Introduction xiii
Opening Remarks xv
Part 1 The Relationship 1
1 What Makes an Agency a Good Agency? 2
2 What Makes a Client a Good Client? 7
3 What Are the Most Important Elements of a New Business Pitch? 11
4 How Do You Prepare Yourself for the RFP (Request for Proposal) Process? 13
5 Should an Agency Be Expected to Do Spec Work or Present Creative as Part of the Pitch? 16
6 Does It Matter Whether an Agency Has Previous Experience in a Client's Industry? 19
7 What Are the Most Important Issues to Consider When Negotiating the Contract? 22
8 Is It Better to Work Together on a Project Basis or on an Ongoing Retainer? 25
9 What's the Best Way to Determine a Fair Project Price or Retainer Rate? Should Large Clients be "Punished" with Higher Prices for Being Large? 28
10 Who Should Be the Face of the Agency? Does the Agency Executive Who Landed the Account Need to Be Involved After It's Signed? 31
11 How Involved Should Senior Management from the Agency Be in the Day-to-Day Business? 34
12 How Involved Should Senior Management from the Client Be in the Day-to-Day Business? Does This Slow Down or Speed Up the Creative Process? 37
13 Should the Agency Present Creative They Believe the Market Wants, or Creative They Believe the Client Wants? 41
14 Should Clients Be In on the Brainstorming Process? 44
15 The Client Insists on Making a Move the Agency Knows Is a Mistake. Should the Agency Do It Anyway? 48
16 How Important Is Winning Awards? 51
17 How Do You Deal with the Payment Process and Issues Such As Severely Overdue Payments? 55
18 Is a Single Serious Mistake the End of the Relationship? 58
19 Is Any Relationship Ever Really Secure? 61
20 HowImportant Is It for the Client to Verbally Express Appreciation for Quality Work? 65
21 Is the Agency a Partner or a Vendor? Is There a Difference? 67
22 Can All Meetings Happen Over the Phone? How Important Are Face-to-Face Meetings? 70
23 When Does Complacency Set In? 73
24 Does a New Marketing Director or CMO on the Client Side Mean the End of the Relationship? 77
25 Is It Okay for Clients and Agency Partners to Be Friends Outside the Office? Or Does This Strain the Professional Relationship? 80
26 What Role Will the Client's Legal Department Play in the Relationship? 84
27 Is the Client Always Right? 87
Part 2 The Foundations 91
28 What Is the Best Way to Define a "Brand"? 92
29 What Matters Most to Consumers? Brand, Price, Availability, or Something Else? 96
30 How Firm Is the Brand Guide? When, If Ever, Can the Agency Break the Rules? 99
31 Does the Personality of a Brand Need to Be Reflected in All Marketing Efforts? 103
32 Should the Brand Personality Reflect What the Market Wants, the Company History, or the Personality of the Key Executives? 107
33 Does a Client's Mission Statement Play a Role in Marketing the Brand? Or Are Mission Statements Just Meaningless Crap? 111
34 How Much Research Should Be Done Prior to Development of a New Campaign? 115
35 How Do You Determine the Target Audience? 118
36 Is There Value in Focus Groups? 122
37 Is a Long-Term Strategy a Necessity? 125
38 Should Internet Marketing Strategies Be Part of the General Strategy, or Kept Separate? 128
39 How Important Is the Web to Any Marketing Effort? 131
40 What Are the Best Objectives Based On? Who Ultimately Determines Specific Goals? 136
41 The Creative Brief: Who Writes It, and What's Needed to Make It Useful? 141
42 What Is the Difference Between a Project and a Campaign? 147
43 Is a Risky Concept Worth Trying If Failure Means Potentially Losing the Account (or, for a Marketing Director, Losing Your Job)? 150
44 Who Has Better "Objective" Insight and Opinions into the Brand and the Marketing Needs? 153
45 Is There True Value in a Campaign That Builds the Brand Rather Than Promote a Specific Call to Action? Can a Positive ROI Be Measured on a Branding Campaign? 156
46 Who Should Present the Creative Work Outputs to Final Decision Maker? 159
Part 3 Getting to Work 163
47 Do You Need TV Advertising to Build a Brand? 164
48 How Does the Fragmentation of Television Change How Brands Reach Their Audiences? What Role Does Streaming Media Play in This? 167
49 The Dirtiest Four-Letter Word: TiVo. What Does It Mean to Marketers, and How Can You Plan Around It? 171
50 Five Minutes of Fame: How Is Obsession with "Reality" Changing the Face of Television? 174
51 With Satellite and HD Radio Segmenting Audiences, What's the Future of Radio, and How Will It Affect Marketing Strategies? 178
52 Is Print Advertising Dead? 180
53 What Role Does Promotion Play in Effective Marketing? 184
54 How Can a Marketer Best Leverage the Online Space? 188
55 How Powerful Is Viral Marketing? Can Viral Marketing Be a Planned Effort, Given That It Relies So Heavily on Consumer Involvement? 193
56 What Will the Online Space Look Like in Five Years? How About 20 Years? 197
57 Taking the Show on the Road: How Valuable Are Mobile Units in Creating a Brand Experience? 203
58 What Role Does Public Relations Play in a Marketing Strategy? How Connected Should PR Efforts Be to Marketing Efforts? 206
59 On the Retail Level, What Do Effective In-Store Campaigns Look Like? 211
60 With Retailers Demanding "Clean Stores," How Can You Break Through at the Point of Purchase? 215
61 How Much Power Does Wal-Mart Have in the Development of Ideas/Marketing Plans? 219
62 Many Companies Have Started Creating Their Own Retail Outlets or Building "Pop-Up" Outlets for Three-Four Weeks. Is This Effective? 222
63 How Valuable Are Loyalty Programs? What's Needed to Make One a Success? 226
64 Is Sampling the Best Way to Drive Trial of a New Product? 231
65 What Role Can Marketers Play in Pricing, and How Does the Product Price Affect the Marketing Plan? 234
66 What's the Best Measure of a Good Media Plan: Reach, Frequency, or Something Else? 237
67 What Does Packaging Say About a Brand? 242
68 When Is a Packaging Change Needed? 246
69 What's the Best Way to Approach Growth Markets, Such as the Hispanic Audience? 249
70 How Aggressive Should You Be in Marketing Tactics That Mention or Ambush a Competitor? 253
71 Are There Any Special Considerations That Should Be Taken When Marketing to Kids? 258
72 Should Brands Create Line Extensions? How Many Is Too Many? 262
73 Is "Going Green" for Real? Or Is It Just a Fad? 265
74 From a Marketing Perspective, Is It Important for a Brand to Connect with the Local Community? 269
75 Is Sports Sponsorship Worth the Cost? 272
76 Are Celebrity Endorsements Worth the Expense? 277
77 Four out of Five Dentists Agree....How Much Do Third-Party Endorsements Add to Brand Credibility? 281
78 How Far Can We Stretch the "Truth" in Marketing? 284
79 Are There Any Ethical Issues in the Use of Scare Tactics in Marketing? ("You Will Lose Your Money If..." or "It Could Harm Your Family Unless...") 288
80 From a Creative/Conceptual Perspective, How Different Is B2B Marketing from B2C Marketing? 291
81 Internal Marketing: What's the Best Way to Jazz Up the Workforce, and Is It Even Worth the Effort? 295
82 Key Changes (Such as Materials or Ingredients) Have Been Made to a Product in Mid-Campaign. Now What? 300
83 Can You Take the Message Global? Should You? 303
Part 4 Evaluation 307
84 Is the Integrated Agency Model Something That Works for Everybody? 308
85 How Honest Is Too Honest? 311
86 How Often Should the Client/Agency Relationship Be Assessed? 314
87 How Do You Move Forward When You're Not Seeing Eye-to-Eye? 317
88 What Is the Role of Third-Party Research in Evaluating Marketing Success? 320
89 When an Effort Fails, Are Clients Expected to Take a "Blame the Agency" Approach, Regardless of Circumstances? 322
90 When an Effort Fails, Are Agencies Expected to Put the Best Spin on the Results? How Does This Affect True Success Evaluation? 325
91 It's Time to Sign the Next Year of Your Agreement. How Do You Address Changes in the Business Plan and the Timeframe for Getting Things Done? 327
92 Do You Need to Defend Your Relationship Every Day from Competitive Agencies? 330
93 When Is It Time to End the Relationship and Move On? 334
94 Can We Really Determine an ROI? 337
95 Brand Recognition and Customer Sentiment Have Improved, but Sales Haven't. It the Campaign Still a Success? 340
Part 5 Just for Fun 343
96 Is Super Bowl Advertising Worth the Money? 344
97 What Is the Best Viral Campaign Ever Run? 347
98 What Is the Best Use of Athlete or Celebrity Endorsement? 349
99 What Is the Best Single Ad Ever Produced? 352
100 What Is the Worst Campaign Ever Run? 355
101 What Is the Best Campaign Ever Run? 358
Closing Remarks 361
Index 363
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