Tim Williams « FUEL LINES Fueling Ad Agency New Business Through Social Media

Is Advertising a Respected Profession?

August 31, 2011

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!”

Do you agree or disagree?

Click on the following link to read Tim’s complete article, “Is Advertising a Profession?” and share your opinion by taking this twt Poll: Is advertising a profession? or weigh in with your opinion in the comment section below.

11 Comments | Agency Leadership, Agency Networks, Fuel for Thought, Positioning | Tagged: Advertising, advertising agencies, Gallup Poll, Jason Falls, Michael Gass, profession, standards, Tim Williams | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass

Ad Agencies: 10 Tips That Separates the Best From the Rest

September 23, 2010

The agencies that win the most new business have a differentiating position from their competitors.

“Most managers invest their time and energy in trying to make their firms better, when in fact they should be also be working to make their firms different” – From Positioning for Professionals

I had the privilege to attend a Tim Williams seminar, “What Separates the Best from the Rest,” when I was the new business director for a regional advertising agency. Since that time I have read everything he has written.

Tim understands and can articulate agency positioning for new business better than anyone. He has a new book that was recently released that I personally recommend to you, Positioning for Professionals: How Professional Knowledge Firms Can Differentiate Their Way to Success.

10 quick tips from Positioning for Professionals:

Bigness is no longer a competitive advantage
Its better to be a profit leader than a market share leader
There is no competitive advantage in doing what others do
There is no such thing as full service
Most professional service brands are not overpriced, they are just underexclusive
Most firms are engaged in fighting turf wars, instead of finding new turf
No customer is going to buy a vague brand
For a brand to be in the middle of the road = death
“Boxed in?”, no box means no strategy
The main difference between mediocre firms and great ones is not just vision, but execution

I thought you might also enjoy a perusing through some of the book’s best parts, an expansion on these 10 tips:

Tim Williams leads Ignition (www.ignitiongroup.com), a consultancy devoted to helping marketing communications firms create and capture more value. He is author another book that I highly recommend, “Take a Stand for Your Brand: Building a Great Agency Brand from the Inside Out” ranked by Amazon as one of the top ten books on brand building.

2 Comments | Agency Leadership, Best Practices, New Business Trends, Positioning | Tagged: Blogs I Recommend, differentiation, Ignition Group, Michael Gass, positioning, Tim Williams | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass

7 Benefits from the Right Positioning for Ad Agency New Business

September 20, 2010

The FOUNDATION of an ad agency’s new business program is its positioning.

When you have the right positioning its like fishing for a specific fish, with a particular bait. You know where the fish are, what bait is appealing to them, the right equipment to use and you have developed the expertise to catch the real trophies.

“By appealing to everyone, brands end up appealing to no one. Standing for everything is the same as standing for nothing.” Tim Williams, author of, Positioning for Professionals

So, the starting point for a successful agency’s new business program needs to be positioning. But it is also the place where most agencies fail.

“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

I hope these 7 benefits for having the right positioning, will spur you to more narrowly focus and define the uniqueness of your agency for new business.

The right positioning provides:

A clearer direction for how the agency should spend its time, money and resources. It is amazing how these things fall into place so easily once the agency’s rudder has been set by the right positioning.
A broader market area for your agency. A strong positioning, particularly coupled with social media can greatly expand your market area affordably. The Russo Group, Lafayette, LA, now generates over 90% of their new business outside of their market.
A specific target audience. Through positioning you can have a well-defined criteria for identifying who are your agency’s best prospects that are reflective of its strengths and expertise.
A smaller group of competitors. There will be fewer agencies that do what your agency does. You’ll be able to identify a smaller group of competitors that you can use to greater enhance your agency’s point of differentiation.
A greater winning percentage for new business. Your agency can become the 800 pound gorilla, the agency with the moxie but only by having the right positioning. An agency that specialized in marketing academic medical centers, refuses to do speck creative, wins a greater amount of their pitches and those accounts are profitable from day one!
Improved profitability. First, you can command premium pricing because your agency is viewed as a specialist not a generalist. Secondly, your agency will know its playing field better than most and is not spending excessive time trying to get up to speed with every new account.
Greater appeal. Instead of always chasing business, it’s possible to have business start chasing you. When prospective clients know what your agency stands for, they’ll seek you out.

Additional articles that may be of interest to you:

Leave a Comment » | Agency Branding, Agency Leadership, Best Practices, New Business Trends, Positioning | Tagged: Blogs I Recommend, Bob Lundin, Jones Lundin Beals, Michael Gass, positioning, Tim Williams | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass

Can you describe your ad agency’s positioning in 30 seconds?

June 11, 2010

The starting point for any ad agency new business program is positioning. It is a fundamental prerequisite for small and midsize agencies. But it is also the place where most agencies where most fail. Positioning is everything.

“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

Brand coach Josh says, “If you can’t say why your [agency] brand is both different and compelling in a few words, don’t fix your statement, fix your [agency] company.”

Can you define your agency’s positioning in a simple statement? I can’t begin to tell you how many agencies I know struggle with this.

Advertising agencies and other marketing firms must do for themselves what they do for their clients – this SlideShare presentation, Agency Brand Thyself, provides an excellent overview of agency positioning based on the work of Ignition’s Tim Williams as outlined in his book “Take a Stand for Your Brand: Building a Great Agency Brand from the Inside Out.”

Advertising agencies need positioning because prospective clients have lots of choices—and if you don’t stand out, you are going to struggle with new business.

10 Things a Clear Positioning Provides for Your Ad Agency:

An increase in your agency’s relevance
A direction for how your agency spends its time, money and resources
An understanding on the types of persons to hire
A better new business win ratio
A strong appeal to a select group of prospects
Prospects that line up with your agency’s core strengths, what you do best
A broader market area
Fewer competitors, because there will be fewer firms who do what you do
Have prospects seek out your agency
Better margins, because well-focused agencies command premium pricing

Follow Tim Williams on Twitter. I would also encourage you to read Tim’s book Take a Stand for Your Brand

5 Comments | Agency Branding, Agency Leadership, Agency Search Consultants, Best Practices, New Business Tips, Promotion | Tagged: Blogs I Recommend, branding, Ignition Group, Michael Gass, new business development, positioning, Tim Williams | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass

16 Risks Small-to Mid-size Ad Agencies Can’t Afford to Take

November 19, 2009

The only constant in advertising is change. To maintain success, you have to keep up. That isn’t easy. Especially with this revolutionary change we’re experiencing in communications. I try to learn something new every day. I know that to do so is essential for my ability to survive, let alone succeed.

“In times of change, learners inherit the Earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.”

Eric Hoffer, American Social Writer

I have great respect for Tim Williams. He is the author of the book Take a Stand for Your Brand, an important read for every small-to mid-size agency CEO. In a recent AdvertisingAge article he writes,

“… we’re at the nexus of the Great Recession and the Great Transformation of Marketing. In circumstances like these, a strategy of “just try harder” won’t take you very far.”

Tim shares 15 things your agency can’t afford to risk during these current times of change:

A skill set built mostly around interruption instead of engagement.
A digital department in place of a digital competency.
Core competencies focused on “one to many” instead of “one to one.”
Creating brand-to-consumer communications at the expense of consumer-to-consumer communications.
Lack of analytics and tools to measure effectiveness.
Production systems that are linear instead of organic.
Developing media plans instead of channel plans.
Placing media instead of creating media.
Creating brand transactions instead of brand relationships.
Focusing on “the big idea” instead of “big multichannel ideas.”
Traditional production staff instead of “producers.”
Expecting account executives to be both strategic leaders and project managers.
Continuing to allocate client budgets to media instead of creative.
A business strategy that attempts to support high-value offerings (strategy and ideation) as well as increasingly low-value offerings (basic production and execution).
Selling hours worked instead of value created.

I would add a 16th risks that agencies can’t afford to take:

Beginning 2010 without a written new business strategy, that includes social media as a primary component, to generate inbound leads.

Read the entire article, Agencies: 15 Risks You Can’t Afford Not to Take

Social Media is also impacting ad agency new business …

3 Comments | Agency Leadership, New Business Trends, Social Media | Tagged: ad agency, AdAge, advertising agencies, Eric Hoffer, new business, Risks, Take A Stand for Your Brand, Tim Williams | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass

Expand Your Agency By Narrowing Your Focus

August 6, 2009

Most ad agencies have an unfocused new business strategy. They try to be everything to everybody. Tim Williams, in a recent article titled, “Focus to Grow”, says,

“In turbulent times … The natural response is to “try a little bit of everything”; to expand your services, broaden your capabilities, and try to appeal to more clients. It seems like common sense, but it’s exactly the wrong response. The best growth strategy — in good economies or bad — is to decide what not to do.”

Tim sites these five benefits for the agencies that are willing to expand by narrowing their focus:

The greatest earning power. It is a no brainer, a specialist will always earn more than the generalist.
The largest geographical market area. “Focused firms draw clients from all over the globe, not just from their own Zip code.”
The fewest competitors. ”The easiest way to narrow your competition is to narrow your focus.”
The greatest degree of respect from clients. ”Knowledge and expertise = respect.”
The most sophisticated clients. “A quality value proposition attracts a quality client.”

There are a lot of agency principals that agree with this thinking but are afraid to take the initial step-out. I understand their hesitation. But there is a way to take the initial steps without the perceived risks through the use of social media. Social media allows an agency to:

“Easily” target a specific audience (i.e. Locomotion Creative, Blue Collar Branding)
Discover its most appealing point of differentiation through an active engagement with its best prospective clients (i.e. Stephanie Holland, She-conomy)
Be positioned as an expert (i.e. Park Howell, A Brighter Shade of Green Marketing)
Affordably build a national awareness among your best prospects (ie. Jaci Russo, The Russo Group)
Allow your prospects to better understand how you think, your philosophy and strong points of view (i.e. Bob Hoffman, The Ad Contrarian, )

These are some helpful articles to get started. I would also encourage you to read Tim Summer’s book Take a Stand for Your Brand

6 Comments | New Business Trends, Recession, Social Media | Tagged: Blogs I Recommend, Bob Hoffman, Ignition Group, Locomotion Creative, Michael Gass, park howell, Social Media, Stephanie Holland, Take A Stand for Your Brand, Tim Williams | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass

What to do if your ad agency isn’t digitally prepared for new business

May 11, 2009

A challenge to senior agency executives: Create your own digital apprenticeship program.

Tim Williams, author of Take A Stand For Your Brand, encourages agency execs to assure their personal relevance in the marketing communications industry. He writes,

“Increasingly clients are turning to agencies not only for help but for thought leadership in digital marketing, and only the most progressive agencies are in a position to deliver it. Agency principals recognize the urgency and importance of the shift to digital, but are personally unprepared for the change.”

Tim suggests a solution to the problem: Create a self-study program that provides a fast track understanding of digital marketing and adapting your agency to the new digital landscape.

He says, “Think about the digitally-talented people you know and you’ll realize most of them are self-taught. They took an interest in digital and learned it on their own. You can do the same, especially because everything you need to know about digital is online, and most of it is free at sites ranging from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) to ClickZ.”

Key learning outcomes that could be achieved:

Have a sound understanding of the general principles of digital advertising
Be conversant with relevant technologies, devices and opportunities for digital communication campaigns
Understand how to integrate digital into the overall marketing mix
Have insight into the operational and logistical challenges that face both the agency and clients in adding digital to the marketing offering
Have increased confidence and inspiration to recommend digital solutions to your clients and prospective clients

Read the entire article: A Digital Apprenticeship For Senior Agency Executives

3 Comments | New Business Tips, New Business Tools, New Business Trends | Tagged: agency principals, apprenticeship, digital marketing, Ignition, Tim Williams | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass

Ad Agencies Need a Position for New Business

October 20, 2008

The starting point for any ad agency new business program is your positioning. It is a fundamental prerequisite for small and midsize agencies. Positioning is everything. But it is also the place where most agencies where most fail.

“Every decision an agency leader makes will be a better decision when made against the backdrop of a well-defined positioning. And every decision either contributes to or detracts from the agency brand; very few are neutral.

Branding your agency means moving from the middle and taking a side. If you don’t claim a position, you will be positioned simply by your location. Which is really no position at all.

They (agencies) are so eager to be ‘full-service’ that they try to stand for everything. But standing for everything is the same as standing for nothing.”

Tim Williams, President of the Ignition Group and author of Take a Stand for Your Brand

Positioning is what differentiates a brand in the customer’s mind. It is how you go to market.

Advertising agencies need positioning because prospective clients have lots of choices—and if you don’t stand out, you are going to struggle with new business.

In a recession your competition steps up their new business activities. Small to mid size agencies are out trolling for more business. Larger agencies are willing to accept smaller accounts when business is tight. Referrals and newtworks tend to dry up.

Brand coach Josh says, “If you can’t say why your [agency] brand is both different and compelling in a few words, don’t fix your statement, fix your [agency] company.”

Can you define your agency in a simple statement? I can’t begin to tell you how many agencies I know struggle with this.

Answering such a simple question isn’t that easy is it? One way to approach it is to think about why your agency brand matters to your target audience. I’ve taken a number of agencies through a series of steps to discover what makes them the only. It is a discovery process that is a journey to the core of their business. Remember, you can’t promote your way to being the one and only — you have to start with it.

Without a point of differentiation you will find it difficult to effectively market and promote your agency and you will struggle to succinctly define your agency and what it does.

Clear positioning provides:

An increase in your agency’s relevance
A direction for how your agency spends its time, money and resources
An understanding on the types of persons to hire
A better new business win ratio
A strong appeal to a select group of prospects
Prospects that line up with your agency’s core strengths, what you do best
A broader market area

Stop taking a “shotgun” approach to new business. Your agency will still obtain new business from referrals, networks and from those CMO’s who worked with you in the past but have changed companies and want to work with your agency again. If properly positioned, narrowing your agency’s focus, it is possible to have the right kind of prospects who seek out your agency when they know who you are and what you stand for.

4 Comments | New Business Tips, New Business Tools, New Business Trends | Tagged: Agency Branding, Agency Positioning, Michael Gass, midsize ad agencies, small ad agencies, Take A Stand for Your Brand, Tim Williams | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass

Promote Your Ad Agency Through the Recession

October 6, 2008

Let me preface this post by saying that small to midsize agencies have a once in a lifetime opportunity to grow their agency during the current, turbulent financial crisis. Now is the time to step up your advertising agency’s new business efforts.

Promote your agency through the recession by expanding your agency’s “Online Footprint.”

In 2008, four things have taken place that particularly impacts small and midsize agency new business:

In a 2008 CMO survey, 80% of decision makers say they found the vendor, not the other way around.
CMO Council’s Marketing Outlook study states that Marketing 2.0 is by no means a brand new idea, but this year it becomes mainstream with the general public.
Tim Williams, founder of Ignition Consulting Group , and author of the book, Take a Stand for Your Brand, declares in 2008 that it’s, “The End of Cold Calling.”
The current economic crisis that is impacting advertising budgets and will greatly accelerate Web 2.0. Following this recession, there will not be a return to business as usual.

How does this impact ad agency new business?

According to current research and trends, traditional media and methods will no longer generate sustainable leads for your agency’s new business. The new business paradigm that we are witnessing is positioning small and midsize advertising agencies online to be found their best target audiences. Agencies should develop an appealing point of differentiation and use Web 2.0 tools to greatly expand their agency’s “online footprint” to be easily found by their best prospective clients.

Below is an overview chart of the various inexpensive, online tools agencies can use to expand their online presence:

As a first step, I would suggest subscribing your agency to the following online services. It doesn’t matter if you don’t use them all immediately, but it is important to get a general understanding of them. Sign up for:

Facebook/Myspace
LinkedIn
Twitter
Digg
Technorati
Feedburner
GoogleAnalytics
YouTube
Flickr
Wikipedia entry

Secondly, agency principals and staff subscribe to relevant online professional networks and professional online forums. You and your staff should immediately link to one another, then to clients, friends and prospective clients. Everyone becomes an agency ambassador.

Experience the new media tools for yourself and build your staff’s capabilities and utilize the cost effectiveness of new media to promote your agency. For success, you’ll need to understand that motive matters, these tools need to be used correctly. Also they wont be effective unless they are used consistently.

Thirdly, create an agency blog, specific to a particular target audience. Provide useful information and resources. Build relationships and trust along with being positioned as an expert among your target group.

Fourth, continue expanding your agency’s online footprint using other new media tools such as eNewsletters, online surveys/polls, PR, presentations (SlideShare), downloadable whitepapers, PPC (AdWords), Ebooks and article marketing (EzineArticles).

When other agencies are cutting back, there is no better opportunity to pick up new clients, increase your agency’s profile and market share. You can do more online with a fraction of the cost.

If you have questions please don’t hesitate to email them to me.

Additional articles of interest:

11 Comments | New Business Trends, Recession | Tagged: 2008 CMO Survey, ad agency blog, ad agency website, advertising during a recession, agency promotion, Blogs I Recommend, Michael Gass, midsize ad agency, online footprint, small ad agency, Take A Stand for Your Brand, the end of cold calling, Tim Williams | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass

Does social media end cold calling as an ad agency new business tactic?

August 21, 2008

A definition from Wikepedia:

Cold calling is the process of approaching prospective customers or clients, typically via telephone, who were not expecting such an interaction. The word “cold” is used because the person receiving the call is not expecting a call or has not specifically asked to be contacted by a sales person.

This posts is specifically addressing the value of cold calls for ad agency new business. My background in advertising, for the majority of my career, has been spent in the area of new business. I never had difficulty making cold calls. As a matter of fact I have a gift for it. A natural ability to be persistent without being a pest. Some of my best new business acquisitions came as a result of cold calling. That being said, as it was then and even more so today, cold calling for ad agency new business is not an efficient method.

Many of those charged with the responsibility of new business are forced into a dependency upon cold calling as a new business tactic. Cold calling is only necessary if your agency principal(s) refuse to differentiate the agency from its competitors and create an appealing position for a specific target audience. Cold calling is often necessary if your agency doesn’t have a consistent new business program.

Tim Williams, founder of Ignition Consulting Group , and author of the book, Take a Stand for Your Brand, tells it like it is in his recent article, “The End of Cold Calling:”

“Ask any agency principal what he or she dislikes and avoids the most and the answer will almost always be the same: cold calling new business prospects. Not only is this the most dreaded activity among C-level agency executives, it’s also among the least effective.

Cold calling has always produced only modest results and today’s avoidance-enabling technology only makes it easier for prospects to hide from your phone calls and ignore your e-mails. I routinely hear from agency principals how traditional new business prospecting methods are becoming less and less effective.”

We are in an amazing paradigm shift in advertising and also in the way agencies acquire new business. Cold Calling has never been the best way to acquire new business. It generally only produces modest results from lots of effort and is even less effective today with the growth of social media. In my opinion, social media is the death nail to cold calling for new business.

Please take this quick poll: How receptive are YOU to cold calls?

31 Comments | New Business Tools, New Business Trends, Social Media | Tagged: 2008 new business survey, cold calling, Ignition Group, the end of cold calling, Tim Williams | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass

Fuel for Thought

July 6, 2008

“Branding your agency means moving from the middle and taking a side. If you don’t claim a position, you will be positioned simply by your location. Which is really no position at all.”

- Tim Williams