ADVERTISING executive Marian Black created her own West Side Story
this year when she formed the West Side Advertising Agency in Edinburgh.
Marian was an Account Group Head with the major Faulds agency when she
decided to launch her own agency, and, she says, ''gave myself the title
of managing director.''
She now has an interesting list of clients which included Millar
Confectionery, who make the original pan drop and indeed ''own the name
pan drop.''
Other accounts she handles are Motherwell District Council, Ayrshire
Tourist Board, Globespan, H. M. Craig, Splash, and Stobo Castle. She
also handles the advertising account of her husband Ally Black's
reproduction furniture company Shapes.
Marian, who looked after the Scottish Office and Scottish Tourist
Board accounts while she was with Faulds, explains why she decided to go
on her own.
''I decided there was a niche in the market for a company which
catered for the medium-sized companies and public-sector organisations
who perhaps have an annual budget of around #200,000,'' she says.
''This is really peanuts for the large advertising agencies, and
no-one was catering for this segment of the market.''
Marian reckons that with the creation of hospital trusts and
independent colleges, who now have their own advertising budgets to use,
there is a ''lot of money around'' which her company can aim for.
She is rather coy when it comes to advertising West Side itself, but
admits that moves are afoot to expand the agency.
This, she says, will turn it from being a small advertising agency to
''a medium-size player in the industry.'' She stresses it will still,
however, target much the same market.
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