Agency thrives on variety

David Baker of Baker & Associates Advertising Inc., 3963 Eldorado, believes he has "the greatest job around."

Whether others would agree, for Baker, the job is certainly great enough to motivate him to keep marching his advertising agency along to its own distinctive drummer.

Baker & Associates stands out as an ad agency in part because, as Baker put it, "Some ad agencies specialize in food, some in automotive. We specialize in variety. We have one client from each category ... so we have a lot of variety in the business."

Baker purposely keeps his client list short. "At one time we were going to have a baker's dozen of 13 accounts and grow each of those accounts rather than add new ones. The theory pretty well held true, except that we have 20 accounts now."

Because the agency makes sure clients are from different types of businesses, the client list is like "a little economic index," Baker said. "Car sales might be down and jeans sales up."

Several accounts have been with the agency for years: The Carpet Barn, 29 years; Great Southern Bank, 22 years; and St. John's Regional Health Center, 14 years. Clients representing other categories include Brashears Furniture, Busy Bee Department Store, Heintz Lighting Center, Jones & Company Realtors, Ozark Fitness Centers, Ozark Dodge Inc., Plaza Shoe Store Inc., and the Rolla Chamber of Commerce. The agency also occasionally works with the city of Springfield.

Baker pretty much "grew up" in the advertising agency business, he said, starting out by working summers "running an old A.B. Dick printing press" for his father, Ned Baker.

The elder Baker and Larry Dixon incorporated Dixon-Baker Advertising in 1963, Baker said. "My dad was the photographer at the newspaper. Larry Dixon was the anchor at KYTV. The two of them quit their jobs to start the ad agency. They didn't even have agency commissions in Springfield at the time. They kind of pioneered the idea of ad agencies in Springfield."

Ned Baker and Dixon later split amicably and went their own individual directions, Ned Baker starting Baker & Associates Advertising Inc.

When David Baker went to college, he said, he enrolled in the University of Missouri School of Journalism. He described his education as a "practicum-type of education" and "very hands-on" For example, he covered the police beat for the Columbia Missourian newspaper.

Baker graduated in 1972 and returned to Springfield to work in his father's agency.

Entering advertising may have been the logical move, but it wasn't his first choice.

"In high school I was always into writing. I was going to write the great American novel. The last thing I wanted to do was come back in a nepotism deal, but I got married, so I moved down here and took the job," he said.

When his father passed away in 1977, Baker took over the operation of the agency. "There's a lot of problem-solving; it's challenging and competitive," he said. "Every day it's a different day. Every client has a different set of problems."

In recent years, unlike many agencies, the firm has declined to submit any of its ad campaigns for award consideration, although Baker himself won Best of Show Copy Writer in 1979 and the Pontiac Golden Crest Award in 1985. "Awards are not my strong suit," he said. "We generally trash the call-for-entries forms. Our reward is in client growth ... that's where we get our long-term tenure."

Baker's view of the advertising business at large is not altogether laudatory. "Over the years I've seen the purity of the local ad businesses dilute," he said. "Today we have firms who do media buying and their loyalties are with the media, not the advertiser. They get rebates from the media. It's sales, not an ad agency."

He also feels that "It's not ethical to handle competitors. By definition, an ad agency is an extension of a company's marketing department. It's like being an employee, and we're a loyal one. You can share your competitive secrets with a real ad agency. There's trust. Without that trust, you're better off buying advertising direct. The distinction is ethics. I think I'm the old school."

Baker describes his agency as deliberately small. "The concept of bigger is better applies to all our clients, but not necessarily to us," he said.

At one time, Baker's staff numbered 12; however, he said he found himself having to concentrate on "administering and delegating all the fun stuff to hungry mouths."

To solve the problem, he cut the staff to a core group of six people."

Baker calls his staff "a team of versatile, top-notch, underpaid specialists in copy, media buying, art and audiovisuals." They all wear several different hats, he added.

"Our computer geek is also a great concept person and designer, our art director can't spell but writes better headlines than the copy writer. The media buyer, just for fun, operates the cash register on busy weekends. I had to buy the receptionist a computer graphics station because she couldn't keep her hands off mine," he said.

Baker himself writes copy and does photography, audio recording, and some computer layout, directs video, and also is the principal client contact.

One aspect of having a small team, Baker said, is a personal touch.

Everyone on staff knows about every project and so when clients call they are comfortable speaking to whomever answers the phone.

The agency counts on continuing to be competitive for a long time to come, Baker said. "The Yellow Pages lists about 30 ad agencies every year, but about half are new listings. Being fresh, with experience, counts a great deal more."

Baker's favorite part of the job and the element likely to keep him in the ad game, he said is variety.

"I don't know what I'll be doing each day. Some days I spend writing copy, some days I'm playing photographer, producing a TV spot or designing a print flyer. The job changes so much it's impossible to get bored. I've been doing it almost 30 years and it's still a delight to come to work every day," he said.