personal branding

Advertising Agency Interpersonal Chemistry

Peter · July 30, 2020 · Leave a Comment

Smile: Interpersonal Chemistry Is A Critical Factor In Winning New Advertising Accounts

I am updating a previous post about interpersonal chemistry. Why? Over and over and over again I hear that building and having interpersonal chemistry with an advertising agency new business prospect is the make or break element of a hopefully budding new business relationship. So, I’ll get to the point. How can you proactively build and grow advertising agency interpersonal chemistry?

Allow me to frame the conversation via a quote from the article “IInterpersonal Chemistry in Friendships and Romantic Relationships” care of Interpersona | An International Journal on Personal Relationships. To get things rolling, here is a primary quote about relationships:

Friendship Chemistry Reciprocal Candor

The most frequently mentioned quality of friendship chemistry was reciprocal candor, which referred to open and meaningful communication. Three subcategories emerged within this group including (in order of most to least common): Ease of interaction, sharing a deep connection, and predictability. As some male participants described, “Conversation just flows naturally” and “There are no awkward silences”; “Chemistry is when there is a spark or understanding that makes the relationship easy”; and “Chemistry in friends goes beyond just being an acquaintance. It’s like you are connected. Everything makes sense. Everything fits.”

Isn’t this what you want to happen in a new business meeting?

You Probably Look Like The Next Agency

Chances are good that you will be up against look-alike agencies. You all probably share similar attributes, skills, and histories. You might even be wearing the same Armani suit or Tory Burch shoes or, today, tee-shirt.

Because of this, the ultimate selection factor is often based on personal vibes. The client wants to feel comfortable with and inspired by the agency’s culture and people. They are looking for a dedicated partner who will care as much about their business as they do. They want a confident agency that looks, acts, and feels right.

I can’t stress the chemistry thing enough. Here is what Avidan Strategies’ 2012 survey of agency search consultants revealed:

“Practically every consultant, or 96% of the sample, pointed to “chemistry” as the key factor for winning. But what exactly is chemistry? Generally speaking, it is simpatico between the client and agency teams.”

So while you are thinking about how to express your agency’s core skills and style, remember that how you express who you are could be the make or break part of your pitch. I’ll talk more about chemistry later. But it is imperative that you keep personal chemistry in mind as you start to think through what this client really wants.

A Quickie On Online Video Meetings

As the author of a book on presentations and pitches, I have been asked about how to make an online video meeting work harder. I am going to write in detail about this but here are five key points.

Look into the camera.
Employ decent lighting and sound. That means use a pro constant light if you can and get that decent microphone. If you can, ditch the headphones. The big scary ones that make you look like Top Gun. Not a very interpersonal look.
Think hard about your background. Set the stage. No laundry bin, please. Or the barking dog.
Keep the meeting short. People space out after fifteen minutes. I know that this might be hard to control in a business meeting but discuss timing with the people you are presenting to ahead of the meeting. If people think you will talk and talk, they will tune you out.
Check your internet connection speed via a tool like Google Speed Check.

Japanese Advertising, Marketing And Sushi

Peter · July 6, 2020 · Leave a Comment

Robert Peterson / Bob-san Grew Toyota, Saatchi & Saatchi, and Now A Skin Care Brand Plus (!) His Peeps Just Won A Big CES Award. Not your average expat life in Tokyo, Japan. And, the perfect guy to give us the lowdown on Japanese advertising, marketing, and sushi.

I think that that about says it all until you listen to this episode. If you did listen, arigatōgozaimashita.

SHOW LINKS – リンクを表示

Bob-san on LinkedIn

Bob’s Book – Make It Happen on Amazon.

Toute Nuit – Please look your best. Oh, and wrinkle-free.

Do not forget to subscribe to Advertising Stories whenever you Listen To Podcasts. See my handy links to podcast players.

A nice thing for me… Feedspot has already recognized Advertising Stories as being a top 15 advertising podcast.

Gary Vaynerchuk Is Full Of Shit

Peter · April 8, 2020 · 1 Comment

Gary Vaynerchuk Is Full Of Shit. Too Harsh?

Before I get to the meat, as in the why of the “Gary Vaynerchuk Is Full Of Shit” blog post (the original, below) I want to point out that this post has received 6,369 views as of today. Clearly, the keyword Gary Vaynerchuk travels. Understatement. Saying ‘shit’ probably does not hurt either.

Plus, for all of you SEO geeks, Animalz told me to update this post.

Let me start with the word ‘shit’.

Here’s a story from my first days in Oregon after I purchased Citrus, my advertising agency. I am a born and bred New Yorker. “Fuck” is in our daily vocabulary. As someone who has lived around the world, I’ve modified the use of ‘fuck’ because some cultures are not as upfront as us. After I moved to Portland I found myself in an early AM meeting and I hear myself saying ‘fuck’. Being a highly sensitive type, I turn to the woman next to me and ask, “Oh, sorry, is it OK to say Fuck in a Portland meeting?” She says, “It’s OK to say it – but only twice.” I love Portland! That was one of my intros to the culture of Oregon.

OK back to Gary Vaynerchuk is full of shit.

Am I being too harsh? No. A while back I wrote on Linkedin about Gary’s take on traditional advertising. He did two minutes of dumping on the world of advertising which ran on an Ad Age Digital Crash Course segment. To maybe to make it easier for you, here’s the copy from the post from Linkedin…

I just watched the Gary Vaynerchuk episode of the Ad Age Digital Crash Course.

My take: Gary is full of shit. (OK, mostly).

First a moment of background. When I lived in New Jersey I was a happy customer of his huge wine shop and as an early digital media adopter, I was well aware of his significant social media foresight and skills. Gary was early and right. And, in a world of ad agency growth issues, he has managed to build a 500 person agency. Bravo.

Here’s the ‘shit’ part. In the video, Gary pontificates in ‘Gary Speak’ about how sales and marketing are not aligned i.e. agencies don’t care about selling products (only about winning awards); that emotion does not sell (tell that to “Think Different”); that ‘traditional’ advertising is inefficient (like much of digital isn’t); that creatives might want to consider shooting 10 spots for $300K each vs. one for $3 million (what world is he living in?) and that maybe we should think about testing advertising before we run it (hmm… that’s a new one).

I love self-promotion. And I get railing at the old ways of doing business to further one’s cause. But, please, cut the way too obvious crap and don’t be insulting.

Look, I get self-promotion. But, please, do not be so insulting (even if you are a little bit right.)

But, But.

I actually like Gary and his Garyvee persona. I have super respect for his personal branding and VERY high energy. And, I dig that he has been well ahead of the curve re new technologies and marketing platforms like Instagram and now TikTok. Frankly, way too ahead of many advertising agencies.

And… I’ve said nice things about Gary in the past. Old school advertising CEO.

Side note: Gary will also star in one of my new videos.

Now This: My 2020 Advertising Agency Survival Guide

Here is another well-viewed post… The Advertising Agency Survival Guide

What I Learned At Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising

Peter · March 27, 2020 · 3 Comments

What I Learned At Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising – It Is Relevant Today

I got educated at Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising. I applied my learning to a career that spanned GM of the Minneapolis office, to London and Europe, to two Internet startups, my own agency, and now my advertising agency consultancy.

I learned about the power of strategy, kick-ass creative, being ballsy and going for it. This is what an agency principal and her agency must use today.

First A Bit On Dancer Fitzgerald Sample

I started my advertising career at Dancer Fitzgerald Sample as an AAE on the large General Mills account. Dancer was known as DFS. It was New York’s largest advertising agency and lived in the glorious Chrysler Building. Its clients also included P&G, Toyota, HP, Wrangler, RJR, Nabisco and other biggies.

During my tenure, it was named Agency Of The Year and had a new business pitch winning streak that hit baseball Hall of Fame numbers… .900+. The agency was also known for delivering highly effective advertising including Wendy’s “Where’s The Beef?” and the advertising that launched Toyota and sustained its growth.

The agency spent a great deal of time and money nurturing its account executives with a weekly training program that pumped out the best AE’s in the industry. DFS taught me how to write brand-building strategies, run a profitable account and how to deliver exceptional account service. It also taught me how to work within an empowering, yet nurturing a culture where everyone loved their job. This last point was driven home every month when we celebrated employees who had worked at the agency for 10, 20 and even 30 years.

I was about to learn even more. [Read more…] about What I Learned At Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising