Peter Levitan & Co.

The New Business of Advertising

Insights

I Lied On LinkedIn. This Happened.

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I Lied. Then I Un-Lied.

A few days ago I added a new job to my LinkedIn profile. CEO of LinkedIn. Obviously (I thought) people would figure out that it was bullshit. I just wanted to see if bullshitting was easy. It was.

Obviously bullshit. Right? However, thousands saw the post, and I got many Likes and congratulatory DMs from my contacts. Like a lot!

Next

I got a banned notice from LinkedIn. Kinda not too surprised.

Next

I could get into my account, so I cleared any mention of my new job from my profile.

Next

LinkedIn saw that I removed the info. —> Here is the email I got last night from LinkedIn.

“H Peter,

My name is Aura, and I am with the Executive Escalations team at LinkedIn.

We’ve received a claim that your profile contains inaccurate content. The inaccurate content was identified as: “CEO at LinkedIn”, and your account was restricted.

After reviewing your account, I can confirm that you’ve completed the ID verification process and removed the inaccurate content from your profile. As a result, the restriction on your account has been lifted.

We encourage our members to make sure all the information is accurate and up to date. Just so you know, in cases with inaccurate claims, if our members don’t take action within fourteen (14) days from the date of this notice, we’ll remove or disable access to the alleged inaccurate content reported in the claim. Find answers to some common questions about updating your profile: https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/

If you have any further questions and prefer a phone call to discuss further, let me know your preferred contact number, current time zone and the best time to connect with you.

Regards,

Aura B

Executi8ve Escalations Case Manager

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I Am The New CEO Of LinkedIn

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Wow… Yup. Me = The New CEO Of LinkedIn

LinkedIn CEOAll y’all gotta do is say anything inside your LinkedIn profile. Anything. Like me being the new CEO.

Note the early reaction.

 

 

 

 

 

Vietnam War Photography Series

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Working On My New Vietnam War Photography Series.

Um, The Vietnamese Call It The American War.

This podcast is generated by Google’s NotebookLM.

“The Mistake” is a new photography series that will be shot in Vietnam in 2025. The series aims to capture the untold stories of the last remaining soldiers from the American / Vietnam War – primarily those who fought for the National Liberation Front, the NLF.

Through intimate portraits and personal interviews, this project will illuminate the long-lasting impact of one of the 20th century’s most controversial conflicts.

A (major) critical mistake of the war was that the Americans thought that they were fighting a war against the advance of Communism (then known as the Domino Theory). While the North Vietnamese, the National Liberation Front, and the Viet Cong thought that they were fighting a civil war with South Vietnam – supported by Western imperialists.

FYI: April 30, 2025 is the 50th anniversary of the war’s end.

That’s it. More to come as I get past pre-pro and onto the actual Vietnam War photography.

Oh, have you visited my photography website?

Your Personal Brand and Advertising Agency Sales

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You Should Be a Major Asset of Your Advertising Agency Sales Program.

advertising agency salesCheck out the podcast below.

Today, our personal brand is out there for all to see. We are on LinkedIn, on our website’s About page, in cute Instagram posts, in our new books, and interviewed on industry podcasts.

Whether an agency leader wants to become as famous as David Droga or Gary V or not, they most often have no choice. The market might just brand them whether they like it or not. The key is to control it.

Start with your objective. Since selling my ad agency Citrus, my clear objective has been to be perceived as a leader in advertising agency consultation—primary in the area of business development. I mean sales.

To get there, I’ve written two advertising agency management books, over 850 insight-oriented blog posts, and been on over 75 podcasts—all to help guide your advertising agency sales. As in grow – faster.

Thanks to Google NotebookLM for this podcast.

Oh. My brand… Aqui.

The Advertising Agency Client. How Do They Find You?

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What Type of Advertising Agency Client Do You Want?

Advertising Agency ClientYour next advertising agency client probably has multiple needs, even if they think all they need is an Instagram influencer program or seriously good video storytelling.

Yes – It’s often difficult for a client to clearly state their needs / business objectives.

Objectives range from increasing sales and revenues, growing brand awareness, building loyalty, new product development, geo expansion to more Xandr please. Just to name a few. I’ve seen an inability to express clear objectives across client seniority. I once had a senior Nike client who didn’t have clearly stated sales goals. I know, kinda crazy. Instead of asking for those metrics, I asked my client how she made her bonus. There were interesting revelations in that discussion, including finding out where the agency could act to help make her a Nike star.

Let’s look at industry research on advertising agency client selection criteria.

The UK firm SCOPEN interviewed 81 senior marketing professionals, 57 chief marketing officers, and 56 agency professionals.

The overwhelming majority of respondents (72.8%) were the ultimate spending decision-makers. The research showed that creativity is the number one criterion used in agency selection.

However, SCOPEN also reported,

It’s interesting to see how (clients) are talking more about innovation related with business transformation and digital transformation, which is a different territory from creativity,

I’ll parse this out. Here is SCOPEN’s list of large client needs.

1. Creativity

2. Innovative ideas (how W+K got that first piece of Ford)

3. Digital capabilities

4. Strategic planning

5. Marketplace insights

6. Competitor insights

7. Brand knowledge

8. Trend awareness and predictions

9. Media planning

10. Social media prowess

11. Integrated services

12. Good value

That’s a long list. Not all clients need all of that. To simplify, I believe that most clients are looking for advertising experts. Be the expert who delivers smart, efficient programs plus measurable results. High ROI results.

OK. A podcast about client selection.

Thank You, Google’s NotebookLM, For This Episode.

Some insights from my book, “How To Build A Kick-Ass Advertising Agency,” on how to position, describe, and sell your advertising agency services.

That’s the story. Go forth and position your advertising agency for success.