Google’s Kevin Babcock: Advice for 2023
By Stephen Boehler with Google’s Kevin Babcock How can marketers and agencies make the most of the year ahead? No organization on the planet has more data than Google, and Google’s offerings represent a staple for most modern marketers and their budgets. And Google’s main offering – Search – represents just a fraction of the […]
Yearend reading for Marketers and Agency execs
By Stephen Boehler & the team at MIG It’s been an eventful year for the team at Mercer Island Group! We’ve shared a great deal of content aimed at helping marketers be better marketers, agencies be better agencies and how the two can succeed together. We’ve captured advice for 2023 from Yahoo SVP Jen Whelan, […]
How to kick off a more persuasive agency pitch
Most agencies kick off their pitches – and spend the first 20-30 minutes – talking about themselves. Perhaps they are sharing a history of the agency, or their capabilities or a case study. The agency team is proud of their agency’s success, client list and capabilities. And those agencies may be losing their audience from […]
2023 Advice from Yahoo SVP Jen Whelan
We’re leaving behind a crazy year and need to turn our attention to a new year with both new and continuing challenges. What should we be focused on as marketers as we approach the new year? To answer that question, we spent time with our friend (and Yahoo SVP Marketing) Jen Whelan. It’s hard to […]
How OKRP Won Burger King
By Steve Boehler with OKRP CSO Nate Swift Burger King. An iconic brand. Over 7,000 restaurants in over 3,000 United States cities. A brand supported by a rich history of agencies like Crispin Porter & Bogusky, BBDO, McCann, Y&R, JWT, DMB&B, N.W. Ayer, Lowe Lintas & Partners, Ogilvy, Saatchi & Saatchi and McGarryBowen. Along with […]
Marketing leader tips on prepping for an unpredictable 2023
What an end to a crazy year! With a truly bizarre 2022 wrapping up, CMOs and marketers everywhere are looking ahead to 2023. And the road ahead is full of unknowns. What can marketers do to hit the ground running and be ready for the unknowns that 2023 will bring? Here are three key tips […]
Agency leaders should sign The Project 47 Pledge (& this should matter to CMOs)
Our good friend Alan Brown of the fine small agency DNA recently shared this story with us over coffee: a recent industry survey was suggesting that an exceedingly small percentage of agency employees were self-identifying as LGBTQ+. We were terribly surprised by the data. It just didn’t seem to fit in the bubble we were […]
Getting it Write: The Art of Written Agency Proposals that Win
Your agency has advanced in discussions with a prospective client far enough that it is time to deliver a written proposal. This may or may not be the final step; there may be presentations after the written proposal or there may simply be a Q&A discussion and perhaps some negotiation. Regardless, when it comes time […]
CMOs & Agency Execs: Share of Search is a powerful proxy and predictor of Market Share
C-suites everywhere are looking to marketing to be aligned with overall C-suite goals. They are, in essence, looking for marketing to both sign up to help deliver on major company goals and to be able to explain marketing’s contribution to overall company success. A sound starting point is for the CMO, marketing staff and agencies […]
CMOs and agency execs can learn about customer centricity from the best (and worst) of Hollywood
Hollywood entertainment is a fascinating world. Huge mega hits often arrive side by side with financially disastrous movies. It’s a high stakes environment. What’s the key to success? I believe it is customer centricity, like in most (all?) markets and categories. Unfortunately, not all Hollywood directors understand this, to the detriment of their investors. Marketers […]