new business

Advertising Pitch Book Update

Peter · February 7, 2014 · Leave a Comment

A couple of people have asked why I’ve slowed down my blogging. Like most of you, I’ll take any chance to slay this insatiable beast.

OK, what’s up? I’ve been putting my typing into writing the world’s greatest, smartest, must have book on agency pitching. Here is where things stand.

Working title:

Perfect Pitch

What is it: A real old-fashioned paperback book printed with ink and paper and eBook detailing the best practices for designing, writing and presenting new business pitches. It leverages my 30 years of participating in and leading new business pitches… and some deep seated attitude. It will also include my story of the world’s worst agency pitch for the global Adidas account when I was at Saatchi & Saatchi London. I’ll support the book with an active website that will include agency leader insights and tools that every agency can use to better mange their pitch development.

Reason for being: According to advertising agency staff, the process of creating a new business pitch sucks. Read my post, “Half Of Advertising Agency Staff Hates Pitching.” I think that poor pitch management dramatically reduces an agency’s odds of winning. (This is a “duh” right?)

Status: I’ve written about 27,000 words. Will add another 7,000. I’ll also include interviews with experts like agency search consultants, procurement experts, a lawyer on IP and one of the best creators of 3D leave behinds. I’ve started designing the book and its website.

Stay tuned. I hope to publish this spring.

If I Were An Ad Agency Client – I’d Hire Lean Mean Fighting Machine

Peter · February 7, 2014 · Leave a Comment

I look at lots of ad agency websites. I put them in my agency directory / I look at them because agencies contact me to ask for my help (its amazing how fast you can suss out an agency’s value – like in 7 seconds) and I look at them as if I were a client seeking a new marketing partner.

Most agency websites fail. They are me-too, slow to deliver a message, overloaded, have no personality and don’t sell anything. They are, sadly, 20 years or so after the birth of the graphical browser, dull and oh so boring brochures. So, its so sweet when one comes across an agency that gets it. And, of course, once again, its the English that have it all figured out.

In this case, its the, of course, lean website from London’s Lean Mean Fighting Machine. Spend time on this website: watch the videos, enjoy the attitude like how they position their blog (“Our Blog: By Employees That Are Forced To Write it”.)

Please. Make adjustments to your website. Be different, have fun. Oh, and think sales because, at the end of the very long day, your website should sell (and, if you can, look different that the guy down the street.)

Finally, a sense of humor will go a long way to pre sell. Most clients say that “chemistry” is how they choose an agency.

Advertising Agency Self Promotion

Peter · January 22, 2014 · 2 Comments

Once again, as I research my pitch book, I find wonderful things. This time I was searching Google for images of agency self promotions and I find (on page one) two self promo ads that my agency did for itself when we were called Ralston360 (we were soon renamed Citrus.)

The ads, yes we used advertising to promote our own advertising agency, go figure, used the idea of napkins and ideas to highlight a series of brilliant (if I say so myself) ideas for our clients Legalzoom.com and Napa Valley Vintners (the trade org for Napa’s wine industry.)

Yup, we were selling how good we were at strategy — think ideas. Strategy is the second most important thing clients look for in their agencies. It comes after creativity and just before lunch.

An Ad Agency Infographic Leave Behind

Peter · January 22, 2014 · 2 Comments

Data And Infographic Visualization for the ADD Generation.

I originally wrote this blog post way back in 2014 when I was writing my book, “The Levitan Pitch. Buy This Book. Win More Pitches.” This book has sold thousands of copies and proves the point that writing a book can also lead to your own business growth as in generating lots of good leads. The same goes for using smart graphics. They will drive business.

The smart folks at Killer Visual Strategies pointed out that they’ve changed their name. So, this updated post.

Back to 2014…. I am doing research for my book(s) on advertising agency pitching. While collecting thoughts on post pitch leave-behinds, I came across this infographic for Killer Visual Strategies, an infographic design agency in Seattle with clients like Pepsico, Toyota and Expedia. Makes sense that they would employ an infographic to deliver their info. Makes sense to consider using infographics as a new business pitch leave behind. [Read more…] about An Ad Agency Infographic Leave Behind