Peter Levitan & Co.

The New Business of Advertising

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How To Build A Kick-Ass Advertising Agency

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advertising agency Yes, Buy How To Build A Kick-Ass Advertising Agency.

Go Here Now to Buy The Book & eBook On Amazon.

Before I sat down to write my book on how to build that genuinely kick-ass (rich) advertising agency, I asked Google’s AI tool (now Gemini – was Bard) to help me find the right person to help build the fantastic thinking that would help build a great, intelligent, high-profit agency… and then have that google friendly person write a 27-chapter, 261-page treatise on how to get the job done. Here is my conversation

Peter to AI: “Does the marketing world need a new book about how to run a profitable and happy advertising agency?”

AI: “It’s difficult to say whether the world really needs a new book on how to run an advertising agency. However, if the book offers unique insights, valuable advice, and practical tips, it will be an invaluable resource for people in the advertising industry or those interested in starting their own agency.”

Peter to AI: “Who should write the comprehensive book on advertising agency management?”

AI: “The best candidate to write a book about how to run and grow an advertising agency would be someone who has a deep understanding of the advertising industry, someone who has run an agency and can provide practical, actionable advice to those looking to start or run their own successful agency. It would also help if that person was also an advertising agency client.

According to my assessment, that person is Peter Levitan.

Plus, Peter has over 850 blog posts on how to grow your advertising, marketing, digital or whatever agancy.”

Damn, I like Google.

Hey, Y’all, Need A Review to Help You Buy This Book?

Peter Levitan has delivered the go-to guide for building an agency. I expected HOW TO BUILD A KICK-ASS ADVERTISING AGENCY to be like most of the other agency books I’ve read—a waste of time and money. Instead, I found it to be smart, accessible and entertaining. It is filled with substance! Peter’s knowledge and experience are indisputable, yet he shares his own missteps and what he learned with wit and grace. My only “complaint” is that this book wasn’t around 10 years ago when I opened my agency.

Here’s the link again. 

 

What Is Your Elevator Pitch

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How To Build An Elevator Pitch

elevator pitchRemember 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.

[Read more…] about What Is Your Elevator Pitch

An Irresistible New Business Sales Pitch

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new business sales pitchLove Our Sales Pitch & Then Love Us

Here is an example of an irresistible new business sales pitch. I’ll even call it unignorable. I think, know, that being unignorable in today’s oversaturated thought leadership universe is a MUST- get objective.

Imagine running a business development program that is so powerful your potential clients can’t ignore it. I am talking about the business development power of creating an agency brand position, business proposition, and, most importantly, a new business development sales pitch system that has become a must-read. And, even better, a must-read totally unignorable insight that must be passed around entire organizations.

Is this a Mission Impossible? No.

L2 and Me

L2 Business Intelligence for Digital L2 Business Intelligence for DigitalA few years ago when I was running the advertising agency Citrus, I discovered New York’s L2. L2 was a research company that zeroed in on luxury marketing. you might know it founder Scott Galloway.

Here is what L2 said about itself and it approach to thought leadership on its website: [Read more…] about An Irresistible New Business Sales Pitch

Is Your Advertising Agency Pitching Too Much?

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Is Your Advertising Agency Pitching Too Much? Maybe You Need To Say No!

advertising agency pitchingHere is an excerpt from my book on advertising agency pitching and presenting. This tidbit emphasizes the importance of not (allow me to repeat myself) not pitching every account that whistles. You can’t afford it. It costs too much cash, time, energy, and agency staff pain (BURNOUT!). Pitching too much causes one more problem. You will reduce your business development ROI.

There is lots more in  “The Levitan Pitch. Buy This Book Win More Pitches.” You can buy the paperback and eBook on -> Amazon.

Yes, No, Maybe?

Before you embark on a new pitch, you should be asking yourself one extremely important question…

Should we be pitching this account?

I know what you are thinking… Levitan’s kidding right? We’ve made it through the RFI and RFP stages, and now he wants us to ask if we should even be going to the finals.

It’s still ok to say “no”, and now is the time to take a deep breath and review a go-no-go decision. You are about to spend a great deal of time and money. Are you sure that you should go through the next step? Are your colleague’s groans getting louder? Looking in any way ambivalent about the pitch will not help your pitch team feel good about charging into it. Passionless pitches don’t win.

Pitch or not is usually one of the most difficult decisions agency management has to make. There is a good chance that you think that you’ve already answered this question if you participated in an RFP that led to your selection as a shortlist candidate. I believe that even if you’ve performed a sound decision-making process, now is the time to stop to determine if this potentially expensive pitch is worth the time, effort, and human and cash costs.

[Read more…] about Is Your Advertising Agency Pitching Too Much?

How To Position An Advertising Agency – Part I

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ferrari

How To Position An Advertising Agency

Ok, but first: Here is a comprehensive guide the ANA dug that will help your agency become a winner in today’s crazy advertising marketplace – The Advertising Agency Survival Guide.

Part I: The Advertising Agency Position – The Heart Of Your Agency And Reason For Being

An updated look at how to build a smart advertising agency position today… Agencies are wondering how to position themselves in the current environment. I have some thoughts before I get to the details on how to position your agency.

  1. If you have worked on and delivered on a smart advertising agency position in the past couple of years, do not toss it away because it might not be a perfect business development strategy for 2024. For Example, if you ‘own’ the positioning/expertise in travel and hospitality, do not totally back burner that hard-fought-for brand equity—you might have done that during Covid days. But it is back.
  2. Be a very strategic thinker and an insight-driven agency. Be the idea guys. Have ideas that relate to your current and future clients – meet their current needs. Do and deliver market research. Drive respect for your brains. Use this to stay in touch. Truly valuable insights will not be viewed as ass being too ‘salesy’.

Need one simple but, believe me ahead of your compeitive agency curve… do some reasech and thinking abut the new Tik Tok advertising world. And, OK AI.be the idea guys in whatever thing is on a client’s mind. Make them smarter.

One more, why don’t you get one of your folks to start a respeted Tok Tok channel. but, please do not make it about your agency. i have a few ideas. need them?

The Starting Line

.My perspective on this series is that you have to read all three parts to maximize your agency’s benefits. Yup, all three.

Read it all. As Enzo Ferrari would say: “Devi differenziare la tua agenzia. Per fare ciò, leggi tutte e tre le parti.”

Why start with Ferrari?

I think Ferrari is a well-positioned brand (LOL, how’s that for an understatement!). Ferrari is known for its racing heritage, engineering, design, and luxury. Everything they do supports their positioning and, importantly, sales.

At this point, you might be asking two questions.

  1. “What does Ferrari have to do with my advertising, digital or design agency?”

Well, your agency’s brand positioning needs to be as well designed and supported as Ferrari’s.

2. “Do I really need to hear yet another advertising agency business development consultant tell me that advertising agencies need to do a better job of positioning their agencies?”

Yes. Why? Because the great majority of marketing communications agencies look and sound alike. Not sounding like the guy down the street will result in your driving a much more powerful agency

Before I get into the meat of the positioning issue, I’d like to help answer one of the most perplexing questions of our time:

Is the term “Advertising Agency” still relevant?

[Read more…] about How To Position An Advertising Agency – Part I