Advertising has always been a game of cat and mouse. And today, the cats in advertising agencies are stumped.

It seems the mice are better at escaping the barrage of advertising on TV, print, radio, email, snail mail, web, phone, or even tattooed on somebody's forehead. This has clients worried and agencies scrambling to discover and define new media outlets.

Case in point: a recent article on AdAge.com. In the article Verizon Wireless CMO Admonishes Agencies, Verizon Wireless Chief Marketing Officer John Stratton tells the ad community: "The inventory you've been selling for the past 50 years no longer works." He also goes on to say that agencies are going to lose clients if they can't discover the highest producing new media sources.

It seems that the million — or, maybe, billion — dollar question has become, "What new media is the best for reaching customers?"

But, as a brand agency, we think the question always has been and still should be, "What new messages and ideas should you communicate to customers?"

Because, lets face it, the best media choice is irrelevant without a meaningful message. Think about it … those unsolicited text messages you get on your phone are a great example of using new media. But do they ever communicate something relevant to you? Does the executive-level wireless customer care that they have seven free credits at Blinko? What the heck is Blinko, anyway?

Having the right message is the cat's meow. Because only when your message is straight can you determine what media will work best — traditional or new. Combine messaging with media and now you have the mousetrap you've always been looking for.

Another case in point: Paragraph's recent work for an industry leading client that serves micro and small businesses. Paragraph and the client collaborated to develop a compelling messaging platform, targeted creative tactics, and a relevant new vertical market media strategy.

Sales for this client were up 15% from February last year. March sales are following suit. And we're all excited to see where April takes us. (Please excuse us if we don't give you the name of this client and show you the work. But extreme competition in their marketplace makes it risky to share with the world at large.)

How did we do it? We started with the message first. And the message strategy helped us discover the media strategy.

So, cats, listen to what the mice are telling you they want — meaningful and compelling messages, targeted creative, and relevant media — and all the world will be purrrfect.