Drive better work (and win more business) with strategic insights
The best campaigns and the biggest account wins often are driven by the best strategic insights. This is a simple truth we see day in and day out in our work with agencies and clients. Unfortunately, compelling insights are rare these days, and many agency and client teams are ill-prepared to develop the insights that […]
How agencies and clients can make the most of agency references
An agency’s references are an important and often underappreciated aspect of an agency review. This would seem obvious! Unfortunately, for many agencies and some clients, it is not. Some clients don’t check agency references when they run their own reviews, and some agencies do a poor job of selecting or prepping their references. And some […]
Ad Age 2024 Small Agency of the Year: Agencies should apply! The industry is watching!
There is a special place in our heart for small independent agencies that are living by their wits and putting their heart, sweat and tears to work for their clients. And that love for small agencies makes this a special time of year! Applications for this year’s annual Ad Age Small Agency of the Year […]
A Valentine for Marketers & their Agencies
At Mercer Island Group, we LOVE marketers. We LOVE agencies. And we LOVE to help them succeed. The marketing and advertising world is a tough, tough business. We are lucky to be able to serve marketers and agencies and we are incredibly thankful to the people, their brands and agencies. With so much gratitude in […]
The crucial role of dialogue and creative listening to achieving great strategy
Great strategy is hard to come by and hard to create. When things go well, it can be magic. It can be the foundation that campaigns like “The World’s Most Interesting Man” and “Snickers Satisfies” are built upon. When things go wrong, the “work”, the people and the business suffer. What’s the special alchemy that […]
Meeting with a prospect? The magic way for agencies to start a meeting.
We talk with agencies every day. Since we manage so many agency reviews on behalf of clients, agencies often want to talk and present us with their capabilities. They want to be sure they are on our radar. It makes sense. And we appreciate it. It’s part of our job! To best represent our clients […]
Making magic from data with Grace Kite
By Steve Boehler with special guest Dr. Grace Kite How can marketers and their agencies use data to better serve their businesses? One key foundation of successful modern marketing is a deep knowledge of data and how to make data science better serve our understanding of customers, competitors and markets. Yet few marketers are well […]
Gini Dietrich & the PESO Model, 2024
By Steve Boehler with special guest Gini Dietrich Paid. Earned. Shared. Owned. Today, the idea of a holistic strategy guiding these different approaches is becoming more common by the day. However, it was not always that way. This thinking is less than twenty years old; basically a teenager! PR pro Gini Dietrich is one of […]
The client-agency effectiveness checklist
How can clients and agencies know they are ready for a great year together? We’ve written about the 3P’s that lead to effective client-agency relationships. The people need to be committed to the relationship and trained in all the skills needed to deliver great work that builds the business. Effective marketing and agency work needs […]
Is your agency ready to grow? Test yourself with the agency biz dev readiness checklist
Is your agency ready to grow this year? Doing great work and delighting your clients is essential. That great work creates referrals, references and in some cases even acclaim. But to grow you’ll need more than your great work. There are thousands of agencies in the US for clients to consider. How can your agency […]