I've been making an extra effort recently to spend more time catching up with fellow Planners and Strategists (of all types) - and I've never come away from a coffee shop, cafe or restaurant without a post-it note full of scribbled ideas and To Dos. Notes of websites to visit, books to read, new business … Continue reading why agencies don’t value the modern meet up enough
Category: agencies
unreasonable clients? – well, they *are* the customer
I came across this post from agency Sell!Sell! today, which basically says that agencies create unreasonable clients by consistently capitulating to unreasonable client demands. Which is all very well, but as an agency you have to be in a pretty strong position to consistently say No to clients - you need a cash flow that … Continue reading unreasonable clients? – well, they *are* the customer
why payment terms take the p**s
Marks and Spencer announced towards the end of last week that they were extending their payment terms for almost 500 of their suppliers (75 of which are based in the UK) from 60 to 75 days. OR, they’ll pay up straight away in return for a “substantial discount”. I can’t believe that there hasn’t been … Continue reading why payment terms take the p**s
why agencies need to own their positioning
Over my career I must have been exposed to more agency credentials presentations than can be entirely healthy. All three integrated agencies I worked for were rather keen on reinventing themselves every 18 months, complete with a new positioning to go with their new identity. And I’ve latterly had reason to look over more than … Continue reading why agencies need to own their positioning
in praise of pitching
You may have already deduced from the lack of posts from me recently that I’ve just surfaced from spending a month immersed in a major pitch (*crosses fingers, waits for phone call*). unpublished creative work-in-progress for The Pitch by Empire Design taken from AMC's website Does your agency pitch, or do you make a point … Continue reading in praise of pitching
when are not-that-bad ads actually good ads?
There’s been a lot of fuss on ad-industry-outside-the-M25-magazine The Drum’s website this week about the latest ad from Go Outdoors. They’ve given it their Marketing Weak award, which “highlights an advert for its sheer uselessness”. In the comments below the piece, opinion is divided between those who think an un-creative ad should never grace the … Continue reading when are not-that-bad ads actually good ads?
do we care about our clients enough?
My elderly Dad has been in and out of hospital a lot recently (long story, he’s doing better now thanks). It’s a small local hospital and the staff are all nothing less than amazing. Not just amazing on the nursing/cleaning/admin-ing front, they are all lovely people who take the time to chat and connect with … Continue reading do we care about our clients enough?
why wing it when you have friends?
I’ve always been reasonably lucky when dealing with suppliers and freelancers. Be it fieldwork, transcription, creative, visualiser or viewing facilities they’ve usually delivered what they said they would, when they would – and sometimes gone well above and beyond the call of duty too. I only realised just how lucky I’ve been earlier this year … Continue reading why wing it when you have friends?
all of AdLand needs better work/life balance – not just working mums
I’ve been reading a lot about work-life balance recently, including this piece in Campaign (paywall, sorry) by Gail Gallie of Fallon London advocating a better deal for working mums in the ad industry and this enormous essay in Atlantic Magazine by Anne-Marie Slaughter (the former director of policy planning at the US State Department) about … Continue reading all of AdLand needs better work/life balance – not just working mums
rollercoaster agencies
I explained my theory about Rollercoaster Agencies to someone in AgencyLand last week: In any agency market (be it all-the-agencies-in-Yorkshire, all-the-cool-digital-agencies or all-the-ones-big-enough-to-handle-a-multinational-FMCG-client) there will always be one or two businesses at the top of the tree doing really well - creatively and/or financially, although the two are of course inevitably connected. And there will … Continue reading rollercoaster agencies