I was actually referring to the media reps who sell and often design and write the ads. Like the newspaper and mini-magazine. Even in cases where they do hire out, as the newspaper does...it's outsourced to others who have the same sort of background...ad sales and graphics, not marketing basics.
Personally, I think it's the nature of media. It's about selling the space or the airtime (that is the pressure from management), and not about selling an ad that is likely to produce results. They rely on the fact that the media will work to bring in enough customers for the client feel that it worked to keep the business buying the media. There are exceptions, of course, media reps who know enough about marketing to actually help...but I haven't seen many of them over the years.
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