***OT****
No matter what the media, it's all in the ad cycle. I've lived through several.
I usually get an early warning when the ad cycle peaks, in that at the top customers are calling me using phrases like, "We need it now, money is no object." At the bottom (2002) they nickle and dime you to death, "We want it asap without any rush charges" and ask if it'll be cheaper if they get it smaller. At the bottom, they no longer have assistants, you call and get the principle in the firm. At the bottom, they offer to come over to your studio to pick it up because they don't want to use a messenger. At the top it's, "She's in a meeting, can I help you?" and "Can we get a super rush on the messenger?" At the top, they call you on a Sunday as if it's any other day in the week, they know you are in the studio, they don't even apologise for the call. At the bottom they say, anytime next week will be ok because I won't be in the studio for a few days.
At the bottom of the ad cycle magazines are thin, at the top they are so full of ads that you can't find the editorial material and my friends at magazines are praying for a recession so they can get a day off. The last peak was 2000, the bottom 2002-3. If I had to guess, I'd say we're mid-cycle. |
