Ad Agency New Business 101: Conduct a SWOT Analysis

Photo Credit Pshegubj

A SWOT analysis is a good starting point for someone who is charged with creating new business opportunities for a small to midsize advertising agency, PR firm or digital shop.  

Part of Steve Jobs’ 12 Rules of Success: Perform SWOT analysis. As soon as you join/start a company, make a list of strengths and weaknesses of yourself and your company on a piece of paper.

This strategic planning method, when used properly, can be  a valuable tool for making decisions, setting strategy, and evaluating courses of action.… Continue reading

8 Reasons Why This Is Such An Exciting Time for the Smaller Ad Agencies

1 advertising week

Unconventional times call for unconventional methods for ad agency new business.

These are certainly unconventional times that we live in. A recent IBM study states that we will see more change in the next 5 years than in the previous fifty.

We are still in the midst of the greatest economic downturn since the Great Depression. The recession that began in 2008 still isn’t over and economists are forewarning the possibility that this could be a double-dip recession.… Continue reading

10 Prime Time Benefits of Blogging for New Business

Prime Time for New Business

The majority of ad agencies have yet to comprehend what huge benefits a blog can make and why it deserves to be “prime time” for new business.

With help from American Business Media and the Business Marketing Association, Junta42 and MarketingProfs surveyed over 1,100 North American B2B marketers from diverse industries and a wide range of company sizes. The survey revealed that content marketing, including blogs, is a key lead generation source for 63% of the respondents.… Continue reading

Ten Toughest Content Marketing Challenges for Ad Agency New Business

3980990435_7ae6b48d40_o

Original content is by far the most difficult  and important tactic to fuel ad agency new business through social media. 

Speakers for Content Marketing World 2011, recently shared some of their biggest content marketing challenges in a pre conference Q&A orchestrated by  Content Development Director of the Content Marketing Institute. I’ve pulled some of the best challenges and insights from among these speakers.

Here are the top 10  to help with your content marketing challenges:

1.… Continue reading

Steve Jobs’s 10 Best Quotes for Advertising Agencies

Unknown

Steve Job’s serves as an example of doing agency new business the right way.

Steve Jobs has stepped down as CEO of Apple.  When it comes to presenting and salesmanship, there’s no one better.

His tenure as CEO should serve as inspiration for advertising agencies that seem to still be in a state of flux in this technology driven communication’s revolution.

Below are some of the best Steve Jobs’s quotes to inspire us to think differently and  up our game through innovation, collaboration: 

 

  1. “The cure for Apple is not cost-cutting.

    2. … Continue reading

7 Tips for Emailing Busy Prospects for Ad Agency New Business

2657896516_d2a2aa076c_o

E-mail is still relevant as a tool for ad agency new business but use it wisely because prospects are extremely busy just like you. 

With the popularity of my blog, I receive a large number of emails daily. I’ve learned to better filter all of the invitations to review, speak, advise and consult as well as the emails that pitch products, services and other opportunities. It isn’t unusual to receive well over a hundred of these type of emails daily.… Continue reading

Cause Branding: It is Now B-2-WE for Ad Agency New Business

WE -habilitating Capitalism – How valuable your agency will Be to ME no longer depends on b2c or b2b but on b2we

Simon Mainwaring is founder of We First, a social branding consulting firm that helps companies use social media to build communities, profits and positive social impact. A highly recognized creative director, he has worked at many of the world’s top creative advertising agencies in Asia, Europe and the U.S. including Wieden & Kennedy, Portland, on Nike and as Worldwide Creative Director for Motorola at Ogilvy, Los Angeles.… Continue reading

28 Stimulating Digital and Social Media Marketing Quotes

Martin Luther King Jr.

Write something memorable, that stands out and provides inspiration to others.

I’m reading constantly and often find and keep the most memorable quotes from my daily reading. Here’s a collection that I thought would be of interest as they relate specifically to digital and social media marketing. I hope you find inspiration, a spark for your creativity and to take the time to write something memorable.

Here are my favorite digital and social media marketing quotes:

  1. “There’s never been a better time to be in advertising, and there’s never been a worse time.” – Aaron Reitkopf, North American CEO of digital agency Profero
  2. “We have technology, finally, that for the first time in human history allows people to really maintain rich connections with much larger numbers of people.” –  Pierre Omidyar, founder, eBay
  3. “The Internet has been the most fundamental change during my lifetime and for hundreds of years.” – Rupert Murdoch, media mogul
  4. “Online advertising doesn’t have to be a “wild west.” – Benjamin Edelman, Harvard Business School
  5. “Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge.” -  Jimmy Wales, founder, Wikipedia
  6. “Social media is a savior not a nemesis, an asset not a liability, a time saver not a time killer for ad agency new business” – Michael Gass, new business consultant for advertising agencies
  7. “In the 21st century, the database is the marketplace.” - Stan Rapp, MRM Partners Worldwide
  8. “Content Doesn’t Win.

    9. … Continue reading

Study: 50% of Ad Agencies Generate New Business Through Networks and Referrals

facebook-group-icon

Most ad agencies are still generating new business the old-fashioned way, networks and referrals, but there’s a way to boost those personal networks nationally.

A soon to be released survey of advertising agencies conducted by Fuel Lines, reveals that 50% of the 430 responding agencies generated new business from two primary sources last year: referrals and networking.

Agencies have long understood the importance of social networks and individual connections to generate new business. It has always been the lifeblood of small to midsize agencies.… Continue reading

Big Ad Agencies Now Requiring the Development of Digital Skills

ipad-ad

Small to mid-size ad agency owners and executives need to be better equipped with digital technology. It will not only impact agency business but also new business development.

I having a discussion with the creative director of a small agency who is in his early 50′s. He was expressing his frustration with changing digital technology and its impact upon his agency and the advertising industry.

He said,  ”I have no problem creating a print ad but I don’t know where to even start to create an ad for something like the iPad.”

I asked him if he was ready to retire.

… Continue reading