Insights

Solo Design Agency Makes More Money Than Ad Agencies

Peter · February 10, 2023 · Leave a Comment

This Solo Design Agency Kicks Ass

The design agency Designjoy, a solo practitioner, has a much higher profit margin than most agencies. A lesson for advertising agencies follows.

I am writing a new book about how to build and run a kick-ass advertising agency. An important chapter discusses how an advertising agency can productize its services. To, yes, make more money at a much higher profit margin. Lots of ideas. But, here is a big one.

A Bold Productization Idea… Subscriptions

The design agency Designjoy offers design as a subscription. A design product. Billing starts at $4,995/m.

This one-man shop has reported annual recurring revenues of over $1.5 million. From Brett Williams’s LinkedIn profile:

Designjoy is a one-person premium design service currently serving 40+ clients with a + $1.5M ARR. One guy.

On his website:

A design agency with a twist.

Apps, websites, logos & more.

From his FAQ:

“Why wouldn’t I just hire a full-time designer?

Good question! For starters, the annual cost of a full-time senior-level designer now exceeds $100,000, plus benefits (and good luck finding one available). Aside from that, you may not always have enough work to keep them busy at all times, so you’re stuck paying for time you aren’t able to utilize.

With the monthly plan, you can pause and resume your subscription as often as you need to ensure you’re only paying your designer when you have work available for them.”

Big + Big Design Agency Numbers

Brett’s solo Instagram has over 74K Followers. 35K Followers on Twitter. The mega-agency VMLY&R has 57K followers and, get this, 16K employees.

Now the very serious stuff. From a 2023 Tweet at @designjoy:

“Just started tracking my spending habits and budgeting. Designjoy now costs less than $400/m to run. That’s it. That’s my overhead. And half of that is a Shutterstock subscription. Agencies are doing it all wrong.”

Yikes.

Wait. Wait. There’s More $.

You can now dive into Brett’s Productize Yourself course for $99. Of course, you should sign up your design agency, or any agency for that matter, for his productized course.

SmarterChild Beat ChatGPT by 22 Years

Peter · January 25, 2023 · Leave a Comment

As BuzzFeed Said About SmarterChild… (way before ChatGPT)

From BuzzFeed 2013: “50 Things That Look Just Like Your Childhood” – “A chat with an online robot”

Did you play with SmarterChild? I was one of the founders and CEO. Was nice to be part of the Internet’s childhood.Who knew then that ChatGPT was coming?

Here is a start-up video … 2000… (Microsoft eventually bought us – ActiveBuddy. And, now they own a chunk of ChatGPT) Yes, that’s me.

Advertising Agency Thought Leadership Distributition

Peter · January 3, 2023 · Leave a Comment

How To Distribute Powerful Advertising Agency Thought Leadership

I am writing a new book about how to build and run a highly profitable advertising agency. Chapters of the book cover the art and science of developing impossible-to-resist, as in unignorable, thought leadership as an account-based marketing and inbound tool. Here is a quick list of advertising agency thought leadership distribution platforms. You can see more advertising agency resources right here.

Note that anything you produce can be efficiently sliced and diced and put on other platforms. Think content amplification.

13 Advertising Agency Thought Leadership Distribution Platforms

Your website. In a blog post or via a downloadable white paper, webinar offer, or podcast page. The advantage of a PDF offer is that you can ask the interested party for their contact information. Gently, please.
Your company newsletter. Build the list via website offers and gentle outreach. I’ve employed contractors in the Philippines to help build mailing lists.
LinkedIn. Three basic opportunities: 1) Post on LinkedIn (note that LinkedIn loves video). 2) Put your thinking in LinkedIn groups (for example I am a member of Digital Marketing – 2 million members). 3) Use LinkedIn Navigator to make direct connections.
Publish a LinkedIn newsletter. Your connections and followers will be invited to subscribe, and LinkedIn will alert your network whenever you publish new editions.
TikTok. TikTok has become a new gen search engine. It is currently an underutilized ad agency universe.
Video platforms. Australia’s Tiny Hunter agency has over 210 videos. They tell me that the videos help them close deals with the right new clients (right is the operative word), client types that spend time watching Tiny Hunter’s advice. The agency’s founders are more about closing the deal than racking up huge indiscriminate view numbers.
Audio platforms. Build and distribute your own podcast then transcribe it into bite-sized content and roll it out.
Leverage OPA = Other People’s Audience. Guest blog. Guest podcast. Why work to build an audience when you can borrow it?
Paper: Zines and, yes, old-fashioned letters. Hmm, or a targeted very cool (has to be cool) postcard series. So, 1986. However, so 2023 clutter busting. Paper breaks through
Write a book. Both paper and digital. The ultimate proof of expertise. Go self-published. There is no need for a time-consuming traditional publisher to write that B2B book.
Advertising. You use advertising to generate awareness for your clients, right? See What LONDON Advertising did.
Conferences. Go where your next client hangs out. Give that insight talk and make friends. Hand out that book.
Doughnuts? My agency once delivered insights directly to prospects in Portland and San Francisco using a customized and personalized Krispy Kreme box. Free doughnuts to grab attention. The box delivered awareness, actionable insights, and the offer to get some recently launched Krispy Kreme stock. It made us friends.
Write and produce your advertising agency thought leadership and get it out in the world to the right clients. They will love the good stuff.

More to come… in the new book.

Will AI Kill The Advertising Biz?

Peter · December 9, 2022 · Leave a Comment

Will AI Kill Advertising?

I asked ChatGPT… “Will AI Kill The Advertising Biz?”. Here is the answer:

“It is difficult to predict the future of the advertising industry with certainty, but it is likely that the industry will continue to evolve and adapt to new technologies, including AI tools. AI has the potential to greatly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of many advertising and marketing tasks, such as targeting and personalized messaging. However, it is also important for the industry to consider the ethical implications of using AI and ensure that its use is transparent and respects the privacy and rights of consumers. Overall, it seems likely that the advertising industry will continue to exist and play a significant role in the economy, but it may look very different in the future as a result of the adoption of AI and other new technologies.”

OK, not feeling so bad.

Next Question

So then asked about my consultancy…

“Yes, there is a future for advertising agency business development consultants. As the advertising industry continues to evolve and become more competitive, agencies will need expert guidance on how to grow and expand their business. Business development consultants can provide valuable insights and strategies for increasing revenue, attracting new clients, and positioning the agency for success in a crowded market.”

OK, not feeing bad too.

A Sad Advertising Agency Business Development Story

Peter · December 4, 2022 · Leave a Comment

A Very Sad Advertising Agency Story From Keurig Dr Pepper.

Start here: By now, most people in advertising know that Kuerig Dr Pepper’s marketing team (and I must assume their procurement department) are assholes. Why AHOLES? Here is their advertising agency business development story. This from the UK’s IPA, its leader Paul Bainsfair…

“UK agencies react in horror to the bizarre Keurig Dr Pepper 360-day payment terms”

“Global consumer products giant Keurig Dr Pepper is currently running a PR agency search in the United States, where part of the ask is for agencies tendering to accept 360-day payment terms. Those that cannot are being offered the option of financing, at their own cost, through Atlanta-based, Prime Revenue.”

Are you fucking kidding me?

Why Is This Important? Cause An Advertising Agency Pitch Can Hep Your Agency Go Out Of Business

OK, yes you know that this kind of lame client shit is important to pay attention to. But, playing along with this stuff can put your agency out of business…

The cost and effectiveness of agency business development can make or break an agency. Let me give you a – real-world – worst-case example.

A few years ago a Pacific Northwest agency was one of a set of agencies trying to land a major digital account. The client’s pitch team wanted to see each agency’s strategic approach to the client’s marketing goals and the northwest agency built a comprehensive plan that included performing some market research and even the leasing of related technology. The pitch dragged on forever and the agency was racking up staff and hard costs.

The good news… the agency won the account.

Bad news… the pitch became so expensive that the agency almost went out of business – in this case, after winning the account. The agency’s costs included the cost of the initial RFP response and a four-month pitch. Add in the agency’s actual client work plus the client’s 90-day payment schedule. Yikes. The RFP response, managing and crafting the pitch itself (mega labor hours), and the actual work, once won, all added to have the agency essentially working for free for more than six months.

Could the agency have managed this insane scenario? Not sure. Every pitch and client engagement is unique. That said, the agency could have had a better handle on what was coming when they initially interviewed the client. However, I’m not sure that the client was actually forthcoming. Or worse, really knew what they needed in the first place. Or skilled in running a pitch. or skilled in working with an agency.

The takeaway is that agencies should not pitch everything. Period. Spend the time to understand the client’s needs and motivations, its past agency history, know why you should be the winner, and what the search/pitch details are – including payment terms (yes, often hard to gauge) but if anything does not feel right or professional, then bail.

Always keep in mind the cost of pitching and that, at best, an agency will only win 30% of the time.

Now ask yourself, why would an advertising agency pitch that Keurig Dr Pepper account?

Is your agency pitching too much? Read this…