Insights

Neil Patel On Advertising Agency Mistakes

September 5, 2021 By Peter Leave a Comment

I am a regular listener of Neil Patel and Eric Siu’s The Marketing School podcast. As of today, these digital marketers and prolific audio publishers are up to 1,848 episodes (WOW!) that cover many of the tactics and strategies that have made their agencies successful.

Each daily show is delivered at wake up and is approximately 3 minutes long. Bite-sized advice. A recent episode “Mistakes That Neil and Eric Made While Growing Their Agencies” (#1842) is worth a listen (link below). Hey, maybe your agency should produce bite-sized vs. those hour-long podcasts. Like my loooong, but entertaining 40 podcast series – Advertising Stories.

Below is my take on their Neil and Eric’stake.

The podcast transcript has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Eric Siu On Leadership and Work Habits:

“… when I first took over (the agency), one of the big mistakes that I made was taking a book too literally called “Let My People Go Surfing”. So some of you might’ve heard this story already, but it’s from the Patagonia co-founder, it’s a great book. And it talks about letting your people go surfing. He lets his people go surfing during lunch, right. Basically, it’s saying people don’t want to be micromanaged, and they don’t. And I went a little too extreme with it and I stopped showing up to the office. So I learned that it’s important, especially in the very beginning, especially when you’re trying to save something, to trust, but verify and also be there in person and be there in the trenches showing that, hey, you’re there and you have some type of vision for the company as well.”

My take. I grew up during the always be in the office days. I was usually the first in when I worked at Saatchi & Saatchi New York and London, definitely when I was the CEO of two digital startups and when I owned my own agency. It was critical that I demonstrated interest and energy – and its good news for me that I have always been a morning person. Sure I know all about the idea of work-life balance, especially when I had two offices in outdoor , fresh-air driven Oregon. But, running an advertising agency, or any business, requires real leadership and dedication. I demonstrated this dedication by showing up. Showing up is especially requiered for client focussed businesses.

Now, how to exhibit this style of leadership in a WFH environment is a bit up for grabs these days. We’ll see where this goes. That said, the last thing I’d do as a leader today is to pump out 6:35 AM emails that ask for an immediate response. That is not effective leadership.

“The other thing is I made a lot of kind of rash decisions without consulting people. And I learned that building actual relationships and building rapport with people and not coming from an arrogant perspective that just because I came from tech I thought that I kind of walked on water, which I didn’t, right. I just thought I was super amazing when really – it takes a village to build something amazing. So that’s what I would say. Don’t take things too literally, build relationships with people and make decisions that are… If they’re reversible, act on them quickly, but if they’re not reversible, you’d probably want to deliberate on them a little more.”

My take: There are a couple of points here. First, yes your agency will work better in a team environment. Even if you are the smartest or most experienced person in the room, don’t act like an ass. If you stop and listen to other people you will generally come out ahead. LOL, most of the time.

Second, it is OK to fail. But, try to do it too too fast and own up to mistakes. That said, repeted faliures are not a good thing.

Neil Patel On Client Concentration:

The Advertising Agency New Business Pitch

August 22, 2021 By Peter Leave a Comment

How To Run An Advertising Agency New Business Pitch

A high school teacher friend asked me to help her with a study plan about how an advertising agency manages the advertising agency new business pitch process. She is asking her students to run their own sales pitch for an imaginary client. I thought, what the heck, I’ll share some of my thinking with you.

Why me? Well, I did write the definitive book on ad agency new business pitching which included a detailed look at the advertising agency pitch process. What to do and what not to do and how doing the what not to do will cost your agency money, time, staff pain, and heartbreak. Somehow this teacher found my book. I guess Google works.

A Very Simplified Look At The Advertising Agency Pitch Process

Before I start, I have to say that the current way many clients select an agency, as in having multiple agencies pitch against each other, is too time-consuming and costly for both the client and the agencies. I’ve seen large pitches drag on for weeks and months. One would think that a savvy client should be able to look hard at the agency’s expertise, past work, case histories, culture plus a couple of conversations to make a decision. Of course, pricing is also a factor, especially if the pitch is partially run by the client’s procurement department. A department focussed on costs – not necessarily an assessment of agency skill-sets.

OK, nuff said about the inefficiency of many pitches.

There is no such thing as a ‘standard’ pitch. Some clients are large and others small. Some large theoretically sophisticated clients have no process, and some small clients are super organized. Here is a look at what is often the process.

Some clients are looking for the whole enchilada (an agency that will do everything from branding to social media) and some clients are just looking for one specific need – often a project. For example, a new name, and logo. Some clients want to work with category experts (as in needing a healthcare specialist) and some are looking for a great ‘creative’ agency.

How Does The Client Find Agencies?

Here is my master list on getting found and contacted:

You get a referral from a happy current or past client. Hopefully, your agency has a referral strategy to help make this happen.

You get a referral from a friend or family member. For example, my nephew was once the publisher of Men’s Vogue – he introduced me to someone who became a great client. Maybe your mother plays bridge with the mother of New Balance’s marketing director.

Word of mouth (WOM). People have heard of you inside the general marketing universe. Somehow, you’ve gotten people talking.

Your agency has won a prestigious marketing award. The right third-party recognition is a good thing. No, do not enter every ward show.

The press writes about you, your agency or asks for your expert opinion. I have a friend at Adweek who occasionally asks for a quote. This has been a good thing for my brand awareness.

You know how to use social media to get the good word out and make connections. That means you use one or just a couple of blogging, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok; Facebook, you podcast: or utilize whatever the latest social media platform that makes sense for your audience.

You advertise your services. Yes, imagine an agency that actually uses advertising.

You wrote a well-targeted advertising or marketing book that gains industry fame – like my: The Levitan Pitch. Buy This Book. Win More Pitches.

You are an expert and the specific categories that you rule (tactical or business categories) know about you.

You speak at the right conference, were in that smart podcast or write for trade publications. I used to write for HubSpot and ‘borrowed’ their enormous audience.

You know how to do what is often called Account Based Marketing. This means that you have created a list of the type of clients that your agency ‘should have’ and you contact them directly. Intelligently and gently. Often you will send them hard to resist, I call it unignorable, insights.

A professional advertising agency search consultant put you on the prospective client’s list. This is a very good thing. It should not be an accident that the consultant knows about you.

What Is Your Elevator Pitch

August 15, 2021 By Peter Leave a Comment

How To Build An Elevator Pitch

Remember elevators? You know, those things we rode multiple times a day to get to and from an office or hotel room? The fleeting elevator ride spawned the idea that we need a way to describe ourselves or our company in 30 seconds or less – what we call an elevator pitch. This 30 second or less exercise is very useful since in our very attention-deficit world, our world where so many of us do the same thing and can sound very much alike (“hi, we are a creative advertising agency”, yada…). You get the idea.

Let’s Get Elevator Pitch Personal

One of my ad agency clients asked me to help her quickly and succinctly describe herself for her appearance on an upcoming online seminar. By coincidence, I received an invite to a SharpSpring event and noted how a bunch of advertising agency and marketing thinker and influencer types described themselves. I noted their self-descriptions as food for thought. Food for elevator pitch thought. Just for the hell of it, here are ways that very successful marketing thinkers describe themselves.

Hype-free digital marketing and customer service strategist.

Recognized as a top 100 entrepreneur under the age of 30 by President Obama.

Leading authority on positioning and reinventing in the creative and digital space.

Internationally recognized speaker & contributor to Ad Age’s Small Agency Diary.

Ranked one of LinkedIn’s Top Ten Voices in Marketing for four years in a row.

Works with 250+ agencies every year. Latest bestseller – Sell With Authority.

NYT bestselling author of nine books and counting.

Named among the 30 best young tech entrepreneurs under 30 by Business Week.

Host of the smart agency master class podcast. The number one digital marketing agency owner podcast.

Content marketing guru featured in NYT, Mashable and search engine land.

Agency business expert keynote speaker author and virtual event trainer.

Author of 19 international bestsellers, and one of the most popular bloggers in the world.

Digital marketing pioneer, Wall Street Journal bestselling author and tiny house owner.

Bestselling author and host of award-winning YouTube series.

Quit Advertising Today

August 9, 2021 By Peter 6 Comments

OK, I Do Not Want You To Quit Advertising. I Just Want You To Move To Mexico.

I quit advertising twice. First when I left my global job at Saatchi & Saatchi to do the Internet startup CEO thing. Then again a few years later when I sold my Portland advertising agency Citrus to become an advertising agency consultant. I did the digital nomad thing for a year and then moved to Mexico. I can work from anywhere but like living in Mexico.

And you? Now that you to can move around, it just might be time to move your gig to a groovier place than Boise.

Hola Gringos.

Every week gringos (the definition: “in Spanish-speaking countries and contexts, chiefly in the Americas – a person, especially an American, who is not Hispanic or Latino”), ask me “How did you move to Mexico? Why Mexico? What is life like in Mexico?” Recent travel to New York and Naples, FL. have coalesced my thoughts on the right answers.

Plus, one of my very own USA ad agency clients has decided to move to my town San Miguel de Allende (SMA). Why choose San Miguel? Other than my piquing his interest over time, he knows that SMA is one of the most beautiful towns in the world. Just ask Travel & Leisure. Plus, he can now work from anywhere. Just like you.

OK, why move to Mexico? Or, better yet, my town, San Miguel de Allende.

Big reason #1: You can actually live and work from Mexico. We have the Internet.

#2. You can actually make it happen. Most Americans, ya know the ones that think the world loves us, are surprised to find that very few countries will accept their full-time residence. Mexico does and getting an official residence is easy. This is a rather critical point as, I am sorry, but Italy and New Zealand do not want you. I am not even sure that Canada wants you.

Mexico is in the middle of the USA times zones. Plus it is close. I can get to Dallas or California in 2 hours. Your clients don’t care where you are and if you need to be in the HQ ‘office’ tomorrow you can make that happen.

Mexico has mucho international flights. There are two International airports within a short drive from SMA and Mexico City’s mega airport is about four hours away by a lux bus or private vans. I have a car but I don’t drive to crazy Mexico City. It would be like my Bozeman Montana relatives trying to cross from Manhattan to Brooklyn in their Ford-150 during rush hour.

Mexican cost of living is rather groovy. According to the cost-of-living website NUMBEO,…

“Consumer Prices in United States are 92.73% higher than in Mexico (without rent)” and “Consumer Prices Including Rent in the United States are 120.51% higher than in Mexico”.

Back to Boise: “Local Purchasing Power in Boise, ID is 155.92% higher than in Mexico City”

My house in SMA is easily 30% of what it would go for in Portland, OR, or Denver or Dallas. New York? Forgetaboudit. My daily croissant and coffee in New York’s East Village cost me $11.00 in May. Here – $4.00. I was just in Naples (a city they tell me has more millionaires per capita than anywhere else in the USA) and the cost of every meal was mind-blowing. A trip to Whole Foods or Publix to feed my 5-person family seemed to always come in at around $300. OK, I do like wine.

Note: Living costs vary greatly. San Miguel is on the high side compared to other towns. Living by the beach in Puerto Vallarta is on the high side. However, if you do your homework and pick the right neighborhood, Mexico makes the inflationary USA housing market look like 1984.

The USA, OK except for my home town NYC, is BLAND. Lots of nice roads leading to the next mall or strip mall leading to the next strip mall, gas station, and fast food Meca. If you think driving by Midas Muffler stores is cool, then, yup good luck. Mexico has texture.

Mexico has real soul. Cool nice people. Music in the streets. Grandmas. Passionate. Sweet kids. OK, it is occasionally loud. And, yes, it can get funky vs. your Louis Vuitton store. But, it is a special funk – like a mellow funk based on life, not commerce. By the way, did I mention that SMA is one of the most beautiful towns in the world? (While I write this, I am sitting in the main square listening to the bells from the world-famous Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel and watching young girls in white dresses heading inside for their rite of First Communion.)

Mexicans. Mexico just simply feels much more friendly. Everyone says buenos dias, bueos tardes and buenos noches. It is a polite acknowledgment that we are all in this together. Family life rules here. Large families hang out. Advice: do not wear your MAGA hat.

Here is what my neighbors look like… La Gente photographs.

Mexico is a large country. There isn’t one Mexico. Do you want beach towns? We got it. World-class cities, we got it. Places for Gen Xers to get drunk? Sure. Mountains? Yes. Places for you to eat up culture, yup. Big regional differences? Yes. Street tacos at 3 AM? Si.

San Miguel, in particular, is known for its art center, dozens of art galleries, and culture. Outdoor art movies; world-class musicians; theater and roof bars.

Want to party? We’ve got lots of roof bars and late-night clubs. But if you want to be hammered 24/7, head to Tulum.

An advantage of having a large number of expats in Mexico is that you have been preceded by decades of USA expat experts – many like me quit advertising in the states. One of my Saatchi ECDs enticed me to move here four years ago. Note that one does not have to only hang with expats. But the local information and advice is a big benefit.

Do you like eating? SMA is known as being a ‘gourmet’ foodie town. Same for Mexico City and… Oaxaca. Otherwise, you know what good Mexican food tastes like (it is better here). Wine? Head to Baja’s Napa quality wines. Beer? Head to the local cantina or corner store. Plus, in a town like SMA where gringos like to eat and cook we have large local food markets and new places like the somewhat insane City Market.

SMA sits at 6,000 feet. As I watch the USA melting in summer 2021, my weather today (in August, is a high of 76 to a low of 58). From the Internet… “The best time to visit San Miguel de Allende is November through April. Though San Miguel’s climate doesn’t vary too much throughout the year (average high temperatures hover between 73 and 88 degrees Fahrenheit no matter the season), November through April experiences less rainfall than the summer months.” Every day is generally clear with no humidity. Yes, it is very different from coastal, occasionally humid, Puerto Vallarta, Cabo, or Tulum. Which are also good places to hang out and settle. I suggest that you explore YouTube and Instagram and check out these towns plus Mexico City, Oaxaca, Queretaro, Chipas, and Guadalajara. There is much more to Mexico than the been-there-done-it Cancun & Cabo scenes.

OK. The crime thing. “Is it safe?” is one of the usual-suspect questions. Answer = most of Mexico is as safe as anywhere in the USA. I never worry here. Yes, I do pay attention and do not hang in the wrong places at the wrong time. Just as I would in New Orleans. However, there is a major cartel/narco problem that deserves the news.

It is very important to realize that these very crazy guys kill each other. Each other. Just like the Corleones and the Barzinis. Not you gringo. Why is this happening? Well, American’s have an insatiable hunger for illegal drugs, the ‘War on Drugs’, a massive billion-dollar and societal failure, only made drug dealing (illegal drugs, not your legal Zanax) rather lucrative. And yup, you know this was coming, our gun manufacturers will sell anyone guns and love doing it. As of this week, the Mexican government sued USA gun manufacturers for dumping weapons into Mexico. Mucho gracias.

Back to my statement – quit advertising.

Try Not To Weep When You Read ADWEAK

August 8, 2021 By Peter Leave a Comment

Try Not To Weep When You Read ADWEAK.

6 Years Later: My 2021 take on my 2015 ADWEAK take

I thought that I’d update my 2015 (yes, 2015) blog post about the wonderfully endearing but way too insightful and painful ADWEAK take on the advertising industry. I’m re-upping my extremely positive perspective on ADWEAK because they have begun to up their use of LinkedIn so I see them daily.

And, because they talk about themselves like this – like humans:

What began as a fun parody Twitter account has become a full-blown creative studio. @Adweak has grown organically to over 75k followers with an average of over 3 million impressions a month. But snarky tweets don’t pay the bills. Our real job is working with brands and agencies on a wide variety of creative projects. You name it, we’ve done it. We have a shit-ton of experience with agencies (TBWA\Chiat Day, BBDO, Deutsch, DDB and more) and brands (PlayStation, HBO, Dr. Pepper, Energizer and the list goes on).

We’re good, we’re fast and we’re not A-holes.

ADWEAK – Attitude Is Good

Hey, most advertising agencies have little to no attitude & point of difference. They kinda all use the same lingo and would never say ‘shit‘ or ‘A-hole’ in their descriptor copy. There is little attempt to break out of the crowd. I am talking about having a strong and competitive positioning; established expertise and a smart messaging system that makes them unignorable.

Too bad. But, wait, there’s more. Here are some of the painful but all-too-true ADWEAK posts that blast out to their 81,000 Twitter followers. To put that number in perspective, 20-year-old Digitas North America has 66,000 Twitter followers.

Current favs… cause they are all too spot on.

BREAKING: VMLY&R Considers Adding More Letters To Name

BREAKING: After Several Rounds Of Presentations, New Business Client Informs Agencies They’re Going To Hold Off Making Decision Until Early Next Year

BREAKING: Agency Forced To Revise Schedule To One Day For Creative Development, Three Weeks For Client Approvals

BREAKING: Charmin Toilet Paper Challenges Agency To Make Them A “Lifestyle” Brand (LOL< I actually think that Charmin is a daily lifestyle brand…)

OK, I’ll stop. But first. If you are a client looking for different and unignorable, give these guys a shout: adweakeditor@gmail.com

Back to my 2015 Post

ADWEAK joined Twitter in 2008 as @adweak. In case you are speed reading this is not… Adweek, the advertising news magazine [Read more…] about Try Not To Weep When You Read ADWEAK