How agencies often waste the pitch Q&A
The pitch Q&A session is one of the most important interactions that agencies have with a prospect during a formal review. The client gets to see how the agency team handles themselves and has a chance to hear the quality of the questions asked by the agency. The agency has an opportunity to gather critical […]
Practical Allyship: What Men in Leadership Can Do Today
When I wrote about feeling invisible as a woman in business, I expected a lot of “yes, me too.” I also heard from men who said, “this happens to us as well.” That’s all true and still beside the point. We don’t need more parsing of who has it worse; we need more people with […]
The Invisible Woman: A Personal Reflection on Gender Equity in Business
I’ve spent decades in marketing and consulting, building businesses, advising Fortune 500 companies, and working alongside some of the brightest people in the industry. I’ve co-founded a successful firm, written a book, led complex client engagements, and mentored countless professionals. And yet, there are days when I feel invisible. Not literally, of course. But invisible […]
A simple way to improve marketer & agency productivity
The productivity expectations that executives face have never been tougher. We are always on and daily technological advances seem to make our workday harder and longer rather than easier. This avalanche of expectations has led to a self-defeating problem: there is an epidemic of wishful thinking in industry today. Objectives are too lofty, priority lists […]
How Clients Shape the Agency They Choose
Agency selection is one of the highest-stakes decisions a marketing leader will make — period. The pitch process may feel like an audition for agencies, but here’s the industry truth: how you show up as a client doesn’t just predict what you’ll get – it actively shapes it. If You Want the Best, Start Acting […]
3 Strategies for greater CMO success
The world needs more great CMOs. And the CMO position is one of the toughest jobs imaginable these days. It’s a job with low tenure and relatively high turnover rates relative to the rest of the C-Suite. Not only does a great CMO need to partner with the rest of the C-suite and be totally […]
CMOs need our help
Chief Marketing Officers need our help. Heck, all marketers need help. CMOs and marketers already have one of the toughest jobs imaginable. They are expected to do so much. Build the brand, drive sales, increase market share, evolve their organization, lead companywide transformations and deal with AI. And that is just a start. Unfortunately, many […]
Holiday gifts that build an agency’s brand
Once again a number of thoughtful year end gifts arrived at Mercer Island Group from agencies and clients. It’s a nice touch. And as our readers know, as appreciated as these gifts are, the best gifts a client or agency can give most often directly relate to the working relationship and how each partner can […]
It’s Not About You: Winning New Business in a Crowded Agency World
In a landscape filled with over 15,000 agencies in the US – some estimates suggest even more than 37,000 – it’s clear that competition is fierce. So, what are the keys to securing new business in this crowded space? After nearly thirty years of research into how agencies win and lose business opportunities, we’ve compiled […]
Follow these experts, be a better marketer! Vol. 3
Let’s wrap up 2025 on a high note by highlighting the hard working, deep thinking and occasionally irreverent experts that help make us better marketers. Keeping up these days is so hard – a constant struggle with daily changes in technology, marketing, media and consumers. The constant changes are challenging for anyone to keep up […]