospects. In these instances, Redstone is able to design research to fill in critical blanks.

After the information in the first three steps is gathered, distilled, presented to and approved by the client, the next step is Reach. This is the action part of the Redstone action plan. Here, we define appropriate messaging, produce memorable creative executions and begin the process of reaching out to our audiences. We select appropriate vehicles and media to deliver our message – print, broadcast, direct mail, e-marketing, PR, etc. Finally, we strategically allocate resources according to the priorities we defined earlier.

Bringing the process full circle is Knowledge Synthesis. Together with our client, we measure how far our efforts have “moved the needle” with regard to key metrics. Have we accomplished what we set out to? This final analysis helps us determine the best possible next steps.

By working through this process, Redstone clients are assured that the agency is a real partner in their marketing efforts. The business process is defined and proven and uncomfortable leaps of faith are kept to a minimum. Best of all, the process creates a strong base for innovative and on-target creative ... something else at Redstone that has a “spark” all its own.