What do clients really do?

After a career spent in advertising, I recently crossed over to be a marketing director. Here are five findings some of you might recognize and others might appreciate. First, there's more to marketing than advertising. There is a whole world away from the agency and it revolves around such mundane but essential activities as working out what to make, sourcing it, pricing it, packaging it, telling staff, dealers and distributors how to sell it or repair it. Second, ideas are cheap. Third, change is a way of life. Fourth, bring the organization with you. Finally, cost is a constant preoccupation. There is an almost obsessive focus on year-on-year cost reduction in every area of business. There is a chronic oversupply - although not necessarily of quality - and agencies need to change in the way other businesses have to.