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 …
Lead Prospects To The Funnel of Love
What exactly does “digital transformation” mean and why should we care? It means that people are discovering and interacting with brands in new ways, putting an onus on agencies and clients to evolve. Specifically, the data-driven digital world is challenging marketers to find more effective engagement strategies throughout the marketing funnel. It demands new skill sets and expertise and is challenging traditional …
Continue Reading about Lead Prospects To The Funnel of Love →
Power of the Pivot: Rova’s Joe Olsen Turned His Former Agency Into A SaaS Provider
A decade ago many “digital agencies” were primarily production shops sub-contracting out to the big agencies in big cities. It was a profitable business for several years, but many clients were not fully satisfied. Something was missing. According to Joe Olsen, CEO of Rova, that something was the strategy that would wed digital production to their business goals. This unmet need introduced consultants into the …
Disappearing Photos? Oh Snap!
Snap, Inc., the parent company of SnapChat, self-identifies as a camera company. This new "camera company" is about to unveil its initial public offering and raise billions of dollars in the process. It's a topic we explored thoroughly on The Bean Cast this week. Snap reported that its messaging service had 158 million daily active users at the end of 2016, and an average of 2.5 billion “snaps” are created …
Content Studios Increasingly Borne of the Agency’s Rib
Content marketing has been around since John Deere started a magazine for farmers in the late 19th century. For the past 10 to 12 years, the discipline has come back with a fury, as digital reawakened the opportunity in long-form brand and multi-platform storytelling. The changes have been disruptive, and many clients and agencies continue to grapple with HOW to provide brand-building content in a 24-hours news …
Continue Reading about Content Studios Increasingly Borne of the Agency’s Rib →
Laura Fegley Moves To Minneapolis
Laura Fegley recently left her role as executive creative director of BBH NY to take up the same position at Minneapolis agency Colle + McVoy. The Drum asked her a few questions about the move. One question in particular is worthy of further exploration. What’s the most exciting trend you’re seeing in advertising right now? Honestly, the most exciting thing to me right now is that advertising doesn’t know what …
Want More Great Work? Allocate The Resources And You Shall Have It
Creativity is subjective, but that's not a positive for the ad business. For the industry to function properly, creativity needs to be quantifiable and answers to questions like, "What distinguishes a great creative person from a good one?" and "What distinguishes great work from good work?" must be readily and honestly answered. James Robinson, executive creative director at The Martin Agency in New York, spoke …
Continue Reading about Want More Great Work? Allocate The Resources And You Shall Have It →
Dave Trott Is Making It Simple—Listen, Learn and Grow
Creative director and industry gadfly, Dave Trott, wants to fix advertising. His fix involves stripping away the false complexities put in the way by egotists and charlatans. It's a long weekend, push play. https://youtu.be/3tlVie4lF14 His talk is full of notable moments, including his discussion of "form follows function." Trott says we tend to fundamentally misunderstand this common Bauhaus saying. He …
Continue Reading about Dave Trott Is Making It Simple—Listen, Learn and Grow →