Search Results for: pitch

The 9 Best Consumer Insight Definitions

Peter · March 31, 2022 · 1 Comment

What Is a Consumer Insight? Some Definitions.

Importantly, Why the Use of Insights Is Critical to Advertising Agency New Business.

Whatever you want to call it… a consumer insight, marketing insight, brand insight or research insight, the idea of developing Ah-Ha insights is a primary driver of brand and revenue growth. The Ah-Ha element is critical to creating a powerful consumer insight. This is true for advertising agency B2B new business gains as well. Opening a conversation with a prospective new client with an Ah-Ha insight will get their attention, will quickly begin to help them realize that you understand their market, create a marketing opportunity and that, yup, you are smart.

Appearing smart at the start of a new business conversation delivers the Holy Grail of prospective clients’ needs – BIG word coming… confidence.

I will be writing in the coming about the wonderful world of insights and – importantly – the tools to get you there. However, I thought that it might make a bit of sense to provide a quick list of various definitions of just want a consumer insight is. As I move forward, I’ll give you examples of insights that have driven business growth (like the MAN). I’ll highlight how I think and actually know how a consumer insight can help an advertising agency win new business. Even win the pitch in the first minute.

9 Consumer Insight Definitions

Oxford Dictionary

“The capacity to gain an accurate and deep intuitive understanding of a person or thing.”

Merriam Webster

1: The power or act of seeing into a situation: PENETRATION

2: The act or result of apprehending the inner nature of things or of seeing intuitively

McKinsey

“Insights into consumers and how they think can help companies spark innovation, uncover the most promising (though not always most intuitive) sources of growth, and develop or maintain successful products and brands.

Generating customer insights through qualitative research. Qualitative research helps bring customers to life. It illuminates their needs, their decision-making processes, and their reactions to companies and brands.”

How To Create A Tactile Brand Experience

Peter · March 31, 2022 · 2 Comments

Yikes, What Is Tactile Brand Marketing? And What’s In It For My Advertising Agency? Hmm… Maybe It’s Making Sure You Are Unignorable.

One of my core marketing mantras is that advertising agencies need to become unignorable. Unignorable means not being ignored. This sounds obvious but most advertising agency marketing is, unfortunately, ignorable. One, one, of the many ideas that I share with my advertising agency clients, is the idea of using tactile brand marketing. Well, I usually call it direct marketing (just like in the old days when you got something in the mail — paper-based mail that is).

In fact, I just got off a call with a Northeast agency where I pointed to one of my favorite paper-based tactile brand marketing tools — The UK Newspaper Club. Hey, I have written about the value of what the Newspaper Club offers in this blog post – Really, An Advertising Agency Newspaper? Peter, You Must Be Kidding.

And Then Just Like That, I Got A Well-Done Lead Gen Email From PFL About, Yup, Tactile Brand Marketing.

It is worth reading the email below because it does a really good job of selling in the PFL pitch story. The email is short (thank you!!), concise, and drives you to a 1-minute sales video. A video that actually sells. Here is the email. And, go ahead and watch the video – and consider adding a tactile approach to your marketing. Think direct mail – like a zine, newspaper, or box – and how it breaks through the clutter of digital marketing. And, then do that fast & sweet & effective sales video.

Oh, before I show you the email and the video – maybe you want more ideas about becoming unignorable? You should. And, you should contact me. The Don did…

Ok, ta-da, the email…

Campaign UK On Advertising Agency New Business

Peter · March 11, 2022 · Leave a Comment

Thanks… Campaign UK On Advertising Agency New Business Trends

My brain perked up when I saw that Campaign UK was doing a podcast interview show about advertising agency new business, i.e., today’s business development environment and the good, bad and ugly of the client + agency search process.

Campaign’s podcast “Agency New-Business Trends & Super Bowl Ads” enlisted Greg Paull, principal of R3 Worldwide (…a global consultancy that offers marketers access to the expertise and services required to establish and administer effective multi-national agency engagements.) And Tracey Barber, global chief marketing officer of Havas Creative Group. They were joined by Campaign’s media editor Arvin Hickman to discuss agency new business trends. The Super Bowl discussion – meh.

I’ve taken bits of the interview, edited for brevity, and popped in my thoughts. Remember other than working closely with agencies on their business development plans, I wrote, just in case you missed it, The Levitan Pitch. Buy This Book. Win More Pitches.

More Pitches But Smaller and Smaller Accounts:

Greg: There were 58% more pitches this year, but only 9% more revenue. And I think that just sends the message to agencies that it’s becoming a fight for smaller and smaller pieces of an individual business. That’s a challenge for our agency’s work.

Marketers are increasingly looking at project-based assignments and that’s always a challenge for agencies that are quite used to this traditional AOR structure. So, they’re having to pivot a little bit in order to be able to cope with the way clients want to buy their services.

Peter’s Take: Nothing new or surprising here. The client-to-agency relationship pivot started to happen way back in the late 1990’s when we began to see the shift from the 15% media commission to fee based payments. One of my mega clients fired Saatchi one day within moments of a new marketing director parachuting in. He was both an asshole (the client’s mega airline was growing faster that its competitors and we had just won two EFFIE’s for strategic brilliance and he fired us at the ceremony’s dinner table). He then gave the $60 million business to Ogilvy because they were going to charge ½ of our the AOR commission.

OK, enough bitching. Yes, clients are wanting project-based relationships. It is then up to agency managment to leverage that project into more work. Easier said than done but if you give that assignment to a junior account manager or producer, worse untrained folks, I am not sure how you effectively grow that client. A Duh coming: growing an existing account is way more efficient than running after advertising agency new business from strangers.

More Projects Less AOR

Arvin: Can I just ask in terms of that trend of it becoming a bit more project-based? Are you noticing that a bit more on the Creative side versus the Media side or is that across the board?

Greg: Yeah. It’s been more on Creative than Media. And in fact, if you looked at the top 10 wins for last year, nine of them were global for Media. Only four of them are global for Creative, and that’s been a system trend that… Creative tends to be more piecemeal, clients are always looking for the best creativity they can and as a result, they’re more and more looking at project-based work.

Peter: Even if you are a ‘creative’ agency, make sure that the client loves your media and strategic planning. Make it an integral element of your deliverable even if you have to team up with a media specialist. ‘Creative’ is way too subjective.

Plus: It is easier to fire an artist than a scientist.

Just Say No To That Pitch

Arvin: Now one agency that many would argue isn’t having this whole dissatisfaction problem would be Havas Creative. Tracy had a lot of new business wins in the past year. What was the recipe for your success do you think? [Read more…] about Campaign UK On Advertising Agency New Business

How To Get On Page One On Google

Peter · February 11, 2022 · 12 Comments

Four Ways That Got Me On Page One On Google

There are thousands of blog posts about how to get on page one on Google. I did the right stuff and am on #1 for many of the search terms that my advertising agency clients search on – see the image over there. Go ahead and click on it.

Why is being on Google’s page one important (yes, an LOL duh coming):

From Search Engine Journal:

Over 25% of People Click the First Google Search Result

A study of billions of search results finds over a quarter of Google searchers click on the first organic result.

Here is just one more blog post about getting that number one position because I have the number one position for people searching for my expertise: “advertising agency business development.” And, other related terms. And… yes, you should aim for this as well.

Here is how I did it.

I’ve cranked. I have written 810 blog posts since 2012 about, you guessed it, advertising agency business development that is targeted directly to agency decision-makers. I have been very focused. I give lots of useful information out for free – read it here. People like that.
I am a good writer and even have my well-read, best-selling book The Levitan Pitch. Buy This Book. Win More Pitches. to help me look like an expert/leader and get me even more street cred.
I use the right keywords. I study my market, their needs/wants/pain points, and (importantly) what works for my competitors. I use tools like Ubersuggest to help me make my keyword and subject decisions.
I point to my blog posts on LinkedIn and Twitter. And, if you do a podcast like my Advertising Stories, the podcast world will find you too. I am also a guest on lots of marketing podcasts that point back to me.

That’s it. Yes, it helps that I started this blog in 2012 before like trillions of blog posts hit the metaverse. But, you can do it. Yup, get on page one on Google. Be patient.

Be savvy, focus on your audience, be keyword smart, write well, and be consistent. Oh, add value to the universe.

All of this activity begets incoming agency leader inquiries.

But you??? OK, do some account based marketing too – if you do not have 810 blog posts. Like a lot of direct marketing.

Deliver An Advertising Agency Newspaper

Peter · September 30, 2021 · Leave a Comment

Really? An Advertising Agency Newspaper. Peter, You Must Be Joking.

Websites are ephemeral. Social media is like the wind. Email. well email, just fades away. Same for LinkedIn messages. But paper, well paper sticks around. So, here is a suggestion. Consider having an advertising agency newspaper. Whoa… A newspaper? In 2021 or beyond. Yup.

Just to get the conversation going… that’s one of my photography series newspapers over there from my Mexico LaGente photo series.

I Am A Photographer. I Use Newspapers To Give Back.

I photograph communities (and dozens of people) around the world. I have created ‘newspapers’ as a follow-up for photo series I’ve done in San Miguel de Allende Mexico and Selma Alabama. It is a way that I give back to the community. People dig it. I’ve even gotten hugs in Mexico when I’ve given a newspaper to a person that has their photo in it. Hugs. Doesn’t your ad agency want a hug? See some pics of ‘hugs’ below.

Yo, Be Unignorable = Get attention = Creat An Advertising Agency Newspaper Or Zine

Ok, getting past that ephemeral digital problem. Go newspaper, or if you prefer a more modern approach – call it a zine.

Smart words get attention. Groovy imagery gets attention. Smart insights get mucho – repeat – attention. So, if you are going to the trouble of doing all this outreach work to get attention… why not try to really get attention. Go 1990’s and put it in ink. Let people touch your brilliance.

I Use The Newspaper Club

Go to the UK’s Newspaper Club for inspiration and, hey, why not use them to produce your groovy print work.

OK. One More.

Minneapolis’s video production company Current Resident also uses print / zines / newspapers…. whatever you want to call it.

Issues? Sure.

Yes, it is paper. Go green and make it eco-friendly paper.

Need addresses? Now that many businesses are back at the office – at least some of the time – mail is getting delivered to the right person. Or, you know what… ask people for their home address. I often send one of my The Levitan Pitch. books to people. They gladly supply their real address. These days, getting anything in the mail is like Christmas.