New Business

Instrument: Advertising Agency Of The Week

Peter · March 8, 2013 · Leave a Comment

When I ask digital / advertising people in the Pacific Northwest what agency is hot, they most often mention Portland’s digital agency Instrument. We all know that hot is a relative term but when I hear an agency’s name and “hot” come up often, I have to assume that something is up. Portland gets hot as we’ve been living with Wieden + Kennedy and their definition of the concept of hot for decades… with no end in sight. Even today’s white hot 72andSunny’s luminescence will dim in comparison if they can’t keep Samsung moving forward.

So, why is Instrument hot? It’s usually a combination of factors, but the secret ingredient is generally having cool clients that are currently hot in their own right and want to nail younger markets (OK, I’ll calm down on the temperature thing.)

In Instrument’s case, they list work for client’s like: Google’s search app (and Oscars, Olympics and March Madness work), Nike’s Fuelstream and Designedtomove.org which had its introduction at the Clinton Global Initiative, the Colors Campaign for Beats by Dre, and Red Bull #givesyouwings. Google, Nike, Red Bull and Dre. Not bad. The only possible issue I see is that there is a concentration in work for Nike and Google. Most agencies would be glad to take this, but client concentration, as in billings, can wind up being painful.

Oh, one more cool factor = the office. Being Portland, Instrument has a wide open space with a wooden TeePee — take that Brooklyn, NY! (Image and office tour at VSCO):

Bottom line? Instrument will be a very interesting agency to watch to see if it maintains its trajectory. They have clearly excited super brands and have gotten repeat business that bodes well for their creative and tech chops and client service (an element not to be underrated.)

My bet is that the key to Instrument’s success will be how to manage their growth with the need for building a diverse client base via a smart business development program and some needed national press. In this case, not being in Brooklyn hurts a bit. That said, it’s nice to watch Instrument kill it in Portland.

See other Advertising Agency Of The Week agencies

An Agency Website That Works From Copacino+Fujikado

Peter · March 2, 2013 · 5 Comments

Hi.

If you go to AdPulp… You will see a post I put up yesterday on how the Seattle agency Copacino+Fujikado has done a smart digital trick with their website that puts most other ad agency (and digital for that matter) “wanna-be” we’ll show you our social chops efforts to shame.

Advertising Agency Wake Up Call From eMarketer

Peter · March 1, 2013 · 1 Comment

I woke up, read my mail and saw these three quotes in an eMarketer email. They got me thinking fast.

You are an advertising agency. You worry about how to be digitally relevant in the next couple of years — or perish. Here are just three quotes from eMarketer that can act as thought starters. if these don’t start your mind, maybe its time to, um, bail?

By 2016 nearly a quarter of the world will be using location based services.

US online video ad spending will nearly triple in the next four years.

43 million Americans convert to using smart phones every minute.

If you need one more idea, another path to agency success lies in the following eMarketer chart. And, no it isn’t rushing onto the Facebook or Twitter scrum.

Why Don’t Advertising & Digital Agencies Have A Business Plan?

Peter · February 26, 2013 · Leave a Comment

Today’s marketing advertising and digital agencies need a well-considered marketing plan to plan and build a profitable marketing communications agency for the future. The problem: most agencies don’t have a plan.

Through my experience as a board member of the Portland Advertising Federation, a business development director working across the global Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising Worldwide network, President of the Newspaper Association of America’s Digital Federation and an Internet entrepreneur, I have been continually amazed that most agencies, media and tech companies don’t have a master plan. Considering the rapid changes happening in the advertising and technology industries, I can’t imagine navigating the marketplace without one. [Read more…] about Why Don’t Advertising & Digital Agencies Have A Business Plan?

Smart Email Marketing For Ad Agency New Business

Peter · February 21, 2013 · 3 Comments

Two emails hit my desk this morning and they both “sell” the idea that good old-fashioned email marketing still works.

The first was an email from MarketingSherpa promoting their new “2013 Email Marketing Benchmark Report.” My key takeaway is that email marketing continues to have a high ROI for both business and consumer marketing when used to reach and convert a business’s house list. As we all get lost in the social media weeds, we need to remember that email not only works but also can be easily tracked and analyzed. I love reading the real-time stats from an effective email campaign. Who opened the email, who read it, who clicked on and so forth. Here is one of the core charts from the report showing the relative strength of email. Frankly, this isn’t surprising but it should reinforce our decision to use email.

The other email I received was from Portland’s HMH Advertising (with an east coast office in Charlotte, NC.) The email promotes a new campaign for its Montana Lottery client.

HMH deftly uses email marketing to promote one big agency idea. It is a great example of Keep It Simple Stupid. In fact, they call the email series One Idea. It is a simple, direct, informative monthly sales tool sent to the agency’s existing and prospective clients.

This email acts as an announcement of new work, strategic thinking and acts as an example of how the agency knows how to leverage the power of email.

The email clicks through to a dedicated campaign website that shows the TV commercial and the integration of other media including digital, radio, outdoor and a promotional video of the $1 million winner. A man of many words.