Perspectives on Marketing

Table of Contents......Page 8
Introduction......Page 14
Opening Remarks......Page 16
Part One: The Relationship......Page 20
1 What Makes an Agency a Good Agency?......Page 21
2 What Makes a Client a Good Client?......Page 26
3 What Are the Most Important Elements of a New Business Pitch?......Page 30
4 How Do You Prepare Yourself for the RFP (Request for Proposal) Process?......Page 32
5 Should an Agency Be Expected to Do Spec Work or Present Creative as Part of the Pitch?......Page 35
6 Does It Matter Whether an Agency Has Previous Experience in a Client’s Industry?......Page 38
7 What Are the Most Important Issues to Consider When Negotiating the Contract?......Page 41
8 Is It Better to Work Together on a Project Basis or on an Ongoing Retainer?......Page 44
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?......Page 47
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?......Page 50
11 How Involved Should Senior Management from the Agency Be in the Day-to-Day Business?......Page 53
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?......Page 56
13 Should the Agency Present Creative They Believe the Market Wants, or Creative They Believe the Client Wants?......Page 60
14 Should Clients Be In on the Brainstorming Process?......Page 63
15 The Client Insists on Making a Move the Agency Knows Is a Mistake. Should the Agency Do It Anyway?......Page 67
16 How Important Is Winning Awards?......Page 70
17 How Do You Deal with the Payment Process and Issues Such As Severely Overdue Payments?......Page 74
18 Is a Single Serious Mistake the End of the Relationship?......Page 77
19 Is Any Relationship Ever Really Secure?......Page 80
20 How Important Is It for the Client to Verbally Express Appreciation for Quality Work?......Page 84
21 Is the Agency a Partner or a Vendor? Is There a Difference?......Page 86
22 Can All Meetings Happen Over the Phone? How Important Are Face-to-Face Meetings?......Page 89
23 When Does Complacency Set In?......Page 92
24 Does a New Marketing Director or CMO on the Client Side Mean the End of the Relationship?......Page 96
25 Is It Okay for Clients and Agency Partners to Be Friends Outside the Office? Or Does This Strain the Professional Relationship?......Page 99
26 What Role Will the Client’s Legal Department Play in the Relationship?......Page 103
27 Is the Client Always Right?......Page 106
Part Two: The Foundations......Page 110
28 What Is the Best Way to Define a “Brand”?......Page 111
29 What Matters Most to Consumers? Brand, Price, Availability, or Something Else?......Page 115
30 How Firm Is the Brand Guide? When, If Ever, Can the Agency Break the Rules?......Page 118
31 Does the Personality of a Brand Need to Be Reflected in All Marketing Efforts?......Page 122
32 Should the Brand Personality Reflect What the Market Wants, the Company History, or the Personality of the Key Executives?......Page 126
33 Does a Client’s Mission Statement Play a Role in Marketing the Brand? Or Are Mission Statements Just Meaningless Crap?......Page 130
34 How Much Research Should Be Done Prior to Development of a New Campaign?......Page 134
35 How Do You Determine the Target Audience?......Page 137
36 Is There Value in Focus Groups?......Page 141
37 Is a Long-Term Strategy a Necessity?......Page 144
38 Should Internet Marketing Strategies Be Part of the General Strategy, or Kept Separate?......Page 147
39 How Important Is the Web to Any Marketing Effort?......Page 150
40 What Are the Best Objectives Based On? Who Ultimately Determines Specific Goals?......Page 155
41 The Creative Brief: Who Writes It, and What’s Needed to Make It Useful?......Page 160
42 What Is the Difference Between a Project and a Campaign?......Page 166
43 Is a Risky Concept Worth Trying If Failure Means Potentially Losing the Account (or, for a Marketing Director, Losing Your Job)?......Page 169
44 Who Has Better “Objective” Insight and Opinions into the Brand and the Marketing Needs?......Page 172
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?......Page 175
46 Who Should Present the Creative Work Outputs to Final Decision Maker?......Page 178
Part Three: Getting to Work......Page 182
47 Do You Need TV Advertising to Build a Brand?......Page 183
48 How Does the Fragmentation of Television Change How Brands Reach Their Audiences? What Role Does Streaming Media Play in This?......Page 186
49 The Dirtiest Four-Letter Word: TiVo. What Does It Mean to Marketers, and How Can You Plan Around It?......Page 190
50 Five Minutes of Fame: How Is Obsession with “Reality” Changing the Face of Television?......Page 193
51 With Satellite and HD Radio Segmenting Audiences, What’s the Future of Radio, and How Will It Affect Marketing Strategies?......Page 197
52 Is Print Advertising Dead?......Page 199
53 What Role Does Promotion Play in Effective Marketing?......Page 203
54 How Can a Marketer Best Leverage the Online Space?......Page 207
55 How Powerful Is Viral Marketing? Can Viral Marketing Be a Planned Effort, Given That It Relies So Heavily on Consumer Involvement?......Page 212
56 What Will the Online Space Look Like in Five Years? How About 20 Years?......Page 216
57 Taking the Show on the Road: How Valuable Are Mobile Units in Creating a Brand Experience?......Page 222
58 What Role Does Public Relations Play in a Marketing Strategy? How Connected Should PR Efforts Be to Marketing Efforts?......Page 225
59 On the Retail Level, What Do Effective In-Store Campaigns Look Like?......Page 230
60 With Retailers Demanding “Clean Stores,” How Can You Break Through at the Point of Purchase?......Page 234
61 How Much Power Does Wal-Mart Have in the Development of Ideas/Marketing Plans?......Page 238
62 Many Companies Have Started Creating Their Own Retail Outlets or Building “Pop-Up” Outlets for Three-Four Weeks. Is This Effective?......Page 241
63 How Valuable Are Loyalty Programs? What’s Needed to Make One a Success?......Page 245
64 Is Sampling the Best Way to Drive Trial of a New Product?......Page 250
65 What Role Can Marketers Play in Pricing, and How Does the Product Price Affect the Marketing Plan?......Page 253
66 What’s the Best Measure of a Good Media Plan: Reach, Frequency, or Something Else?......Page 256
67 What Does Packaging Say About a Brand?......Page 261
68 When Is a Packaging Change Needed?......Page 265
69 What’s the Best Way to Approach Growth Markets, Such as the Hispanic Audience?......Page 268
70 How Aggressive Should You Be in Marketing Tactics That Mention or Ambush a Competitor?......Page 272
71 Are There Any Special Considerations That Should Be Taken When Marketing to Kids?......Page 277
72 Should Brands Create Line Extensions? How Many Is Too Many?......Page 281
73 Is “Going Green” for Real? Or Is It Just a Fad?......Page 284
74 From a Marketing Perspective, Is It Important for a Brand to Connect with the Local Community?......Page 288
75 Is Sports Sponsorship Worth the Cost?......Page 291
76 Are Celebrity Endorsements Worth the Expense?......Page 296
77 Four out of Five Dentists Agree…. How Much Do Third-Party Endorsements Add to Brand Credibility?......Page 300
78 How Far Can We Stretch the “Truth” in Marketing?......Page 303
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…”)......Page 307
80 From a Creative/Conceptual Perspective, How Different Is B2B Marketing from B2C Marketing?......Page 310
81 Internal Marketing: What’s the Best Way to Jazz Up the Workforce, and Is It Even Worth the Effort?......Page 314
82 Key Changes (Such as Materials or Ingredients) Have Been Made to a Product in Mid-Campaign. Now What?......Page 319
83 Can You Take the Message Global? Should You?......Page 322
Part Four: Evaluation......Page 326
84 Is the Integrated Agency Model Something That Works for Everybody?......Page 327
85 How Honest Is Too Honest?......Page 330
86 How Often Should the Client/Agency Relationship Be Assessed?......Page 333
87 How Do You Move Forward When You’re Not Seeing Eye-to-Eye?......Page 336
88 What Is the Role of Third-Party Research in Evaluating Marketing Success?......Page 339
89 When an Effort Fails, Are Clients Expected to Take a “Blame the Agency” Approach, Regardless of Circumstances?......Page 341
90 When an Effort Fails, Are Agencies Expected to Put the Best Spin on the Results? How Does This Affect True Success Evaluation?......Page 344
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?......Page 346
92 Do You Need to Defend Your Relationship Every Day from Competitive Agencies?......Page 349
93 When Is It Time to End the Relationship and Move On?......Page 353
94 Can We Really Determine an ROI?......Page 356
95 Brand Recognition and Customer Sentiment Have Improved, but Sales Haven’t. Is the Campaign Still a Success?......Page 359
Part Five: Just for Fun......Page 362
96 Is Super Bowl Advertising Worth the Money?......Page 363
97 What Is the Best Viral Campaign Ever Run?......Page 366
98 What Is the Best Use of Athlete or Celebrity Endorsement?......Page 368
99 What Is the Best Single Ad Ever Produced?......Page 371
100 What Is the Worst Campaign Ever Run?......Page 374
101 What Is the Best Campaign Ever Run?......Page 377
Closing Remarks......Page 380
Index......Page 382
A......Page 383
B......Page 384
C......Page 385
F......Page 387
G......Page 388
I......Page 389
M......Page 390
N......Page 391
P......Page 392
R......Page 393
S......Page 394
T......Page 395
X–Y......Page 396