How To Start A Creative Advertising Agency

I am occasionally asked…. “How do I start a great advertising / design / digital agency?”

Here are some videos that help to answer this question.  There are more out there but these three videos should get you on your way.

Thanks to Source and Mirren.

The first is from London’s Steve Harvey. Here is how he talks about himself (hmm, Agency of the Decade, not too shabby):

Steve Henry was Founder / Creative Director of Howell Henry Chaldecott Lury, the agency voted Campaign’s Agency of the Year three times and Campaign’s Agency of the Decade in 2000.

Next, we’ve got Sir John Hegerty. Shabby? Not.

John Hegarty is one of the world’s most awarded and respected admen. Over six decades he has been at the forefront of the creative advertising industry from the early days of Saatchi and Saatchi to Bartle Bogle Hegarty, the global company he runs today.

In 1982 he founded Bartle Bogle Hegarty with partners John Bartle and Nigel Bogle. The agency swiftly became one of the most talked about and awarded advertising agencies in the world. BBH has won every Agency of the Year accolade and every creative award possible and has been at the forefront of the industry for twenty nine years.

Finally, here is Chuck Porter. I saw him speak at Advertising Week last week (along with John Hegerty) and he is rather, um, on it.

  Chuck Porter is an American advertising executive, marketer and author. He is co-founder and chairman of the advertising agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky and chief strategist for its holding company, MDC Partners.

My numero uno take on starting an agency?

Be distinctive as illustrated by a cartoon from my book, The Levitan Pitch. It demonstrates a key issue facing new and used agencies…. Sameness.