Fueling Ad Agency New Business
The FOUNDATION of an ad agency’s new business program is its positioning. “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
SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 21, 2013 /PRNewswire-iReach/ — 2013 will see a new online professional development resource for advertising agency and marketing professionals in the form of Thought Legion, delivered exclusively via one of today’s most popular forms of training: live and on-demand webinars. The best minds in the business are already lining up to […]
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 […]
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
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. 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.
In a recent Advertising Age article Tim Williams 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.
“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.”
“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.”
The goal of most agency reviews is to “level the playing field” – a process designed to line up and compare agencies on a set of common characteristics. Your job as an agency executive is to unlevel the playing field. Rather than showing how well you compare, you should go out of your way to show how you don’t compare.
Michael Gass, Business Development Consultant | Speaker | Author of Fuel Lines
Fuel Lines provides new business resources for Advertising, Digital, Media and PR Agencies.
It has been rated among the top 100 marketing blogs in the world, according to Ad Age’s Power 150.
Since 2007, Michael has helped pioneer the use of social media, inbound and content marketing strategies specifically for agency new business.
Read more about Michael
An essential component to your agency's new business program is a prospective client data base.
In my opinion one of the most accurate online database of marketing and advertising decision makers is Winmo. I highly recommend them.
I'm Michael Gass, I'm an author, speaker and a new business consultant to advertising, digital, media and PR agencies.
Since 2007, I have helped pioneer the use of social media, inbound and content marketing strategies specifically for agency new business.
Fuel Lines is my social media 'home-base. It has been ranked among the top 100 marketing blogs in the world, according to Advertising Age’s, The Power 150.
Learn more about me