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Just Write An Advertising Book, Please

Peter · January 21, 2021 · Leave a Comment

That’s Right… Write An Advertising Book.

an advertising bookI want you to write an advertising book. For your personal brand and your agency’s branding. And to help y’all become unignorable. How so?

I have spoken at big conferences (as in how to write a book at Hubspot – plus remember to take off the lanyard thing), been interviewed on lots of podcasts, occasionally make it into an ADWEEK article. Why? Because I wrote this book. Books beget authority. Proof that you actually give a shit, know something, and can actually write.

That said, the biggest benefit…? The book has generated business leads that have resulted in thousands in business $ for my ad agency consultancy.

Between direct business, I also make moolah from Amazon – well, a tiny bit but it paid for the book itself. Here is an email I just got from Amazon.

This royalty payment notification is for Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) sales recorded in the Kindle Store. Payment will be made to your bank account and should appear in your available balance within 2 to 5 business days after the Payment Date. Details of the payment will be available on the Payment Report.

More Books?

Yup. I also wrote “Boomercide: From Woodstock To Suicide” and two photo books, Potlandia and Jointlandia on the early days of the cannabis industry. That’s one of the photos of a 2013 product above. From the days before big business and package designers got involved.

And, I am updating my thinking about how to build the world’s best sales presentation & pitch by writing about the ‘good, bad, and ugly’ in the world of virtual meetings. Oh, and a book about how to be a great agency account manager.

Frankly, not enough advertising agencies write an advertising book. Even a digital agency deep into data can write a book. This does not have to be hard, or big, or long. Just look at what Austin Kleon did with the writing and design o “Steal Like An Artist.”

Need ideas for a book and how to use it for business development? Give me a shout.

A Funny Advertising Agency Lawyer Story

Peter · January 19, 2021 · Leave a Comment

Yes, The Often Dreaded Three Words “Advertising Agency Lawyer” Can Be Funny

I was speaking with an advertising agency client this morning and she told me that they just got off a call with their advertising agency lawyer and it appears that the agency, for competitive reasons, has to rename one of their in-house developed tech applications. It is an important app for their clients and it also represents real smart intellectual property for the agency. OK, this stuff happens. Plus, it reminded me of a funny conversation I had about trademark infringement.

Citrus Vs. Citrus + The Advertising Agency Lawyer

About fifteen years ago my Ralston360 Portland advertising agency bought the graphic design firm Citrus. We liked their name so much we took it as our own. Citrus the advertising agency was born.

I sold Citrus the agency in 2014. A couple of weeks after the deal closed, a close where the name Citrus was dissolved, I am sitting in my room at L.A.’s The Standard Hotel and I check my voice mail. An unknown lawyer says that I have to call him immediately about a serious company issue. So, I give him a call. [Read more…] about A Funny Advertising Agency Lawyer Story

Minimalist Business Development Plan

Peter · December 25, 2020 · 1 Comment

How To Build Your Minimalist Business Development Plan

minimalist business developmentWhen I write what I call a minimalist business development plan for an advertising, digital agency client I split the plan’s deliverables into two documents. One is a comprehensive 360-degree look at my client’s business objectives, current market position, brand positioning and attributes, target market pain-points, existing biz dev plan, and a range of tailored inbound and outbound, i.e. account-based marketing approaches.

After we review the master plan document, I create a more simplified two-phase plan that is designed so that it actually gets implemented. I say actually gets implemented because many, too many, marketing communications companies do not run the business development plan they have. I have seen this at mega agencies and two-person shops. My two-phase plan, yes a minimalist business development plan, is designed to focus on a small set of marketing programs, to be highly efficient, and to be built on a clear process.

My minimalist business development mantra is KISS (keep it simple stupid) + focus on a small number of core marketing programs + be efficient + make sure that whatever you say (an agency’s positioning, sales proposition, and marketing messages) is UNIGORABLE.

OK, one more. Agency management must be dedicated to running the business development program. 24/7. Dedication to agency growth must come from the top.

8 Smart Elements Of A Minimalist Business Development Program

[Read more…] about Minimalist Business Development Plan

The Advertising Agency Website Walrus Style

Peter · December 3, 2020 · 1 Comment

An EY Podcast Just Asked Me “What Is Missing From The Advertising Industry Today.” I Said Creativity. Ya Know, Ideas That Grab Attention And Move People. I See This Missing Link Also Running Rampant In The Advertising Agency Website Ocean. Then I Found Walrus.

I am feeling ranty these days. And,advertising agency website have this particular rant that I often repeat to my agency clients… GET UNIGNORABLE. The amount of sameness in the world of the advertising agency website world is numbing. This is a bad thing since prospective clients do most of their agency selection before they ever pick up the phone.

Welcome To The Walrus Advertising Agency Website.

Since New York’s award-winning agency (important awards) walks the creative talk and is in fact unignorable… I’ll just go fast here.

So, what works for Walrus?

  • What you first read when you look them up – as in their Google snippet = “World famous creative shop located in Union Square New York City. Where clients go to get rich, ideas go to get famous, and bivalves go to get devoured.”  Different + benefit-driven and what other agency mentions clams?
  • The Home Page has a talking Walrus. Cute. It works as a branding element and a very fast way to get you to ask, WTF?
  • Need more info? The social-style information links on the bottom of the page take you to the Walrus Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Medium accounts, and an email thingy. Walrus does not need the endless number of website pages to tell you who they are.
  • Walrus is all about the work. Human, funny and, oh so not data-crazed, yadda yadda sameness… the advertising you see for brands that most other agencies world kill for is smart. Did I say funny? Like Walrus’ ads get a viewer to stop and watch, listen absorb. These ‘ads’ will also get the attention of the right clients. It’s kinda good for agencies to know what type of clients they want.

The Unignorable Walrus Thing.

The Walrus vibe is cool and interesting and, repeating myself, gets the attention of the right client. I am thinking that this means a client looking for strategic / creative brains.

I am not alone in preaching that advertising, digital PR, you name it agencies, need to get a bit specialist to make it in 2021. I talk about ad agency positionings here. I also say that trying to be known as a ‘creative’ agency isn’t easy. Creativity is very subjective. That said, the right client for Walrus will find them and will dig the creativity and want some of that. It is called mating. Mating requires a bit of unignorability.

OK, OK, I Know You Want To Know How Walrus’ Mate.

I had to find out. So, I went to How Stuff Works. Here you go…

The remaining females congregate on the ice pack and prepare to be entertained by the males in the water. One or two males generally perform for each congregation of roughly 23 females — presenting a series of vocalizations both above and below water. Here, the males’ pharyngeal muscles (near the throat) come in handy both as flotation devices and as amplifiers. The males simply inflate the pouches to remain upright in the water and begin to serenade.

If you woulld like to see another unignorable advertising agency website (from 2011), check out how BooneOakly used YouTube. 

Oh, did this work? 1,372,449 views so far.

 

 

 

 

Best Advertising Podcast List

Peter · December 2, 2020 · 2 Comments

advertising podcast listThe  Advertising Stories podcast program publishes smart, funny, and useful interviews with advertising and marketing leaders. There are a LOT of podcasts out there. So, to make life a bit easier, here is my very own best advertising podcast list.

I have produced 40 episodes since June. And, As you know WOM rocks, so tell your friends all about Advertising Stories. Thank you.

Oh, and please subscribe via Apple Podcasts or use the subscribe links on this page.

Here Is The Best Advertising Podcast List – Handy Dandy.

  • A Neuroscientist On How Zoom Brains Work. If you want to sell anything using a Zoom call, listen to this. Part 4 in my virtual meeting series.
  • Yes, You Can Run A Powerful Zoom Meeting. Can you run a group meeting? An off-site? Yes, here you go. Part 3 in my virtual meeting series.
  • The Perfect Zoom New Client Pitch. Hear how a Miami agency won a new dating app client by wowing the client in a sexy (um, loving) Zoom room. Part 2 in my virtual meeting series.
  • How To Win A Virtual Advertising Agency Presentation. AAR Partners’ expert advertising agency search consultant Lisa Colontuano on how to win that virtual, Zoom-like, advertising agency presentation, and pitch. Lots of stories. Part 1 in my virtual meeting series.
  • The Smartest Person In Advertising. Michael Mosynski is the CEO of London Advertising – the most awarded agency in the UK. Multiple teachable moments in this interview y’all.
  • Hi. This Is Your Bank. Give Me Your Account Number and Password. clean.io CEO Matt Gillis on how and why really smart people do malvertising. You know, how they get even really smart people – like, um, you – to give up very personal information.
  • How To Build A Profitable Advertising Agency. An interview with the advertising agency profitability expert Michael Farmer, author of, “Madison Avenue Manslaughter: An inside view of fee-cutting clients, profit-hungry owners and declining ad agencies.”
  • How To Sell Your Business. An expert interview with the advertising and media services M&A uber-guide and advisor Mark Holdreith.
  • How To Build An In House Agency. Is running an in house agency, an in house ad + media + social + PR agency a good idea? Some answers.
  • A Bit Of Executive Creative Director History. – September 13, 2020 – An Executive Creative Director Spills.
  • An Expert On How To Do M&A. – August 31, 2020 – A M&A specialist on how to sell or buy an advertising agency.
  • The Smartest Advertising Executive and Business Development Consultant. – August 26, 2020 – How to win new accounts.
  • The Smartest African American Advertising Agency. – August 20, 2020 – Wil Shelton runs a very unique advertising agency in L.A. He discovered the huge potential of salons and barbershops as marketing tools.
  • Kamala Harris and Advertising. Not. – August 13, 2020 – Even Kamala could not get a job in advertising or marketing. Black might not be beautiful in the marketing universe.
  • How To Grow Your Advertising Agency. – August 10, 2020 – A few expert biz dev ideas to help you grow your new advertising agency’s new business pipeline.
  • Podcast Statistics From Podnews. – August 9, 2020 – Just the facts. Podcast activity is growing like pods.
  • Conversion Rate Optimization Advice. – August 5, 2020 – Yikes, 98% of your website visitors will not buy today. Here is some smart CTR advice to sell more stuff — sooner.
  • Life After Advertising Podcast Series. – August 3, 2020 – What will you do after advertising? Here are some ideas. I moved to Mexico
  • How Michaela Alexis Rocks Linkedin Learning. – July 31, 2020 – Michaela has over 170,000 Linkedin Followers. Find out why.
  • How To Grow A Podcast. – July 27, 2020 – A podcast marketing expert, expert, expert wants to help you grow your podcast –  now.
  • Advertising And Marketing School Website Speed. – July 26, 2020 – Your website could be failing because it is too slow. Do the test and make it load faster.
  • Chevrolet Tahoe Consumer Generated Media Fail. – July 24, 2020 – ADWEEK editor on a huge social media failure.
  • ADWEEK editor on Google Advertising. – July 21, 2020 – A serious blast from the past. You bought 10,000 shares of Google in 2016, right?
  • A Scientific Approach To How To Name Your Advertising Agency. – July 17, 2020 – Everything you need to know about how to name YOU.
  • Purpose Driven Advertising Agency Podcast. – July 14, 2020 – How doing good became a new business driver. Like how a Boise ad agency went from Idaho to global.
  • How Not To Make Multicultural Marketing Mistakes. – July 9, 2020 – The master of Hispanic marketing delivers advice and points ou how companies like Kmart completely fail.
  • Japanese Advertising, Marketing And Sushi. – July 6, 2020 – Robert Peterson / Bob-san grew Toyota, Saatchi & Saatchi, and now his own Japanese skincare brand
  • A Lost $80 Million Advertising Agency Account. – July 1, 2020 – See how a huge advertising agency lost an $80 million account and get on the front page of the New York Times.
  • Ad Contrarian On Advertising Agency Presentations and Pitching. – June 28, 2020 – Bob Hoffman tells you what to do to win.
  • India’s leading Advertising and Brand Strategist. – June 25, 2020 – A great story about how Satish Krishnamurthy kicks strategic butt in India.
  • How to Win More Webby Awards. – June 22, 2020 – Matt Faulk, CEO of San Diego’s Basic on how to be very cool. And, have Webbys and Google love you.
  • How A Small Digital Agency Beats The Big Agencies. – June 17, 2020 – Portland’s Anvil Media has a secret sauce.
  • A Deep Dive Into The Birth Of Podcasting With Rob Walch of Libsyn. – June 15, 2020 –  A podcasting history lesson.
  • Does Your Agency Fear Fear? – June 14, 2020 – The feeling of “fear” can be a part of everyday life at many advertising agencies.
  • The Birth, Life, And Death Of L’eggs Pantyhose. – June 12, 2020. – The ANA’s Mike Donahue on a brand’s lie expectancy.
  • From Advertising Agency Copywriter To Fiction Book Author. – June 10, 2020 – From ad copy to becoming a fiction book star.
  • Podcasting Growth Predictions From Rob Walch Of Libsyn. – June 8, 2020 – 2016 right on podcasting predictions.
  • The Disrupted History Of fashion And Luxury Marketing. – June 4, 2020 – A fashion marketing master asks … Has any category been as disrupted as much as fashion and luxury marketing? Nope.
  • Adidas And Saatchi – The Worst New Business Presentation Ever Podcast. – June 4, 2020 – It does not get worse than this. Plus, some baby seals.
  • Introduction To Advertising Stories. June 4, 2020. – Go for it.

[Read more…] about Best Advertising Podcast List

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