Peter Levitan & Co.

The New Business of Advertising

Marketing

Merry (Belated) Christmas From Victors & Spoils

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I’m a bit late to the Christmas party but, just found this more-creative-than-the usual-boring agency-Christmas-thing. In this case, its a Christmas video from that agency that so many other agencies that don’t have a point of difference love to hate. Yes, Victors & Spoils has detractors. But, then again, anyone doing anything new gets dumped on by the old guard. Surprisingly, for a “creative” industry like advertising, “new” is scary.

Did Victors & Spoils crowd source the Photoshopping? While you are at it, watch the agency’s descriptive “about” video. It also works. More agencies need to use the power of video to sell, yes, sell, their agency to fickle website visitors.

Today’s Marketing Headache

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Need a marketing headache? Well, according to Gartner you should already have one. Check out this chart that  makes it all look like a train wreck ready to happen. That’s the bad news.

The good is that savvy advertising agencies should be able to use this level of complexity to offer aspirin-like services.

digital-analytics-insight-tools

If I Were An Ad Agency Client – I’d Hire Lean Mean Fighting Machine

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I look at lots of ad agency websites. I put them in my agency directory / I look at them because agencies contact me to ask for my help (its amazing how fast you can suss out an agency’s value – like in 7 seconds) and I look at them as if I were a client seeking a new marketing partner.

Most agency websites fail. They are me-too, slow to deliver a message, overloaded, have no personality and don’t sell anything. They are, sadly, 20 years or so after the birth of the graphical browser, dull and oh so boring brochures. So, its so sweet when one comes across an agency  that gets it. And, of course, once again, its the English that have it all figured out.

In this case, its the, of course, lean website from London’s Lean Mean Fighting Machine. Spend time on this website: watch the videos, enjoy the attitude like how they position their blog (“Our Blog: By Employees That Are Forced To Write it”.)

Screen shot 2014-02-07 at 9.49.49 AM

 

Please. Make adjustments to your website. Be different, have fun. Oh, and think sales because, at the end of the very long day, your website should sell (and, if you can, look different that the guy down the street.)

Finally, a sense of humor will go a long way to pre sell. Most clients say that “chemistry” is how they choose an agency.

Advertising Agency Self Promotion #2

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A couple of days ago I wrote about a small advertising program that my Agency Citrus Ralston360 ran 7 years ago. I just took a look at the post and it got me thinking about what else Google had stored in its memory about how we promoted the agency. This led me to an article about a podcasting self promotion we ran for the agency close to ten years ago.

Way back when, I decided that podcasting, because of automated distribution via RSS and inclusion in iTunes, was a platform for the future. If you have been following the world of podcasting, I was both right and wrong. Podcasting is still hot but RSS (Really Simple Syndication) didn’t really take off. Sure, podcasting is out there but the RSS thing was a bit too complicated for most web users. In fact, I think its promise of automated delivery has been taken over by apps. But, that’s another story.

So back in 2000 something, we promoted our expertise in podcasting by 1) having our own marketing interview podcast, Ralston360 View (it had a large following on iTunes); white papers, speaking engagements and a nifty video that was embedded inside an iPod looking gizmo graphic. You spun the interactive FLASH-based dial to select different instructional videos. I wish I still had the videos but they are long gone. This is what it looked like:

360_podcasting

This sweet tool garnered press for the agency and helped us with our very early social media prowess. It burnished our image. We became known for our thought leadership.

I continue to be a major fan of the value of thought leadership when it is targeted to the right audience. I recommend the art of thought leadership as win-win self promotion to my agency clients.

Need some strategic leadership ideas? I’ve got a whole bunch more. Give me a shout.