Chemistry’s Tim Smith on clients, leadership and blowing sh-t up on the way to AdAge’s A-List
By Steve Boehler with special guest Tim Smith It’s very hard to grow an agency from scratch. Getting the agency’s headcount past 50 takes talent and commitment and very few agencies ever get that large. Breaking 100 seems like an impossible feat and going past 150 – the AdAge definition of “small agency” – takes […]
The Keys to Strong Client-Agency Relationships
Over the years, we’ve conducted hundreds of client-agency 360 reviews, a process wherein we talk to and survey clients and their agencies to find out what’s working, what’s not, and “where to go from here.” Recently, we dug through results of ten years of such reviews to find out what, if any, themes could be […]
The Marketer’s guide to planning an effective agency transition
Your agency review has concluded. You’ve found the perfect agency, negotiated a fine SOW and MSA and you’re itching to get started. And (of course) you are in a rush! You need the new agency to hit the ground running and your business depends on the success multiplier that a great agency relationship can provide. […]
AdAge’s 2023 Small Agency of the Year Awards are open for submissions. Great small agencies should apply!
AdAge’s annual Small Agency of the Year Awards are now open for submissions for 2023! This is the only awards program of its kind tailored to agencies of 150 or fewer employees. These awards, now in their 15th year, recognize the best in small agencies from overall agency of the year to agency of the […]
How not to react when your agency loses a pitch
We recently ran a creative review for a fine regional brand. The client was battling much larger competition and were outspent dramatically. The client needed new breakthrough creative to help their budget work harder. They knew that the right agency partner, creating the right work, could be the marketing effectiveness multiplier they needed to compete. […]
A fast start to the pitch process helps agencies win
A well-run pitch process can set up an agency for success. This sounds obvious, yet we often see agencies lose for the wrong reasons. Often they simply save too much work for too late in the process. Agencies often get off to a slow start in prepping for a pitch. We often see agencies not […]
Watch the 2023 Super Bowl ads like a CMO
In the run up to last year’s Super Bowl, we wrote about many of the basic approaches that marketers use to evaluate advertising during the biggest advertising event in the world. With this year’s annual advertising (and football) celebration just days away, we thought it would be fun to share some additional advertising principles that […]
How to onboard your new agency for greater success
The meetings have wrapped up, the SOW has been negotiated and the client and their brand-new agency are eager to start work. The review process has concluded and now they are in a rush as the client’s timeline is already strained. New work needs to be on air as soon as possible. What happens next […]
Winning With a Template
How to Write an RFI Response Without Starting From Scratch In any new business opportunity, putting your agency’s best foot forward is a balancing act of time and resources. Devoting the time and effort it takes to win can be a challenge, particularly for smaller agencies that don’t have a dedicated person in the new […]
CMO Checklist for Better Agency Results
Great strategy is only great if it is executed well. PowerPoint, Word documents and board room discussions don’t build awareness or connect your product and services with the target audience across their buying journey or close any sales. Great strategy is only great if it is executed with distinction. The work is what works. The […]
