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Advice & Thought Starters

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Army, VW, NFL, Great Clips in review…

Lots of change this month. Below are some pitches, wins and losses culled from the trades and a Google search. It’s being published on October 30th, 2018.

Pitches

Wins

Losses

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Recent CMO changes leading to agency changes

Without further delay, here are a few brands that just might be going into review over the next few months. These are new Chief Marketing Officer announcements seen on the trades and a google search.

Jessica Alba’s company gets new CMO

Under Armour hires new marketing leader

Petco brings on new Chief Marketing Officer

Northwestern hires marketing and communications chief

Voyage brings on new CMO

This post was published October 2, 2018.

 

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Legacy agencies, take heed. Advertising supply chain nerds, unite.

Hello, agency leader, ad agency CEO, M&A professional, or agency holding company executive. Am I the only one that geeks out on marketing communications or advertising supply chains? What I mean by “supply chains” are the steps, companies and people involved in making an ad. From the client on one end to the consumer on the other.

Here are some recent articles you should check out, along with some perspective on why they’re geekworthy. Well, and even inspiring from a growth or agency new business angle.

Clients are taking an even closer look at how work is getting made, distributed and, yes, “optimized.” When it comes to marketing communications supply chains, that’s the word that can win agency new business.

All this supply chain talk helps explain why there are more stand-alones, holding company solutions and in-house moves. Which has major impact on M&A, agency marketing & positioning and yes, talent.

Martin Sorell’s interpretation of the advertising supply chain

The architect of the world’s largest agency holding company, WPP, has a new venture. This Adweek article’s title is a little overblown. But it does offer up some thoughts on where Mssr. Sorrell’s head is at with regard to S4’s plans. Very telling he doesn’t have much passion for creatively-led, legacy type agencies. If you want the original S4 prospectus, that inspired the Adweek article, here you go. And here’s a recent interview with Martin Sorrell. And here’s another story (published well after the post you’re reading) where he echoes a point made below. Great minds?! 😉

WPP’s new CEO perspective on holding company structure and growth

Out with the old, in with the experienced new. As suspected, Mark Read is WPP’s new CEO. Here’s an article that discusses the holding company’s latest challenges (including North American growth) and hints at some upcoming restructuring.

Moving from $5m to $50M pitches

If you’re looking for an indication that supply chain thinking works, look no further than Accenture Interactive. This article gets at how this company has grown. Hint: it’s much more about platforms, tech, data, analytics and more. Makes sense, given Accenture’s IT consulting capabilities. This can move engagements / deals from $5 million to $50 million. And has the added benefit of being hard to unseat.

What these guys are missing

While that’s a strong statement, it may not be fair to say. After all, agencies keep many secrets to themselves. But what’s missing is talk of how great ideas move through these links! That should be all be in capital letters. And let’s also keep in mind that ideas can mean any kind of agency deliverable: strategy, creative, execution and more. Using any channel.

Speaking of executional ideas and strategy, if you’re looking for some definitions of supply chain terms like accuracy, visibility, velocity, variability, consistency and more, shoot me an email. Happy to share some notes on it, as I’ve worked with a couple of marketing communication supply chain companies.

Anywho, hope this post gets you thinking a bit. And if you’ve got something related you’d like to share, please do!

Thanks!

photo credit: Matti Mattila Chain via photopin (license)

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New marketing leaders looking for new agencies?

Hello there. Happy September 10th, agency leader, new business leader and/or savvy agency professional. Here’s a quick snapshot of new CMOs / CEOs / CMO openings. From the trades and a Google alert.

Omnichannel fashion retailer J Jill fashion hires new CMO

Facebook hires new CMO from HP

Buffalo Wild Wings brings on new marketing chief / brand currently in review

The NFL adds marketing leader from Activision

New CEO in small Chicago-based CPG company with well-known brands

CMO still needed at AirBnB

Uber hires CMO from Beam Suntory

 

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How HR and executive coaching can make your agency different and better

Hello there, agency CEO, agency CFO, chief talent officer and/or agency recruiter. I read about this great hire another agency made and thought about how it could inspire smart human resource moves at your agency. It can help turn a staffer’s visit with HR into a good thing and not a bad one.

Here’s the AgencySpy story. It details how GYK Antler has hired a new Director of Talent and Development. They had me on the title alone. But here’s one of the things that’s different: they hired a professional with executive coaching bona fides.

Hiring someone with proven coaching chops tells existing staff and prospective hires that this agency invests in its people. It also helps differentiate the agency. After all, how many shops have formalized, meaty development and training programs?

Bringing executive coaching to your agency is a smart idea that will absolutely make recruiting and retaining great talent easier. It can provide measurable agency impact like lower recruiting costs; higher retention; happier clients; and greater revenues.

But what does this mean for your agency? Some thoughts…

Steal it

Well, this is one way to go. There has been a trend for agencies to invest in building agency culture and development, which ties in very nicely to what GYK Antler is doing with this hire. But you can do better.

Make it your own

GYK Antler isn’t the only agency to invest in agency culture & talent development. You have an opportunity to add your agency’s own unique spin to a very real business problem of getting great people (and then keeping them happy so they don’t leave your agency).

Build a team of interested folks inside your agency. Give them a brief and a budget. Find inspiration through looking at your agency’s vision, mission and values.

You can also find thought-starters in a best practice search for culture and talent development across other professional services.

Rent it

So, your agency can’t scrape together six figures to invest in this kind of resource. Or maybe your holding company overlords don’t see how this program can positively impact agency ROI. I hear ya.

There are plenty of online talent development programs out there. And with regard to coaching, look to a cadre of executive coaches out there with agency experience. Some recruiters also offer ad hoc executive coaching.

Many recruiters and exec coaches are small business owners, looking for ways to compete, differentiate and thrive. Perhaps this could be a win-win-win for agency, agency staffer and expert third party coach.

Re-brand it

Let’s play devil’s advocate for a minute. Is there an opportunity to redefine “executive coaching?” Some people may think coaching only happens when there’s a problem. Which isn’t necessarily the case. I, for one, have been coaching one agency president for about five years and it’s been a fantastic experience for both parties.

Anywho, hope this gets you thinking about some smart ways HR practices can make your agency different and better. Should you have any questions or wish to discuss it or any other ideas to make recuiting and retention easier, drop me a line. Thanks!

photo credit: Arnoooo tip 034 via photopin (license)

Other thought starter articles:

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Recent agency business, hiring and recruiting news

A week or so late, but still helpful. Here are a few pitches, wins and losses gleaned from the trades. Looking for potential upcoming pitches? Check out the pitch predictions on the site.

Pitches

Wins

Losses

  • Horizon Media loses Qdoba
  • Omnicom/OMD and Publicis/Starcom lose Mars media
  • Spark Foundry loses Northwestern Mutual
  • MARC loses Rite Aid

This post as published on August 27th, 2018. A hot summer day in Chicago.

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