Leo Burnett is one of the most enduring ad industry legends. He broke all the rules. Even after 40 years since his death he is still winning new business for his agency.
“The Burnett agency has accomplished something that has eluded so many other businesses: It has managed to keep the spirit and drive of its founder alive and well almost two decades after the founder himself passed on.“ Rita Koselka of Forbes
To celebrate Leo Burnett Worldwide’s 75th anniversary, Lobo, an animation and design studio, produced this animated spot. It is based on a speech given by Mr. Burnett announcing his retirement and leaving his staff with enduring principles for creating the fifth largest ad agency in the world.
The original film of Mr. Burnett’s speech is still required viewing for all new Burnett employees as part of their induction.
“We chose to create a short film that looked straight from the 50s/60s, the modern age of cartoons, from the graphic style to the slightly worn, flickering picture quality, to the jazzy soundtrack. The main character is a cartoon version of Mr. Burnett himself, who goes through the situations described in the speech, teaching a lesson not only to the advertising world but to every creative activity.” Lobo
Time Magazine included Leo Burnett as one of the most influential people of the 20th century creating some of America’s most memorable ads and advertising icons such as the Jolly Green Giant, Pillsbury Doughboy, Charlie the Tuna, The Marlboro Man, and Tony the Tiger. His Chicago-based ad agency became the 10th largest agency in the world and was one of the few not headquartered in New York City.
“Almost 40 years after the founder’s death, rival agencies complain that Burnett’s can still swing a pitch by showing a 50-year-old film of the master himself explaining his advertising philosophy”adbrands.net
Burnett revolutionized the advertising industry by developing a creative approach called, ‘The Chicago School of Advertising” as described by American National Business Hall of Fame:
“Leo Burnett had the rare distinction of leaving behind a new approach to the creative side of the advertising business. Burnett had developed a creative approach that many termed ‘The Chicago School of Advertising” It stressed finding the inherent drama in the product and writing the ad out of the drama, rather than using mere cleverness.
Burnett felt that Chicago was the Midwest — the heart and soul of the nation. In addition, he felt that the down to earth, wide-eyed perspective of Midwesterners facilitated their ability to create ads that appealed to the majority of Americans. Thus using his rare ability to see and use the dramatic in products and the acceptable perspective of Midwesterners, Burnett’s philosophy and style spread throughout the advertising industry.”
When television became mainstream in the 1950s, Burnett’s agency boomed because of this visual philosophy. Burnett said that television, “is the strongest drug we’ve ever had to dish out.”
When Burnett started his business in August 1935 he had one account and a staff of eight. The agency’s only client was a Minnesota canning company which had been a client at his old firm.
Burnett’s widow, Naomi, credited Leo’s hiring of Richard Heath as the turning point for the agency. Heath was responsible for new business. He promoted the agency and created opportunities for bigger accounts such as Campbell Soup, Kellogg, Pillsbury and Proctor & Gamble. As brilliant an ad man as Leo Burnett was, he still needed someone to sell the agency and create new business opportunities.
Here are a few of Leo Burnett’s memorable quotes:
Curiosity about life in all of its aspects, I think, is still the secret of great creative people.
When you reach for the stars you may not quite get one, but you won’t come up with a handful of mud either.
A good ad which is not run never produces sales.
Make it simple. Make it memorable. Make it inviting to look at. Make it fun to read.
I have learned to respect ideas, wherever they come from. Often they come from clients. Account executives often have big creative ideas, regardless of what some writers think.
I have learned that you can’t have good advertising without a good client, that you can’t keep a good client without good advertising, and no client will ever buy better advertising than he understands or has an appetite for.
I have learned that any fool can write a bad ad, but that it takes a real genius to keep his hands off a good one.
Good advertising does not just circulate information. It penetrates the public mind with desires and belief.
An ad agency principal who is an example on how to use content marketing and social media to build awareness and new business opportunities for your agency.
I am a Bob Hoffman fan. I have read everything he has written, from his book The Ad Contrarian, to every ADWEEK and blog post article and now his new book, 101 Contrarian Ideas About Advertising.
Bob is the CEO of Hoffman/Lewis advertising located in San Francisco and St. Louis. He has created marketing strategies and advertising for some of the world’s most successful companies: McDonald’s, Toyota, Shell, NBC, Pepsico, Bank of America, Nestle, AT&T, Chevrolet, Dole, Blue Cross, Seagrams, Fairmont Hotels, Pebble Beach and others.
I was first introduced to Bob Hoffman through a cbsnews.com article, “Hoffman/Lewis CEO Can’t Stop Cursing and Swearing on His Blog”
Hoffman/Lewis in San Francisco and St. Louis promises on its website to “get beyond the fleeting trends, false goals, and dreadful jargon of contemporary advertising.” But a look at the blog of its CEO, Bob Hoffman(pictured), shows that ‘getting beyond the jargon’ seems to mean dropping the F-bomb as much as possible. The blog is titled “The Ad Contrarian; Cranky opinions and advice from the CEO of a pretty big ad agency.”
Hoffman has acreated a large online following as one fan recently wrote, “Your no b.s., take-no-prisoners approach to our business is entertaining, informative, and spot-on…”
Bob’s blog puts a face to the Hoffman/Lewis agency. He comes across as being transparent and blatantly honest. He’s not going to appeal to everyone but those who find him appealing they become ardent fans. They know that Bob will tell it like it is and cut through all the agency B.S. He’s not afraid to tell his readers what he really thinks.
This was very smart of Bob. With a little bit of work, he gets an even greater return on the time he originally invested in writing these blog post articles. His new book is already a best seller within its category.
The Kindle version is a great buy. Only $2.99, You will also find it to be an excellent, entertaining read.
Hoffman’s take on the advertising industry is refreshing, insightful, amusing and discerning. With the advertising industry in such a state of flux and upheaval, he will keep you grounded. I highly recommend it.
Here’s some additional reviews:
“Bob Hoffman’s perspective is terrific because he continually digs into various heaping piles of advertising hype to discover nuggets of truth. And if he doesn’t find any, he’s not afraid to say how bad it stinks.”
“I just love the way Bob thinks and writes about our crazy business and even more crazy world. This is take no prisoners kind of stuff that is just superbly written always.”
“Bob is one of the smartest guys in the business. His thoughts are not obscured by fads, what’s au courant or quotidian bs. He is a straight-shooter. Honest, to the point and fact-based. Qualities sorely missing in the world today.”
“This book is an insightful, hilarious look at what’s wrong with advertising agencies, with marketing in general, and maybe even the world overall. But it isn’t just for people who work in ad agencies. It’s for anybody who ever saw an ad that sucked and wondered how it got that way. It’s for anybody who works in any kind of job involving generation of new ideas. And yes, it’s for anybody who enjoys “Mad Men.” Bob Hoffman is smarter than Don Draper. He’s funnier than Don Draper. And he’s better looking than… Okay, like I said, Bob Hoffman is definitely smarter and funnier than Don Draper.”
“A funny, enlightening, clear-eyed look at advertising and marketing. Pleasantly didactic and cheerfully challenging of the fables and fantasies that pass for advertising principles.”
Bob shares some insights on the process of writing and promoting his book that I think you will find helpful:
Pinterest has great potential for ad agencies: storyboards, branding strategies, concept ideas, campaign ideas, design ideas, even organizing agency pitches.
Time Magazine named Pinterest one of the top 50 websites for 2011. It is one of the hottest new social media sites with enduring specialties that qualifies it as the next ‘Twitter.’ Its value through venture financing has soared from $40 million to over $200 million in only a few months.
Pinterest (pronounced to rhyme with interest) is a vision board-styled social photo sharing website and app where users can create and manage theme-based image collections. The mission statement of Pinterest is to connect everyone in the world through shared tastes and the “things” they find interesting. Wikipedia
A site like Pinterest helps provide a place for discovery, saving and sharing.
Pinterest is like a giant scrapbook of ideas. When you find things of interest, this new platform allows you to upload those images as Pins and place them on customized , themed Boards and organize and share them on any topic that you choose. Others can follow your Boards and add comments. You can also allow them to post to your boards.
A ‘Pinterest Picture’ is worth 1000 words.
People tend to be “eye-minded”. I think this is one of the primary reasons this site has become so popular.
Studies by educational researchers suggest that approximately 83% of human learning occurs visually.
There is a soothing quality in using Pinterest.
Once you spend some time understanding how it works you’ll find it fun and very addictive. I’ve personally spent hours on it.
Here is a listing of my boards, which include some that are business related and some that are personal:
Pinterest is still far behind site visitors comparative to Facebook, but it is making up for it in the amount of time spent on the site. An incredible 88.3 minutes was spent in November, according to comScore. This number is third only to Facebook (394 minutes) and Tumblr (141.7 minutes) and is also twice the amount of time that the average user spends on Twitter and 10 times the time spent on Google +.
Here are a some ideas on how to use Pinterest for your agency:
Showcase your agency’s brand in a unique way
Great potential for internal use with your agency’s creative teams – storyboards, branding strategies, concept ideas, campaign ideas, design ideas, even organizing agency pitches
Enhance visual thinking and planning
It has important potential for your clients’ social media marketing mix
A great way to keep tabs on what is hot
Potential for greater SEO (you can embed Pinterest to your agency’s website or blog)
Organize areas of focus of the agency – keep up and share what is hot within your agency niche or industry focus
Interact with your audience by testing campaign ideas and concepts
A lack of respect is bad for ad agency new business. You might not be able to change the perception of our industry but you can control the perception of your agency.
Over the last decade, the advertising industry has become one of the least liked by Americans. In a recent Gallup Poll Advertising and Public Relations ranked 10th on a list of the least respected industries in the nation.
Author Tim Williams is an author and consultant, closely associated with the advertising industry. In a recent article, that is generating some buzz, he raises the question: “Is Advertising a Profession?
Tim writes, “By referring to advertising people as “professionals” and advertising agencies as “professional knowledge firms,” I’m stating my belief that advertising and marketing is – or at least should be – a “profession” in the same league with law, accounting, or architectural firms.”
He goes on to state that the true definition of a profession presents a much more rigorous standard than just being good at your job. Standards such as:
Professionals are accredited
Professions require continuing education
Professions are based on the study and application of science
Professions adhere to “higher aims” than self-interest or economic benefit
Given the above standards, is advertising a profession?
Tim’s opinion is that the advertising industry isn’t there yet but it should be.
“To be respected as a profession, the advertising and marketing business must take a much more evidence-based approach.”
” … after over a hundred years’ experience with modern marketing, advertising agencies should be a lot more conversant and knowledgeable about what works, what doesn’t work, and why. we should be a lot less focused on deliverables and a lot more focused on outcomes.”
Jason Falls, educator, speaker and author of the book “No Bullshit Social Media”, in the world of digital marketing and social media, was blunt in his response to Tim’s article that I posted on my Facebook page:
“ Uh … Thousands have made a living for their whole lives doing nothing but. That guy’s full of it and just looking piss people off.”
Douglas Burdett, president of Artillery, a full service advertising agency in Norfolk, VA, had just the opposite reaction:
“Great post – have shared it w/my local AAF chapter!”
If your agency’s social media participation isn’t generating traffic and new business leads, it is important to know why.
How can an agency help a client monetize their social media when it doesn’t have a handle on how to use it for itself? As more-and-more agencies jump on the social media band-wagon, clients are beginning to ask them,“what has social media done for you?”
Gone are the days when an agency can get by “talking the talk but not walking the walk.” Clients will be able to discern between the agencies that truly get social media from the ones that don’t with just a few clicks of their mouse.
100% of our clients are online and all they have to do is take a quick look and they can easily tell that most agencies have no plan with regards to social media. Agencies may have a blog, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts, but those accounts often hide behind the agency name and tend to be blatantly self promotional with little value to an undefinable audience.
Used correctly, social media makes new business easier not harder. It is an incredible communication’s channel for easily generating new business leads and creating personal networks far beyond your local market.
No traffic + no leads = no new business. Here are 16 signs that most likely indicate your social media isn’t working for your agency:
No social media strategy, no plan. 60% of companies using social media have no plan. I would say from my own experience that is probably true of most agencies.
No clear objective for using social media. The first step in creating a social media strategy for your agency, you MUST have an objective. I suggest it should be for new business.
There is no focus on a particular target audience. The second step in creating in a social media strategy is to identify who you are trying to reach.
A lack of positioning for agencies. The FOUNDATION of an ad agency’s new business program is its positioning. “The common failing among agencies seeking new business is the inability, or unwillingness, to name what they stand for,”Bob Lundin, Agency search consultancy Jones Lundin Beals. Social media provides a great opportunity to showcase how your agencies are different.
Agencies using social media for blatant self-promotion. Credentials and capabilities belong on an agencies website but shouldn’t be the driving force of their social media program. Social media should be centered around benefits.
No integration between blogging, Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn. When the majority of agencies finally ‘jumped into’ social media, they just jumped in with a check list of channels. Yes we have a blog, Facebook Fan page, Twitter account and LinkedIn. But there was no convergence, bringing them together into a single social media strategy.
Agencies are waiting passively for prospective clients to them. If you build it, doesn’t guarantee that prospects are going to come.
Many agencies lack appreciation for those that are willing ambassadors for your agency. Zig Ziglar’s statement, “You can have everything in life that you want if you just give enough other people what they want.” His philosophy works well in the arena of social media.
A lot of social media efforts fail because of the lack of value/benefit for the intended audience. Your audience will be your judge and jury as to whether you have an appealing position, post titles that spur interest, content that is beneficial.
A lot of agencies obviously don’t care about anybody but themselves. To successfully build an online community, you must staf focused on the perspective and interests of your prospective clients. You have to genuinely care about their challenges and obstacles.
There’s no SEO strategy for your agency’s social media presence. According to Marketing Sherpa, 80-90% of business to business transactions begin with a search on the web. A CMO survey, 80% of decision makers say they found the vendor, not the other way around. “Content Doesn’t Win. Optimized Content Wins” – Li Evans, search marketing guru
Your agency’s social media ship has no rudder. Getting your staff on the same page and keeping them there is like herding cats. Empower the person charged with your agency’s new business to keep your social media efforts focused and directed.
Followers instead of leaders. Most agencies are still using social media the way the early adopters of social media intended. Instead of pressing the envelope for lead generation and networking for new business. This in no way means that you are SELLING.
A mindset of income first. Just like in our offline networks and referrals, it’s relationships first. People want to work with other people that they know, trust and like.
Attending offline events such as trade shows and conferences without inclusion in your agency’s social media efforts. Social media has transformed offline events and can maximize the personnel connections with prospective clients. Your involvement with blogging, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn can change your whole experience.
No social media training for their staffs. According to a recent 4A’s and Arnold Worldwide survey, 90% of agency staff say they have to figure things out on their own due to the lack of training.
Additional social media + ad agency new business articles that may be of interest:
TV continues to reign as the most influential advertising platform, and online ads are considered influential by less than half of Americans.
TV continues to be king. Deloitte’s fifth edition “State of the Media Democracy” survey reveals that 71 percent of Americans still rate watching TV on any device among their favorite media activities. In addition, 86 percent of Americans stated that TV advertising still has the most impact on their buying decisions.
Phil Asmundson, Vice Chairman Deloitte LLP states that “Consumers are not only watching television, they are talking about it, and those conversations are frequently taking place in real-time online and via IM/texting. By embracing the Internet as a platform that encourages audiences to participate in discussions about their favorite programs, television is maintaining its hold on the American public. People want to be part of the real-time conversation and they are embracing both platforms in a complementary fashion.”
Asmundson adds, “And, because television has embraced the Internet and social media so effectively, the traditional television advertising model is alive and well”
Here are some of the highlights from Deloitte’s Media Survey:
TV Retains its Power
Despite the continued growth of access to television content through other channels, with more than half of U.S. consumers preferring to watch their favorite shows on their home TV system
Nearly three-quarters of consumers prefer to watch their favorite TV shows live — even given a variety of other options, including recording systems or online video services
TV programming continues to be the most discussed content, ahead of social networking sites, music, Websites and movies
Flat-panel TV ownership has increased dramatically, with 59% of households now owning at least one
Print magazines survive the digital tsunami
Since 2007, a consistent 70+% of U.S. consumers continue to enjoy reading printed magazines — even though they know they can find the same content online
Since 2007, 80+% of consumers who read a magazine in the past six months state that reading the printed copy is their favorite method
55% of households report subscribing to printed magazines
55% of U.S. consumers surveyed report that an important feature of printed magazine is the advertising that helps them learn about new things for themselves and their family
Rise of the smartphones
This year, 17% of consumers who owned smartphones rated the smartphone as their most valued device, up from 6% in 2007 and 2008
Smartphone ownership is strongest in the households of trailing millennials (51%), leading millennials (54%) and generation Xers (42%)
30% of smartphone owners have used their device to make a purchase over the past year, and more than half have used their smartphone or other mobile device as a replacement for their laptop’s functionality while away from home
Cloud computing may lead to universal content access
Most U.S. consumers own a device that allows them to connect to the Web easily: 85% of households own a desktop computer, 68% of households own a laptop/ netbook; 44% of households subscribe to broadband cable Internet access, 39% of households subscribe to broadband DSL, and 41% of all mobile phone users access the Internet on their mobile phone
51% of U.S. consumers have experienced a computer or hard drive failure that caused them to lose digital content, and 32% expressed a desire for an online media storage service
43% of respondents would like to move content to any device and platform easily and effectively — indicating that cloud storage could provide consumers with an attractive option for greater access to content and greater portability
TV is complimented by social media
57% of U.S. consumers currently maintain a social networking site
26% of U.S. consumers are socializing online everyday/almost everyday (via social networking sites, chat rooms or message boards)
55% of U.S. consumers believe strongly/somewhat that online consumer reviews and ratings influence their buying decisions more than any type of online advertising
51% of U.S. consumers have purchased a product based on an online recommendation
65% of U.S. consumers frequently/occasionally visit web sites as a result of someone’s online recommendation
24% of U.S. consumers would find it extremely/very desirable to have an online service that recommends a product based on other consumers’ preferences
65% of U.S. consumers frequently/occasionally visit web sites as a result of someone’s online recommendation
55% of Americans believe strongly/somewhat that online consumer reviews and ratings influence their buying decisions more than any type of online advertising
The online survey polled nearly 2,000 consumers between the ages of 14 and 75 years old in the United States. Click on the following link to download a pdf of Deloitte’s State of Media Democracy Survey
Imagine the impact upon the ad industry by high-technology, available in the near future, with display glass at the center of it.
“More companies are incorporating technology into their marketing to make their promotions stand out. The changes are upending the ad business and forcing consumers to engage with pitches in new ways. Think virtual test-drives of cars and storefronts that let consumers interact with the screen.” - Suzanne Vrancia, Wall Street Journal
Corning is the world leader in glass technology. Check out A Day Made of Glass, Corning’s stunning video illustrating a vision of the future of communications and other technologies that will further impact the Ad Industry and agency new business. This is an incredible video and well worth your time.
4.2 million views and 2,200 comments within the first 3 weeks after Corning uploaded their video.
A special thanks to my friend Trey Pennington for turning me on to this video. Trey is a marketing pro, speaker and author. Check out his site: connections, content, conversations: commerce
“It is the people who figure out how to work simply in the present, rather than the people who mastered the complexities of the past, who get to say what happens in the future.”
A look back at the history of social media can help us better move forward as it continues to rapidly evolve.
There are social media solutions for almost every need. These are exciting times for the advertising industry. I enjoy every day of exploring the potential of social media to advance ad agency new business and share what I’m learning with you.
Social media, in an incredibly short period of time, has become mainstream. Millions of people connect through social media channels daily. To better understand where it is going, it is important to review its brief past.
Webdesigner Depot, has created an excellent summary of the history of social media. Changes occur almost on a daily basis but this look back can help you put rising popularity of social media into context. The following are the major topics covered in this resourceful article, that highlight’s social media’s history along with summaries of the various platforms that continue to evolve:
Precursors to Social Media: Usernets, BBSs (Bulletin Board Systems), IRC, ICQ, and Instant Messaging
Early Social Networks: Dating Sites, Forums, Six Degrees (the first modern social network) and Live Journal
Major Advances in Social Networking: Friendster, Hi5, LinkedIn, MySpace and Facebook
Other Major Social Networks: Multiply (family friendly social network), Orkut (Google’s social network), Kontain (allowing users to follow each other through photos, videos, and music, rather than just simple status updates)
Niche Social Networks: Ning, Media Sharing, Photobucket. Flickr, YouTube, Revver
Social News and Bookmarking: Delicious, Digg, Reddit
Real Time Updates: Twitter, Posterous, Tumblr,
Lifestreaming and Lifecasting: Ustream.tv, Justin.tv, FriendFeed, WP Lifestream
As important as it was for your ad agency to have a website, it is now equally important that your agency have a blog. A blog is becoming the gateway for agency new business.
Ad agencies need to rethink their approach to new business and intensify their focus for creating magnetic content that will attract prospective clients, rather than relying primarily on the interruption model of cold calls an unsolicited direct mail, which consumers are responding to less and less.
In a recent Ad Agency New Business Survey that I recently conducted, 64% of the 430 responding ad agencies said they have a blog. For the remaining 36% of the agencies that don’t but should, I’ve compiled the following check-list to help get your agency’s blog quickly up and running for new business:
RSS Subscription button so your readers can opt to read content through a tool such as Google Reader. Readers may also choose to get these feeds for new content from your blog through their in-box. You can easily set this up through Feedburner.
Email Subscription: provide a linked-button for readers to opt-in to receive your email newsletter.
Also provided linked-buttons in your blog’s sidebar for people to be able to connect with you through your Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts.
Use a Facebook app to post new content directly to your Facebook account. There’s also a similar app for LinkedIn. Anytime you posts, those posts will automatically be published to your social media accounts.
Provide readers a way to ‘Like’ and ‘Tweet’ your posts. Also provide the button-links for your readers to easily share content through sites like Stumbleupon, Digg, Reddit or that would allow them to share it through an email or print out a copy.
Host your blog on your own domain. You never know when you might want to change from a WordPress or Typepad blog to something else.
SEO Measure: the number of your inbound links and the power of those links. You can use Page Rank Checker, a free tool, to check the current page rank of your blog. Rankings will range between 1 and 10 (with 10 being the highest)
Unique post titles, less than 75 characters. I recommend consistently including key words to dominate in Google (i.e. for me it’s ”ad agency new business”, which I include in almost every post title.
Post 2 to 5 times per week, 1 ‘original’ post for every 4 to 5 ‘resource’ posts.
Average post length should be 350 to 450 words. Less than that your post probably doesn’t have enough valued content to make it worths someones effort to click-through. If it’s more than 450 words, the amount of content is daunting and they often wont even begin to read your content.
People generally don’t read word-for-word online, they tend to scan. Make your posts scannable. Use bold, italics, indention, quotation marks, bullet-pointed and numbered lists.
Add links to your posts when appropriate. Be sure to provide attribution for resources used in your post and links to your primary resources.
Add 1 image per post, it will make your copy visually more interesting and emphasize your primary point.
Check your blog’s analytics frequently (once or twice a day) to see top posts, number of page views, referring sites, search engine terms, clicks, incoming links, etc. Keep your blog traffic trending upwards from month-to-month.
Your blog should be easy to navigate by your readers. Provide at least 10 to 12 blog post categories and search feature for your blogs content. Highlight your top posts in a sidebar widget.
Make it personal. Include your photo in the blog’s sidebar and a welcome which states the purpose of the blog and ways for your audience to connect. Keep in mind that people want to work with other people that they know, trust and like. Your blog provides them that opportunity.
I would recommend that you add and About page, Contact page and Services page for when a reader wants to check you out further, in their on time. Provide specific information about your first-steps with a new client so that they know exactly how to engage you. For example, my first-point of engagement with a client is a social media | new business workshop.
Be sure that you have a nice a clean blog template that allows for easy navigation and also highlights your content. Content is more important than design and is key to your blog’s traffic.
Here are some additional agency blogging resources that may be a help to get you started:
26 agency blogs were submitted for Fuel Line’s Ad Agency Blog of the Mont for December. The blog, Talk is Cheap, Strategis, Stoughton, MA was selected by 66% of the votes. Second in the voting was L&S Unscripted, Lawrence & Schiller, Sioux Falls, SD.
strategis, as our name implies, is a strategically based marketing communications company, one prepared to creatively tackle any challenge a client puts forth. if your company, organization or brand is in need of smart, results-driven, media neutral, inventive, smart (did we say that already) ideas – you should probably contact us.
our agency has been at the forefront of the social media revolution. we assist our clients by starting one-on-one dialogs with their consumers, their customers via online tools such as social networking, search optimization, consumer generated content and online public relations. it’s smart to work with strategis – and our smarts make you look smart.
fyi: strategis also provides awesome strategic counsel • brand management • market research • account planning • public relations • event marketing • advertising • web development • direct marketing • media planning / buying • creative development • results tracking /reporting• hr recruiting solutions and branding • diversity marketing
Strategis’s blog will automatically be included in Fuel Line’s Ad Agency Blog of the Year.
Fuel Line’s Blog of the Month not only provides examples of agency blogs but it is an opportunity for agencies to showcase their blog and participation in social media, generating traffic and interest in their site.
How is your agency using a blog for your new business? Submit it for December’s blog of the month.
Ad agencies all need an integrated social media strategy if they are ever going to see the payoff from their participation in social media. An agency blog should be the central component. The place you can drive targeted online traffic through SEO, Twitter, email newsletters, Facebook and LinkedIn.
A blog becomes the “gateway” to your agency and the“face” of your agency. As important as it was to have an agency website, it is now equally important to have an agency blog.
But … having a blog isn’t something you check off your list of social media “to do list.”Nor is it a place to lead with agency capabilities and credentials. It must be of benefit to your audience.
Here is a collection of agency blogging resources:
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. His answer was no. Then, I raised the question, “what are you going to do to get up to speed?” He didn’t have an answer.
Big agencies know that digital training is now critical. Rising to meet the escalating demands for digital, most of them are now requiring that almost all of their employees develop digital skills. According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, the bigger agencies are spending roughly $750,000 to $1.5 million on digital training programs this year.
“We can no longer just acquire [digital] firms; it’s just not good enough,” says Bob Jeffrey, JWT’s chief executive.
WPP’s Ogilvy & Mather has upped their digital training by 150% this year through the following programs to help to help workers acquire digital skills:
Hyper Island—A workshop for senior executives including client services, creative, planning and production on the implications of digital on the business.
Digital Acceleration—A content-driven training program that provides in-depth learning on key new digital trends/offerings such as Internet search, customer relationship management, mobile marketing, analytics, etc.
Digital Boot Camp—aka “Digital 101,” an agency-wide program offered monthly that covers the basics of digital channels including social media, digital production, etc.
Associates Program—A training program for entry-level employees that provides them with cross-training across agency disciplines with digital as a key component.
Ogilvy Digital Lab—Special events featuring emerging media and innovation. Includes bringing in industry experts in specific digital areas—such as, Mobile Social Day, Google Day, Out of Home Innovation, etc.
I love this quote by author Clay Shirky, particularly as I think about how the rapidly advancing digital technology is impacting our industry:
“It is the people who figure out how to work simply in the present, rather than the people who mastered the complexities of the past, who get to say what happens in the future.”
What are you doing to prepare your agency for this digital revolution?
The State of Social Media for Business 2010, a survey report that provides your agency with helpful information for using social media to generate new business.
To effectively use social media for business development, it is important to know who is using social media, how they are using it, what social media channels are being used, what goals are being pursued and tactics deployed that are providing measurable results.
More than 6,000 SmartBrief readers participated in a benchmarking study of social-media usage by business. The results provide insights of how social media is changing the way we do business and just how companies are using social media for business. The State of Social Media for Business 2010 report, released at the beginning of 2011, provides information on the biggest trends and challenges.
Here are eight select themes and data points from the survey (purchase the full brief for more in-depth details):
Most companies surveyed have adopted social media in the past 18 months.About half of the companies in the sample have been using social media for only the past year, with nearly 20% starting in the past 13 to 18 months.
Companies are focusing their energies on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and blogs.The concentration on “the big 5” hints at companies being able to find their customers on these sites. With lower awareness and/or usage of other sites, including platforms such as Flickr with large numbers of users, companies might be missing out on more niche groups.
It takes time for companies to incorporate social media effectively. More than 25% of companies with two-plus years of social media activity state that those tools and platforms have been fully integrated into their companies’ business models. In addition, more than 50% have a well-developed or fully developed social- media strategy, which is further evidenced by the use of multiple platforms.
Brand building is currently the primary purpose for business social-media usage. Despite the primary goals of increasing brand awareness and building communities for customers and fans, the majority of companies surveyed use social media to broadcast information instead of creating two-way conversations.
Communications, advertising and marketing agencies are the leading adopters of social media.Communications and PR agencies recognized the potential behind social media earlier than most industries. Likewise, advertising and marketing firms have realized the potential of identifying and reaching target audiences relatively early as compared with other industries. Despite their early presence in social media, communications and PR firms are not the chosen source of advice or consultation on social media for companies.
Lack of management support and confidentiality concerns are atop the list of obstacles to social-media adoption. One-third of the respondents note they are not decision makers. Combined with the 14.7% citing management resistance, this indicates an overall lack of management support. In addition, 33.1% cite confidentiality issues as a primary obstacle. Taken together with the prohibition of social-network use at work, the data show that many companies are concerned about how their staff would use these sites.
Less than 15% of the businesses using social media are measuring return-on-investment. Connecting social media efforts to bottom-line results is a skill that escapes most businesses that are using social media. Over 33% of the businesses in the sample are not measuring return on investment at all. Among those innovators who are measuring social media, most focus on usage and incoming traffic but not traditional business metrics.
While 60% of respondents say their companies are using social media, there is low confidence in their social-media strategies. Companies are critical of their social-media strategies, with only 14.2% describing their strategies as “very effective” and only 7.3% describing them as “very revenue generating” on average.
These are a few of the report highlights of where businesses are in their social-media usage, confidence and measurement. The full State of Social Media for Business 2010 is available for sale from SmartBrief: http://www.smartbrief.com/research/ and includes:
145 pages
213 charts and graphs
6 data cuts
Key indicators of social-media integration
Comparative data based on company size and industry focus
Benchmarks to assess where your company is on the social-media adoption curve
An introduction by social-media expert and SmartBrief on Social Media Advisory Board member, Olivier Blanchard
Concise and helpful information for prospective clients regarding the trends that will impact consumer behavior in 2011 and positioning as an advertising leader for JWT.
JWT has released its sixth annual year-end forecast of key trends that will drive or significantly impact consumer behaviour in the year ahead. The result of quantitative, qualitative and desk research conducted throughout the year and pulling from the input of more than 50 trend-scouts around the world. JWT is a believer in scoping out trends through its JWT Intelligence unit.
In their sixth annual year-end forecast of trends for the near future, technology is the overriding theme, driving many of our trends and at the center of others. The economy also continues to be a common thread. As a companion to their 88-page report, JWT created a 2-minute teaser video that gives a quick rundown of the top 10 trends for 2011.
Headquartered in New York, JWT is a true global network with more than 200 offices in over 90 countries. They employ some 10,000 marketing professionals.
JWT consistently ranks among the top agency networks in the world and continues its dominant presence in the industry by staying on the leading edge—from producing the first-ever TV commercial in 1939 to developing award-winning branded content for brands such as Freixenet, Ford and HSBC.
Agencies need to stay ahead of the curve and have a better understanding of the power of digital codes with the rising popularity of QR codes and the predicted boom for smart phone adoption rates.
QR Codes have great potential for advertisers and marketers. Though early, it is clear that they will also have great promise as a tool for ad agency new business.
According to Mashable, at least half of North Americans have been exposed to a digital barcode otherwise most popularly known as a QR code.
If you are new to QR Codes a simple Wikipedia definition:
The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on white background. The information encoded can be text, URL or other data.
While already popular in Japan, consumers in the United States are becoming more familiar with QR codes and what to do with them. If you’re unfamiliar with the business potential of QR codes, use the following 6 articles as a crash course in how to get started.
Why QR Codes Are Poised to Hit the Mainstream an excellent article by Mashable associate editor, Jennifer Van Grove, providing an overview of the potential for QR codes, an introduction to some popular smart phone apps, like Sticky Bits, that offers a tons of potential for brands and marketers.
New Browser Extension Generates 2D Barcodes On the Fly. TECHScanLife, maker of mobile barcode/QR code scanning applications, recently released a browser extension that lets users generate 2D barcodes — EZCode, QR code and Datamatriz — for any website, URL or image as they browse.
URL Shortener Bit.ly Now Generates QR Codes, Too. URL shortening service bit.ly users can now automatically generate QR codes that, when scanned with a mobile QR code reader, automatically direct users to shortened links.
HOW TO: Create and Deploy Your Own QR Codes. A very practical article that shows you how to create QR Codes for yourself. A super basic, step-by-step guide on how to create and deploy your own scannable messages.
A lot of agencies are out of tune with the business of advertising and that is disastrous for new business.
David Ogilvy, often called, “The Father of Advertising,” In 1962, Time called him “the most sought-after wizard in today’s advertising industry.” In this video Ogilvy offers some prophetic advise to ad agencies that is very relevant for today. A reminder that we are in the business of selling.
Ogilvy & Mather was built on David Ogilvy’s principles, that the function of advertising is to sell and that successful advertising for any product is based on information about its consumer. I have no doubt that Mr. Ogilvy would still be thriving in this new world of digital advertising and social media.
Steve Jobs has something to teach small to midsize ad agencies about pitching for new business.
Every new business pitch should do three things: inform, educate and entertain.
BusinessWeek.com columnist Carmine Gallo reveals the techniques that have turned Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, into one of the world’s corporate presenters. There are some helpful nuggets that will add punch to your next agency pitch.
Here is the ‘Readers Digest’ version of his 10 Ways to Sell Your Ideas the Steve Jobs Way:
Plan your presentation with pen and paper. Begin by storyboarding your presentation. Steve Jobs spent his preparation time brainstorming, sketching and white-boarding before he creating his presentation. All of the elements of the story that he wants to tell are thought through, elements are planned and collected before any slides are created.
Create a single sentence description for every service/idea. Concise enough to fit in a 140-character Twitter post. An example, for the introduction of the MacBook Air in January, 2008, Jobs said that is it simply, “The world’s thinnest notebook”.
Create a villain that allows the audience to rally around the hero—you and your product/service. A ‘villain’ doesn’t necessarily have to be a direct competitor. It can be a problem in need of a solution.
Focus on benefits. This is important for ad agencies to remember. Your audience only cares about how your service will benefit them so lead with benefits rather than agency credentials and capabilities.
Stick to the rule of three for presentations. Almost every Jobs presentation was divided into three parts. You might have twenty points to make, but your audience is only capable of retaining three or four points in short-term memory. Give them too many points and they’ll forget everything you’ve said.
Sell dreams, not your services. Steve Jobs didn’t sell computers. He was passionate about helping to create a better world. That was the promise that he sold. For example, when Jobs introduced the iPod in 2001, he said, “In our own small way we’re going to make the world a better place.” Where most people see the iPod as a music player, Jobs saw it as a tool to enrich people’s lives.
Create visual slides. There were no bullet points in a Steve Jobs’ presentation. Instead he relied on photographs and images. When Steve Jobs unveiled the Macbook Air, Apple’s ultra-thin notebook computer, he showed a slide of the computer fitting inside a manila inter-office envelope. Keep your agency presentation’s that simple.
Make numbers meaningful. Jobs always put large numbers into a context that was relevant to his audience. The bigger the number, the more important it is to find analogies or comparisons that make the data relevant to your audience.
Use plain English. Jobs’s language was remarkably simple. He rarely, if ever, used the jargon that clouds most presentations—terms like ‘best of breed’ or ‘synergy’. His language was simple, clear and direct. So don’t use agency speak when presenting, “integration, proprietary process, etc.”
Practice, practice, practice. Steve Jobs spent hours rehearsing every facet of his presentation. Every slide was written like a piece of poetry, every presentation staged like a theatrical experience. Steve Jobs made a presentation look effortless but that polish came after hours and hours of arduous practice. Agencies often are forced to rely on spontaneity to provide creative energy for a pitch because they have spent all of their time on putting together the presentation and leave little or no time for rehearsal. Most unrehearsed pitches end up falling flat.
This article was based on Carmine Gallo’s book, The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs. Applying this simple formula can greatly improve any agency’s pitch and help them to stand out from the rest. It is a must read for ad agencies, PR firms and digital shops.
There is a paradigm shift for how new business is being acquired for small to mid-size ad agencies.
Innovation and creativity are important elements for any small to midsize ad agency. They are also critical for ad agency new business. They can set your agency apart from the pack.
Creativity Online provides excellent innovative examples to spark some creative ideas of your own. Just be sure that you use some of your agency’s creative moxie for business development.
Ad Age and Creativity’s fifth annual list of the most inspiring and innovative thinkers and doers from among advertising, marketing, designers, directors, entrepreneurs, and others who have made the largest impact upon all creative cultures. Be sure to check out : Ashton Kutcher, Mike Hughes, Linus Karlsson and Paul Malmstrom along with Ty Montague, Ian Tait.
There are three services that are essential to “jump-start” you agency’s ability to generate inbound leads for new business using social media.
Most ad agencies are participating in social media, meaning they have a blog, Facebook Fan page, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts, but they haven’t connected the dots to generate qualified leads for their new business pipeline. It is primary for agencies to have a focused strategy and a clear objective for using social media specifically for new business.
Ad agencies can’t wait six months to start generating leads.They need to new business now.
To accelerate the time it takes for your online new business activities to begin producing, there are three services that I recommend:
To begin a successful agency new business program one of the first steps is to identify your best target audience and build a data base of company information that would include a contact database.
Many ad agencies and marketing services companies expect their new business director to build their own marketing and sales database. A number of ad agencies that I talk with attempt to maintain their own database of prospects. For a short list that is doable but if your list is large it is impossible to maintain unless you have someone totally dedicated to keeping it updated on a regular basis.
I recommend using a database service company. Most charge an annual fee to subscribe but the cost is usually worth the price because of the internal time saved along with updated information on thousands of companies, agencies and businesses.
My recommendation is The List, the service that I currently use and the service I recommend for my clients. It provided the “seed list” of email addresses for the FUEL LINESemail newsletter. If I need information on a company not in their data base, I can make a request and The List will research and get the data for me.
It’s worth your time to review theirfree trial and explore how many of your targeted prospects they have in their data base.
Questions to help determine if The List is the right new business database service for your agency:
How many “qualified” companies are listed that are viable prospects for your agency?
How many (marketing) contacts do they have at the companies that matter to me? Be sure they have them in the quantity you need to justify the expense for their.
What contact information is provided? Beyond the usual address and phone numbers do they have sufficient numbers of email addresses which would be a great resource for your agency’s eNewsletter.
SocialOomph.com is a service that provides free and paid productivity enhancement services to fuel your agency’s new business through social media. It is not only a great tool for your agency but also one that will greatly help with your clients social media efforts.
Content marketing is a key component for using social media for ad agency new business. Content is written for SEO so that it will be found by your best prospects who elevate you to a position as a thought leader. SocialOomph will help to repurpose you content through multiple social media channels. It is a huge time saver.
Out of the hundreds of tools that have been developed to enhance Twitter’s usefulness for marketing SocialOomphis the one that has been the most helpful for me.
These are some of the SocialOomphfeatures that I like and use:
Manage multiple accounts from one dashboard (your agency’s as well as clients Twitter accounts)
Manage an unlimited number of blogs
Upload your agency’s blog posts and URLs from an Excel spread sheet, in bulk to Social Oomph
Pre-set the date/time range for each post in minutes
Automatically shorten post URLs through Bit.ly and track clicks
Automate – follow those who follow you in Twitter
Automate – unfollow those who don’t follow you in Twitter
Purge and filter your Twitter account’s DM box
Small monthly fee that is month-to-month, cancelable at any time (more than pays for itself for the time that it saves)
Junior level people/interns can be easily trained to use this tool on behalf of the agency and clients
You can also schedule your agency blog posts to Facebook, just keep the repurpose level to only a few per day
Basecampis an online project management tool that focuses on communication and collaboration. It is the best tool that I’ve used for creating consistent new business programs for my clients. Many agencies enjoy it so well they in-turn use it for their clients. Basecamp expedites the new business process, provides an accountability system and moves projects forward. All communications, files, presentations, resources, meeting notes, etc. are all in one place. Milestones and To-Do lists easily created, assigned and tracked.
“Basecamp is so simple you (or your clients) can’t do anything wrong. Basecamp is addictively easy-to-use.” — Robert Hof, BusinessWeek
First rule of new business: make a list of the rules. Second rule of new business: break every rule on the list.
If you want to shake up your thinking regarding agency new business and following conventional wisdom, Alex Bogusky, the highly respected creative director for Crispin and Porter Advertising, shares his perspective.
He was one of the featured speakers at Mirren’s annual new business conference in New York. He urged attendees to ‘defy convention’.
“I hate conventional wisdom,” Bogusky said, “conventional wisdom is learning from your mistakes. What about learning from your successes? That’s where I’ve focused [my energies]. Like, this works, we better get down and study on this.”
Crispin Porter Bogusky’s success in new business came from breaking with conventional wisdom. He says that cheating is breaking the rules and (when it comes to new business) “If You’re Not Cheating, You’re Not Doing It Right”.
Alex joined Crispin and Porter Advertising in 1989 as an art director. He became the creative director five years later, a partner in 1997, and co-chairman in 2008.
Under Alex’s direction, Crispin Porter + Bogusky has grown to 900 + employees, with offices in Miami, Boulder, Los Angeles, London and Sweden. CP+B has become one of the world’s most awarded agencies, and is the only agency to have won the Cannes International Advertising Festival Grand Prix in all five categories: Promotion, Media, Cyber, Titanium and Film.
Alex was inducted into the Art Director’s Club Hall of Fame in 2008, and in 2009 he received an honorary PhD from the University of Colorado. He was also named Creative Director of the Decade in Adweek magazine’s Best of 2000s report.
Welcome to my blog, FUEL LINES: The best business development tips, tactics, practices and trends to help ad agencies, PR firms and digital shops create a more clearly defined focus and differentiating business strategy.
Click here to listen to my experience using social media from an ad agency new business perspective, BlogTalkRadio interview conducted by Trey Pennington
Posted by Michael Gass 
