Status Quo Just Won’t Cut It Anymore for Ad Agency New Business

Bret Giles

A conference for ad ad agency principals and partners plus media, account, creative and business development leaders that helps them get their digital house in order.

Bret Giles, president of agencyside which offers high-quality, current training, coaching, staffing and consulting exclusively to advertising agencies. An advertising veteran of 22 years, Bret started his career at Ketchum Advertising in San Francisco.

Bret has asked me to speak at his annual conference for advertising agencies and I asked him to share directly with you more about it.

I ran across a great quote from Dan Wieden of Wieden + Kennedy not too long ago. He said “The hardest part of this business is to realize that what you knew yesterday and all the things that gave you a sense of empowerment and prestige and security and safety is perhaps not relevant this morning…perhaps somebody else sees something you missed because you keep thinking you knew it all.”

Like it or not, marketing is in a sea change. What held value to your clients at the beginning of the year might not by the end. Media is increasingly fragmenting. Agencies are increasingly consolidating. Technology is increasingly converging. And that leaves principals in an interesting predicament, one which I feel we have never previously faced.

How do we, as agencies, remain relevant in the communications channel?

At agencyside, we started a conference called BOLO – that’s “Be On The Lookout” – an agency-exclusive, 2-day event in October focused on issues facing agencies today. It’s forward-looking, focused on arming agencies with information to thrive, not survive. With a heavy focus on digital marketing, attendees learn from four keynote addresses, dozens of breakout sessions, Q+A “salons” and interactive sessions with other attendees.

We’ll feature the creative director on the Old Spice campaign at Wieden + Kennedy, the social media professional who effectively rebranded Mardi Gras and authors of books ranging from Content Strategy for the Web to Escape from Cubicle Nation, Whale Hunting: How to Land Big Sales and Transform Your Company to PR in a Jar.

You can find more information about the event and other speakers at www.bolo2010.com. As a reader of Michael’s, you can use the promo code “MGass” for $100 off your registration.

In short, status quo is boring anyway, let’s shake up the future together. I look forward to meeting you in person come October!

 

About Michael Gass

Consultant | Trainer | Author | Speaker

Since 2007, he has been pioneering the use of social media, inbound and content marketing strategies specifically for agency new business.

He is the founder of Fuel Lines Business Development, LLC, a firm which provides business development training and consulting services to advertising, digital, media and PR agencies.

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