Hasta La Creative!

Did you get the RFP?

Did you receive Current’s RFP? The cable network is in search of an agency to “…formulate a brand/ad strategy that communicates who Current is through compelling, inspiring, and even controversial advertising.” Sounds like a client that would be great for your roster, right? One that would challenge the creative department’s expertise, and possibly land your agency on the front page of Creativity.

The RFP wasn’t selective…it went out to everyone. It’s understandable that you could have been missed…things have been crazy, especially with most of your effort being spent on cost reductions and reviewing financials. You’ve made difficult decisions lately; downsizing, reducing benefits, cutting pension plans, ending bonus payouts, maybe even dumping the “not-so-free” coffee service. Decisions affecting real people, a responsibility greater than many could bear. The only solace: you’re not alone.

However, it’s never good policy to miss out on new business opportunities. If you missed the RFP, read on.

History tells us…

Once upon a time, broadcast television experienced explosive growth; it began at the close of WW II and roughly ended around 1960, with eighty-five percent of U.S. households owning a television set (a 500% growth rate). Decades later, the Internet did the same thing, at a faster rate and in much higher revenues. In hindsight, we wonder, “how could anyone have missed these opportunities?” Yet, some did. The chart, below, compares the first fourteen years of ad revenue growth for TV (blue), Cable (red), and Online (green):

It’s happening again with Social Media (SM), a tsunami that grows daily…(let us pause to let the information sink in). Every day Social Media reinvents itself, converting commonplace consumers into informed users. Exponentially. It’s mashable, interlacing various user “platforms” (Facebook, Twitter, Digg, etc.) together, allowing users to choose one platform and also access all of the others. If you’re so inclined, you can even download a new desktop that will integrate all SM for you. SM is not comprised of stand-alone applications, and if you consider SM as a media tactic, you’re on the wrong track.

What do you do?

Wake up! Your agency is out of alignment: your strategy’s obsolete if it doesn’t capitalize on Social Media opportunities. Scrap the current strategy–even if it’s working. Meet with your staff. You may not be “in the know,” but your employees use SM on a daily basis. Use these resources to determine your SM strategy. Start a Twitter profile. Add your company profile to LinkedIn and Facebook. Begin an agency blog. Ensure your website has an RSS feed. Become content-oriented. If your specialty is automobiles and healthcare, tell the world how to weather the storm. Show them how to succeed. Invite them to contact you. Become the “go-to” for information regarding your agency’s strengths. Connect with your current clients…it is your singular purpose. Once you’ve engaged them, reach out and captivate new ones. In a meeting last week concerning the fall of newspaper, Google CEO Last week, Google’s CEO told the newspaper industry: Innovate to survive.

Today, I’m telling you: Be bold. Do great things.

Jeff Louis is a Strategic Media Planner, Project Manager, and New Business Coordinator. His passion is writing, contributing to BMA as well as freelancing. He’d love to hear from you: linkedin.com/in/jefflouis or twitter.com/jlo0312.

Une superbe campagne avec un jeu de typographie ainsi qu’un double sens, afin de vanter les mérites d’un caméscope numérique de la marque Sanyo permettant de filmer sous l’eau. Une idée de l’agence Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand. D’autres visuels dans la suite.

Un court spot dédié à la compagnie de chemins de fer en Belgique : “National Railway Company”. Belle manière de mettre en image le soutien des hommes au quotidien. Une post-production du studio Caviar avec l’agence de communication VVL / BBDO.

No more free coffee, cut-backs on car service, showing up on time, working eight hour days. Instituting a client-centric focus. The economy has been especially tough on agencies and media companies–industries known for creative problem-solving and critical foresight–causing them to remove perks associated with working in the industry.

Condé Nast has stopped tuition reimbursement. MPG asked their employees to work the same amount of hours as their clients. Summer hours are a thing of the past at Arnold. The emphasis on work-life benefits has ended in the face of dismal economic forecasts, according to AdAge.

“Employers are asking employees to step up and be flexible in order to preserve their jobs and maintain the company’s ability to continue,” said Fred Crandall, senior consultant at Watson Wyatt in Chicago. “This type of belt-tightening is taking place across corporate America.”

MPG even believes that showing up to work earlier, “…could give MPG an edge over media-agency peers.” Hmm.

This undoubtedly leaves many to wonder: “Was I laid off so that (insert company name here) could maintain free coffee and half-day Fridays?”

Jeff Louis is a Strategic Media Planner, Project Manager, and New Business Coordinator. His passion is writing, contributing to BMA as well as freelancing. He’d love to hear from you: www.linkedin.com/in/jefflouis or on twitter @jlo0312.

Have you seen that AdAge Series, PLAN B? It is an ongoing dialog about the state of our industry, and it’s as enlightening as it is scary. If you have not read it, do so when you have a chance. After I did, I started looking for someone, anyone to blame. All those bad decisions…who could I blame? Then, for some odd reason, I decided to look inside for a culprit. Where did I go wrong in this mess? It is something I suggest we all do. We can blame our industry’s situation on the economy, big business, or the government, but the truth is that it’s our fault. We are the innovators and the creators. We build brands and lead the way. We determine the direction. We construct the future. 

At some point, we became followers. We became corporations. We accepted status quo. We bought our competitors and became complacent. 

We became Remoras…content suckerfish attached to Big Fish for protection, transportation, and food. Although supposedly a symbiotic relationship, the truth of the matter is that we need them to survive, and they don’t need us at all. So, as we free wheeled through the ocean, traveling vast distances but never really getting anywhere, we were scraped off and left behind. With no transportation, protection, or food, what are we supposed to do now? “Hey, let’s look for another Big Fish to provide for us.” Well, guess what? The big fish had their own problems and moved to the other side of the ocean, leaving us no way to get there. 

Am I wrong? Perhaps a bit foolish? Probably. On the other hand, maybe I just see it differently. As the innovators, creators, builders, and leaders, it falls on us to do the right thing for our clients’ best interest, all the time. Even if it means openly disagreeing. I’ve sat through meetings, sans client, with their marketing plans spread out in front of us, knowing straight out that they would not work, or that were riddled with holes. Did we call our clients and say; “You know, this plan looks great, but, our research tells us that it probably won’t work. And here is why…” Nope. We presented them with options to choose from, but  never told them what we actually recommended. We were never bluntly honest. 

Clients pay us for service, expertise, and insight. As an agency, it is our job to be the watchdogs, the experts, and protectors. We know our brands intimately; we helped build them. Therefore, we should have the foresight to know what’s coming. Which of us looked at the state of the auto industry and told our clients the truth? How many of us reminded our banking clients that offering high-risk loans was a long-term mistake? Which of us stood up for what we KNEW was right, even if it meant risking the relationship? 

We let them down, and now we are paying for our sins. Unlike the other industries, don’t expect a bail out…we don’t produce anything tangible. 

Do you want to be of value to your clients? Be Honest. Be Unmerciful. Otherwise, we will continue to strangle this business that we love.

Jeff Louis: Strategic Media Planner & Buyer with over seven years of experience. Interests include emerging media, radical ideas, & redefining the status quo. He’s passionate about writing and digs great creative.
Reach him on twitter @jlo0312 or www.LinkedIn.com/in/jefflouis.

Raw.

Via: IBelieveInAdv.

Late today, JWT announced that it’s Chicago office was ceasing operation and would be soon closing their doors. The shocking news, published in AdAge and The Chicago Tribune, notes that JWT had been a landmark Chicago agency since 1891 (prior to the World’s Fair), and was once heralded as the world’s largest agency network. Breaking the news to the remaining Chicago employees during a meeting, JWT’s North America President, Rosemarie Ryan, stated that keeping the office open was “Not an affordable proposition.” 
JWT’s Chicago office was the creative juice behind innovative campaigns that transcended advertising to play a part in American culture. Most of us have had the Oscar Mayer tune, “My bologna has a first name,” stuck in our heads. JWT also masterminded “Snap, Crackle, and Pop” for Rice Krispies, as well as branding 7UP as the “Uncola.”
During their 118 years of operation, many famous names walked the halls of JWT Chicago and have moved on to start new agencies, or are in key roles at competing shops. The demise of the Chicago office was as sudden as it was surpising, not only shocking the Windy City, but the industry as well. Former employees, adversaries, and well-wishers have left messages of sadness, anger, and condolence on both the AdAge and Tribune websites since the story broke. There is a small possibility that JWT will leave a satellite office in Chicago if the Illinois Tourism account, currently up for review, is retained. Today’s bleak news, however, will surely have a negative impact on this effort.

This piece of news is aimed more for mobile application developers than consumers. With the growing number of developers today looking for ways to integrate mobile advertising with their apps, AdMarvel has made life easier for them with the release of the iPhone Advertising Toolkit. Advertising metrics and analytics are provided via a web console giving a near real-time view of the application’s advertising performance.

To answer the diverse needs of iPhone developers with an expanding international user base; AdMarvel can also act as a fully functional ad-server, supporting the provisioning and management of direct-sourced or in-house advertising.

AdMarvel works on behalf of mobile publishers to source and manage advertising from a variety of global and regional ad Networks including AdMob, Admoda, BuzzCity, Google, JumpTap, Millennial Media, mKhoj, Mojiva, Movoxx, Nokia, Quattro Wireless, Ringleader Digital, RingRing Media, Smaato, Third Screen Media, and Zestadz.

(Source) Press