Fun Friday Post to appease the art gods
Originally seen on Moxie Sozo blog.
Jeff Gagliardi’s got mad skills.  Check him out!

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This post began as a comment on a post at Agency Spy.

But because I didn’t want to get on soapbox on their comments boards I posted it here.  This will explain the bulletpoints.  Read on people:

Small business has and will always be the backbone of US business.  Advertising is no different.  And as such there is still a ton of business out there to be had.  So the industry shrinks 10%. 15% 20%. That still leaves billions in advertising spending in this country.  Yes, even in this economy, good, creative marketing happens every day.  And pitches go to the ones who can demonstrate the smartest use and best value for their client’s dollars.

• Budgets are being cut: true
• Clients need to do more with less: true. By the way, they have no choice. Don’t you think they’d rather have $2 million for that campaign instead of $900K?
• If you wait around to be invited to a pitch by the large search firms you’re SOL: Mostly true – if you’re a small to midsized agency–you’re the first to go.

Advertising is changing (again).  Agencies need to change with it.  Smaller agencies are better positioned to be able to shift rapidly.  Adaptable, smaller agencies will see a disproportionate number of wins coming at them that before may have looked only at the large shops.

Historically agencies have done a really crappy job, operationally, of making meaningful changes that will position them to prosper when budgets constrict.  As agency people we don’t take our own advice!  If a client wouldn’t hear this–we’d declare them idiots and institutionally slow.

It also helps to have some perspective. 10 years ago when the dot com bubble burst, people were prognosticating doom and seeing whole revenue streams dry up.  What happened was new revenue streams began.  Even at a trickle it’s a great time to get on board with a client who you may have indentified in the past as not offering a big enough piece of pie to be worthy of your time.  Let the big guys kill each other over the multi million dollar accounts.  If a $25 million account is all you’re interested in, it may be a long time before you eat!

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Ted Turner’s autobiography, Call me Ted has been criticised for not being open enough at certain points in the story.  And when it comes to his personal life, he’d rather look ahead than behind.  But get the man talking about business and you’ve got a classic overcoming obstacles Cinderella story.

Call me Ted provides an up close and personal view into the mind and heart of the man who, among other things, founded CNN, gave $1 billion  to the UN, created the first national cable channel and as a result, the first direct response TV ads.  Remember the Ginsu Knife? 

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abLB7aTmnE4]

What about vinyl repair kits or the 70’s super bad party ring?  Yes, indirectly, we can blame Ted Turner for those annoying Billy Mays Oxyclean commercials!

The man’s not a saint, nor does he claim to be.   Anyone who’s accomplished as much as Ted Turner has rubbed some people the wrong way.  Yes, he has detractors, but he’s done a lot of good.  Turner made a lot of mistakes but learned from them all; and he lays them bare in Call me Ted .  

His philosophies are homespun, conventional wisdom that he’s applied to his life and business, while other anecdotes are uniquely Ted Turner.  Nothing game changing and above all, he makes it plain that there are no magic bullets, that hard work is key and yes, a little luck doesn’t hurt. 

Here are 20 take aways from the book:

• Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell and advertise.  Turner didn’t coin the phrase but he lives by it.
• Honor and trust are the two most important things in business.
• Look for an unconventional angle and approach to problems:  The SuperStation couldn’t get noticed in the TV listings  when they were becoming a national station, competing with the networks in the early days of cable so he created Turner Time which made all their start times for programming  5 minutes after the hour or half hour 7:05, 7:35 etc.  As a result, they stood out!
• Community service in business is crucial.
• Set your goals so high you can’t possibly achieve them in one lifetime.
• You may not be in a glamorous business but you can still look for ways to use creativity everyday.
• Problems are inevitable; go around or through them.
• Don’t always negotiate on price.  Negotiate on terms.
• Doing the smallest things to take care of your customers is essential.
• Break down barriers:  When he purchased MGM and as went through to tour the place and meet the employees he said to each one who addressed him as Mr. Turner:  “Call me Ted.”
• You don’t know the roadblocks until you get started.
• Keep sights set on the future, don’t dwell on the past.
• Even bad publicity can be valuable—just make sure they spell your name correctly!
• Don’t haggle over a good opportunity.
• Don’t set your goals in monetary terms.
• Move fast.  Take advantage of opportunities before they become obvious and have passion for efficiency
• Talk to lots of people in your industry, including your competition.
• Speak your mind.
• Boundless energy will serve you well.
• And my personal favorite:  You can loose 10 million dollars a day for 2 ½ years and still be OK.

Turner wraps up the book by outlining his 11 voluntary initiatives, so named because he has trouble living up to his own personal code—so far be it for him to try to tell others how to live.  But the suggestions are bold and massive in scope.  I am not listing them here!  It’ll give you a reason to read the book.

Like any advice, take what works for you and leave the rest.  You may come away invigorated and ready to take on the world, or pissed that he’s made it so big.  Maybe he’ll provide anti motivation as in:  if he can do it I know I can do it.  I think he’d laugh and probably agree to know he had that effect.

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This topic was originally posted on Brand Autopsy over a year ago. A friend sent me the link and  I read it an buried it in my email.  Found it this week and re-read it.  Good Google.  Smart Google!  Oh, what a good Google! [ wag ] 

So with a shout out to John Moore for the idea–here it is again. Proving 2 things: 1. Good ideas are infectious and stay around.     2. There are no unique ideas!  No, No, not yours, mine!

1. Focus on the user and all else will follow.
2. It’s best to do one thing really, really well.
3. Fast is better than slow.
4. Democracy on the web works.
5. You don’t need to be at your desk to need an answer.
6. You can make money without doing evil.
7. There’s always more information out there.
8. The need for information crosses all borders.
9. You can be serious without a suit.
10. Great just isn’t good enough.

And if you’re in for more than just a top 10 list, you can read the entire treatise here:

http://www.google.com/corporate/tenthings.html

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Sorry, I just had to.  This was too funny to not share.  I realize it’s been out there a while.  I realize it’s probably a hoax.  But we all need a laugh, now and then!

Now that’s what I call out of home advertising!  Thanks to yourofficemate.com

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