A sure sign of a strong client relationship is if you find yourself being described as a “good listener”. It is an attribute to which clients attach great value. That’s because there’s more to good listening than meets the ear. Good listening is as much about the culture of the …
90% Tigger, 10% Eeyore. I reckon that’s about the optimal makeup for a digital agency bod. I like Tigger’s can-do attitude and his natural willingness to do then learn. “Mobile apps? Woo hoo! That’s what Tiggers do best!” “Innovative mash-ups? Oh boy oh boy! That’s what Tiggers do the best!” …
Innocent sent me a letter. In fact they sent my 5 year old daughter Madeleine a letter. Actually they sent her two letters. Madeleine eats loads of vegetables but hasn’t quite got her head round the whole fruit thing just yet. Innocent Smoothies for kids are the exception to that …
For anyone who bought what I wrote about not selling, this is a more narrowly focused follow-up about the implications of a not selling philosophy for the presentation of ideas to clients. On the one hand how do you satisfy the pressure from the agency to sell do the idea …
The woman – whose name was Bev – said, “Craig, the hardest things in the world are being unique and having your life be a story. In the old days, it was much easier, but our modern fame-driven culture, with its real-time 24-7 marinade of electronic information, demands a lot …
Nobody likes being sold to. Being sold to reduces that chances that you’ll actually buy. So creative teams that urge account people to “sell” their ideas are misguided as well as patronising. When it comes to helping great work see the light of day, the role of smart account management …
In the name of “doing the right thing” many clients run their pitch processes on a “level playing field” basis. It is good that they care about doing right by the pitching agencies – many don’t – but that care is misdirected. A level playing field approach means that all …
Professional golfers are more likely to hit a hole-in-one than mere mortals. But it’s still a relatively rare occurrence. Because there are so many things that can prevent a hole-in-one from happening. It requires skill and luck. In fact a hole-in-one is a minor golfing miracle. Great creative work that …
Clients all want their content to “go viral”. There are some obvious recurring properties of content that actually does “go viral”. But, when push comes to shove, there is still a tendency to excise those very properties from ideas and content. This is due to a natural risk aversion on …
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsRpXZML5YU] I watched the R/GA presentation on The Way Forward for agencies in the same week that I’d presented to the marketing department of a famously engineering-led company. In both companies the people who make the giant leaps, whilst all around them are taking small steps, are the engineers and …
