If you haven’t seen the new CarMax commercial featured during the Super Bowl, you simply won’t get the headline to my Blog post. Watch it here:

While CarMax uses the commercial to highlight customer service, I see it from a slightly different angle in support of the term “full service.” You know what I mean . . . you’ve been out there when it was snowing, cold and the icy wind was blowing while digging in your car’s change holder and console trying to find 4 quarters to stick into the air compressor at the gas station to put air into that pesky front tire that always seems to be low. Gas stations used to be called service stations. That was when full service meant full service with attendants pumping your gas, checking your oil, washing your windows and filling your window washer fluid. You never had to get out of your car! Not today. Good luck finding a gas station with a squeegee and some actual washer fluid by the pumps so you can wash your windows.

I believe in the full service model. Willow‘s business model was build on it. But much like the service station, our industry has moved away from the full service model. As a matter of fact, many tell me that the term alone is outdated, unfashionable and old school. I’m not buying it. I believe that fully integrated, or to use that old school term, full service agencies have to be the way forward for our industry. Having been in the business for 25 plus years and owned Willow for 19 years, I have seen a movement of firms to focus on narrow areas of specialization while we’ve continued to focus on integration and a full service offering. It seems only common sense that an integrated approach to marketing will be more effective and also more cost effective. You save on the duplication of creative effort, not to mention the risk of fragmented communications. And, we find our clients respect and appreciate the ability to one stop shop. It’s simply more effective for them to find the experience and talent they need under one roof.

Willow will continue to buck these so called trends. We will be committed to our roots and focus on being a full-service marketing firm offering our clients integrated resources to achieve their marketing goals. And no, we’re not trying to steal your engine.

What do you think? Is full-service marketing gone the way of the Service Station?

I was fortunate enough to schedule a few snow days last week. Snow days with some business associates (friends). They didn’t start out as friends…business brought us together, but bonds grew and friendships developed.

Our scheduled snow days were in beautiful Telluride, CO. I’ve made many trips to Colorado, but this was my first to Telluride. And it was awesome. Natural. Clean. Unspoiled.

The air was crisp and quiet. On several days, soft snow fell. The fluffy white flakes looked huge contrasted against the deep evergreen trees as they floated down from the crystal blue sky. There were several mornings where our skis were the first to make a mark on the freshly groomed slopes. It was easy to feel at one with nature. I found it all to be extremely peaceful. And big.

The great wide open spaces made everything seem bigger. Reality seemed bigger. Day dreams seemed bigger. Ideas seemed bigger. It seemed as though the sky really was the limit and I found myself not only thinking bigger, but believing bigger.

The great wide open…where everything’s bigger. Where visions are crisper and ideas sharper and minds are open like the views from the mountain tops. All so startling, yet ever so refreshing. What a great way to start the new year…thinking bigger…believing bigger.

And how were your snow days?

Refections. Maybe it’s the peaceful early morning snow falling. Maybe it’s the quiet neighborhood and our house aglow with snowflake lights dangling from the gutters over the front porch or the colorful sparkling lights of the three spiral Christmas trees with glistening stars decorating the front yard. Maybe it’s the warm glow of our Christmas tree brightening the dark early morning hours. Whatever it is, I sit smiling gazing out the window at how peaceful it all is. It’s these quiet moments that I catch here and there that I really cherish. My personal escape from the hustle and bustle of it all. I drive hard all year long. Pushing, pulling, tugging with my foot always on the gas. But it’s these unexpected, quiet moments that mean so much. A momentary break. A chance to breathe. A chance to reflect. A chance to enjoy those important things in life that I love. My beautiful daughter, my adoring wife, my family near and far, my cherished friends who we never seem to spend enough time with each year.

I’m committed to finding more of these unexpected moments in the new year, but this moment I steal to reflect. To my dedicated employees and loyal clients who make working seem less like work – thank you. To my friends, my family, to Becky and Jackie. Thank you for making me better.

Merry Christmas. May we all help to make someone else better in 2011.

My daughter Jackie and my wife Becky

OK, so we certainly agree that social media isn’t for everyone. And we would also agree that Facebook isn’t right for everyone. But please do understand that conversations are happening now about you and your business. It’s up to you to choose whether you are a part of them or not. So, you can talk with your customers…or you can let them continue to talk about you!

The chart below is the latest data from comScore. Check it out. Time spent on Facebook eclipsed time spent on Google sites in August for the first time EVER. And, you’ll notice that Yahoo continues its downward spiral.

So what are your thoughts? Do you know what conversations your customers are having about you in the realm of social media? We’d love to hear your thoughts.

Brad Gillum (Willow Marketing) at AM&AA Summer Conference 2010 from AM&AA on Vimeo.

Having been recognized for our experience in working with small, family-owned, closely-held and entrepreneurial business, we thought we would explore new business opportunities a bit more in the category. Those in the Private Equity market understand that there are more ways than one to develop value in a business. Not all the value of a business is reflected in the balance sheet. By building the brand of the business and creating a loyal customer base we can significantly add value.

Yep, marketing is pretty sophisticated stuff! And it works!