Thankfulness at Mercer Island Group
Thanksgiving is the perfect moment to express gratitude – and we have so much to be thankful for! At Mercer Island Group, we’re deeply appreciative of our wonderful clients as we close out a truly rewarding year. We feel especially lucky to work with the most talented team in our 35-year history. As Thanksgiving approaches, […]
The Client-Agency Prep Plan for a Great Year
CMOs always want to get a new year off to a great start. Sound management of an agency or agency roster is a key to the Brand’s (and CMO’s) success. Good clients get good agency work. There is a linear relationship between being a good client and getting good work. And good agency work can […]
New Leadership Job? You Have 90 Days.
New leaders are promoted or hired daily in marketing departments and agencies. Conventional wisdom has always been to take your time, learn the organization, become acclimated and accepted before trying to make your mark. Don’t move too fast! Fit in. Today, that has become prehistoric thinking. Taking your time today can be the ticket to […]
Clients, Agencies & Good Manners
A surprising thing happened as I left my local Starbucks earlier in the week. As I began to open the door, another customer approached from outside. I held the door open for them, as my mother taught me long ago. And then the surprise occurred: she smiled and thanked me. I’ve been thinking about this […]
Has your agency been ghosted?
Being ghosted sucks. Your agency spent time responding to an RFP, maybe developing and delivering a presentation, possibly even traveling on your dime to meet with the prospect. You delivered your pitch and returned to your office to wait for feedback or an outcome. And… crickets. Weeks and months later…. Crickets. Ghosted. Being ghosted sucks. […]
Secrets to more Agency opportunities
Does your agency have as many at-bats as you’d like? Do you get enough opportunities to grow at the rate you’d like? Large, well-known agencies see a constant stream of opportunities. They have more current and past clients, touch more marketers, get more attention from the trade journals and end up with more opportunities. Most […]
It’s an Unfair Game
“It’s an unfair game.” In Moneyball, the movie based on Michael Lewis’ best selling book, Oakland A’s General Manager Billy Beane (played by Brad Pitt) declares: “It’s an unfair game. If we try to play like the Yankees in here, we’ll lose to the Yankees out there.” Of course, Billy Beane is talking about how […]
Feedback is a gift
Feedback is a gift. It may not always be what we want to hear… but it can be the key to personal and professional improvement. The key is to accept that feedback is a gift. A recent debrief call with an agency that failed to advance in a Mercer Island Group agency review was a […]
Every pitch tells a story
Every picture tells a story. True in life. True in history. And true in pitches. Whether you’re part of the agency pitch team or the client selection committee, every interaction is an image, a memory, and part of the dating process. What story do you want your potential partner to remember? The Initial Contact: Does […]
Agencies & Marketers: learn from the Beatles
The Beatles. Iconic. Immensely talented. Unprecedented success. And behind all of that brilliance and success, there is a strategy that brands and agencies everywhere can benefit from. The audience – their audience – often became part of the early Beatles experience through the band’s lyrics. In their music they spoke directly to their audience. Think […]