http://adage.com/rss-feed.php?section_id=400 en-us 120 http://adage.com/rss-feed.php?section_id=400 http://adage.com/img/adage-logo-sm.gif http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=140665
All things being equal, why does a talented person choose to work at one agency over another? Even more important, why do they stay? If you're a small or midsize agency, you've got to be able to answer this question if you want to create an environment that attracts great talent.]]> http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=140665 Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:14:29 -0500 http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=140642
When people ask about our agency, I often struggle with an industry categorization. I'd never use the term "traditional" to describe our operation, yet I don't believe that "digital" is the best descriptor, either. For that matter, do traditional agencies even call themselves "traditional"? Probably not.]]> http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=140642 Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:54:03 -0500 http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=140601
Unchecked, bias makes it difficult to be objective, and often causes marketers to prefer messages that are more relevant to them rather than to the people they are trying to influence. It's likely the reason why so much advertising misses the mark, as it appears that it doesn't understand who it's talking to.]]> http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=140601 Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:01:04 -0500 http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=140575
In order to get to the top in business (and in life), you have to avoid the escalator, which is the easy way to get to where you want to go.]]> http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=140575 Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:16:18 -0500 http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=140526
Think how powerful your agency could be if people were empowered to do the impossible? And by empowered, I mean required.]]> http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=140526 Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:31:37 -0500 http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=140450
It occurred to me that if I have any chance of winning the green-lawn championship next year, I'll need a repeat performance. Considering that I'm not a Rain God, this could only mean one thing -- I will forever be committed to using my lawn service company.]]> http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=140450 Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:21:22 -0500 http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=140387
The problem with experts is that they can only really tell you how it has always been done. They can tell you what has worked and hasn't worked. But the funny thing about experts, the thing they don't teach you in grad school, is that experts are looking in the wrong darn direction. They spend life looking backward instead of forward, which makes it awfully hard to find a new direction or uncover an unconventional opportunity.]]> http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=140387 Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:57:00 -0500 http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=140307
Four calls from being out of business. That's how a colleague summed up the plight of many smaller agencies. Or the agency business in general. We've seen some fantastic, talented, historic agencies shut their doors this year. Big and small. How can we better prepare ourselves to weather the storm if one or two or three clients pull out?]]> http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=140307 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:55:39 -0500 http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=140162
Game-changers don't just materialize out of thin air. You can't will them to happen. I suspect they happen like a lot of events in life: You pick a destination and then work your butt off. There's risk too. Losing a key client can be a game-changer. Too much success too quickly has crushed plenty of good agencies. An exciting game-changer for one person can be a game-changing nightmare for someone else.]]> http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=140162 Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:45:10 -0500 http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=140082
A memo went out to one of our clients last week that read more like a text message than a professional letter. You know what it looked like: Every third word was abbreviated, as though it was written on the run, from a cell phone. I was appalled, and could only imagine what the client must think: If we are writing to them in such a casual way, what else is being executed casually?]]> http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=140082 Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:22:19 -0400 http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=140015
The documentary "Art & Copy" recently was screened here for a large audience of advertising professionals who work for small agencies. (That's the only kind we have in Albuquerque.) The audience applauded loudly when the final credits rolled up the screen. They were cheering the revolution of our industry, a revolution sparked by a small agency. A 14-person agency that wanted to do something better than what was being done. That agency was the reason I wanted to enter advertising.]]> http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=140015 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:10:08 -0400 http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=139799
Listen to the agency buzz, and we're all masters of measurement and analytics. Every agency worth its salt claims to not only solve its client's business problems but has the data and case studies to back it up. By the same token, CMOs cite producing measurable results as their No. 1 priority. CMOs want results and agencies deliver. Shouldn't everybody be happy? Not so fast.]]> http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=139799 Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:02:28 -0400 http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=139671
You know you're probably doing the right thing when you continually lose your people to our industry's powerhouse agencies. It may sound like a negative, but if agencies such as Crispin Porter & Bogusky, Mother, and Chiat Day hire your employees, they obviously think you're doing something right.]]> http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=139671 Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:00:47 -0400 http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=139665
I've been writing a lot of checks lately to carpenters, contractors, IT technicians, painters and audio/video specialists. That's because I made the decision back in May to renovate our offices in the midst of the recession. As I write this, construction is wrapping up, and we are moving into our new digs next week. Exciting. And scary (to spend all of that money) at the same time.]]> http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=139665 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:31:36 -0400 http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=139628
What was once used to describe thoughtful and novel communications, to describe what we aspire to on a daily basis, the word "creative" has somehow devolved into a pejorative hammer -- a hammer that's often used to beat the life out of an idea into something that's anything but "creative."]]> http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=139628 Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:12:00 -0400 http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=139581
As an agency owner and creative director, I am concerned about the real danger that has always threatened our industry: our own unwillingness to push a client's marketing forward.]]> http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=139581 Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:38:24 -0400 http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=139549
One of the interns mentioned that this internship was beyond what she had expected. She said that while her colleagues and peers were fetching coffee and bagels at their internships in Chicago, she was able to work on something real]]> http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=139549 Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:30:11 -0400 http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=139508
Our industry is one of the most self-congratulatory industries short of Hollywood. There are award shows for every success in our industry, every market, every town, for every pixel that was ever touched by a creative person. There are top 10 lists, charts and metrics galore that illustrate just what a big deal our agency's creations are. Yet maybe we should be celebrating failures instead.]]> http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=139508 Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:46:17 -0400 http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=139481
Think about what you observe walking into your favorite agency. The physical space screams creativity. You encounter smart, genuine people who obviously like each other. You can feel the energy of small groups collaborating all around you. It's easy to get seduced by the music and sense of fun and the kitchens full of sodas and cutting-edge snacks. It's all window dressing.]]> http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=139481 Tue, 06 Oct 2009 11:27:56 -0400 http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=139353
]]> http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=139353 Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:32:47 -0400 http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=139324
My partners and I have frequently talked among us about the agency's brand. We've examined what we do at work that makes us most happy. We've looked at our clients that are most pleased with our work. We agreed what we are about and we then assumed that we had adequately communicated that message to the staff. Basically, we made the same mistake most of our clients had made before hiring us. We believed in clairvoyance.]]> http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=139324 Tue, 29 Sep 2009 11:57:36 -0400 http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=139239 Barrie D'Rozario Murphy took out a full-page ad in the New York Times yesterday that congratulates fellow ad agency O'Toole winners, and issued them a warning, too: "Congratulations BBDO and Bartle Bogle Hegarty. We're coming after you."]]> http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=139239 Thu, 24 Sep 2009 11:00:14 -0400 rparekh@adage.com(Rupal Parekh) http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=139235
What do you think? Sexy: good or bad? Is it something to strive for? Is it something that once obtained will result in more success, better sales or just a competitive advantage? Yes, the "right" answer is "no" -- because to want to be sexy, well, that's just unsexy. But if you agree that being sexy could actually be a good thing, ask yourself these questions.]]> http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=139235 Thu, 24 Sep 2009 10:32:45 -0400 http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=139160
If I didn't know any better, I'd start packing my bags in advertising and get a job as an insurance broker or university professor. But the truth is, I do know better.]]> http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=139160 Mon, 21 Sep 2009 12:11:27 -0400 http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=139064
My blog topic this week is "Not That Anybody Cares, but I Was Just Thinking About the Future of Advertising Agencies." Let me assure you I have not been influenced by facts or research.]]> http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=139064 Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:37:46 -0400 http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=139024
I have a good friend who's an actor and comedian in Los Angeles. Let's call him Mike Friedman (shameless plug!). Mike has been out there for close to 15 years and is one of the hardest working guys I know. Mike most recently has a newer fascination, and this should be a wake-up call for every mad man and mad woman, small and large, out there: advertising.]]> http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=139024 Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:19:50 -0400 http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=138988
When I was employed by a much larger firm, I saw that people were stressed over things they couldn't control or didn't understand. Eliminating those obstacles makes for mighty happy, productive and invested employees.]]> http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=138988 Mon, 14 Sep 2009 12:10:47 -0400 http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=138986 Arkansas-Based Digital Agency Thinks Big for Big Clients]]> http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=138986 Mon, 14 Sep 2009 11:29:48 -0400 rparekh@adage.com(Rupal Parekh) http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=138918
It is not much of a stretch to say that search committees see only the shadows that agencies cast on the wall, not the material reality behind them. They see beautiful work and analogous solutions that the agency has created for others. They see these shadows most often without the benefit of the material sensation of their dimensional forms: the combination of talent that actually created the work.]]> http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=138918 Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:53:09 -0400 http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=138887
My partners and I continually discuss what makes us different. This is a good thing. We understand the importance of agreeing on our reason for being. But there is a more critical thing we've learned from these discussions. Before we can answer how our agency is different, we must know what truly constitutes being different.]]> http://adage.com/smallagency/post.php?article_id=138887 Wed, 09 Sep 2009 11:31:04 -0400