Phil's Blog

The Surprise Ending

Over the last 18 months, most ad agencies have come through three waves of cuts -- a combination of salary and staff reductions and freezes as well as limited or eliminated bonuses. 

It was all caused by loss of clients, loss of new business opportunities, less spending and lower fees, of course. These are very tough times. 

But there's a surprise ending for many shops. Profit. Many will finish this year in the black, some further ahead than two or three years ago when times were good. Congratulations!

Now what? 

Will salaries be restored? No. Will new hiring begin? Very s-s-s-slowly.

This is the time when agency ownership has all the excuses to be conservative and staff can be worked hard without complaint. 

Is this a bad thing? No, this is the reason to own the business.

BREAKING NEWS: Getting Social Not New

Try and remain calm.

Since the days of cave men and cave women (aka cave people) who drew pictures on their cave walls, humans have been social. We are social beings.

So please don't become apoplectic in your agency (or PR firm) presentation about how immersed you are in this "new" area. It ain't new.

Facebook, Twitter and other so-called social media are but two means of getting social with your customers online. Many companies have proven promotions there. Others have started conversations with their customers there. But just because they're all the range, doesn't mean they'll work for your company's brands. 

In fact, the first place for you to have an online conversation with your consumers is on your own Web site! Wouldn't that be nice?

Free Research(for an unlimited time only)

"When designing your Web presence, be certain you will be listening to your customers."

Every organization's Web site should promote conversations with your customers and potential customers. It's the cheapest research you can do. 

Being social is part of our makeup and allowing feedback and questions is essential to the success of your Web presence. Obviously, you may not heed all the advice you receive. You may disagree with criticisms as well. Still you will understand your market better and receive guidance that will help in the further development of your site, your message and your interaction with loyal customers.

Plus it's essentially free.

Phil

Ptich Different

sem·i·nal / ˈsemənl/

adj. 1. (of a work, event, moment, or figure) strongly influencing later developments: his seminal work on chaos theory. (Encyclopedia.com) 

This is a seminal moment in marketing and advertising. Digital alternatives and an historic recession are hitting companies led by officers who are reluctant to risk money, plan ahead and try new strategies.

It's a time when understanding how to pitch is more important than ever. Traditional pitches are being made by newly remade agencies and new "digital" companies. Most of their pitches don't work.

Pitch your new business in a way that will win you votes from selection committees and, ultimately, win you the account.

The first step is to email me.

The second step is much harder. Let me tell you what it is.

Phil

Five Things Your Digital Folks Didn't Tell You About The Internet

Free for the asking. 

If you email me about this, I will send you back the five things your digital folks (whatever titles they may have) did not tell you about the Internet.

I will also offer questions relating to each of the five that you really must answer.

So, drop everything now. Click on this: email Phil link. And ask for the: 

Five Things Your Digital Folks Didn't Tell You About The Internet.

If you don't have digital folks, email me and ask anyway.

Phil

What We've Got Here

"What we've got here is a failure to communicate." - Strother Martin as the prison Captain in the film Cool Hand Luke

Failure to listen to prospective clients isn't the only mistake I observe ad agencies and PR firms making in their new business efforts. 

It is, perhaps, the most significant error overall, because this failure occurs at every stage of the new business evaluation process.

No need to state the irony here. If it isn't apparent, you may stop reading now. 

What I would add is that my one-day Business Building seminars enumerate all the keys to success and failure in presenting to new potential clients. Almost forty agencies and PR firms so far have heard both the common and the remarkable failures in the management sessions I have conducted at their shops. 

While I prefer focusing on the positive and pro-active ideas, it's important to know what will get you booted from consideration. And what you must do in order to win.

For your own session, please email me.

Phil

The Popular Strategy

Need a solution for your sales slump? Trying to build brand loyalty? Well, do what all sophisticated marketers doing these days: go social.

Wanna be popular? Then go for what's popular!

Sometimes, when something doesn't make sense, you do it anyway. Don't you remember high school?

Seriously, ad agencies telling their clients and pitching potential clients that all their answers are in the social media are advising from the shallow end of the pool.

So, befriend, poke and tweet. But do little thinking, too. What will get people to try your product and what won't? 

Monkey see, monkey do is not a sound marketing strategy. Even if it's popular.

Consulting For You -- A Fourth Anniversary

This blog celebrates its fourth anniversary this month. Hooray!

To celebrate, here is my very first blog post from November 2005:

“My greatest strength as a consultant is to be ignorant and ask a few questions.” --Peter F. Drucker After I retired from 30 years at General Mills, Six Flags and, on the agency side, from Campbell-Mithun (Minneapolis) and my own advertising agency partnerships, I traveled, I relaxed and I taught for a semester at the University of Florida. But I became a little bored. What to do? I love capitalism and, especially, marketing and advertising. So I became a part-time marketing consultant, part-time retiree. In the first two years of this new consulting career, I have been hired to coordinate ad agency (and PR firm) reviews. I have also helped advertisers (aka "clients") to negotiate better, often less expensive compensation agreements. I love it. If you and your management want to improve your marketing, conduct an agency review, negotiate a better compensation agreement, please call or email me. Let’s talk. Thank you. Phil Schwartz

The Absolute Best Ad Agency Web Site, Bar None

In many of the Business Building seminars I conduct for advertising agency management, I am asked what agency sites I admire and believe to be most effective.

I am careful to be objective, so I provide several examples, usually from agencies outside my principal geographical area of work. One who advises clients on their agency reviews must not show bias.

Since the agency whose site I hold in such high regard is not likely to compete in the reviews I do, there is no loss of objectivity. 

Please email me (including your name, title and direct business contact information). I will email you back today with the URL.

Phil

Coming tomorrow: The absolute best ad agency site on the Web.

You will agree. 

Tomorrow, I will reveal what is absolutely, positively the best Web site of any advertising agency in the United States, its possessions, outlying islands and much of the rest of the world.

But there's a catch. You will have to email me to get the link. See how lead-building is done?

Phil