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Should agencies be re-inventing themselves?

A recent article by Blair Enns has re-ginited an age-old question: should agencies be re-inventing themselves? My answer is that question is -- of course.  But this isn't a new business development strategy. Agencies have been re-inventing themselves since they started.  Grants, the pace is very different but how an agency works and how it sells have always evolved.  In the beginning we sold signage and shouting.  Stand on the corner and shout the loudest — because your market place was pretty much the reach of your voice. Then, agencies sold cleverness and the ability to be remembered, a la David Ogilvy and his cronies.  In some ways, that was the heyday of branding (at least on the consumer side) and it’s been limping along ever since.  Again — because there wasn’t all that much noise, you could still talk to everyone and hope it stuck. Then in the 70s and 80s, agencies shifted their business development strategy into selling stuff for our clients. We took the cleverness of the era before and made tangible things out of it. Some of it was media assets but a lot of it was printed materials etc. The ideas and cleverness didn’t stick for as long so we also sold a lot more albeit short term ideas and then executed on them. Think about the catchy TV based taglines of that era -- like "Where's the beef" or the theme song for the perfume Enjoli that taught us that a woman can bring home the bacon and fry it up in a pan. I think that’s when the mediums started getting crowded and we began really fighting for eyeballs and attention. Then technology smacked agencies on the rear end — and we became tech experts.  Suddenly we were selling [...]

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Hey agency owner – how can you accelerate your agency growth?

The day to day functions of an agency can be both thrilling and chaotic. And when you’re in the heat of the moment, it’s often easy to forget to revisit your long term plans and strategies. And more so, those long term strategies are often kept in the executive suite.  But how can you expect your team to help you achieve those goals if they don’t have a clear picture of where the agency should be heading? I wrote the following article for Branding Magazine to talk about how you as the agency leader can engage your staff in both the long and short term goals for growth.  Sharing the plan with the team will not only will you improve staff engagement, but increase your agency growth and keep you on track to meeting your goals. Do you share your financial goals with your staff? If so, how often? In how much detail do you discuss them?  What have your results been? Share your experience with us.

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Hey agency owner — your agency’s morale begins with you

If you're frustrated with the attitude permeating your agency, I'd like to remind you that your agency's morale begins with you. You must improve your own attitude before you begin to improve employee morale. I get it.  I've owned my agency for almost 20 years and I'd had more than my share of sleepless nights. The truth is, even when things are going better than anticipated, there are still those nagging concerns. There's always a shoe just waiting to drop. But as agency owners we need to remember that we're the barometer our employees use to take the agency's temperature. If you're uptight, they're uptight.  If you're frustrated with a certain employee, pretty soon they'll be frustrated with that person too.  If you talk about clients like they're a pain -- your employees will treat them that way. Be honest -- when you have the opportunity to chase a big new account, are you excited or do you dread the effort?  Guess what -- your employees take your lead and feel the same way. It's time to take a good look at your agency's culture and do an honest assessment. Is it the kind of culture that you're proud of and would want to work in day, after day?  Is it snarky?  Does everyone help each other or is there a parade out the door at 5 pm? Before you improve employee morale, your agency's morale begins with you. Every single time. You are the agency's visionary and it's your job to wave the company flag, not burn it. So what do you do if you're feeling worn out, frustrated, under appreciated or worried?  You fake it. You don't burden your employees with agency owner worries. [...]

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Hey agency owner — Should PR be part of your mix?

I work with over 200 agencies a year and the ones who are really crushing their AGI goals are the ones who have blended digital and PR into their shops. The addition of PR into a traditional ad shop (even one who has made the leap to digital) brings all kinds of new revenue opportunities to your agency. Traditional PR and media placements, media training etc. Digital PR -- everything from guest blogging to securing back links Content marketing -- creating content, curating content, thought leadership Crisis communications planning and prep Reputation management I get it -- you’ve established yourself as an advertising agency. You have a list of devoted clients. Your work has earned you numerous industry awards and the respect and admiration of your peers. So why should you consider branching out into PR? I asked Nancy Marshall -- Maine's PR Maven, who is co-leading AMI's Build a PR Department Inside Your Agency workshop this November 6th and 7th to share her thoughts on how adding PR to your shop would add value.  Here's what she said. Here are five ways PR will improve your entire agency: You will be able to generate a bigger and better ROI for your clients. Let’s face it, advertising and PR work best when used together, reaching for the same goal. It will create an additional revenue stream for your agency. You will now be able to pitch prospects seeking PR services exclusively, representing an entirely new pool of potential clients for your agency. You can also upsell PR services to your existing clients. PR will add value to your client relationships. Current and prospective clients will like the fact that they can work with one agency to meet [...]

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Hiring the right employee — sometimes your diamond in the rough is really just a lump of coal

Hiring the right employee is always the goal -- but so often -- not the reality. Many agency owners particularly suck at hiring. Worse than not hiring the right employee -- agency owners suck at firing the wrong ones. If there's one universal flaw among agency owners it's that they hang onto bad employees much longer than they should. Sometimes your diamond in the rough is just a lump of coal. They're not going to get better.  You can't keep moving them from position to position, trying to find a better fit.  They're not going to suddenly fit your culture or stop behaving like they're phoning it in.  Their proofreading isn't going to magically get better and their horrid email composition isn't going to suddenly get all Struck and Whited. And even if they are busting a hump -- you know when it's not working. I'm not talking about expecting someone to get it on day one. Hiring the right employee takes some time and effort. Everyone needs time to ramp up.  Everyone needs some training and mentoring. But they shows signs that tell you that maybe this time you've hired the right employee.  Or at least someone with the potential of being good. So what should you do when you get that sickening feeling in your gut that perhaps your newest hire is your worst hire in a long time?  Design one last chance but make sure they know it's their last chance: I know you. You can't fire them today, like you should. So create one last chance.  Odds are you've already talked to them about their performance.  They know you're not happy.  Even if you've only communicated that passive aggressively -- they probably [...]

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Advertising agency management tip — employees first

Looking for tips on advertising agency management? Look no further. I just attended a Disney Institute event where I was reminded of Walt Disney's business philosophy. I am paraphrasing here, but basically Walt said, "If you take good care of your employees, they'll take good care of your customers. And that takes good care of your bank account."  In other words -- employees first. Agency owners are so busy with advertising agency management, chasing after new business and putting out fires that it's easy to take the employees for granted.  (Unless they're the ones on fire -- then they occupy all of your attention!) The speed of agency life often gets in the way of an advertising agency owner really focusing on if they're setting up their employees to be successful. Now when I say employees first in advertising agency management -- I'm not suggesting they only work 35 hours, get foot massages at their desks and that you keep the fridge stocked with caviar. We all know that working at an agency is not for sissies -- it's tough stuff. The deadlines can be killer, the clients are demanding and when the work load is heavy -- the days are late and long. All the more reason to create an environment where your employees know that you have their back and you want them to be successful. What does an employees-first agency look like - it has vision/values that defines who they are The agency has a profile of the kind of person who thrives in the agency (hire for attitude, train for aptitude) The agency has a strong sense of its own traditions and heritage and a way to share/teach them to new recruits There's [...]

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What does an advertising agency consultant do?

There are a small handful of advertising agency consultants out there and each of us serves our clients a little differently. I thought it might be helpful for you to see our ad agency structure and how we define the role in our work with small to mid-sized agencies. An advertising agency consultant is: 1) Experienced --a seasoned pro in the business of successfully running an agency.  I’ve been running my own agency for the past 20 years. 2) Someone who understands that to offer relevant counsel, he/she must stay relevant.  That’s why I still run my agency. 3) Actively working with all variations of agencies — advertising, marketing, digital, media, SEO, PR etc. 4) A teacher — I try to be a thoughtful teacher in as many ways as possible:4) Our workshops, offered for agency owners/leaders and account service staff Our agency owner peer networks — each one facilitated by me My work as I consult one on one with agency owners  Through my writing, both on this site and in other publications 5) Going to ask some pretty uncomfortable questions sometimes.  It's my job to listen and hear what's underneath the first answer.  Sometimes you already know the answer -- you just don't want it to be the answer.  And other times you need someone to tilt the mirror slightly, so you can see the truth. 6) A BS meter. Part of my job in this ad agency structure is to help you see when you’re telling yourself things that don’t serve you or your agency.  Call it tough love, call it accountability or call it caring enough to tell you what you need to hear.  You’ll always get a straight answer from me. 7) A networker.  Part of my [...]

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Hey agency owner – how do you monitor and measure your agency’s financial health?

We’ve talked about the advertising industry’s love for gross billings. But again, gross billings is a misleading metric. So much of your result is impacted by the kind of services you’re offering your client and what the cost of goods for those services is.  Clearly we need to find a better way to monitor and measure the financial health of agencies. Medium asked me to look at this issue further.  If gross billings is not the right benchmark, what is?  At Agency Management Institute, we teach agency owners to look at AGI or adjusted gross billings.  This number is vital to tracking your agency’s health.  Have you used AGI to monitor your agency’s business?  What has your experience been?  If you don’t, what do you used to measure your agency’s financial health?  I want to hear your experiences.

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Hey agency owner – have you made the transition from corporate to small business?

Many people dream of starting their own businesses.  Making the transition from a corporate to small business environment can either seem deceptively simple, or can feel like you’re the only one speaking a language you understand.  Assuming that processes and communication styles can transition from one to the other is setting yourself up for failure. Score.org asked me to write about the significant differences between corporate and entrepreneurial endeavors and how to adjust both your business practices and expectations.  If you’ve ventured into small business ownership, what challenges have you faced in making the transition? I’d like to hear from you!

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Hey agency owner – have you created a business plan for your agency?

Are you the kind of person who is better at solving someone else’s problems than your own?  Do you see the same pattern in your agency?  Do your clients get the benefit of strategy and planning and yet you can’t seem to find the time to give your own company the same focus?  You’re not alone.  And it could cost you money and time that you cannot afford to lose. The folks at Steamfeed asked me to walk their readers through creating a clear, detailed business plan to keep agencies growing in a successful, balanced way.  How have you focused on your own business’ future?  Do you have a plan for growth?  I’d love to hear your experiences.

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