Social Media = transparency and you can’t be more transparent than ad agency CEO Bob Hoffman
Recently I was introduced to the blog, The Ad Contrarian, cranky opinions and advice from the CEO of a pretty big ad agency. Bob Hoffman the author is CEO of Hoffman/Lewis advertising in San Francisco and St. Louis. He is the author of the book by the same name, The Ad Contrarian. Bob has a growing following as one fan recently wrote, “Your no b.s., take-no-prisoners approach to our business is entertaining, informative, and spot-on…”
You see a personal side of Bob through his blog. Blogging has given him a platform to express himself like non other. Bob is blatantly honest about our industry. He doesn’t hold back on his opinions.
The Ad Contrarian Says:
“In American business, there is nothing stupider than the previous generation of management.”
“We don’t get them to try our product by convincing them to love our brand. We get them to love our brand by convincing them to try our product.”
“Brand studies last for months, cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and generally have less impact on business than cleaning the drapes.”
“If the message is right, who cares what screen people see it on? If the message is wrong, what difference does it make?”
“Account planning has gotten way out of control. We’ve got to kill them all and start over.”
“In the entire history of civilization, nothing good ever happened to a teenager after midnight.”
“There’s no bigger sucker than a gullible marketer convinced he’s missing a trend.”
“All ad campaigns are branding campaigns. Whether you intend it to be a branding campaign is irrelevant. It will create an impression of your brand regardless of your intent.”
“Nobody ever got famous predicting that things would stay pretty much the same.”
The more I read his post the more I like him. If I were on the client side, Bob’s blog would go a long way to winning my business. People want to work with people they know, people they like and people they can trust. This is what The Ad Contrarian does for Bob.
If I were developing new business for Hoffman/Lewis advertising I guarantee I would be using Bob’s blog as the “gateway” to the agency. I would introduce prospective clients to Bob first. He is the face of the agency. He wont be appealing to everyone but to a great number of prospective clients he will have a strong appeal.
If you are an agency CEO and don’t have a blog, you are missing a prime opportunity to develop a following of loyal fans, ready to do business with you and your agency.
A sampling of Bob’s blog posts:
