Personal Branding

6 Unignorable Advertising Quotes

December 21, 2020 By Peter Leave a Comment

Why Do People Like Advertising Quotes? Who knows. Here Are 6 Just For Y’all.

Actually, I do know cause I use these unignorable advertising quotes all the time with my agency clients to make some points. My points are directed at their business development programs and even their personal brands. Feel free to steal them from me. I stole them.

“If everything seems under control, you’re just not going fast enough.”

Mario Andretti

My take: It is OK to drive past your comfort zone. In fact, you won’t win without doing it. Oh, Mario? Indy, F1, and NASCAR champ.

“If you dislike change, you’re going to dislike irrelevance even more.”

General Eric Shinseki

My take: Advertising, PR, digital and mobile marketing is changing so fast that it makes me think of another go-fast quote.

“Lead, follow or get out of the way.”

Ted Turner

You do not need me to explain. Ted has been the man since the late 70’s when he won the America’s Cup. You know, fast boats. Launched CNN and married Jane Fonda. Not bad, huh?

“The world’s best selling book.”

This is from the front and back of Paul Arden’s rather best-selling book… “Whatever You Think Think The Opposite.” Of course, he is bullshitting. Or not. Paul was one of the great British Creative Directors which means, a great bullshitter. A winning bullshitter unless he is talking about whacking baby seals. As in the worst advertising agency presentation ever.

“Steal Like An Artist.”

Another book. This time from Austin Kleon who’s book cover says… “10 things nobody told you about being creative.”

OK, One More.

“The Levitan Pitch. Buy This Book. Win More Pitches.”

My book’s title. Yes, I am a bit cheeky…. well, I stole the idea of being way bold and in your face from Paul. If you want to buy this BEST SELLING book, just go to the top of this page and see for yourself.

You Got A Quote?

Go forth and find your own advertising quotes to prove your points and to grow your agency. Sometimes you just need to steal someone else’s words to get YOUR point across.

Borat Did A Video Just For For ME

December 3, 2020 By Peter Leave a Comment

A Few Words From My Best Buddy Borat About My “Advertising Stories” Podcast

Borat helps me by asking… “What is make beautiful Advertising Stories podcast? People should listen.”

He also asked, “What you mean by telling your agency clients that they need to be unignorable? Yo want unignorable? You got me! A special gift for you, my American puppy.” Or… “Агенттик кардарларыңызга алар жагымсыз болуш керек деп айткыңыз келгендиктен, сиз жагымсыз болуп калгыңыз келеби? Мени алдыңыз!”

So… I obviously had to go to Almaty, Kazakhstan last week to find Borat to have him make a video for me and Advertising Stories. This was not an easy get. First, I asked my friend Quentin Tarantino to find and then ask Borat’s daughter Tutar Sagdiyev to see if Borat would be in town. Tutar then asked Borat if he would do me the favor of making a video promotion for my advertising podcast for the wonderful, podcast loving, people of Kazakhstan. He was interested in doing almost anything for the great United States – if I promised to arrange a lunch with him and Rudy. Mayor Rudy said, sure what the hell. I’ll do anything these days.

I flew for 42 hours from Mexico City to Frankfurt to Istanbul to Almaty. Borat and I shot the video in my hotel room at the luxurious Ritz-Carlton Almaty. I had a tub in my room – I mean in the bedroom itself – and he insisted that he bathe and eat blinis and caviar while I played Beatles songs before the shoot. A bit weird all around – but strangely refreshing. Subscribe to my newsletter and I will send you the picture of me and Borat in the tub.

You might ask “why did Borat do this for you?” My Kazak friend is thanking me for introducing him to Rudy Giuliani. And to prove to you, that even an advertising agency business development consultant can walk to unignorable talk.

Yikes. Donald Trump Loves Me. The Videos.

October 19, 2020 By Peter Leave a Comment

I Admit It. I Am Not Sure That My Donald Trump ‘Loves Me’ Endorsements Are Good For Me. Ever. However.

Months ago The Donald made a couple of video endorsements for me. One about my business development consultancy… “Levitan’s The Best”. And, one about my Advertising Stories podcast. Here is the podcast list.

To put it mildly, The Donald is a bit divisive. However, he cannot be ignored, and therefore at the time, I thought what the heck, if he is going to do a couple of personal non-political videos, why not let him. I won’t get political either (plus I am an Independent). My goal was and is to be Unignorable. So, here is a bit of borrowed interest just for you.

Oh, Mahatma Gandhi also endorsed me as well. I had visited one of his homes in Mumbai last January. Does Mr. Gandhi help me find the center – for you? I mean, who was EVER liked by both Gandhi and Trump? You can see Gandhi’s pitch for me here on my Contact page.

Ta Da, Donald Trump For Levitan’s Expertise. #1.

Ta Da, Donald Trump For Levitan’s Podcasts. #2.

How To Sell A Business

September 4, 2020 By Peter Leave a Comment

Want To Know How To Sell A Business? Many Want To Do That Right Now.

I Wrote The Book: ‘How To Sell Your Advertising Agency. And, How To Buy One.” It Is Built For Anyone That Wants To Sell A Business.

I wrote the free, yes free, 57-page “How To Sell Your Advertising Agency” book so you will learn how to add significant value to your advertising, digital, and I mean it, whatever kind of company you have. Do you want the book? Just ask me or subscribe below or to the side. Yes, even free has its cost. But, hey, just do it.

How To Sell A Business & How To Buy One.

I bought and sold three advertising agencies. I also had two VC backed Internet startups. I get it. Here is a start for you – The Why and how of my buying an agency in 2002. The deal is to really know why you want to buy or sell and what you will do after the deal.

I will post about the other deals very soon.

Deal Number One – 2002. From New York To Oregon.

This deal had multiple objectives. I wanted to leverage my deep advertising and digital skills + buy a successful advertising agency + move out of the New York area to much greener, mellower pastures. The deal I was looking for would meet both business and personal needs.

I bought the Bend, Oregon advertising agency Ralston Group in 2002. At that time, I was living in New York and had left the position of CEO and founder of ActiveBuddy, a highflying Internet startup. We had raised over $30 million from VCs and individual investors and had patented natural language technology (earlier than SIRI) that we used to create the incredibly successful Instant Messenger Bot, SmarterChild. It ran on AOL, Microsoft and Yahoo. That was our “sample” Bot that had millions of followers because people liked to talk to a smart computer. The business goal was to create natural language Bots for brands and media. These Bots allowed people to talk directly with brands and information resources. Interestingly, our first paying technology customer was Warner Records’ hot band Radiohead. I could not have invented a cooler market entry.

Our company goal, like many other dotcom boom companies, was to sell the company to one of the majors. We in fact had deep negotiations with all when the dotcom dam burst. To make a long story very short, I did not get my “fuck you” money from a sale. Oh, don’t worry about me. I actually came out OK. Microsoft bought our technology.

After the dotcom bust debacle, I started to look for a company to buy. As an ex-Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising executive, owning an advertising agency was one of my options. I found Oregon’s Ralston Group though a classified ad in the Wall Street Journal – how 2002. Advertising in the WSJ was a smart move by Ralston Group’s owner. Here are the four main reasons I bought the agency.

The Ralston Group was a very smart and creative agency. Kevin, who would be my partner after I bought out the majority owner, was one of the best Creative Directors I had ever seen. The agency staff was also top notch. Without question equal to the talent I had worked with at Saatchi London.

The agency had a strong client list in Oregon and Idaho. Big community banks; major healthcare companies (hospital groups and Blue Cross); Sunriver Resort and Idaho Power and more. These clients came with recurring revenues. I knew that the addition of my Saatchi and digital startup background would help us grow.

The owner, who was looking to get on with her life after building the agency, was realistic in respect to agency valuation and – important to say – was easy to work with.

The agency was in the soon to be very famous Bend, Oregon. The idea of my wife and me raising our children near a ski mountain, rivers, fly fishing, mountain bike trails and, yes, even great restaurants and brewpubs, solidified the deal. We gladly gave up the usual two-month wait for a table at New York’s hottest new restaurant for 6,000 feet of fresh air.

Years later, I still view this as a very good business and personal deal.

Stay Tuned For More Stories On How To Buy Or Sell A Business. Plus More Expert M&A Podcast Interviews.

The next story will be about how I bought a design company that got me Nike as a major client. And after that one, how I sold my agency – and got lost in Mexico.

Oh, more… Here is a link to my podcast interview with a major M&A expert. You’ll hear how to sell – the details about how to do it that is.

Advertising Agency Interpersonal Chemistry

July 30, 2020 By Peter Leave a Comment

Smile: Interpersonal Chemistry Is A Critical Factor In Winning New Advertising Accounts

I am updating a previous post about interpersonal chemistry. Why? Over and over and over again I hear that building and having interpersonal chemistry with an advertising agency new business prospect is the make or break element of a hopefully budding new business relationship. So, I’ll get to the point. How can you proactively build and grow advertising agency interpersonal chemistry?

Allow me to frame the conversation via a quote from the article “IInterpersonal Chemistry in Friendships and Romantic Relationships” care of Interpersona | An International Journal on Personal Relationships. To get things rolling, here is a primary quote about relationships:

Friendship Chemistry Reciprocal Candor

The most frequently mentioned quality of friendship chemistry was reciprocal candor, which referred to open and meaningful communication. Three subcategories emerged within this group including (in order of most to least common): Ease of interaction, sharing a deep connection, and predictability. As some male participants described, “Conversation just flows naturally” and “There are no awkward silences”; “Chemistry is when there is a spark or understanding that makes the relationship easy”; and “Chemistry in friends goes beyond just being an acquaintance. It’s like you are connected. Everything makes sense. Everything fits.”

Isn’t this what you want to happen in a new business meeting?

You Probably Look Like The Next Agency

Chances are good that you will be up against look-alike agencies. You all probably share similar attributes, skills, and histories. You might even be wearing the same Armani suit or Tory Burch shoes or, today, tee-shirt.

Because of this, the ultimate selection factor is often based on personal vibes. The client wants to feel comfortable with and inspired by the agency’s culture and people. They are looking for a dedicated partner who will care as much about their business as they do. They want a confident agency that looks, acts, and feels right.

I can’t stress the chemistry thing enough. Here is what Avidan Strategies’ 2012 survey of agency search consultants revealed:

“Practically every consultant, or 96% of the sample, pointed to “chemistry” as the key factor for winning. But what exactly is chemistry? Generally speaking, it is simpatico between the client and agency teams.”

So while you are thinking about how to express your agency’s core skills and style, remember that how you express who you are could be the make or break part of your pitch. I’ll talk more about chemistry later. But it is imperative that you keep personal chemistry in mind as you start to think through what this client really wants.

A Quickie On Online Video Meetings

As the author of a book on presentations and pitches, I have been asked about how to make an online video meeting work harder. I am going to write in detail about this but here are five key points.

Look into the camera.
Employ decent lighting and sound. That means use a pro constant light if you can and get that decent microphone. If you can, ditch the headphones. The big scary ones that make you look like Top Gun. Not a very interpersonal look.
Think hard about your background. Set the stage. No laundry bin, please. Or the barking dog.
Keep the meeting short. People space out after fifteen minutes. I know that this might be hard to control in a business meeting but discuss timing with the people you are presenting to ahead of the meeting. If people think you will talk and talk, they will tune you out.
Check your internet connection speed via a tool like Google Speed Check.