The first few years of this decade were challenging for the advertising industry, but local agencies say business has strengthened noticeably during 2005.

“It’s going to be a good year for us,” said Louie Laurent, president of ZLRIgnition in Des Moines. Advertising represents about 75 percent of Laurent’s business, with public relations accounting for the other 25 percent.

Since the beginning of 2005, Laurent has hired two more people at his agency, bringing his staff total to 20. He credits his company’s growth and the advertising industry’s recovery to stabilizing economic conditions.

“The economic conditions are improving as we’re and getting away from some of the uncertainty following 9/11 about what is happening internationally,” he said. “I think the market has gotten somewhat desensitized to some of the global happenings and realized that it’s time to get on with their business.”

Other advertising agencies also report increased revenues this year. Andy Flynn, president and CEO of Flynn Wright, said his company is on track to have its best year on record in its 21-year existence.

“I think the industry as a whole is doing well and it’s recovering,” Flynn said. “All of our clients are indicating that their business is up as well, so that tends to grow budgets. They’re spending more money, whether they’re selling cable, Coke or cell phones.”

Donna Tweeten, president of The Meyocks Group Inc., expects 2005 to be one of her company’s strongest years, thanks to double-digit spending increases from some of its largest clients. For these same reasons, Mike Schreurs, CEO of Strategic America, said his agency’s year-to-date revenues are up 30 percent from last year.

KCCI, the CBS affiliate, has also signed many new local and national advertisers this year, helping the station make up for the absence of political advertising this year.

According to the Nielsen Monitor-Plus report, U.S. advertising spending rose 5.7 percent during the first six months of 2005, but Dave Porepp, KCCI’s general manager, said he thinks advertising spending in Greater Des Moines has exceeded national trends.

“I think this market has bucked the trend,” Porepp said. “The national average was up in single digits, but this market seemed to be up in double digits, if you take away the impact of political advertising in 2004.”

Porepp said he has seen increased advertising spending across several industries, including automobile, financial services, restaurants and fast food, and travel and attractions. What makes the Midwest a growing market for advertising right now, he said, is its strong employment situation and its location in the interior of the United States.

“We have low unemployment, and we’re insulated by a lot of the factors that cause huge swings, like some of the weather that some of the coasts have experienced,” Porepp said.

Whether Hurricane Katrina will have an impact on the advertising industry remains uncertain, but it could actually help business at one Des Moines agency. Two Rivers Marketing represents many clients in the construction and industrial trades, industries that are forecast to be up through 2006, according to Jeff White, a representative of Two Rivers.

“A lot of our clients are seeing a strong finish to the year, so they should enjoy the same success they’re experiencing now in the months to come,” White said. “When their business is good, they turn to us more to help them grab a bigger market share.”

Not only do companies’ advertising budgets fluctuate from year to year, but so can their spending patterns. This year, companies are trying out less conventional media vehicles to deliver their messages to consumers.

Tweeten said The Meyocks Group is working on a unusual project right now with its largest client, i wireless, in which the agency has partnered with an architectural firm to redesign the wireless phone company’s stores.

“Our job in the project is to be stewards of their brand, so that when customers arrive, the retail environment provides a total brand experience,” Tweeten said. “We’ve been working with color schemes, textures, design – areas where most advertising agencies typically wouldn’t be involved. It’s been great for our client relationship and our revenues.”

Laurent said Internet advertising and street marketing activities are becoming more common among ZLRIgnition’s clients. He said this is largely because certain audiences are becoming increasingly hard to reach. Young males, for example, aren’t watching as much television as in the past. And instead of turning on the radio, they’re listening to music they downloaded on their iPods.

“Instead of the same old routine, clients are looking for mediums that create a buzz or ways that you can provide significant exposure and topspin to the money they have allocated,” Laurent said.

Because the Internet is still a viable way to reach consumers, Porepp said KCCI’s Web site, www.theiowachannel.com, has exploded with new interest from advertisers.

“Our Web site is definitely helping drive us,” Porepp said. “We’ve been successful in bundling our Web presence with our TV presence. We call it convergence, and we work really hard on it.”