Peter Levitan & Co.

The New Business of Advertising

Insights

Advertising Agency New Business: Instagram

· · 1 Comment

My earlier post, “From Traditional To Digital To Integrated To Social To Instagram”, on the advertising blog AdPulp took a look at the New York agency The Mobile Media Lab. As I noted in the post, this agency describes themselves as… “The Mobile Media Lab is a creative agency that produces customized visual experiences with brands and their audiences on Instagram and other social media channels.”

Here is an agency that isn’t worried about finding a niche and owning it. They are not trying to be everything to everybody. Their visual marketing specialty has netted them some famous clients including Evian, Puma, Samsung and W Hotels. Accounts most agencies would love to have. Accounts that a “full-service” Boston agency might have some trouble winning.

Clearly, Mobile Media Lab successfully tapped into a growing marketing area where big-name clients want expertise.

instagram

When I’ve discussed the visual marketing specialty with agency colleagues, they expressed concerns about The Mobile Media Lab’s narrow focus and limitation of tools like Instagram. I have a different perspective. Yes, visual marketing is a tightly focused approach. But, the use of Instagram and Pinterest is skyrocketing and why couldn’t even a large “full-service” agency build a micro-group around niche visual marketing to get new business interest? Just like The Mobile Media lab, another agency just might get the attention of brands that would have never given them a look. Visual marketing is something that can be pitched and should generate interest from sophisticated clients.

Is there any reason that you couldn’t take a niche play to quickly become an expert in a new marketing category? Advertising agency niche markting could be your ticket into the national marketing arena. I’ll soon write about some of the other niches that can be exploited.

The Lunacy Of Advertising Agency Positioning

· · 2 Comments

images (1) aaaEver looked for a new positioning for your advertising agency?

If the answer is yes, you are not alone. There are thousands of advertising agencies that wake up everyday and wonder if their agency brand position is going to help them get the attention of a desirable account. Unfortunately, they go to sleep knowing that they haven’t found that super special secret sauce.

What makes this daily exercise worrisome is that these agencies clearly know that they won’t differentiate their brand by having a positioning that sounds like the agency down the street, in the next state or across the world. [Read more…] about The Lunacy Of Advertising Agency Positioning

1,247th Blog Post On Advertising Agency Social Media

· · 5 Comments

There are over 177,000,000 results for the search phrase “advertising agency social media” on Google. There are now whole industries based on social media advice. So, in the interest of piling on… I’m about to add one more blog post on social media and advertising.

But, before I start, lets make sure we agree on what social media is. Here is a concise definition from Dictionary.com that includes the critical object of increasing sales.

Web sites and other online means of communication that are used by large groups of people to share information and to develop social and professional contacts: Many businesses are utilizing social media to generate sales.

Just in case you are still wavering about how much effort to put into social media…

Here are 17 reasons that ad agencies should use social media as a new business tool.

  1. When managed systematically, the strategic use of social media will drive inbound attention for your agency.
  2. Social media will support your agency positioning and drive awareness of your thought-leadership.
  3. Social media is relatively easy to create and manage. If your mother can do it, you can do it too.
  4. Social media is easier to update than your agency website.
  5. There are lots of platforms to choose from: Twitter, blogs, Pinterest, Facebook, LinkedIn, G+, YouTube, Wikipedia and SlideShare. Each has unique strategic benefits and workload — choose carefully. More are coming.
  6. You will have a corporate LinkedIn page as another agency marketing platform. All of your employees will link to it.
  7. You will use social platforms for direct marketing. For example, you will use twitter’s “@” to directly contact client prospects.
  8. All social platforms, like your blog and Twitter, will be seamlessly linked together for efficiency and traffic generation.
  9. Social Media is integral to the agency SEO program. After only one month, my Pinterest advertising agency website directory is appearing on the first page of Google results.
  10. You will learn to use social media analytics to continuously improve your programs.
  11. You will stay up to date with the evolving state of mobile social media.
  12. Your strategic use of social media will help you look like an expert to your clients. You will walk the talk.
  13. Do social right and you will generate positive case histories based on your expertise. I’m building a case right now for my Pinterest strategy.
  14. You will use social to do agency and client research. Twitter remains an untapped resource for following news on perspective clients.
  15. You will use social media to better understand a potential client’s online audience and brand perception.
  16. Your social media expertise will make you will look smarter in pitches.
  17. You will undoubtedly use your social media expertise to create award-winning programs like Projector’s Facebook work for Intel.

All is not rosy. Here are 7 reasons not to use social media.

  1. Agency senior management does not really get it – at all.
  2. Your agency is not capable of making an adequate time and intellectual commitment to marketing via social media.
  3. You don’t have one or more people dedicated to owning the social program and its on-going success.
  4. You will be inconsistent. You really don’t want to be the agency with 4-month-old Tweets.
  5. You won’t make the effort to integrate your social media program into you agency marketing plan.
  6. You think that all you have to do is a little bit of social media and you’ll quickly get lots of incoming calls from prospective clients.
  7. You don’t have a distinctive agency positioning, message or voice to promote. Me-too messaging won’t make a dent in this space.
  8. You won’t stand out. Just take a look at how few advertising or digital agency blogs are on Ad Age’s Power 150 list of influential blogs.

So, what is my bottom line?

I’ve used social media since the 1990’s to grow companies (online newspapers) and website traffic (over 20 million users for my SmarterChild Instant Messaging bot.) However, like any effective new business tool, the use of social media must be strategic, linked to an expertise-based content strategy, be targeted and needs at least weekly oversight. Do this… and social media will work for you.

Give me a shout. I can help.

10 Reasons To Use Pinterest For Advertising Agency New Business

· · Leave a Comment

pinterest block

It took me a while but I’ve discovered the value of using Pinterest as a new business “content marketing” platform. My move to Pinterest is a result of an accidental meeting on a flight between New York and Portland. My seat-mate was an executive at Edelman PR and she regaled me with multiple case histories on how the agency was using Pinterest for its clients to drive traffic and sales.

I went home and explored Pinterest and read some of the dozens of marketing articles on this high-growth social media tool. I was sold. Pinterest is now a primary element in my new business content marketing program and you can see it in action on my advertising agency directory right here. My plan is to pin and review every advertising agency website in the USA and some international markets. I now list over 1,000 agency websites. If you agency isn’t on the site or you’ve redesigned the site recently, let me know.

Back to your agency new business program and Pinterest. Have you looked hard at Pinterest? I think you should. Here’s a quick overview of why.

1. Pinterest is growing like crazy.

pinterest growth

2. Pinterest has high link value and it drives more referral traffic than YouTube, Yahoo! and Google+ combined. Need more? Pinterest sends more referral traffic to websites than Twitter. To take advantage of its search engine magnetism, Pinterest should be optimized to increase traffic. Here’s a valuable infographic on Pinterest search engine optimization.

3. Pinterest is very social and drives reach. Its very community oriented and following others and re-pins drive traffic and awareness.

4. It easily integrates your pins with your website, blog, Twitter and Facebook.

5. It will drive your agency branding and traffic via branded boards and URL placement.

6. There is a growing list of third-party Pinterest management and analytical tools including influence tracking.

7. Pinterest is a significant ecommerce driver. Here are some stats.

8. Pinterest is a visual medium and let’s face it, as an agency you are by nature a visual marketer.

9. Because Pinterest is image driven it can be worked into a busy agency’s workflow. It’s much faster to update than your blog.

10. Get ahead of the wave. You still have time to look like a Pinterest marketing expert to your clients and prospects.

What About Me?

I want to own the idea of “advertising” on Pinterest. As I mentioned above, I plan to pin the home page of every advertising website, add mini-reviews based on my agency new business and website development experience and then link back to the long-form reviews on this blog and YouTube channel. Follow me. I’ll be adding to the boards every week.

I will be marketing the Pinterest resource but Pinterest-driven search engine optimization is already working. I’ve searched on various advertising related search terms and my Pinterest site has been graciously delivered high up on Goggle’s SERP. What subject would you like to own on Pinterest? It is still early.

Steve Jobs “Secret” Advertising Agency New Business Presentation Tips

· · 1 Comment

jobsOK, it isn’t remotely a secret that Steve Jobs was one of the best presenters of all time. In fact, he was the Muhammad Ali of the art of presentaion. Here is how Jobs kicked off the iPhone introduction:

This is a day I’ve been looking forward to for two-and-a-half years. Every once in a while, a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything… Well, today, we’re introducing three revolutionary products of this class.

The first one: is a widescreen iPod with touch controls. The second: is a revolutionary mobile phone. And the third is a breakthrough Internet communications device. So, three things: a widescreen iPod with touch controls; a revolutionary mobile phone; and a breakthrough Internet communications device.  An iPod, a phone, and an Internet communicator. An iPod, a phone… are you getting it?  These are not three separate devices. This is one device. Ad we are calling it iPhone. 

So, what can advertising agencies learn from Steve Jobs’s presentation techniques?

  • He is a story teller and clearly loves to puts on a show.
  • He is enthusiastic.
  • He sells the benefit.
  • He sets a theme: “There is something in the air today” set up his introduction of the MacBook Air.
  • His slides are simple and evocative.
  • He tracks you through the presentation.
  • He practices for days.

To help get into Job’s head, I’ve curated some of his best presentations and expert views of his style, delivery and skilled use of theater.

Two Highly Recommended Books For Advertising Agency Presenters:

“Resonate” by Nancy Duarte. This best of breed book on creating persuasive presentations is a must read for anyone trying to craft what Nancy calls, “visual stories that transform audiences.” The book includes multiple case histories including a case history and deep analysis of Job’s iPhone introduction. The case illustrates Job’s skills via a second by second sparkline timeline of his presentation.

“The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs: How to Be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience” by Carmine Gallo. According to Carmine’s website, he is “The communications coach for the world’s most admired brands.” I can’t disagree. You might also want to read Carmine’s articles on presenting that run in Forbes.

Three Fabulous Steve Jobs Presentation Videos: IPhone and iPad introductions and his Stanford commencement address

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uW-E496FXg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU7BRvejni4