No-Bullshit Expertise from Talented People – Meet Mass Impressions

Roll back time to the early 1990s and you’d find me in the direct marketing department of Sun Alliance’s personal insurance division, sending out literally millions of pieces of direct mail designed and written by one of the biggest and most respected marketing agencies of the time, WWAV, AKA Watson Ward Albert Varndell.
What fun it was. I’d travel to London regularly to visit the WWAV offices in Bayswater. I was only a junior marketer but I’d be taken out for lengthy, boozy and hugely expensive lunches at restaurants where celebs hung out. The client was well and truly king back then. The agency rarely, if ever, said ‘no’, and relentless schmoozing was the name of the game.
Those dysfunctional days, when a client merely had to lift a finger and the agency would come running, have gone, and the same goes for unlimited expense accounts. Today I’m thrilled to collaborate with a bunch of digital marketing and website design agencies that have an entirely different world view, one that chimes with the times and works in the client’s interest.
Take Mass Impressions in Oxford. I’ve been working with them for years and it’s an enlightening experience. They don’t do the ‘design and run’ thing, where a client needs a website, gets one designed then buggers off. They understand that longer term relationships are what matters, that a website is merely the start of the marketing process, a marker along the journey rather than the destination itself.
They’re not yes-men, either. They know that saying ‘yes’ to everything a client asks for isn’t a good idea. They value their own expertise and are confident enough in their abilities to put their foot down politely and firmly when a client asks for something unwise. They don’t do marketing bullshit either. They speak plainly, tell the truth and manage client expectations in a realistic manner. And they won’t break the bank taking you for a massive, expensive lunch then add the cost back onto your bill plus 15%. It all seems so much more grown up than the old days.
In Mass Impressions’ eyes, a relationship is a two way thing, an equitable thing. You can be as resource-rich as you like, but if your business model, attitude or expectations jar with the way they do things, they’ll politely send you away to find an agency whose culture suits you better. If I were a client that’s exactly what I’d want from an agency.
If you want ‘design and run’ creativity, don’t call Mass Impressions. If you want people who agree with everything you say even when it’s nonsense, don’t call Mass Impressions. On the other hand if you want to work closely with a bunch of talented people who adore what they do, always deliver the best advice and are not afraid to put you right when you veer off-piste, give them a bell.
If you want a genuine long term web design and marketing partner, an organisation that really does have your interests at heart, they’ll be chuffed to hear from you. And if you want a stunningly good-looking WordPress website that performs just as beautifully as it looks, built by people who have more marketing nous in their little finger than most designers have in their entire bodies, get in touch. Here’s a link to the Mass Impressions website.