Take a look at this chart frome PEW’s “The Demographics of Social Media Users — 2012.” Easy to see huge growth potential for Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram. And, potential for micro-blogs like Tumblr. And… new social media to come.
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Anomaly: Powerful “About Us” Website Copy
Like most websites, advertising and digital agency websites have About Us sections. Read them here. Unfortunately, most agency About Us sections are uninspiring. This is a big missed opportunity.
The agency Anomaly (one of the most effective agency brand names by the way – a perfect agency brand name for our times), kicks it by just listing its excellent press from major league publications. What more could the agency possibly say about themselves that would inspire an incoming call from a mega client?
Just read the glowing press. The copy hits all of the current client-think hot buttons (“thinks different, new model agency, idea-led, structured for innovation.”) You know that Anomaly is cranking its PR machine and/or its leaders are as good at promoting themselves as they are promoting their clients. Strangely most agencies are a bit too reticent when it comes to PR. I’ve seen this reticence even at agencies with savvy PR partners. Why wouldn’t you want to seek out and massage trusted third-parties to generate this kind of lavish praise. In Anomaly’s case, it’s praise that tells us what to expect.
Since its inception in 2004, the founders and directors have truly shown a different way of doing things, blurring the borders between providing traditional marketing services and working as a business development partner. Eschewing the traditional client/agency relationship, Anomaly works to develop intellectual property for both itself and for its clients…
Business WeekWhen a client comes in with an advertising problem, Anomaly addresses it more broadly as a business issue, analyzing everything from design to product development.
Fast CompanyAnomaly bills itself very clearly as a new model agency. It describes itself as a response to the notion that the old agency models “are all broken” and “the traditional solutions are becoming less and less effective”. Its positioning sounds like a bunch of cliches, because so many agencies are talking about the need to re-gear their approach around the same principles: ideas-led, media-neutral, integrated, multi-disciplinary. Anomaly, though, launched with these principles at its core.
CampaignAnomaly is definitely not an “Ad agency” the company sets store by developing its own intellectual property which it can license to clients in return for share in revenues. Their aspiration is to be a product developing IP company, marketing their own portfolio of IP as well as doing that for major brands.
Creative ReviewAs you might expect from its name, Anomaly is no ordinary agency; it is more of a response to the countless calls for agencies to drag themselves into the 21st century.
CampaignAnomaly decries tradition and craves revolution. Its real selling point is that its principals have diverse skill sets in interactive marketing, media strategy, and design – as well as advertising – so that clients can have faith they will get a marketing solution rather than an ad campaign.
AdAge“They were intriguing to us because they weren’t mired down in a lot of layers. They were great creative and strategic people on a mission to create a vision for their agency to solve client problems,” says Sara Schmid, advertising manager. “They were very conscientious … about how things worked in stores, how the visual language would play into it.”
AdweekThe agency [Anomaly] is structured for innovation and multidisciplinary problem solving – not just the partners, but every member of the team contributes on every project on all levels.
CreativityAnomaly have started up to capitalize on the desire among marketers to do things differently – and the inability of many bigger agencies to accomplish that.
New York Times
Fast-Track Business Development Programs
There is more than one way to tackle the critical issue of new business planning. Here are some thought starters. My goal is to keep the process to a minimum and zero in on intelligent, long-term solutions.
1. New Business Assessment: I will work with you to examine your positioning, target list (from realistic/easy to unrealistic/difficult), differentiation (or not), agency sales proposition, in and outbound techniques and hit rate assessment.
2. Positioning: A more detailed assessment of the agency’s sales proposition including market GAP analysis and positioning review i.e. how to stand out or reinvent the agency for growth. Savvy positioning means more than figuring out a new way to say “full-service” or “interactive.”
3. Agency website and digital marketing review. The me-too nature of industry marketing is mind-blowing and an opportunity for you to break out. Take a look at my Pinterest agency website directory to see the sea of sameness that future clients see.
4. Inbound marketing review of your content and social media marketing: its not the Holy Grail (not in a world where 30+% of agency websites have Twitter feels on their home page) but it works if done right. This includes a thought-leadership review, opportunity assessment (based on your target new business list and specialization) and how to build a sustainable content marketing plan. Easier said than done for most agencies.
5. The Business Development Director: How to hire, compensate and manage this critical agency position. I’ve been one and hired a few. I understand the position and motivations.
For a detailed look at my views on how to run agency new business head over here for one of my new business Insights.
[previous][next]Advertising Agency Wake Up Call From eMarketer
I woke up, read my mail and saw these three quotes in an eMarketer email. They got me thinking fast.
You are an advertising agency. You worry about how to be digitally relevant in the next couple of years — or perish. Here are just three quotes from eMarketer that can act as thought starters. if these don’t start your mind, maybe its time to, um, bail?
By 2016 nearly a quarter of the world will be using location based services.
US online video ad spending will nearly triple in the next four years.
43 million Americans convert to using smart phones every minute.
If you need one more idea, another path to agency success lies in the following eMarketer chart. And, no it isn’t rushing onto the Facebook or Twitter scrum.
JESS3: Advertising Agency of the Week
This is my first Agency of the Week post. My criteria includes: agencies that deliver some distinction, a competitive positioning, have figured out what the agency of the future might look like, delivers “great” work (my personal opinion), appears to be a destination agency for incoming new business and seems to be able to get out of their way to sell themselves. And, this is a rare one, has some soul and maybe even a sense of humor.
Who:
JESS3. LA and Oklahoma City. Not the usual mix. (Compare JESS3 to other LA agencies here in the Pinterest Advertising and Digital Agency directory.)
What JESS3 says:
At JESS3 we take complex topics and large data sets and make them accessible through beautiful visuals.
We are a creative interactive agency that specializes in the art of data visualization, adding context and meaning to the exponentially growing world of data around us.
And…
JESS3 is a creative interactive agency that specializes in visual storytelling. We challenge ourselves and our clients to push the limits of what creativity and engagement means. Our services range from UI / UX, animation, content creation and digital PR to developing large-scale installations, social strategies, data visualizations and infographics.
Why I Dig JESS3:
They specialize. A major zag while other agencies zig by trying to do too much and have an unfocussed agency positioning.
They are positioned for success. They meld data with visual storytelling. Two biggies.
They have lots of cool clients like Amnesty International, AMEX, Chobani, CSPAN, GE, Facebook, Google, Samsung and Skype.
They are hot:
“JESS# Named to iMedia 25 Agencies to Watch”
iMedia Connection named JESS3 to the iMedia 25 agency list, recognizing JESS3 as a key agency that has advanced interactive marketing through big ideas, brilliant creative, cutting-edge technology, and the passionate pursuit of excellence in the digital space. Citing our work with Samsung, ESPN, American Express, and recent partnership with the Google Politics and Elections team for the 2012 National Conventions, the article states, “JESS3 has a gift for turning numbers into stories and a passion for creating content strategies that resonate over the long haul.”
They are funny:
Hit their creepy cupids on Pinterest.
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