Peter Levitan & Co.

The New Business of Advertising

digital marketing

Advertising Agency Self Promotion #2

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A couple of days ago I wrote about a small advertising program that my Agency Citrus Ralston360 ran 7 years ago. I just took a look at the post and it got me thinking about what else Google had stored in its memory about how we promoted the agency. This led me to an article about a podcasting self promotion we ran for the agency close to ten years ago.

Way back when, I decided that podcasting, because of automated distribution via RSS and inclusion in iTunes, was a platform for the future. If you have been following the world of podcasting, I was both right and wrong. Podcasting is still hot but RSS (Really Simple Syndication) didn’t really take off. Sure, podcasting is out there but the RSS thing was a bit too complicated for most web users. In fact, I think its promise of automated delivery has been taken over by apps. But, that’s another story.

So back in 2000 something, we promoted our expertise in podcasting by 1) having our own marketing interview podcast, Ralston360 View (it had a large following on iTunes); white papers, speaking engagements and a nifty video that was embedded inside an iPod looking gizmo graphic. You spun the interactive FLASH-based dial to select different instructional videos. I wish I still had the videos but they are long gone. This is what it looked like:

360_podcasting

This sweet tool garnered press for the agency and helped us with our very early social media prowess. It burnished our image. We became known for our thought leadership.

I continue to be a major fan of the value of thought leadership when it is targeted to the right audience. I recommend the art of thought leadership as win-win self promotion to my agency clients.

Need some strategic leadership ideas? I’ve got a whole bunch more. Give me a shout.

 

 

 

 

 

Technology Insights For Ad Agencies: Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures

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FredSmart collection of insights for ad agencies to think about and absorb from Fred Wilson of New York’s VC firm Union Square Ventures.

Here are some of the mega-trends Fred thinks will shape the future of technology and where he is placing Union Square’s bets — the list itself is instructive.

Transition to technology-driven networks from bureaucratic hierarchies. His examples include Twitter replacing newspapers – crowd as reporter and editor; YouTube facilitates video creation; SoundCloud allows us all to be all audio creators. More? Codeacademy and Kickstarter.

Unbundling as in how products and services are delivered. Buy just what you want. Industries going through unbundling… banking (Lending Club, Funding Circle); asset management services; education (from classic university model to live streaming and physical libraries to tablets); research (Science Exchange.); entertainment (from bundled cable to Hulu and Chromecast and )

Smart Phones. We can do everything on our phone. We are all nodes on the network — we are all connected all of the time. Examples: Transportation via Uber; payments ala Square and Dwolla.

These are some of the areas that ad agencies need to be thinking through. Shifting trends will shape the ever shifting advertising and design world. if you are not thinking ahead you will not make it.

LinkedIn For Ad Agency New Business

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Increase linkedin engagementI’ll keep it simple and just shoot you over to this smart infographic (larger version.) I like that it provides a daily guide to how to use LinkedIn to drive new business engagement.

By the way, is your ad agency missing from the Pinterest Advertising Agency Directory? Let me know. I am starting to get some substantial traffic to the directory. I’d have to assume that prospective clients as well as ad agency types are using it.