new business

Advertising Agency Thought Leadership Distributition

Peter · January 3, 2023 · Leave a Comment

How To Distribute Powerful Advertising Agency Thought Leadership

I am writing a new book about how to build and run a highly profitable advertising agency. Chapters of the book cover the art and science of developing impossible-to-resist, as in unignorable, thought leadership as an account-based marketing and inbound tool. Here is a quick list of advertising agency thought leadership distribution platforms. You can see more advertising agency resources right here.

Note that anything you produce can be efficiently sliced and diced and put on other platforms. Think content amplification.

13 Advertising Agency Thought Leadership Distribution Platforms

Your website. In a blog post or via a downloadable white paper, webinar offer, or podcast page. The advantage of a PDF offer is that you can ask the interested party for their contact information. Gently, please.
Your company newsletter. Build the list via website offers and gentle outreach. I’ve employed contractors in the Philippines to help build mailing lists.
LinkedIn. Three basic opportunities: 1) Post on LinkedIn (note that LinkedIn loves video). 2) Put your thinking in LinkedIn groups (for example I am a member of Digital Marketing – 2 million members). 3) Use LinkedIn Navigator to make direct connections.
Publish a LinkedIn newsletter. Your connections and followers will be invited to subscribe, and LinkedIn will alert your network whenever you publish new editions.
TikTok. TikTok has become a new gen search engine. It is currently an underutilized ad agency universe.
Video platforms. Australia’s Tiny Hunter agency has over 210 videos. They tell me that the videos help them close deals with the right new clients (right is the operative word), client types that spend time watching Tiny Hunter’s advice. The agency’s founders are more about closing the deal than racking up huge indiscriminate view numbers.
Audio platforms. Build and distribute your own podcast then transcribe it into bite-sized content and roll it out.
Leverage OPA = Other People’s Audience. Guest blog. Guest podcast. Why work to build an audience when you can borrow it?
Paper: Zines and, yes, old-fashioned letters. Hmm, or a targeted very cool (has to be cool) postcard series. So, 1986. However, so 2023 clutter busting. Paper breaks through
Write a book. Both paper and digital. The ultimate proof of expertise. Go self-published. There is no need for a time-consuming traditional publisher to write that B2B book.
Advertising. You use advertising to generate awareness for your clients, right? See What LONDON Advertising did.
Conferences. Go where your next client hangs out. Give that insight talk and make friends. Hand out that book.
Doughnuts? My agency once delivered insights directly to prospects in Portland and San Francisco using a customized and personalized Krispy Kreme box. Free doughnuts to grab attention. The box delivered awareness, actionable insights, and the offer to get some recently launched Krispy Kreme stock. It made us friends.
Write and produce your advertising agency thought leadership and get it out in the world to the right clients. They will love the good stuff.

More to come… in the new book.

A Sad Advertising Agency Business Development Story

Peter · December 4, 2022 · Leave a Comment

A Very Sad Advertising Agency Story From Keurig Dr Pepper.

Start here: By now, most people in advertising know that Kuerig Dr Pepper’s marketing team (and I must assume their procurement department) are assholes. Why AHOLES? Here is their advertising agency business development story. This from the UK’s IPA, its leader Paul Bainsfair…

“UK agencies react in horror to the bizarre Keurig Dr Pepper 360-day payment terms”

“Global consumer products giant Keurig Dr Pepper is currently running a PR agency search in the United States, where part of the ask is for agencies tendering to accept 360-day payment terms. Those that cannot are being offered the option of financing, at their own cost, through Atlanta-based, Prime Revenue.”

Are you fucking kidding me?

Why Is This Important? Cause An Advertising Agency Pitch Can Hep Your Agency Go Out Of Business

OK, yes you know that this kind of lame client shit is important to pay attention to. But, playing along with this stuff can put your agency out of business…

The cost and effectiveness of agency business development can make or break an agency. Let me give you a – real-world – worst-case example.

A few years ago a Pacific Northwest agency was one of a set of agencies trying to land a major digital account. The client’s pitch team wanted to see each agency’s strategic approach to the client’s marketing goals and the northwest agency built a comprehensive plan that included performing some market research and even the leasing of related technology. The pitch dragged on forever and the agency was racking up staff and hard costs.

The good news… the agency won the account.

Bad news… the pitch became so expensive that the agency almost went out of business – in this case, after winning the account. The agency’s costs included the cost of the initial RFP response and a four-month pitch. Add in the agency’s actual client work plus the client’s 90-day payment schedule. Yikes. The RFP response, managing and crafting the pitch itself (mega labor hours), and the actual work, once won, all added to have the agency essentially working for free for more than six months.

Could the agency have managed this insane scenario? Not sure. Every pitch and client engagement is unique. That said, the agency could have had a better handle on what was coming when they initially interviewed the client. However, I’m not sure that the client was actually forthcoming. Or worse, really knew what they needed in the first place. Or skilled in running a pitch. or skilled in working with an agency.

The takeaway is that agencies should not pitch everything. Period. Spend the time to understand the client’s needs and motivations, its past agency history, know why you should be the winner, and what the search/pitch details are – including payment terms (yes, often hard to gauge) but if anything does not feel right or professional, then bail.

Always keep in mind the cost of pitching and that, at best, an agency will only win 30% of the time.

Now ask yourself, why would an advertising agency pitch that Keurig Dr Pepper account?

Is your agency pitching too much? Read this…

One more point: Buy this book and win more pitches… I mean it.

Is Your Advertising Agency Pitching Too Much?

Peter · October 10, 2022 · 1 Comment

Is Your Advertising Agency Pitching Too Much? Maybe You Need To Say No!

Here is an excerpt from my book on advertising agency pitching and presenting. This tidbit emphasizes the importance of not (allow me to repeat myself) not pitching every account that whistles. You can’t afford it. It costs too much cash, time, energy, and agency staff pain (BURNOUT!). Pitching too much causes one more problem. You will reduce your business development ROI.

There is lots more in “The Levitan Pitch. Buy This Book Win More Pitches.” You can buy the paperback and eBook on -> Amazon.

Yes, No, Maybe?

Before you embark on a new pitch, you should be asking yourself one extremely important question…

Should we be pitching this account?

I know what you are thinking… Levitan’s kidding right? We’ve made it through the RFI and RFP stages, and now he wants us to ask if we should even be going to the finals.

It’s still ok to say “no”, and now is the time to take a deep breath and review a go-no-go decision. You are about to spend a great deal of time and money. Are you sure that you should go through the next step? Are your colleague’s groans getting louder? Looking in any way ambivalent about the pitch will not help your pitch team feel good about charging into it. Passionless pitches don’t win.

Pitch or not is usually one of the most difficult decisions agency management has to make. There is a good chance that you think that you’ve already answered this question if you participated in an RFP that led to your selection as a shortlist candidate. I believe that even if you’ve performed a sound decision-making process, now is the time to stop to determine if this potentially expensive pitch is worth the time, effort, and human and cash costs.

A Zoom Cartoon Just For You

Peter · September 9, 2022 · Leave a Comment

A Zoom Cartoon About A Zoom Pitch Problem

To help illustrate the insanity that often accompanies the act of an advertising agency pitch for new business, I included 12 pitch mistake cartoons in my book “The Levitan Pitch. Buy This Book. Win More Pitches.” I love the fact that cartoons are a fast way into overloaded brains, evoke emotion, and get remembered. Remembered well past fleeting podcast interviews. Here’s a zoom cartoon to help make my point.

Possibly the most memorable Internet meme is the 1993 (!) cartoon, “On the internet nobody knows you are a dog.” From Peter Steiner in the New Yorker.

My Zoom Cartoon Just For You

Here is a new Zoom cartoon I commissioned from master cartoonist, and brilliant Creative Director, Steve Klinetobe. Steve was a CD at my Portland agency Citrus. This cartoon will go into my next book on how to run a successful marketing agency and business development.

Steve’s nostril cartoon illustrates one of the worst uses of Zoom. It’s about where people put their camera in relation to their face. In this case, it is the camera that sits below a face and looks into your buddy’s nose. YUCK!

When Zooming, pay attention to camera placement + lighting + sound quality + your background. You know this right?

That said, I look up way too many nostrils.

By the way, Steve has gone freelance. So hire him. You will thank me.

Ad Age Small Agency Of The Year 2022

Peter · August 2, 2022 · Leave a Comment

Yes, It Is That Time Again: Ad Age Small Agency Of The Year 2022

There is an old joke about winning. I think that it merits mentioning as we look at the Ad Age Small Agency Of The Year Awards. Why? Because you need to enter an award contest if you want to win. Obvious? Apparently not as only 400 agencies entered this year’s award show.

Every week Murray goes to the synagogue and prays, “God, please let me win the lottery. Just once, please let me win the lottery.”
This goes on week after week, month after month, “God, please let me win the lottery.”
One day this majestic voice booms down from above, “Murray, meet me halfway, buy a ticket!”

I have written about entering award shows plus the why bother plus listed the big advertising awards right here: Top Advertising and Design Awards.

Why bother entering? Well, winners have something to shout about to their staff (and future staff), their current clients and as proof for future clients that the agency is great – as said by a trusted third party.

From Ad Age:

While small, these shops have proven to have big ideas and even bigger ambitions

The winners of our 14th annual Small Agency Awards were culled from a list of more than 400 entries from the U.S. and globally and represent some of the best and brightest agencies today.

The shops that made the grade weren’t chosen just for creative prowess, but also for overall business results, revenue growth and more. The agencies on this list are producing ingenious but effective work and also demonstrate proficiency in a variety of media and a willingness to move into new disciplines including health care or gaming or design.

Since not everyone has an Ad Age sub…. here you go.

The “Big” Small Winners

Since many folks are not Ad Age subscribers, here are the winners.

Small Agency Of The Year.

Gold: Mojo Supermarket // Silver: Movers+Shakers

Gold 1-10 Employees: Fred & Farid // Silver: Quality Meats

Gold 11-75 Employees: Lerma // Silver 11-75 Employees: Preacher

Gold 76-150 Employees: Fitzco // Silver 76-150 Employees: Rosewood Creative

Like Regional Agencies?

Northwest: Opinionated and Copacino Fujikado

Midwest: Highdive and Hanson Dodge

West: Mirimar and Haymaker

Southwest: Callen and Bakery

Southeast: Dagger and Dunn&Co.

International: Zulu Alpha Kilo and Giants & Gentlemen