Bobbie Nuss of Nuss & Associates, Inc., a full-service advertising agency in Havertown, Pennsylvania ...certainly does.
Her Clients Agree...
Nuss & Associates are highly creative and effective in marketing our business. It’s a painless process with their expertise at the helm.
Herb Lewenthal
Kitchen and Bath Wholesalers
How Can You Get Yours,
Or a Foot in the Door?
Advertising Agency Owner
Bobbie Nuss Says,
Students pursuing a career in advertising might want to get involved in an internship. Internships are an invaluable source to help students get an inside peak at all the different aspects of an industry. It can help you narrow down which areas on which you might want to focus.
CAREER CHANGERS
You should probably be advised that you'll likely have to start at the bottom and work your way up. As long as you're willing to do that, you have a good chance at getting in on the ground floor and proving your talents from within. It's a competitive business, but talented people succeed!
You should probably be advised that you'll likely have to start at the bottom and work your way up. As long as you're willing to do that, you have a good chance at getting in on the ground floor and proving your talents from within. It's a competitive business, but talented people succeed!
AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL KNOWS...
Nuss & Associates, Inc. is the premiere advertising agency Tyra Banks' America's Next Top Model phones when Bare Feet Shoes sponsors their latest regional casting call. Just as it did for six seasons.
Nuss & Associates, Inc. is the premiere advertising agency Tyra Banks' America's Next Top Model phones when Bare Feet Shoes sponsors their latest regional casting call. Just as it did for six seasons.
I took my cues for today's exciting rewind of iCafe Woman Moderne's text-webisode from the advertising windfall campaign that produced $23.3 billion pounds in milk sales in the mid-nineties. Indeed, that's a lot of milk.
This clever campaign also increased advertising expenditures to $37.9 million from 1994 to 1995 after the first "Got Milk" commercial aired in October 29, 1993. Not too shabby, huh?
"Some like to make cutting remarks, but the words of the wise soothe and heal." Proverbs 12:18
Kiki, here ...we're delighted to welcome Bobbie Nuss, owner and president of Nuss & Associates, Inc. to iCafe Woman Moderne -- our jumping virtual cafe for women and girls inside an Art Moderne, midcentury modern home. Nuss & Associates is based in Havertown, Pennsylvania ... just 20 minutes from Philadelphia.
Virtual Cafe
Today, she's on the hot seat aka iCafe Woman Moderne's infamous interview sectional in our great room. And yes, we're both enjoying a DQ favorite, a Peanut Buster Parfait ...YUM!
ICWM
Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to join us today.
Bobbie Nuss
It's my pleasure, especially when one of my favorite DQ treats is involved.
ICWM
(laughing) Isn't that the truth. It's delicious! Tell us a little about your background. What led you to the advertising industry?
Bobbie Nuss
I was a Communications major at Cabrini College in Radnor, PA. My initial goal was to work on-air in either broadcast television or radio. However, I hadn't anticipated how competitive the industry was. To get my "foot in the door," I agreed to work in sales at WMMR Radio.
ICWM
Smart move!
Bobbie Nuss
A very smart move! That's where I was first exposed to advertising and decided that I really enjoyed it. I was always a "numbers' person" and enjoyed the research/ratings angle of the business.
(After - Airing Today)
ICWM
So you got bit by the media buying bug there.
Bobbie Nuss
That's right. I then moved on to my first job at an advertising agency and went into Media Buying, where a good part of your day is spent working with numbers -- negotiating rates, determining cost efficiency of different programming and different stations, etc.
I was happy to have been able to combine the fun and glamour of working in television and radio with my mathematical talent.
ICWM
It sounds like the perfect marriage of the two, which leads me to my next question. How and why did you start Nuss & Associates, Inc?
Bobbie Nuss
I started my advertising agency in 1984. As a media buyer at an advertising agency, I worked hand-in-hand with the account executives, servicing their accounts. When the agency I was working for lost some big accounts in 1984 and had to impose cutbacks, I unfortunately was one of the newer hires that was laid off.
A Full-Service Advertising Agency is Born
Bobbie Nuss - Cont'd.
One of the account executives I worked closely with decided that he wanted to break away from the agency, take his accounts with him and start his own agency. When he approached me with the idea of forming a partnership, I grabbed it, and as they say, the rest is history!
ICWM
What keeps you in this highly competitive business?
What keeps you in this highly competitive business?
Bobbie Nuss
What kept me in this business for all these years (over 28 years) is my love of what I do combined with my dedicated service to my clients. I treat my client's money as if it were my own. They get 100% of me, from their media buying to creative and everything in between.
ICWM
What skills are crucial to succeeding in this business?
Bobbie Nuss
There are many skills critical to succeeding in this business. However, one individual doesn't have to possess all the skills. You just have to know how to surround yourself with a network of talent.
Bobbie Nuss - Con'td.
I feel that my primary talent is negotiating, which is the core of what I do, but I am also heavily involved in all the creative work that goes through my agency. I also write and direct commercials. However, when certain projects are above my level of expertise, I don't hesitate to utilize outside sources to complete any project on which I might be working.
I feel that my primary talent is negotiating, which is the core of what I do, but I am also heavily involved in all the creative work that goes through my agency. I also write and direct commercials. However, when certain projects are above my level of expertise, I don't hesitate to utilize outside sources to complete any project on which I might be working.
ICWM
I know you love what you do, but what are the favorite aspects of your job?
Bobbie Nuss
My favorite aspect of my job is the "fun factor." It's a very competitive business that can sometimes get nasty, so if I didn't find it fun, I don't think I would continue to do it.
I've always loved television, and love researching and creating effective media schedules for my clients. I enjoy writing commercials, as well as producing them and bringing them to the screen or the airwaves.
ICWM
Advertising is a demanding business, but it's also very creative. Where do you get your inspiration?
Bobbie Nuss
I can't remember who, but someone who's famous in our industry once said that creativity is your ability to conceal your source. In other words, there are hardly any new ideas. You just kind of recycle creative. I get inspiration from watching TV commercials, listening to radio, taking note of billboards--I notice advertising everywhere I go, and a lot of my ideas are actually spurred by other advertising that I see.
Remember the Jello Pudding Commercials?
Remember the Jello Pudding Commercials?
Bobbie Nuss Cont'd.
I may take just a small piece of something I see and give it new twists and turns so that it's totally my own. Or I come up with some things, in the middle of the night, when my brain is quiet and turned off, ideas just pop into my head. That's why I keep a note book on my night table. I've had more creative ideas formulate in my head in the middle of the night than any other time of day.
ICWM
A large chunk of your business is media buying, what are some of those challenges and joys?
Media Buying Strategy
Media Buying Strategy
Bobbie Nuss
The main challenge of media buying is getting the best rate for your client, but at a rate that will actually run! For example, you can negotiate a very low ball rate for a client, but if it's too low, someone else may come along and offer more, and my client's advertising will get "bumped out" for the person paying the higher rate. The challenge is to negotiate the lowest rate possible that you think will safely run.
ICWM
What makes Nuss & Associates stand out from other full-service advertising agencies?
TV Media Buying -- Radio Media Buying
TV Media Buying -- Radio Media Buying
Bobbie Nuss
It may sound a little cliche, but I think that what makes my agency stand out is the personal service. Larger agencies have a dozen media buyers that just buy airtime "by the numbers."
Bobbie Nuss Cont'd.
It's just a mechanical process. A show does a certain rating, they're willing to pay so much per rating point, and that's how the media plan is completed. I give personal attention to the psycho-graphics of the intended customer base--what type of customer are we trying to get, not just by age, but by personal taste, lifestyles, etc. We put a lot of thought into our media buys so that it's not just a numbers game.
It's just a mechanical process. A show does a certain rating, they're willing to pay so much per rating point, and that's how the media plan is completed. I give personal attention to the psycho-graphics of the intended customer base--what type of customer are we trying to get, not just by age, but by personal taste, lifestyles, etc. We put a lot of thought into our media buys so that it's not just a numbers game.
ICWM
Bobbie Nuss
Bare Feet Shoes is a chain of shoe and clothing stores with most locations on the East Coast. We are the area's premiere spot for the auditions for America's Next Top Model. It's always a very successful campaign, since the Top Model audience is a perfect match for the 18-34 customer base, heavily African-American, for Bare Feet Shoes.
ICWM
Describe a productive day.
A productive day is when a client calls on a Monday to tell me what a great weekend it was for business. He increases his advertising budget accordingly, and I work on additional media exposure for him, and put together a comprehensive media plan, including creative, to continue to help his business grow.
ICWM
Finally, besides spending time at iCafe Woman Moderne, how do you relax?
(Bobbie and her daughter Ashley)
Bobbie Nuss
How do I relax? It's probably not surprising to hear that I love flea marketing. After all, the major portion of my job involves rate negotiations. That makes me a natural for the flea market scene!
How do I relax? It's probably not surprising to hear that I love flea marketing. After all, the major portion of my job involves rate negotiations. That makes me a natural for the flea market scene!
(HGTV's Cash and Cari)
I also love to bake, read and spend time with family and friends. My perfect day then, would involve reading through a cookbook, finding a great recipe and baking up something special, (in her beautiful french country kitchen) and then serving it up on an antique tray from a flea market find to my family and friends!
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