Data collects, mostly into piles of digital rubble. Yet, data is prized and those who provide it are revered. The high priests of data analytics have the floor right now, which is understandable and ridiculous at the same time. It's understandable that clients are scared to death of their own intuition and risky creative ideas from the agency. And it's ridiculous because marketing is for the brave. A degree …
The Not So Mysterious Case of The Disappearing Referral
Anyone who works in sales, advertising, or media knows that referrals are worth their weight in gold. In the continual slog for new business, a referral from a colleague is often the door opener to real opportunity. Mark Sneider, president of agency business-development firm RSW/US, writing a guest piece for Adweek, argues that referrals in the agency business are fast sliding into oblivion. In 2007, 94 …
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Add Value Or Be Labeled An Advertiser (Not In A Good Way)
TV is done. Radio is toast. Print is dead. Everything is always coming to an end. Unless it isn't. Maybe life is circular, not linear. One thing that does not appear to be coming to an end is the endless onslaught of bad advertising. Many companies can't waste their time and money fast enough on tired cliches and other advertising mishaps. We only need to turn on the TV to see the shocking lack of …
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Agencies Helping Agencies
Why doesn't Wieden + Kennedy/Portland spawn more startup agencies—something that Goodby Silverstein & Partners in San Francisco has successfully done for years? As someone who knows the Portland market, lack of client opportunities is the most obvious answer. FYI, there are just two big fish in the Portland market—Intel and Nike. Adidas America is also a cherry account. Former W+K creative director, Mark …
Want To Stretch Your Creative Muscles? Leave Your Corner Office Behind.
Oxford-educated, Lucy Jameson, recently stepped down as chief executive officer of Grey London. The Drum asked her about her adult gap year and her "expert internship" at Facebook. I found it fascinating to observe the difference between how people react to you when they think you’re just a random intern vs when they know you’re CEO of a 500 person company. You can get a far better feel for what’s really going …
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Is Adland A Risky Place for Investors?
The stock market is on fire. So, why are advertising agency stocks are languishing on the vine? According to The New York Times, WPP, which owns agencies including Y&R and Ogilvy & Mather, said annual net sales may be flat or grow up to 1 percent as it reported that the measure shrank in the first half of the year. The company’s stock tumbled 11 percent in London and its closing price was the lowest in more …
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Easy Listening for Advertising Addicts
Hear Ye, Hear Ye. 21% of Americans ages 12 and up have listened to a podcast in the past month. That is up from 17% in 2015. With one in five Americans tuning in, advertising pros are taking notice and grabbing the mic. https://youtu.be/EdI8zL0X6vs According to Digiday, "Ad agencies have caught podcast fever." Digiday highlights and recommends the following: Madison and Culture from Y&R The A-List …
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Keep Advertising Weird
British Ad man, Mark Wnek, wants advertising people to loosen up. At what point did ad agency clients start coming to us because we're the same as them? Never, I would guess. But somewhere along the line (perhaps it was pitch "chemistry" sessions?) agencies came to believe that the best way to win was to look, sound, be like the client. At what point? I can answer that, Mark! The point at which the …
