ad agency

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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Buy My Book On Ad Agency New Business

Peter · October 20, 2014 · Leave a Comment

From The Land Of Self Promotion:

Buy My Book On The Art And Science of Ad Agency New Business And Change Your Agency’s Future.

Imagine spending only $12 bucks on Amazon for the paperback and even less for the digital version to buy a book that will dramatically change how you and your ad agency team creates and runs new client pitches and presentations. Imagine that after you’ve read the book, you will win more pitches!

Imagine not doing this.

No, don’t imagine that. Because, I want you to buy my book…

“The Levitan Pitch. Buy This Book. Win More Pitches.”

I want you to win more business, be happy and make more money.

Buy it here.

Why should you listen to me?

You might be asking… Is this Levitan Pitch for real. Don’t take my word for it: here are two reviews from two serious advertising industry dudes: [Read more…] about Buy My Book On Ad Agency New Business

Chemistry Wins Ad Agency Pitches

Peter · October 15, 2014 · Leave a Comment

Here is an excerpt from a chapter on the importance of interpersonal chemistry in winning new business from my book on pitching, “The Levitan Pitch. Buy This Book Win More Pitches.”

Interpersonal Chemistry Wins Pitches

By now, you’ve seen that there are many ways that an ad agency can win or lose a pitch.

However, there seems to be one aspect of pitching that keeps coming up over and over and rises to the top of almost everyone’s list (especially within the advertising agency search consultant world). That is the idea that agencies ultimately win or lose based on interpersonal chemistry and corporate culture alignment.

My fear with the chemistry thing is that it can appear to be something that just is vs. something that can be managed and created. There is a school of thought that says that you either gel with the prospect, or you don’t. Sorry Ms. Agency Business Development Director, it’s all about a chemical reaction, and that’s why it is called chemistry.

Yikes.

After weeks preparing preparing a smart, tight presentation, are we ultimately at the mercy and vagaries of some mysterious and unmanageable human thing? Pheromones, anyone? [Read more…] about Chemistry Wins Ad Agency Pitches

How To Start A Creative Advertising Agency

Peter · October 4, 2014 · 8 Comments

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.

Pitch Pain (As In Ad Agency Screw Ups)

Peter · October 2, 2014 · Leave a Comment

The advertising pitch column Pitch Pain launched today on the Agency Post blog. Pitch Pain provides a platform for the advertising industry, clients and search consults to tell their favorite good and bad pitch stories. The goal is to help all of us advance the efficiency of the pitch process while being entertained by our often crazy stories.

Each revealing and occasionally humorous story (just think of the schadenfreude) will be accompanied by a brief review of any home runs or mistakes made plus how-to insights to help us all learn form our dear industry colleague’s experiences.

You can read the first post right here on Agency Post.

Here’s Some Background

I wrote The Levitan Pitch. Buy This Book. Win More Pitches. to help advertising, design, digital and PR agencies improve their pitch development processes and, rather importantly, win more business. I got the idea for the book from a December 2013 research study of advertising professionals by Provoke Insights that supports the idea that agency employees are dissatisfied with their agency’s pitch process.

“Approximately half (47% of respondents) of advertising professionals surveyed by Provoke Insights say they are dissatisfied with the current internal approach to pitching.”

Other issues include:

“unrealistic timelines” (66%) and “long work hours” (65%.)

Clearly, trying to craft account winning pitches with disgruntled staff is not a great way to kick off the pitch development process.

In writing the book, I interviewed a range of agency executives, clients, presentation experts and search consultants who have sat through thousands of pitches. Most shared very entertaining pitch experiences. These experiences form the basis of many of the book’s ideas and tips for how to build account-winning small and large agency presentations and pitches.

Pitch Pain And You

My friend Jami Oetting, Agency Post’s Editor, and I quickly realized that we all have our favorite pitch stories. That’s why to air these out and provide industry learning, we teamed up to provide agencies, clients and agency pitch consultants with a platform to tell their own pitch stories.

We want to hear your stories. The good, bad and even ugly. To help, there is a simple form on the website that you can fill out. Form shy? Just send your stories directly to me and i will post them for you. These don’t have to be long. I’m at peter@peterlevitan.com

So, agencies, clients and search consultants… don’t be shy.

Send us your favorite pitch stories. You can name names or exclude some of them if you think anonymity is a wise move.

I didn’t go anonymous in my lead Pitch Pain story about the time that Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising blew a pitch for the global Adidas account by showing videos of bloody baby seals.

Our goals are to entertain and enlighten. Improving the pitch process for all of us is a very good thing.