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 […]
Win More Pitches: The Pitch Calendar
Just as you wouldn’t undertake an important client project without a timeline, why do many agencies participate in pitches without one? Successful pitch management depends on solid project management skills and planning. A good Pitch Timeline becomes your roadmap to a more successful pitch. What are the best practices for developing a Pitch Calendar that […]
Better agency feedback, better agency reviews
Why do we make sure agencies get fast, consolidated feedback after a working or tissue session during Mercer Island Group agency reviews? That’s easy: better agency feedback, delivered in a timely fashion, results in a better agency review for all involved. Here’s why it’s important and how to do it in your next agency review. […]
Choosing an agency in an AI world
How does a marketer best choose an agency in an AI world? Marketers and agencies everywhere are hard at work trying to make sense of what AI means for their business. AI platforms like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Microsoft Azure AI, AWS AI/ML, Anthropic, Midjourney, Perplexity and others seem to evolve daily. It truly is a […]
3 things to do before an agency agrees to pitch
Your agency has been invited to pitch. Now what? Your hard work has finally paid off – your positioning work is done, your website is prospect perfect, you’re marketing the agency and you’ve built your network. And today an opportunity surfaced! It may be a warm lead, and inbound inquiry or even a formal RFP. […]
Pet Parents, Part 2: Ditch the Arrogance
Last week we talked about how using prospect language is a much more effective way to connect with your agency’s prospects. There is a sequel to this story, and it has a new moral: leave your arrogance at home. Remember the agency arrogance we discussed last week as part of the Pet Parents story? There […]