Nehlsen Notebook

I can’t wait for the next 37 years

By Nancy Nehlsen  7.1.09

Things have changed a bit since I started this business in 1972.  We didn’t have computers then.  We had a Corolla and carbon paper, which meant you never had a clean copy of any document you gave a client.  Ad copy was typed onto typing paper and sent to a typesetter, who set the type on large sheets of paper and sent it back to you to glue onto a board that would be photographed by a printer.  There was no fax machine.  If you wanted to communicate with a client you drove to their offices and sat down in front of them.

There was no web, no Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.  There were three TV networks, three radio stations (rock, religious and classical), and newspapers.  Media strategies consisted of determining which broadcast programs were most popular and purchasing time in them, then buying the largest newspaper ad the client could afford to support the broadcast buy.

Keeping up has been work.  A lot of work.  But I’ve been fortunate.  Along the way I have been blessed with a staff of younger designers, PR experts, web developers and researchers who smile at me condescendingly as they try to teach me how to Tweet and explain why it’s important that Oprah is now my friend on Facebook.  Where I once employed a single media buyer to handle all client media strategies, I now have a guerilla marketing expert, a social networking expert, and a web marketing strategist.

This is an exciting era in marketing.  As much as I miss my Corolla, I am fascinated by the speed with which we can implement an integrated marketing strategy, not just locally, but worldwide.  I am totally awed by what we do with Photoshop.  I marvel at how we produce radio and TV commercials and send them all over the country without UPS.  It’s a whole new world of marketing, and the tools we have today are limitless. 

With technology and talent Nehlsen Communications has withstood the test of time.  I’m proud of what we have done, of the talented crew I have today and the status of clients we work with.  It’s been quite a ride so far – I can’t wait for the next 37 years.

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