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The Six Best Books On Branding

Peter · March 26, 2023 · Leave a Comment

The Art Of Branding Delivered By The Six Best Books On Branding

Here is my list of the top six books on branding. But, first, some words from my soon-to-be-released new book on how to run a KICK-ASS advertising agency. One of the first subjects I tackle is the importance of branding, as in having a stand-out brand positioning that will make the agency unignorable.

It’s An Agency Positioning Jungle Out There

It’s an advertising, digital, design, branding, experiential, social, influencer, SEO, SEM, PR, e-commerce agency jungle out there. Imagine a client trying to find the right-fit agency resource to work with. I’ve been a client that bought agency services. It isn’t an easy decision.

There are a lot of options. When I do a Google search on “advertising agency,” I get 17.8 million results. When I search “digital agency,” I get 20.3 million. “Media agency” yields 11.6 million.

Want even more potentially head-spinning numbers? IBISWorld reported that there are 7,865 businesses in the digital advertising agency industry. Clutch’s database of advertising agencies lists 9,295 for New York, 2,552 for the UK, 272 for the United Arab Emirates, 1,095 in London, UK, and, get this, 105 in London, Ohio. Ohio!

Yikes.

Regardless of what number you find and how you search, there are a lot of marketing service options for a client to choose from.

The Path to Standing Out Is To Have A Kick-Ass Brand. Get Your Branding Right.

Branding ala brand positioning is a radically important element of marketing that involves creating a unique image and identity for a brand. This is how consumers/clients will think about you. In our highly competitive business universe, superior brand positioning can make all the difference between success and failure. Whether you are a marketer, entrepreneur, or business owner, understanding brand positioning is crucial for achieving long-term growth and profitability.

To help you master your brand positioning, I put together a list of the best books on the subject.

These books offer valuable insights and practical strategies for creating and maintaining a strong brand identity that resonates with your target audience. Each of these books will help to make your company, advertising agency, even you = unignorable.

“Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind” by Al Ries and Jack Trout – This classic book is widely regarded as the definitive guide to brand positioning. It offers a comprehensive overview of the principles and strategies involved in creating a strong brand identity and differentiating your brand from competitors.

“Purple Cow” by Seth Godin. I tell all of my advertising agency clients that they have a choice in their business development program. Be unignorable or be ignored. Read Seth’s book… “The cult classic that revolutionized marketing by teaching businesses that you’re either remarkable or invisible.”

“Building a StoryBrand” by Donald Miller – This book provides a step-by-step guide for creating a compelling brand story that resonates with customers. It offers practical advice for developing a clear and concise message that communicates the unique value proposition of your brand.

“Brand Identity Breakthrough” by Gregory V. Diehl – This book offers a fresh perspective on brand positioning by focusing on the importance of authenticity and personal branding. It provides a framework for building a brand that reflects your core values and resonates with your target audience.

Sales Pitch Rejection

Peter · July 6, 2021 · Leave a Comment

Ah, Nothing Like Sales Pitch Rejection

Here is a quickie on the wonderful experience of sales pitch rejection (plus my advice – below) and a bit on the also wonderful post-sales pitch chirping sound, lately known as ghosting.

Thoughts On A Recent Sales Pitch Rejection. Me = Pissed Off. But, Twas A Learning Opportunity

The odds good are that your advertising or marketing agency or consultancy will often be rejected. A decent reason: the prospect is looking at more than one option and your batting average, even a good one, might only be 300% (note, a career-high like that would get you into the Baseball Hall of Fame). You mitigate the art of rejection by pitching the right prospects and the great fact that you are an expert in what the client is looking for. Ok, that said, you will still get rejected if you have an active business development program.

But, what you don’t want is a useless rejection that does not help you improve. Here is one example. And, tell me if I am too thin-skinned.

Note: 100% of my leads come as inbound inquiries. That means that the prospect probably heard about me from WOM or read about me (and read my insights) and made the decision to make contact.

This happened a couple of weeks ago with a New York agency. We scheduled a call, I gave them my pitch, discussed their needs in detail and they asked for a proposal. I sent it a day later and then kinda got a bit ghosted, as in they did not respond in a timely manner – here is a definition of ghosting:

Ghosting is a relatively new colloquial dating term that refers to abruptly cutting off contact with someone without giving that person any warning or explanation for doing so. Even when the person being ghosted reaches out to re-initiate contact or gain closure, they’re met with silence. (Source: Verywell Mind.)

Look, I know that people need to take their time. So, I do not get crazed if I do not get a yes or no quickly.

Follow Up Scenario

To keep the ball rolling, I did my 4-day post-proposal email follow-up and after a couple of more days got a reply from the CEO who told me that they had selected another consultancy because I did not share the agency’s “vision and values.” Now, I usually go, “well, OK.”

But the statement that I did not share VALUES kinda pissed me off. I mean, WTF does that personal to me message mean? What values did we talk about? I then sent this email: [Read more…] about Sales Pitch Rejection

Just Write An Advertising Book, Please

Peter · January 21, 2021 · Leave a Comment

That’s Right… Write An Advertising Book.

I want you to write an advertising book. For your personal brand and your agency’s branding. And to help y’all become unignorable. How so?

I have spoken at big conferences (as in how to write a book at Hubspot – plus remember to take off the lanyard thing), been interviewed on lots of podcasts, occasionally make it into an ADWEEK article. Why? Because I wrote this book. Books beget authority. Proof that you actually give a shit, know something, and can actually write.

That said, the biggest benefit…? The book has generated business leads that have resulted in thousands in business $ for my ad agency consultancy.

Between direct business, I also make moolah from Amazon – well, a tiny bit but it paid for the book itself. Here is an email I just got from Amazon.

This royalty payment notification is for Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) sales recorded in the Kindle Store. Payment will be made to your bank account and should appear in your available balance within 2 to 5 business days after the Payment Date. Details of the payment will be available on the Payment Report.

More Books?

Yup. I also wrote “Boomercide: From Woodstock To Suicide” and two photo books, Potlandia and Jointlandia on the early days of the cannabis industry. That’s one of the photos of a 2013 product above. From the days before big business and package designers got involved.

And, I am updating my thinking about how to build the world’s best sales presentation & pitch by writing about the ‘good, bad, and ugly’ in the world of virtual meetings. Oh, and a book about how to be a great agency account manager.

Frankly, not enough advertising agencies write an advertising book. Even a digital agency deep into data can write a book. This does not have to be hard, or big, or long. Just look at what Austin Kleon did with the writing and design o “Steal Like An Artist.”

Need ideas for a book and how to use it for business development? Give me a shout.

How To Sell Your Business

Peter · September 25, 2020 · Leave a Comment

So You Want To Sell Your Business? Start The Process Early.

I have bought and sold a few advertising, digital, and design businesses. The process is stressful and rewarding. The keys to success are knowing why you are selling (and buying), spending time to build value, building a compelling, market-leading positioning, getting your financials in order, and hiring the right experts that will help you sell your business.

That’s why I interviewed Mark Holdreith of Media Advisory Partners. Mark and his team specialize in delivering M&A services for small and mid-sized marketing services and media companies.

From Media Advisory Partners:

MAP was founded in 2010 to provide financial advisory services to small and mid-size marketing services, media, and related companies. From the beginning, we have been committed to Advisory…providing the in-depth, end-to-end support and services required to meet your specific M&A needs.

I have two big pieces of advice; Start the process early. Read my free book, “How To Sell An Advertising Agency. And, How To Buy One.” There are a couple of links on this page to make that real easy.

Media Advisory Partners

YO – Hypnotism coming: Remember to subscribe to Advertising Stories. Remember to subscribe to Advertising Stories. Remember…

A nice thing for me… Feedspot has recognized Advertising Stories as being a top 15 advertising podcast.

Advertising Agency Searches and New Business Pitches: An Interview With Darren Wooley

Peter · April 15, 2019 · Leave a Comment

Australia’s Darren Woolley On The Art And Science Of Advertising Agency Searches and New Business Pitches.

With thousands of advertising, design, digital and PR agencies to choose from, prospective clients need a little help in making their selection. One way is for agencies to ‘advertise’. That means getting your agency awareness up. I discuss a how-to here: 10 Ways To Advertisinse Your Agency.

Another smart way to gain attention is to be on the radar of agency search consultants. Not all, just the right ones.

Whether or not your agency will ever be included in a search run by an agency search consultant, experienced search experts can help us all better understand elements of the search process and how clients select agencies.

To get an expert opinion on how search consultants work, I turned to international search consultant Darren Woolley of Australia’s leading search firm TrinityP3. This interview is one of 14 expert interviews from my book “The Levitan Pitch. Buy This Book. Win More Pitches.”

Darren Woolley, Founder and Managing Director, TrinityP3

TrinityP3 is an independent strategic marketing management consultancy based in Melbourne, Australia. It works across continents and has 40 of Australia’s top 100 advertisers using its services. The company assists marketers, advertisers, and procurement with agency search & selection, agency engagement & alignment, and agency monitoring & benchmarking to ensure maximum performance in efficiency and effectiveness of their advertising and marketing budgets.

Darren started as a scientist, got into advertising as a copywriter, and ended up a creative director. After 15 years in advertising, he realized when marketers and their agencies work well together, amazing things happen. He established TrinityP3 in 2000 as an independent marketing management consulting company that provides marketers and advertisers with benchmarks, training, and advice on how to maximize the value of their marketing budgets.

PL: What are the primary benefits that you offer your clients? [Read more…] about Advertising Agency Searches and New Business Pitches: An Interview With Darren Wooley