Peter Levitan & Co.
The New Business of Advertising
I use Skype everyday for business. I have clients on four continents. Skype works. However, the UI sucks.
But, in the meantime, while I hope they fix the UI… here is their marketing in action.
Is it great? Sweet and a bit obvious. And… Not as great as this… (But, remember Skype is a Microsoft company.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1atWyPqXY18
I built my first commercial website in 1995. New Jersey Online (NJ.com – it was cool when I ran it! Today, Meh.) It was one of the first online newspapers; was tied to the three leading New Jersey newspapers; was extremely well-funded by Advance Publications,;I had brilliant partners like the prescient Jeff Jarvis; had numerous industry firsts (like the first real-time global newsfeed) and was designed to make money.
I ran it for five years, it won awards, was considered a leader in the category. It didn’t make enough money. I don’t even think that today, almost 20 years later, it (or its cousins like OregonLive) even come close to replacing the money loosing Newhouse newspapers (just Google The Times Picayune and its death). Why didn’t NJ.com make cash? [Read more…] about Advertising Does Not Work On The Internet
Agencies love their friends, their Rolodex’s (yes, we still use this word) and claim that they win more business from referrals than any other new business method. 3 reasons why:
But, there is a point when you run out of friends with friends and then its time to actually do some real business development. That’s why Rebecca Armstrong, Principal and Managing Director at NORTH; Ryan Buchannan, CEO eRoi and Peter Levitan, CEO Peter Levitan & Co. — oh, that’s me are speaking on how to grow your friends, contacts and prospect lists.
It is: An Advertising Agency Business Development Seminar – “New Business Is More Than A Big Rolodex”
Date: November 21.
Place: Portland, Oregon
Info from The Portland Advertising Federation (yes, new website coming soon….)
Need some language:
The more prospective clients you get to know, the more new business you will win. It’s that simple. Or, is it? New business is a presentation and hands-on workshop designed to help advertising agency management and employees create enlightened new business programs that will get more meetings and build relationships with the right prospects.
We will work together to examine and discuss a range of business development techniques used by successful agencies. We’ll explore list building and how to create and deliver compelling client insights that will grab the attention of the client-side decision makers you want to meet with – well before they put out that RFP. This seminar is for all agency employees because new business should be an agency-wide goal.
I go to friend’s homes that have kids. Like my friend Dave who has a 6 year old. The kid just sits and hammers away at his iPad. Robotoid-like. Almost like someone who lives an obsessive life in an institution. Can this possibly be a good thing? Why don’t more parent’s control screen time? And, please, please, do not tell me that solitary iPad apps are good for kid’s creativity.
My take? Buy them a fucking small camera and send them outside. OK, maybe a soccer ball.
Client deadlines.
Ok, some are real. Like when my clients including Northwest Airlines (remember them before Delta ate them?) had to get a low fare retail ad in tomorrow’s newspaper (remember them?) Or when Nike needed to get an ad that included last minute winning college teams into the on the press Bowl Champion Series (BCS) game day magazine. But, often, the deadlines were, at best, a bit more shall we say, loose.
Now, I like deadlines. It forces all of us in advertising to get the job done. But, sometimes deadlines also force us to deliver work that isn’t what we’d call our best. You know, your best idea will come in tomorrow’s shower. Or the image could use even more photoshoping. Or, maybe that logo could be even smaller. In these cases, deadlines can be debilitating.
Here’s a post on deadlines from my friends at James and Matthew + Company, an agency in Massachusetts. Matt writes about doing the RIGHT thing, an often tough thing, by telling a client with a deadline that the agency just needs a bit more time. Here is the outcome from James’s blog post.
Regarding my fears above, here was the result:
We all got so inspired by my unwillingness to compromise that what we came up with was lightyears ahead of what we had originally developed.
My client was able to come around to understanding and I think I might have gained a little more respect in them knowing that I will not compromise on the work I produce for them. The project is on the right track and everyone is behind it with a new sense of vigor.
My take away… being true to excellence and taking a little bit more time to get things right is a good thing and the good clients will get this and love you even more. But, don’t tell retailers that you’ll get them that perfect ad the day after Black Friday.