branding

Advertising Agencies, Business Development & Contact

Peter · May 28, 2013 · Leave a Comment

My friends at Agency Post just published my second guest post on ad agency websites and social media programs… “Agencies And The Art Of Contact.”

This time its about how agencies do or do not do a good job with their website’s Contact sections. Most don’t. Considering how important the idea of driving a client prospect to make contact is (do I really have to say this?) you would think that agencies think through how to build a very compelling Contact section. Most don’t.

If you want to take a quick look at over a thousand agency website Contact sections (and who wouldn’t?), visit my Pinterest agency directory.

4 Insane Advertising Agency Home Pages

Peter · April 30, 2013 · Leave a Comment

I’ve been studying advertising, branding and digital agency websites using my Pinterest Advertising Agency Directory. I’ll be writing about my findings over the next few weeks.

Let’s Start With Insanity?

Here are 4 local and international agency home pages that are insane. Can you imagine an agency that is in the business of branding and digital marketing — and being creative — having a home page that announces: “Coming Soon?”

Allow me to state my somewhat obvious (but not apparently to some agencies) POV.

An existing agency should never, under any circumstances, have a Coming Soon home page. Visitors will come, see that you have nothing to say, have no creative approach to transitioning from one site to another and will split fast. Will they ever come back? Are they going to keep coming back to see if and when you’ve finally launced the new home page? My bet is not often and maybe never.

One more obvious point, this is not a good thing for your new business program.

The solution: be patient and wait until you make any changes until you’ve designed the new home page ready to go. Here is my little secret. I guarantee that no one is wondering when you are going to update your website. So, sit tight and live with what you have intill you are ready to relaunch. tell your CEO or ECD to chill.

Here are the 4 agencies. I’ll end with my “favorite” serial Coming Soon home page agency and, interestingly, its a big one:

Carrot Creative. This is a savvy digital agency. What’s up?

TBWA/LONDON, a rather large agency, OK a very big agency with clients like Nissan, Absolute and GSK, had the Coming Soon page on your left up for at least a couple of months.

Baron & Company. A Bellingham Washington agency with the tagline, “Technically Creative.”

Goodby Silverstein & Partners. Get this… the first Coming Soon page is from April 2013 and the second is from 2003. Yikes, these guys are repeat offenders.

How To Write An Ad Agency Business Plan

Peter · April 21, 2013 ·

78% of advertising agencies do not have an up to date business plan.

Ok, I made that number up. But, based on my travels through ad land, I am sure that I am close… and, maybe even a bit low.

Without a business plan it is virtually impossible to build the right agency for the future and a new business program that wins new clients and fuels revenues.

Here is a four part template for getting started on planning, steering and managing an agency that will get noticed, grow and prosper in today’s fast-paced advertising and digital marketplace. I call my “instant” 4-Part Business Plan blueprint. It’s essentially a fast-track Q&A to help start the planning process that results in an actionable business plan. [Read more…] about How To Write An Ad Agency Business Plan

Update: Goodby Silverstein & Partners And Coming Soon

Peter · April 19, 2013 · 2 Comments

See the RED copy below for the update from Goodby. Funny!

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I am finishing “Good, Bad & Ugly”, a presentation on advertising agency websites for the 4A’s. I’ve got a couple of bads and will write about them soon. But, I need to share this BAD with you right now.

It’s hard for me to believe that a few advertising and digital agencies have Coming Soon home pages. Coming Soon…?! How can they fuckin do this? It is really insane and lame. What poor brand imaging. Does it mean that they couldn’t come up with a real creative solution or even some patience as they build their new website?

So, are there any famous agencies doing this? How about Goodby Silverstein & Partners?

Get this… their current site is Coming Soon and so was their 2003 version. I call them the king of Coming Sooners. Here are the home pages. First the 2003 version and then today’s (as of 4.19.13)

September 2013 Update… The new Goodby Silverstein website lives. I know this because they sent me an email with this message: “we came.”

Now all you have to do is check out this blog post… 13 Free Big Data Tools For Advertising Agency New Business.