Do Clients Get The Agencies They Deserve?

Posted on September 18, 2017 by Stephan Argent
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You’ve likely heard David Ogilvy’s famous words, ‘clients get the advertising they deserve’ but when it comes to their agencies… do clients get the agencies they deserve? Over the last seven years or so, we’ve done enough marketer problem resolution work and agency searches to be able to answer that question with some conviction. The answer is unequivocally, yes. Invariably, agency relationship challenges can be traced back to their marketing masters and are a reflection of how the agency is being managed. But if you’re reading this with some scepticism and thinking, wait a minute, this is like saying dogs look their owners – consider these behavioural attributes: Continue reading →

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Take the Pledge! End Madison Avenue’s Manslaughter!

Posted on September 15, 2017 by Michael Farmer
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Madison Avenue’s self-destructive practices need to come to an end!  In the wake of a decade or more of marketing cost reductions, CMOs have lost credibility and power; procurement departments have confused benchmarking with marketing, and demoralised agencies have seen their capabilities severely compromised through downsizing, juniorising, and Scope of Work inflation. Cost reduction programs have run their course. They were never a credible substitute for brand growth as a way of delivering shareholder value. Continue reading →

Posted in agency solutions, customer relationship management, Evalu8ing - Relationship Performance Monitoring, green marketing & sustainability, industry news & trends, interesting observations, strategic management | Comments Off on Take the Pledge! End Madison Avenue’s Manslaughter!

The challenges facing Automotive marketers in selecting new agencies – Three case studies

Posted on September 6, 2017 by TrinityP3 Consultants
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Share48 Tweet64 +1 Share10Shares 122The automotive industry is being disrupted globally. Electric motor vehicles like the Tesla are providing a viable and desirable alternative to the fossil fuels of the past. Diesel technology has been shown not to be as … Continue reading →

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Managing Marketing: The importance of understanding culture to stay relevant in a changing world

Posted on September 1, 2017 by Darren Woolley
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Sharon Foo is the Client Partner at Sparks & Honey and she talks with Darren on the importance of diversity, data, and technology in understanding the cultural changes occurring in society and staying relevant to your audience, allowing you to change to meet the future needs of the market. Continue reading →

Posted in agency solutions, data & direct marketing, industry news & trends, interesting observations, marketing process optimisation, Podcasts, return on investment, strategic management | Comments Off on Managing Marketing: The importance of understanding culture to stay relevant in a changing world

The danger of confusing best practice with common practice

Posted on August 30, 2017 by Darren Woolley
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Many of the challenges marketers are facing are new. Digital technology has had major impact in disrupting all aspects of business and particularly marketing because it has disrupted consumer behaviour too. Therefore, while we agree that the foundations of marketing and marketing strategy are still essential, there are new challenges arising in the implementation because of the increased complexity and constant change. In the face of these new challenges and complexity, many of the old tried and true solutions no longer work. Yet it is human nature to stick with what you know or what has been tried and tested, rather than trying something new. Continue reading →

Posted in agency remuneration / compensation, agency search & selection, Evalu8ing - Relationship Performance Monitoring, interesting observations, marketing procurement | Comments Off on The danger of confusing best practice with common practice

The Three Ring Circus: Money. Agencies. Marketers.

Posted on August 25, 2017 by Stephan Argent
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The simultaneous performance of money, agencies, and clients is a Three Ring Circus of wild, confusing and engrossing, but very far from entertaining. In fact, some agencies’ futures are at stake, while clients are at risk of squeezing the life out of the whole advertising industry – their own teams included – in their quest to lower costs and drive increased profits. Continue reading →

Posted in industry news & trends, interesting observations, marketing process optimisation, marketing procurement, strategic management | Comments Off on The Three Ring Circus: Money. Agencies. Marketers.

Managing Marketing: The importance of an insightful and robust agency search & selection process

Posted on August 18, 2017 by Darren Woolley
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Kylie Ridler-Dutton is a Senior Consultant at TrinityP3 and a specialist in agency search and selection. Here she chats with Darren regarding the agency search and selection process and the considerations required when planning and managing a successful pitch process for a wide range of agency types including creative, media, digital, social, PR, technology suppliers and more. Continue reading →

Posted in agency remuneration / compensation, agency search & selection, interesting observations, marketing procurement, Podcasts, strategic management | Comments Off on Managing Marketing: The importance of an insightful and robust agency search & selection process

The 3 hottest digital disruption discussions at IBM’s Watson Summit Australia 2017

Posted on August 16, 2017 by Anton Buchner
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In 1987, Deep Thought, a computer designed to play chess, defeated British chess master David Levy. However, it was then easily beaten in a two game match by Gary Kasparov, the Soviet Grandmaster and World Chess champion.The development team was subsequently hired in 1989 by IBM and evolved to a new name Deep Blue – a play on IBM’s nickname Big Blue. After redevelopment, Deep Blue played Kasparov in 1996, and came out of the blocks firing, winning the first game. However, Kasparov went on to win the overall 6 game match. Continue reading →

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Losing pitches, part 2: a further 7 ‘less obvious’ reasons why agencies lose pitches

Posted on August 11, 2017 by David Angell
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I recently wrote an article about some of the less obvious reasons that an agency, after all the hard work involved, can end up losing a pitch.

Well. After thousands of reads, shares and a number of comments (most of them made privately to me, as is the norm with this sensitive topic) it seems that the article generated some interest – whether you agreed with the content or not. Continue reading →

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How many agencies is too many when it comes to roster size?

Posted on August 9, 2017 by Darren Woolley
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A very common complaint we hear is “How did I end up with so many agencies?” usually closely followed by the question “How many agencies should I have?” And while Nathan Hodges has answered this comprehensively here, it is interesting that marketers often find themselves with way too many agencies on their roster either because they have inherited a roster that is out of control or it has grown organically right under the nose of the marketing team. Continue reading →

Posted in agency search & selection, agency solutions, interesting observations, marketing process optimisation, marketing procurement, strategic management | Comments Off on How many agencies is too many when it comes to roster size?

Ad Agencies: Prisoners of a Creative Past

Posted on August 7, 2017 by Michael Farmer
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Who needed “hands-on management” when revenues were high and automatic, workloads modest, TV dominant, creativity celebrated, brands growing, agencies respected, employees well-paid, parties outrageous and clients long-lasting? Creativity was the foundation of agency success, and to nourish creativity, management got out of the way, lest its intervention destroy the magic. “A creative agency needs to operate like an ant colony,” declared Kevin Roberts, former CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi, “where every ant knows its job and has the freedom to do it. As long as we hire and inspire the right people, to do the right thing … our agency should grow and our creativity should flourish.” Continue reading →

Posted in agency remuneration / compensation, agency solutions, interesting observations, marketing process optimisation | Comments Off on Ad Agencies: Prisoners of a Creative Past

Struggling with your strategy? Try the Costanza Maneuver

Posted on August 2, 2017 by Darren Woolley
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Much of the consulting work we do with marketers and their organisations involves aligning structure and process to the strategy, be it marketing structure or agency roster structure. Of course to effectively deliver this work requires a clear articulation of the business and marketing strategy, which can be a challenge to find. Not because there is not strategy. On the contrary, there are often too many strategies. But also there is often confusion over the strategy and the objective(s). Continue reading →

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“Creativity” Versus “Improved Results”: The Paradigm Needs to Change

Posted on July 31, 2017 by Michael Farmer
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Ad agencies and advertisers are victims of the belief that “creativity” is the basis of their current relationships, and that “more creativity” will give them more of what they need. Ad agencies have promoted “creativity” since the days of Bill Bernbach, more than 50 years ago, when agencies were at the top of their game. Advertisers, as their clients, continue to hire agencies for their perceived creativity, provided costs are rock bottom. However, “creativity” is no longer delivering improved brand performance or increasing shareholder value. The search for more creativity is making victims of agencies and CMOs alike — neither lasts very long in a relationship. It’s time for a new paradigm. The “Creative Paradigm” is out of date. It’s not working. Continue reading →

Posted in agency solutions, industry news & trends, interesting observations, marketing process optimisation, social media & digital marketing | Comments Off on “Creativity” Versus “Improved Results”: The Paradigm Needs to Change

Ad Agencies are Just Like Cruise Ships

Posted on July 24, 2017 by Michael Farmer
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We don’t see many Big Ideas any more. Content may be king, but content is forgettable, millions of tiny ideas in a million different places. Can anything new be said about a product? Or an industry, like the advertising industry? Well, I’m not a creative — more like a dreaded management consultant. Nevertheless, here’s a cross-industry Big Idea, free for the asking: Ad agencies are just like cruise ships! Don’t dismiss this out of hand. Read on! Continue reading →

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When is the right time to apply the Golden Rule in marketing?

Posted on July 19, 2017 by Darren Woolley
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This is the first in a series of one minute videos that address one of the many complex challenges facing marketing, media and advertising today. The Golden Minute series is an attempt to prove Albert Einstein right when he said “The definition of genius is taking the complex and making it simple”. But he also said “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler”. So we will leave it for you to judge. Please let us know here if there is a topic you would like us to cover in a Golden Minute. Continue reading →

Posted in agency remuneration / compensation, agency search & selection, interesting observations, marketing procurement, media planning & buying, strategic management | Comments Off on When is the right time to apply the Golden Rule in marketing?