Agency Websites

Update: Goodby Silverstein & Partners And Coming Soon

Peter · April 19, 2013 · 2 Comments

See the RED copy below for the update from Goodby. Funny!

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I am finishing “Good, Bad & Ugly”, a presentation on advertising agency websites for the 4A’s. I’ve got a couple of bads and will write about them soon. But, I need to share this BAD with you right now.

It’s hard for me to believe that a few advertising and digital agencies have Coming Soon home pages. Coming Soon…?! How can they fuckin do this? It is really insane and lame. What poor brand imaging. Does it mean that they couldn’t come up with a real creative solution or even some patience as they build their new website?

So, are there any famous agencies doing this? How about Goodby Silverstein & Partners?

Get this… their current site is Coming Soon and so was their 2003 version. I call them the king of Coming Sooners. Here are the home pages. First the 2003 version and then today’s (as of 4.19.13)

September 2013 Update… The new Goodby Silverstein website lives. I know this because they sent me an email with this message: “we came.”

Now all you have to do is check out this blog post… 13 Free Big Data Tools For Advertising Agency New Business.

Wasserman + Partners: Ad Agency of The Week (Gets Blogging)

Peter · April 4, 2013 · Leave a Comment

I am building a presentation for the 4A’s on good, bad and ugly advertising agency websites and social media programs from the perspective of business development. In my travels across the globe and my Pinterest advertising agency directory, I happend upon Vancouver’s Wasserman + Partners Advertising.

Wasserman + Partners is the largest full-service agency in British Columbia (that’s in the upper left hand corner of Canada.) Their message:

LET’S LAY IT ALL OUT ON THE TABLE HERE, SHALL WE. WE ARE WESTERN CANADA’S LOCALLY OWNED, LOCALLY OPERATED, SILO-FREE, EGO-FREE, CREATIVELY STRATEGIC, STRATEGICALLY CREATIVE, CAFFEINE GUZZLING, COFFEE-CUP RECYCLING, MILK DRINKING, HIGH ENERGY, LOW DRAMA, KARAOKE SINGING, MICROPHONE SWINGING, FULLY INTEGRATED, FULL-SERVICE, AND FULL-ON INDEPENDENT ADVERTISING AGENCY. ANYTHING WE MISSED THAT YOU’D LIKE TO KNOW?

What I like:

Wasserman’s website is simple, easy to navigate and gets out their brand message without complexity. Look at dozens of agency websites and ask yourself why so much clutter? These guys are into simplicity and isn’t that what much advertising is built on?

I think my favorite section is the blog. While it is built into the home page, an element that is often overdone, Wasserman has done an excellent job of incorporating the blog into the page that essentially has two sections: the work and what people are saying. Click on Saying and you go to one of the very rare blogs that delivers personality and a who’s who of the agency staff. In most blogland cases, and this goes for the entire world of blogging, the person or people creating the content are somewhat invisible. Not here. In Wasserman’s case, the blog has become a central part of the web experience and not an appendage. If I had a nock, I’d ask for more post frequency. But, at leaset I am not inundated.

Want more Agencies Of The Week? They are here.

Ad Agencies, Please Watch This Video On Brand Positioning

Peter · March 29, 2013 · Leave a Comment

Here is the point on agency positioning I make in my white paper “The 22 Most Valuable Lessons I learned While Running An Advertising Agency“:

Create an ad agency brand positioning that differentiates your agency from your competition.

Right, you’ve heard this one before. More importantly, have a true brand positioning – it’s really a sales proposition — that actively attracts and stimulates interest from the right new clients. This is the important part:

Just trying to find yet another new way to say “digital” or “full-service” agency isn’t good enough – and it’s really difficult to find a new way to say the same old, and generally non-competitive thing.

Instead, it might be time to think through some agency of the future scenarios and new business models that will more effectively get you to that truly distinctive and compelling sales proposition.

It’s a rather important point. But, the crazy bit is that virtually every advertising agency knows this but can’t actually squeak out a truly distinctive positioning. I couldn’t make this point any better than this funny / scary video abut the agency Schlock & Ho. I seem to stumble upon once year but can’t figure out who did it. Do you know?

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Hello: Agency CEO’s or wannabe CEO’s take me up on my Corleone Offer if you want to grow your agency.

SEO, Me and Advertising New Business (Or How To beat Out Goodby)

Peter · March 22, 2013 · 1 Comment

Yes, I am going to pat myself on the back. Why, because in less than a month my website is now on the first page of a search on Google for “advertising agency new business.” Why is this cool? Other than the fact that this is good for my business, allow me repeat myself… “in less than a month my website is now on the first page of a search”… OK. I’ll stop that. Also, why only two listings with a picture? Pictures drive higher click-throughs.

But, here is the main point. I am blown away at how poorly many advertising agencies manage their website SEO. The ones that do are obvious because when you search on related terms, terms that could actually lead to new business, they show up. How is it possible that advertising agencies, even digital agencies, can’t get SEO right? Or, is it that they don’t care? Possibly, if you are not a local agency or specialized (as in a mobile or healthcare expert) you asume that your new business will come from search consultants or awareness from an AdWeek article on your latest Facebook campaign. I guess if you are Ogilvy, search isn’t that important. But, having worked across the Saatchi network, I can say that the smaller offices needed a high SERP.

For me, the bottom line is that many agencies seem to design their sites for the creative directors at other agencies and not prospective clients. In these cases, SEO isn’t a critical objective.

Want more (I bet not, but, I can’t control myself…) Below is a screenshot of a search on “San Francisco Advertising Agency.” Note the Pinterest advertising agency directory. That’s mine. Also about one month in existence. But, I am especially hyped because I am listed ahead of Goodby, Silverstein & Partners and they were founded in 1983.