If you work in advertising, you know that your agency is never working with just one client at any given time (or you wouldn’t be an agency). The ability to switch gears on-demand from client to client requires that you constantly tailor your marketing strategies to a different target audience.

And with each client, there is an expectation that the advertiser must address the target audience through the constant generation of creative ideas. While an idea can come from anyone, understanding what works through daily trial and error only makes you better.

Some ad agencies work with only a certain type of client, such as a pharmaceutical agency. But the advertisers that operate like Promotion LA tend to have a highly diverse clientele in areas ranging from fine dining and landscape architecture to fitness and cosmetics. This experience preparing creative ideas for a wide range of industries makes Promotion LA better prepared to handle whatever challenges come our way.

The Flow of Creative Ideas can Usually Permeate from Medium to Medium

In the case of commercial director Theodore Melfi, working with many unique brand campaigns helped prepare him for directing his first feature film. Melfi compares the practice of commercial directing with getting creative exercise, saying that directing commercials is “the best film gym in the world.” His critically-acclaimed film St. Vincent recently played at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival and stars Bill Murray.

Melfi credits his success story to constantly working on creative ideas. The 30-second “short films” give Melfi the ability to focus on simple ideas in a variety of ways. Melfi further elaborated that because he filmed, dogs, fight scenes, stunts and various technical setups while filming commercials, there was seemingly nothing he wasn’t prepared for.

While Melfi’s story is unique, many filmmakers like David Fincher and Spike Jonze got their start directing commercials for big brands. For advertising agencies, the last decade has seen a surge in digital advertising, meaning that advertisers had to transition their talents from traditional media into floating ads, viral videos and mobile applications. Inspiration for creative ideas can come from a book you’ve read, a story you heard on the news or a real-life occurrence. In the case of advertisers, the more people we do work for, the better equipped we are to offer creative ideas for our newest client. While it is never good to have too many clients, having the right amount with a strong mix of diversity prepares your agency for any situation.