Search Results for: video

Blogging + Interpersonal Chemistry Drives Ad Agency New Business

Peter · January 13, 2015 · 1 Comment

This is my 400^th blog post. Why 400? I Am Driving Interpersonal Chemistry.

First of all, I enjoy writing. I started this blog when I published my first book, “Boomercide: From Woodstock To Suicide”. The blog also supports the marketing of my agency consultation business and my second book, “The Levitan Pitch. Buy This book. Win More Pitches”.

Beyond the fun of writing and expressing my views on the advertising industry, the blog’s primary purpose is to act as my main marketing vehicle for my ad agency new business consultancy (and marketing ‘guinea pig’ to learn more to help my clients).

Last year, 32,111 people visited the blog and viewed 70,202 pages. My blog posts were marketed across LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and in guest blog posts on websites like AdPulp, Agency Post (now HubSpot) and Advertising Week.

The blog, guest posts and my book on pitching have also made me new friends that have helped expand the reach of my marketing program. Guest blogging got me a speaking gigs at conferences like HubSpot’s Inbound conference and the publication of my book made friends like Mitch Joel who invited me to be a guest on his 9-year-old “6 Pixels of Separation” podcast. Mitch has over 64,000 Twitter followers.

Michael Gass of Fuel Lines advertising agency new business fame gave me this great review (which he promoted onto his 71,000 followers)

I possibly have read every book about agency pitches and none come close to the rich, detailed information and guidance that you will find in this book, The Levitan Pitch. Buy This Book. Win More Pitches, written by Peter Levitan. The book lives up to its title. I highly recommend that every advertising, digital, media and PR agency principal read it. (Yes, go ahead, you can Tweet this.)

All of this activity resulted in my working with advertising agency clients on three continents. As you can see, the blog has been read in virtually every country. I even had 5 views in Syria. [Read more…] about Blogging + Interpersonal Chemistry Drives Ad Agency New Business

Steve Jobs & The Macintosh Were, Um, Cool

Peter · December 30, 2014 · Leave a Comment

I bought my first Macintosh computer from Steve Jobs in 1984. It was um, cool.

I just found this video of Steve Jobs introducing the Mac. He was, um, cool too. But, you know that. So, this is just a reminder.

Here is what the Smithsonian had to say about the introduction:

Nearly thirty years ago, on January 24, 1984, a 28-year-old Steve Jobs appeared onstage in a tuxedo to introduce a new Apple computer that had been in the works for years: the Macintosh.

Two days earlier, during the third quarter of Super Bowl XVIII, Apple aired a commercial that brought already-high expectations for the Mac to a fever pitch. In the ad, a nameless heroine runs through a dystopian setting, where a face projected onto an enormous screen commands a room full of conformists to obey. Evading police in riot gear, the heroine smashes the screen with a giant hammer, freeing the audience. The message: IBM was 1984’s Big Brother, and Mac was the audacious liberator.

Up on stage, after unzipping the 17-pound computer from a carrying case, plugging it in and turning it on, Jobs showed a feverishly cheering audience screenshots of killer applications like MacWrite and MacPaint. The device—designed around a user-friendly graphical user interface and mouse that debuted in the previous Lisa computer—was remarkably intuitive for non-experts, allowing them to use the mouse to select programs they wanted to run, rather than type in code.

I want to be, um, cool(er) too. I’ll be working on it in 2015.

Happy New Year!!

Portland Tech Companies On YouTube

Peter · November 3, 2014 · Leave a Comment

Did you miss the 2014 PIE (Portland Incubator Experiment) 2014 Demo Day?

Well, here are the videos from the class of 2014’s brand new tech companies. Put your agency hat on and think through how your ‘ad agency’ could play a role in your city’s start-up community. Why? Here are 5 reasons:

You need to be connected to what your neighborhood tech entrepreneurs are up to.
You will be stimulated by their thinking.
You could support / fund one or more.
You will make friends in the developer community.
You will learn how to build your very own “product’ so you won’t have to rely on your hourly rates to make a living …. forever.

You can see some of Portland’s leading “tech stars” and Wieden+Kennedy’s digital leader Renny Gleeson on how advertising agencies can participate in the world of start-ups. On this video right here.

What is PIE? FYI, Wieden+Kennedy plays a big role.

In PIE there are no scripts. We enable creative business-building.

Talented startups come to PIE to learn, grow, and quickly conquer obstacles. We pair them with the mentors they need, when they need them, to solve their unique business challenges.

Sound interesting? We’d love to see you apply during the next application period.

What the hell does an ad agency know about startups?

Well, we’ve been doing this awhile. Wieden+Kennedy helps PIE startups shape their brands and tell their stories. And sometimes W+K partners with startups to tell brand stories in new ways.

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Ad Agency: Why No Sales Methodology?

Peter · October 7, 2014 · 4 Comments

I came across the revealing ad agency business development infographic below on the RSW/US website. The infographic highlights some of the findings from RSW/US’s 2014 Agency Marketer New Business Report.

The infographic sucks. Um, no. The infographic doesn’t suck, but it points out one critical agency fail that… SUCKS!

According to the RSW/US report, 66% Of Ad Agencies Have No Business Development or Sales Methodology

What? 66%! Having run ‘sales’ (sorry, it is sales) at Saatchi, my own agency and two Internet companies, I know that a company that has something to sell in the B2B marketplace cannot succeed without a biz dev plan and implementation methodology. Cannot, full-stop. No methodology means no plan and no plan means no growth no growth means lower income. So, let’s solve this problem. [Read more…] about Ad Agency: Why No Sales Methodology?

Dissecting Design @ Portland Design Week

Peter · October 6, 2014 · Leave a Comment

Food, Fashion, Photography, Helmets, Advertising @ Design Week 2014

Do you live in Portland (you know, the western one)? If so, check out the intro video below, say, “Damn, I better go to this Design Week gig” on October 8 and sign up for Dissecting Design before it is sold out. My fav? The Nutcase story and Rachel on fashion.

Tickets are available now through the Portland Advertising Federation website, at this link…

Who is sharing their secrets?

(Food) Julian Rose: award-winning French-Canadian Master Chocolatier and Director of Research and Development for Moonstruck Chocolate Company
(Fashion) Rachel Gorenstein: Creative Director/Owner/Buyer of moulé fashion stores in Canada and the U.S., and Fashion Designer of the innovative/classic Rachel Mara Collections
(Bikes / Sports) Michael Morrow: former Nike designer and branding agency founder, the Founder and CEO of globally popular Nutcase (bicycle) Helmets
(Photography) Derrin Battles: Sports, Lifestyle and Product Photographer, and Co-Owner of Polara Studio s
(Marketing/Advertising) Steve Luker: Former Weiden & Kennedy Creative Director, Co-Founder/Partner and Executive Creative Director of cutting edge Mutt Industries