Questions agencies should be asking clients

questionsagencieshouldaskclients

Last week we discussed the key questions that clients should be asking their agencies. What questions should agencies be asking their clients? Just as it’s never been more complex or challenging to be a marketer, it has also never been more challenging to lead an agency. And just as marketers need to get every possible […]

Questions marketers should be asking their agencies

questions-marketers-should-ask-their-agencies

Change is all around us. And the pace of change continues to accelerate. Marketers are expected to build their brands, drive revenue, grow market share, guide new product enhancements and introductions, partner with Sales and lead digital transformations. It’s never been more complex or challenging to be a marketer or an agency that supports marketers. […]

Belief and conviction matter in good pitches and proposals

beliefmatters

Marketers and agency execs can learn so much from the world around them. One example is in the area of storytelling and persuasiveness: there is so much that can be learned from great writers about how to spin a compelling narrative. Great stories matter. They connect you with your key audiences. They give people a […]

Marketers & agency execs need training in 5 areas now

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Great marketing efforts are a business multiplier. Unfortunately, many marketers and agency execs are not prepared properly for the task of delivering marketing efforts that outperform the competition and drive brand success. They lack some of the basic skills needed to get every ounce of impact from the investments they are leading. Training budgets have […]

How agencies should talk about the money

How-to-talk-about-the-money

Most agency executives and teams hate talking about money with clients and prospects. And they don’t do a very good job of it. Agencies often seem to approach the topic of money as a required nuisance or as an afterthought. The agency’s economic proposal may be a simple spreadsheet. Or a spreadsheet embedded in a […]

You Get the Agency You Deserve: Every marketer should read Jared Belsky’s new book

You-Get-the-You-Deserve

Some marketers get absolutely amazing support from their agencies! Brilliant strategies and amazing service. Work that builds the brand, moves customers to action and builds business. Great, self-sustaining relationships. Unfortunately, this isn’t the experience of all marketers. Many marketers often get less than they want from their agencies. Fewer great ideas, strategies that aren’t really […]

Enhancing your next agency review process: 21 pitfalls marketers can readily dodge

21-mistakes-marketers

Your brand is in search of a new agency. You’ve initiated a review that you are overseeing personally and it’s proving to be considerably more challenging and time intensive than you initially anticipated. Heck, you already had a full-time job before adding this important added effort. And, while progressing your way through the project (researching […]

Marketer & Agency Exec’s guide to the agency visit

marketer-and-agency-guide-to-visit

You’re considering an agency for a key assignment. You may be well into a competitive agency review or simply are exploring agencies for near term or future efforts. You’ve done your homework. You’ve found an agency that looks promising! But any agency decision is an important decision. You’ve decided to visit the agency (good idea!) […]

Edelman’s 2023 Brand Trust Report: What brands and agencies need to know

Edelman Trust Brometer

The folks at Edelman recently released their latest Trust Barometer research. The report is a must read for business leaders, marketers and agency execs everywhere. The Edelman team has studied trust for nearly 25 years and the annual Edelman Trust Barometer research is a cornerstone to that work. In our current highly polarized and rapidly changing […]