The Need for Better Brand Storytelling Is Helping To Fuel the Growth of PR Agencies

There used to be a series of dividing lines that kept agencies in their lane. In the most simplistic terms, above-the-line agencies were separated from below-the-line agencies. Above-the-line agencies made the broadcast and print campaigns, and the below-the-line agencies did everything else. Thankfully, this weak linear construct did not survive Digital Disruption. Today, agencies of […]

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Why Are Chief Marketing Officers (and Their Bosses) Bummed Out?

Are your clients feeling down in the dumps? Reports indicate a sourness in the land of titans. Fear of Uncertainty Is Bad for Business In an analysis of online content from more than 58,000 chief executive and chief marketing officers, the overall confidence among global CEOs and CMOs is down more than 20 percent, with […]

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Ad People Aren’t Paid A Ton, They’re Paid By The Ton

Clients. You can’t live with them and you can’t live without them. Increasingly, ad pros are somehow living without them, and in too many cases it’s the agency’s fault. Kristi VandenBosch of VandenBosch Group in NYC asked when did our industry become so dishonest? It started with the financial model: the FTE as a unit […]

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Democrats Need “A Competent Communications Strategist” (And A Kick in the Ass)

Jodi Jacobson is the editor-in-chief of Rewire.News. She has some advice for the Democratic Party. Message to @HouseDemocrats & @SenateDems: Please get a competent communications strategist. You have before you the SIMPLEST to explain of innumerable crimes committed by this president & this administration and yet STILL you are screwing it up. It is astounding. […]

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Åsk Wäppling’s Adland Torpedoed By “Nuisance DMCA”

Åsk Wäppling is a warrior in the midst of a legal battle to preserve 20 years of her digital work. Thanks to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the lawyers who misuse it to intimidate everyday citizens, Adland.tv is now offline. DMCA criminalizes production and dissemination of technology, devices, or services intended to circumvent measures […]

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Content Kings and the Never Contented: A Modern Fable in Reruns

Gary Vee. The guy manages to get our attention. Furthermore, he manages to get paid for the attention he gathers. Gary Vee had my both attention and my respect when he was the wine guy blowing up the business of wine reviews on YouTube. Since that time, he’s moved into the ad world. My world. […]

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Chief Communications Officers Are Movin’ On Up

In the agency business, the CCO is the Chief Creative Officer. On the client-side, the CCO is the Chief Communications Officer. The Chief Communications Officer is not the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), but the roles are intertwined. Or they were. According to PR Week, modern CCOs are now tasked with brand management in addition to […]

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Go Ahead, Rip the Bandages Off Your Digital Daydreams

It’s #FlashbackFriday. Let’s return in time to August 31, 1997. On this day, Tom Peters’ article, “The Brand Called You” was published in FastCompany. Peters is a famous consultant, speaker, and writer. Nevertheless, the thinking in his seminal piece has not aged well. Let’s have a look: …You’re not defined by your job title and […]

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Are You A Counselor to Brands? Or A Circus Freak Out On Loan?

Generally speaking, agencies of record are no more. Today, even the fattest of Ad Cats are happy to take on projects. Has this change ushered in an era of egalitarianism? Or has it turned ad men and women into fine young cannibals? A Lament for Lost Days The breakdown of the AOR relationship between agency […]

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Not Just Another Acronym

Political advertising isn’t like other advertising. In many cases, it’s not nearly as good. There are copious reasons for this, ranging from minuscule budgets to the client’s hatred of marketing, and a widely held belief in political circles that a candidate’s positions and policies matter most. Thankfully, there are a few rays of sunshine bursting […]

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For Good Things To Happen, Brands First Need To Be Famous

Rory Sutherland is a deep thinker with the ability to cut through the bullshit. It’s an uncommon trait, so let’s pay close attention to the man’s words. When asked what is the biggest challenge for Ogilvy (where he works as Vice Chairman) in the next 10 years, Sutherland cooly replies: “Oh. I think that the […]

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Ads That Help Sell Assault Weapons Reveal All

I am an ad man, which means I have developed the ability to see any product or service the way the customer or potential buyer sees it. It’s my J-O-B to do so, no matter how unsavory the job can be at times. I will now apply this lens to the marketing of assault weapons. […]

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Put Some Serious Stock In Slack

Are you on Slack? Over 10 million people log on to the messaging App every day. People in all sorts of industries are deciding if it’s a helpful tool or a nagging reminder (that there are unread messages waiting for you to act on). The answers to these questions will vary depending on how your […]

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Common Problems Call for Comprehensive Solutions

Digital media is one of those inventions, like television, with the potential to change the world for the better. Instead, many digital spaces have become a cesspool, and a cesspool is an unhealthy place for marketers wanting to connect with future customers. Meet GARM Some of the world’s largest advertisers including Adidas, Diageo, Mars, Procter […]

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The Smaller and More Focused the Agency, the More Responsive and Reliable

Ad people love to gaze into crystal balls. You might say it’s an occupational hazard. Dave Morgan, CEO of Simulmedia, believes that small and mid-sized regional independents are reasserting themselves. He claims, “Many are no longer just winning business with regional accounts, but are winning big engagements with big marketers, proving that “scale” as preached for […]

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Inside the Chief Marketer’s Mind: Ann Mukherjee

Ann Mukherjee is chief global commercial officer at SC Johnson. Formerly, she was President, Pepsico Global Snacks and Chief Marketing Officer, Frito-Lay North America. She’s a fast-talking client who understands what it takes to build brands. This is a quick, insightful video. Let’s hear what she has to say. Like many accomplished people Mukherjee speaks her […]

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When Mary Meeker Speaks, Astute Marketers Listen

Money talks. But what does money say? That’s what people pay thousands of dollars to find out by attending elite conferences and/or annual shareholder meetings. Witness… Hot Takes from the Arizona Desert Bond Capital founder and former Kleiner Perkins general partner Mary Meeker delivered her Internet Trends Report for 2019 at Vox/Recode’s Code Conference at […]

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The Future of Paid Content: Same As It Ever Was?

Eight years ago, I had an opportunity to speak to a group of marketing pros in Boston about the future of paid content. I was invited to speak by my friend and former colleague, Sloane Kelley, one of the founders of Geekend, an annual gathering now in its 11th year. I had an audio recording […]

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The Saturday Morning Marcom Mashup

I call Adpulp, “The Chronicle of Bright Ideas,” because I’m a collector and admirer of smart thinking and elegant doing. After a long week with my head inside a strategy deck, I’m now choosing to unwind on Saturday morning by reflecting more deeply on three articles in my cue. 1- “Brand First” Is the Wrong […]

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Advertising Is A Critical Spoke On the Marketing Communications Wheel

Advertising lives at the top of the customer experience funnel. Thus, it’s important to make and run great advertising. It’s equally important to realize that no matter how high quality the ads, and how spot-on the messaging is, advertising is only one of several important parts of the customer’s experience journey. Smart brand managers use […]

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