Agencies behaving badly
Clients catch a lot of well-deserved flack in agency land. 180-day terms! Negotiating down to near unprofitability! 6- or 9-month reviews! Short agency tenure! Focus on hours and not results! There is a lot of truth to how some (a small number, I believe) clients have behaved very, very poorly at the expense of the […]
What advertisers must know about MFA sites
So much has been written about both the effectiveness of programmatic advertising as well as the chaotic, costly and broken digital supply chain that is difficult to know how to think or feel about programmatic. The ANA jumped into the fray a few months ago with some very helpful counsel in their “Programmatic Media Supply […]
Jumping the Shark at Cannes
Cannes has arrived. And if you or your team are attending, your T&E budget may never be the same! Of course, The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is the most prestigious advertising awards show in the world. The history is amazing and the work awarded often incredibly compelling. And often there are presentations worthy […]
The secret to effective scope & $ discussions
Very few clients or agency people like to discuss money. At best it’s a necessary evil, and at worst it is nerve wreaking and painful. And maybe because of what seems like the inherent stress involved in these discussions, the norm is to do this poorly. Clients often expect far more than they can afford. […]
The Secret Marketing & Agency Community Power
Last week I attended the 2024 Build a Better Agency Summit and I was struck by the amazing community that the Agency Management Institute has created. Over 400 executives from small and mid-sized agencies attended and the overall feeling I came away with was one of close, almost familial ties. It felt like the world’s […]
Five things Mercer Island Group will talk about at this year’s Build A Better Agency Summit
The annual Build A Better Agency Summit is happening this week in Denver. There are lots of conferences that will help you learn the latest and greatest SEO techniques or digital media buying strategies, but there is only one conference that focuses on helping small to mid-sized agency owners run their business better, so that […]
Service matters!
I’m on a long flight today and the experience has been a good reminder that a big part of an agency’s product is the service they deliver. And clients play a significant role in that service. Back to my travel story! We had left the airline lounge and the hot coffee and treats to find […]
How to develop your marketing philosophies
You are growing in your career as a marketer or agency executive and you want to run the show. There is little training available these days, so you are mostly learning on the job. What do you need to know? How do you advance your knowledge and vision? Here’s a hint: successful, modern CMOs and […]
Droplets: the secret weapon to better proposals
The perfect sentence, properly placed, can make a world of difference to the persuasiveness of an agency’s written proposal. And the perfect line added to your formal or informal pitch, in the right context, can add great weight to your agency’s capabilities and the prospect’s confidence in you and your team. What is this perfect […]
How to Stand Out From Competitors
From “Predictive ROI.” With guests Robin & Steve Boehler. If you’ve been listening to the podcast for a while now — you know we share insights and tactical examples for how to stand out from competitors and make your agency an easy yes for your right-fit clients and prospects. Listen