Archives for December 2013

A Christmas Miracle in Real-Time: YouTube’s feel-good holiday sensation

advertising westjet christmas miracle

“A virtual Santa, 175 WestJet volunteers, 16 cameras in 3 airports and one on a plane, set up a miracle for the passengers of two Calgary-bound flights.”

Canadian airline WestJet and studio m created a heartwarming campaign that couldn’t help but become viral. It touched all the bases: the joy of giving, the excitement of those receiving and the contagious spirit of Christmas.

The campaign started with a brainstorming session at Toronto-based production company Studio M.… Continue reading

Ad Agencies Should Shift Into Consulting Roles for New Business

Tom Fisburne ad agency new business

How agencies can reinvent themselves by developing consulting services to open the door for new business. 

For too long advertising agencies have been treated as vendors. They claim to be different, but most are pretty much the same and sameness always breeds differentiation based on price. There has been little innovation from agencies to migrate away from the old model of advertising.

In an American Advertising Federation survey, only 10% of senior executives put advertising at the top of their priority list.… Continue reading

Why are ad agencies so bad at new business?

ad agencies are bad at new business

Business development doesn’t have to be so hard for small to midsize agencies. 

I’ve spent almost my entire advertising  career in business development. I can tell you from my experience that agencies are historically bad when it comes to marketing themselves. It’s as if they lose their marketing minds. They tend to forget the very basics of marketing and become their own worst client. For example, I often ask this question when speaking at industry events, “Does your agency have a marketing plan?”.Continue reading