Ad Agency CEO

Tom Peters And Your Search For Excellence

Peter · April 22, 2018 · Leave a Comment

Listen To Tom Peters

Way back in 1982, I read Tom Peters and Robert Waterman’s “In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America’s Best-Run Companies.” While this may sound a bit over-the-top silly – it changed my perspective on business.

From the Book’s Amazon blurb:

The “Greatest Business Book of All Time” (Bloomsbury UK), In Search of Excellence, has long been a must-have for the boardroom, business school, and bedside table.Based on a study of forty-three of America’s best-run companies from a diverse array of business sectors, In Search of Excellence describes eight basic principles of management — action-stimulating, people-oriented, profit-maximizing practices — that made these organizations successful.

Me…

This book has formed the backbone of my business goals for over 30 years. I view the never-ending search for excellence plus the power of studying smart successful business leaders, a critical element of my personal success. I recommend that you take the 6.3 hours per week you spend on useless Trump news and read this seminal book. But wait… there’s more…

Much More Tom Peters

Peters has written 17 books. (17!) His latest book, “The Excellence Dividend: Meeting the Tech Tide with Work That Wows and Jobs That Last” was published this month. It is now on my iPad. Perfect airplane reading during my next flight.

I was made aware of the book via Mitch Joel’s Six Pixels Of Separation podcast (his 312th podcast!) “Tom Peter’s Is Back and Demands Excellence.” Listen to it. Peters is thoughtful; totally relates to today’s business environment, issues and opportunities (including ones that impact your agency); and entertains like crazy. Go for the information but stay for the energy. You’ll leave totally stoked.

By the way, how cool is your agency’s bathroom? Listen to the podcast and you’ll know what I mean.

What About Your Agency’s Excellence?

One of the points that Peters points out is that it is often the small (ish) things that create excellence, brand excellence, distinction excellence, customer love excellence. He points us to Vernon Hill, the founder of Commerce Bank and now CEO of the U.K.’s Metro Bank. Both are highly competitive and growing “small” banks at a time when most banks are trying to shed staff and branches. Hill’s banks have bathrooms in the lobby (sounds crazy, huh); very long 7-day hours and they love dogs. Compare that to your last visit to Bank of America or HSBC. Peters’ point is that customer service breeds love and incremental sales. I know you know this. But, do you practice it? From Metro’s website (as in, their promise):

Changing the way Britain banks — “We’ve built a different kind of high street bank. A bank with stores that are open when it suits you, 7 days a week. A bank where you can walk in without an appointment and walk out with a working account, debit card and all. A bank that tells you exactly what you’re getting, in language that actually makes sense. A bank that puts you first.”

So, agency people, what is excellent about your agency? LOL – I already know that you work 7 days a week.

Every large and small agency says they are service oriented. Every. So, how do you deliver service that is different / better? Some very general thoughts…

Do you have a standard, scheduled client/agency status review? In a simple format? It should be scheduled. Get the issues out front early. And, promote all the good you’ve done. Client’s have very short attention spans (except for past shit-storms).
Do you have a clearly stated client – agency – work process? A process that explains everyone’s roles. A process you share? If so, reshare it.
Does your CEO or President call the client? Ever?
Ever rebate the client for something? I know this may sound absurd. But.
Do you send your client highly relevant/useful insights? Here’s a good, easy to implement and surprising idea: do a flash, overnight online survey about something that’s on the client’s mind using Google’s inexpensive Google Surveys.
You probably have an agency newsletter. Is it smart/great? Opinionated? Um, different? Impossible to ignore? I am going to admit something. I need to redo my email newsletter. My 2,000+ subscribers are not seeing my best look. But, I am 1 busy guy. I can get away with this because my content is wonderful. You are an agency, you can’t get away with anything in 2018.
Do you train your agency staff, especially account managers? If so (a good old 1980’s idea right?), then let your clients know that you are proactive. Ever done a seminar for your clients? Example: “The Good, Bad and Ugly of Online Influencers”. Just sayin.
Have you found a way to make your case histories “interesting”?
If you are a small agency, do the right things to get and keep the larger accounts. Don’t take my word for it: “How Small Advertising Agencies Can Win Big Clients.”
How does your agency answer the phone? Especially when your automated answering system accepts the call? Go get Kat Cressida.
Ask yourself what you do in a pitch meeting that is actually stand-out? An interview with Tony Mikes in my book on pitching points out how an agency stood out from the pack by using 1970-like foam core boards – not PPT. Read the book, win more pitches. A link to it is on top of my homepage.
Do you have a cool/memorable bathroom? Believe me, this would be more interesting than most overblown agency reception areas.

OK.

Now for a crazy bit. Peters has one of the most engaging presentation styles I’ve seen. Yes, he gives good presentation (watch some on his website). But, it’s his PowerPoint slide design that has blown my mind. An overstatement? Well, maybe. But, it sure is nutso compared to the 100’s of boring advertising agency presentation slides I’ve seen over the years.

Go here to see what I’m talking about. I’ve put one below. It breaks all of our PPT rules. He even LOVES what we all know are the bad habits.

But, when a guy this good presents, these in-your-face slides help to get attention and deliver the info.

Will You Sell Your Advertising Agency?

Peter · April 6, 2018 · Leave a Comment

The Big Question: Will You Sell Your Advertising Agency?

Will you be able to sell your advertising agency someday? The simple answer… probably not. That said, see below for two Portland “advertising” agencies that just got bought.

I Know You Want It

Most of the advertising agencies I talk with want to get bought – sooner or later. Who wouldn’t? However, most will not. There are a range of reasons. But here is the big (rather obvious) one:

Most agencies have not created enough value for a second party to want to buy them. A key question I ask agency owners is, “Would you buy your agency?” You can imagine the general answer once the CEO puts her thinking cap on.

Value is created by having one or more of the following:

Your agency is a revenue powerhouse and is very profitable.
Your specialty is unignorable. Example: you are a brilliant mobile marketing agency or specialize like this Boise agency.
Your client list is spectacular.
Your strategy and creative chops are notable and world-class.
Your leadership is super smart.
You are in a geography that a major agency network needs to be. This benefit has been diminished over the years but can still generate interest. How is your Saigon office doing?

OK, On To Portland

I’ll start with me. I sold my agency six years ago. I did this because I was realistic. We were not cool enough for WPP or large enough for Publicis or special enough for MDC. But, we were very attractive to another Portland agency that needed to grow faster. They bought our revenues, clients (from Nike AOR to major healthcare, to a lottery and casinos and hospitality accounts), our very sharp staff (all of them) and it was all made easy since we were in town. I also wanted to get the fuck out of the industry (I had been it for close to 30 years) and did not want to go through another reinvention so I took a reasonable offer.

Instrument Bought By MDC Partners

Here is the first paragraph of the press release.

MDC Partners announced today that it has acquired a majority partnership interest in Portland, Oregon-based digital agency Instrument. Founded in 2002, Instrument is one of the largest independent, digital brand and experience innovation companies in the U.S. The agency’s 175-person team of strategists, producers, designers, engineers and content creators helps drive businesses and engage consumers. This new partnership accelerates MDC’s growth and builds its portfolio of modern, innovative and digital-first agencies.

WPP’s POSSIBLE Acquires Digital Agency Swift

The press release…

WPP announces that its wholly-owned company, POSSIBLE, the global creative digital agency that is part of WPP Digital, has acquired The Swift Collective, Inc. (“Swift”) in the United States.

Swift’s revenues for 2014 will be over US$13 million and its clients include HTC Corporation, Starbucks, Nestle USA and REI. Based in Portland, Oregon, Swift employs over 70 people. Swift is a digital agency that specializes in creative and strategy, branded content creation and social media.

The acquisition continues WPP’s strategy of investing in fast-growing markets and sectors such as mobile and digital.

OK, What’s Up?

A few things.

Portland is a hot “creative” geography.
These are both VERY digital shops.
They each have strong client lists. Google, Sonos, Levi’s.
They have decent (higher than most independents) revenues.
They are run by smart people.

So, you want to sell? Create value that someone else wants to buy. Start today and make creating agency value an objective. This goes beyond just adding clients. It means standing out in a sea of advertising agencies.

How A Boise Advertising Agency Went Global

Peter · February 1, 2018 · 1 Comment

Get Past Local. Go Global.

If you are a Melbourne, Dallas, Cardiff, Charlotte or Boise ad agency you just might be stuck herding smallish clients in your regional market. Becoming a global advertising agency is simply not going to be an option if you position yourself as a generic full-service or digital agency. Bottom line, a New York or Sydney client is not going to take a second look at you (or find you) unless you have a very specific service specialty that crosses borders – even states. Clients are willing to rule out the need for a local agency if they perceive that you have a specialty that they need – regardless of geography. Having a specialty will also make you stand out and drive your search engine marketing – as you will see below.

Boise’s Oliver Russell figured this out three years ago and blasted past their western state borders to become a global player.

Here is my interview with Oliver Russell’s CEO Russ Stoddard. Russ started Oliver Russell in 1991 and he and his agency have become leaders in the world of marketing purpose-driven companies, sustainability initiatives, and socially responsible organizations to help them better compete in the marketplace. Russ’s dedication to a category focus has delivered on his objective of becoming a global player.

Russ Stoddard Has Gone Global

Peter: What’s up?

Russ: I’m Russ Stoddard, and I’m a social entrepreneur. I have a creative marketing agency in Boise, Idaho, that works with purpose-driven companies.

Peter: How is business these days?

Russ: For us, it’s going remarkably well. We’ve got an area of specialty and differentiation, which means we actually have people coming to us, rather than having to chase clients down.

Peter: That’s great news. In terms of agency history, has that always been the case, or did you switch to a more specialized perspective at some point in recent history?

Russ: We’ve been around 27 years, and it took me 23 of those to finally take the medicine.

Four years ago, we repositioned very strongly around working with purpose-driven companies, which we define as those that have a very intentional bent around creating a product, service or business model that benefits society. [Read more…] about How A Boise Advertising Agency Went Global

On Being Smart

Peter · December 15, 2017 · Leave a Comment

Smart Is A Good Thing (For 2018)

Hey, I like being smart. Yeah, I just said that.

I bet you like being smart too. In fact, as you know, being smart is an essential element in driving brilliant marketing. This includes being curious.

So, without further ado, here are a couple of smart places to help you get smarter before 2018. This MIT article and Stanford interview got my intellectual juices flowing and I’ll assume yours will flow too.

First, here is a hot list from MIT’s Technology Review. Its list of the 50 Smartest Companies 2017 offers a look at companies that have found the inflection point between innovative technology and a sound business model. Something I’d think a savvy 2018 advertising agency would like to find.

Second, is a video of the Stanford interview with Chamath Palihapitiya, Founder and CEO Social Capital, on Money as an Instrument of Change. I have listened to Chamath in YouTube videos this past week (the CNBC guest host is also worth your time) and find that he opens up my mind and, yup, makes me smarter.

How To Win Advertising Awards Like LONDON Advertising @ The Drum Awards

Peter · November 29, 2017 · 1 Comment

LONDON Advertising Kills The Drum Awards Plus An Interview With LONDON’s CEO To Help Your Agency Win Too

Imagine an advertising agency that has a stand out, highly competitive brand positioning (“One Brilliant Idea”); owns the name of its home city; beats much larger international agencies in pitches for global accounts; makes lovely and impossible to ignore brand-building advertising; and wins buckets of major advertising awards — year after year. In this case, this week’s mega kudos and wet kisses from The Drum Awards.

The agency is London Advertising and after you hear about all that they just won, I’ll share an interview with LONDON Advertising’s CEO Michael Mosynski. By the way, the interview is one of many in my book, The Levitan Pitch. Read This Book. Win More Pitches. [Which is an excellent holiday gift for all your favorite agency leaders or yourself, for that matter.]

This should become one of my best read posts. Please pass it on. Use my cute social media logos.

Some Nights It Is All About Winning

From The Drum – London Advertising was named International Advertising Business of the Year at last night’s Drum Network Awards held in London.

Here is the copy from the agency’s email announcing this year’s Drum Awards. FYI: LONDON is a repeat repeat repeat winner.

A SUCCESSFUL NIGHT AT THE DRUM NETWORK AWARDS

We had an amazing evening at The Drum Network Awards last night. Proud to say we were the most awarded agency, receiving the Agency Grand Prix, as well as winning Agency of the Year for a fourth time.

Our He’s/She’s a fan campaign, for Mandarin Oriental Hotels, won the International Advertising Campaign/Strategy of the Year, as well as International Digital Campaign/Strategy of the Year.

Our work for Mandarin Oriental London, on which we collaborated with Sir Peter Blake, won Leisure & Tourism Campaign/Strategy of the Year.

We were delighted Sir Peter was able to join us on the night.

In a speech to the audience, he said, “seeing my artwork towering over Knightsbridge made me very proud”.

Here is the full list of awards won:

The Agency Grand Prix – Winner

International Agency Business of the Year – Winner

International Advertising Campaign/Strategy of the Year – Winner for He’s/She’s a fan – Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group

International Digital Campaign/Strategy of the Year – Winner

Leisure & Tourism Campaign/Strategy of the Year – Winner for Our fans by Sir Peter Blake – Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London

International Integrated Campaign/Strategy of the Year – Highly Commended – Our fans by Sir Peter Blake – Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London

Agency of the Year for Advertising – Highly Commended

My Interview

Michael Mosynski is CEO of LONDON Advertising. He launched the agency eight years ago as a global agency built for today’s marketplace. The agency’s clients include Boots No7, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Ketel One, W&O Travel, and Wegwood.

Prior to starting LONDON, Michael was the CEO of M&C Saatchi Hong Kong, Middle East, and London’s IS. Prior to joining M&C Saatchi, he held a range of senior positions at Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising Worldwide (I was a lucky boy to have worked with him during Saatchi’s golden years).

PL: LONDON Advertising is positioned as an international, yet very nimble one-office agency that that delivers “One Brilliant Idea that can work in any media, anywhere in the world.” Why does this positioning generate interest from multinational clients?