Ad Man Finds Solution For Changing Ad Business.

Business &Lifestyle Editors

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 7, 2000

Like the changing face of the moon, the changing face of advertising is forcing local businessmen to re-evaluate their traditional role as &uot;ad men.&uot;

Twenty to 30 years ago, television was the new medium on the block and the advertising dollars previously earned by newspapers went into the coffers of the new electronic medium.

Local ad man Tom Letizia, president of Letizia Ad Team, started out nearly 30 years ago by parking his car on the old Fremont Street and walking door to door to retailers selling television ads for Channel 5. &uot;In those days, you really had to sell TV, because people were not convinced of its effectiveness,&uot; Letizia said.

&uot;Our agency has evolved with the times. We have to reinvent ourselves every day to keep up with the new markets opening up. This is not the kind of business where you can operate like you did five, 10 or even 20 years ago,&uot; he said.

Today, television stations are giving advertising customers the 15 percent commission that ad agencies previously received. &uot;You can no longer consider ad money as your main source of revenue; you have to diversify and give the new, savvy client more for their money,&uot; Letizia said. He said he is being hired more and more as a consultant or for public relations because his clients possess new needs.

With the advent of the Internet, ad agencies are discovering that they need people who can write, design and maintain Web sites for their clients. &uot;It's just like when TV entered the scene -- ad agencies had to evolve or got left out in the cold,&uot; Letizia said. That's why he hired new talent to bring his business in line with the 21st century.

With 35 active clients and more than 100 customers who call for help on a favorite charity, project or campaign, Letizia finds himself thinking of ways to keep up with the changing face of the media.

&uot;When an old friend of 20 years called to say he would run for mayor, I dropped everything to work exclusively for him,&uot; Letizia said, referring to the current mayor of Las Vegas, Oscar Goodman.

Letizia is a veteran of political campaigns, handling 25 campaigns over the past 30 years, but nothing was as intense as the Goodman campaign, he said. &uot;We had international interest from as far away as Australia, Japan and Europe, and the national media went crazy for Oscar.

&uot;Oscar depended on me for a lot -- from the budget to fund-raising, from staffing to advertising. From the very first talks about Oscar running, I and my wife, Marla, were there,&uot; Letizia said.

It is not uncommon for Letizia to be found already in the office at 3 a.m., burning the predawn oil to satisfy his clients. &uot;We have etched out our place in Las Vegas and stuck it out through all the changes. You can count the number of ad agencies here in the 1970s on one hand and have a few fingers left over. I've seen a lot come and go, but only a few have gone the distance,&uot; he said.

Nowadays, most work is piecemealed out, Letizia said. One agency will handle the television, radio or print production and another will handle the ad placement, while another handles the public relations.

Letizia formed Letizia Communications and Consulting in August 1999 to meet the growing need for public relations. &uot;We had to become more like a business consultant because everyone now has their specialties,&uot; he said.

Letizia has focused more on government lobbying and says he is representing a much higher level of clientele. However, he noted that he has clients who have been with him for nearly 30 years. Garrett's Furniture started with Letizia when he was selling TV ads back in the old days.

&uot;The new talent I've brought on board will take us into the new millennium,&uot; he said. &uot;I've brought in people with exceptional experience in television, radio, print and the Internet -- people who can write in any genre and handle any media. Not everyone can handle a gaggle of reporters or TV cameras shoved in their face. It's a fine art.&uot;