The advertising agency business has been in one bind or another ever since the dawn of digital. Digital shook the industry to its core, and the reverberations are still being felt from top to bottom. The list of problems is long, but one problem we don't spend enough time discussing is the problem of not knowing who or what we are, any longer. It's a confusion that I find perplexing. May I point you to an …
What ChatGPT “Thinks” About Ageism in Advertising and Media
Discriminating against people due to their age is a pox upon advertising and media houses. It's bad business, and another bad business practice is the last thing that these industries need, right now. Ageism is also a particularly perplexing issue emanating from professional workers who truly ought to know better. Given that everyone who is alive is aging, it's just a matter of time before it's your turn. The …
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Bias Against Aging People, Like All Bias, Is Idiotic and Unproductive
The truly odd thing about ageism is how every single living creature on this planet is aging. We're all aging right now, as we do each and every moment of our lives. Ultimately, this means our bias against aging people is discrimination against the self, and that ageism is a brutal form of self-hatred. As we know, ageism is also bad for business. This new 45-minute documentary film, directed by Scott Haper, …
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Six Early Releases to Whet the Appetite for the Big Game
The Kansas City Chiefs play the Philadelphia Eagles this Sunday in Super Bowl LVII. The program's commercials, which cost $7M for 30 seconds of airtime during the game, already overrunneth. So, let's indulge in a great American pastime and take a look at some early releases ahead of Sunday's game. Door …
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New Film Asks the Right Questions about the Agency Business
The current and future state of the ad agency business is the subject of a new documentary film from Togetherr, Kill your Darlings. The film is narrated by Anouk Jans, a Creative Director from Germany who is looking for answers, positive change, and a brighter future for herself and everyone that loves the business of creativity. Her quest leads her to seek meetings with industry luminaries like Anselmo Ramos, Greg …
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Drift, Wait and Obey—It Worked for Kipling, It Can Work for You
"When your Daemon is in charge, do not try to think consciously. Drift, wait, and obey." -Rudyard Kipling It's Thursday and I'd like to throw it way back to ancient Greece and Rome and look at how ancient wisdom can guide us today. According to Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love, the ancient Greeks and ancient Romans did not believe that creativity came from human beings. They believed that creativity …
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“Owning A Large Portion of the Best Talent” Is Pre-COVID Thinking
Like so many businesses, the agency business is a talent business from top to bottom. Nothing good happens without extraordinary efforts made by dedicated, gifted people working as one. Agency heads used to say the agency's "best assets," a.k.a. the talent, walk out the door and go down the elevator each evening. Of course, these commuters almost always returned in the morning. Today, with our newfound and …
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War in Ukraine Leads Western Firms to Close the Door on Russia
Horrible news and painful images are pouring out of Ukraine every day now, as the European country of more than 40M people struggles to survive and repel Russia's lethal invasion. The images and news from inside Russia are also disturbing as the Kremlin is viciously attacking anti-war protestors, closing media outlets, and tightening its grip before it loses its grip completely. Everyone loses in war. Here's …
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CPB Falls On Hard Times, Iconic Agency Down to Just 40 Employees
The ad agency business is a fickle beast. A rollercoaster of highs and lows. It's also one of the few places that creative mavericks and outcasts can make a name for themselves and millions of dollars too. Alex Bogusky, for example. He rode his skateboard into the Miami offices of Crispin Porter and soon ascended to creative director at the then regional shop. Bogusky went on to rule the ad world and his agency with …
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Bias Against People Over 50 Is the Work of Feeble-Minded Novices
Divisiveness is a fact of life in America today. Sadly, too many brands and their agency partners see an opportunity in it. When you make fun of one group, it excites another group and moves them to action. That's the idea and it's not wrong. What's wrong is using fear, judgment, and other wedge issues to sell. Ken Dychtwald is a nationally recognized expert on aging and ageism. In a new article for AARP, he …
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Are You Helping Your Clients Reach Digital Marketing Maturity?
Think with Google is a new YouTube series that seeks to educate and inspire the next generation of marketers, advertisers, and creatives with tutorials from experts in privacy, digital transformation, and AI to name a few. https://youtu.be/Ad86QPvnqkI In related news, the 2021 Forrester Digital Marketing Maturity survey, conducted on behalf of Google, found that nearly three-quarters of survey participants said …
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Does Your Agency Have An Effective Prospecting Brand?
"You don't have time to tell a story at the top of the funnel." -Lee McKnight, Jr. Lee McNight, Jr. is VP of Sales at RSW/US. RSW works with small and mid-sized agencies to help them drive new business. McKnight thinks that agency principals are bad at new business. "What I’ve always found fascinating is how good ad agencies are at the client work they do, and how terrible they typically are at doing it for …
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