For the past few weeks I’ve begun research into buying a new car.  I really like my Volkswagen Passat, but thought I’d look into the year-end model season for an upgrade.

Despite the fact many automakers (GM for example) are cutting back their brand lines, I still find the marketplace saturated with way too many models from too many manufacturers.  Choice is a good thing, but not if it becomes overwhelming.  Right now, I’m feeling stress from having too many choices and not being clear on exactly what I want in a new automobile. Read the rest of this entry »

Last week, the International Association of Business Communicators held a shin dig at The Madison in Toronto to recognize and thank its volunteers. The networking event featured a BBQ, cocktails and door prizes to celebrate a successful year of collaborative teamwork.

The celebration got me thinking about the importance and need for clients and agencies to take the time to commemorate results and their partnership.

All too often, clients and agencies forget or get too busy to celebrate when they meet and hopefully exceed expectations. We encourage our clients to celebrate the successes they have combined to deliver. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the toughest decisions for client-side marketers and communicators is determining whether their agency can properly deliver specialized services.

Here’s a scenario.  A company wants to evangelize its positive environmental record but it needs agency resources to help with the strategy and develop a campaign.  Should the company choose its generalist agency or should the client find a firm that specializes in environmental communications? Read the rest of this entry »

I attended a breakfast roundtable Thursday morning with senior marketers from RBC, Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp (OLG), and The Home Depot.  What made it doubly interesting is that two CFOs also participated.  The most stimulating part of the discussion had to do with “agency math” versus “CFO math.”

That point was most clearly illustrated by Rob Moore, SVP at OLG.  Rob spoke about his days as a senior marketer at HBC, where he said the retailer compared favourably to Wal-Mart in consumer preference surveys, brand favourability and the like — yet Wal-Mart was killing HBC in sales.  The lesson:  marketing metrics don’t always align with business metrics.  Therein lies a prominent disconnect between the CMO and CFO. Read the rest of this entry »

This month we ran an “expectations workshop” for a client and its newly-appointed agency that was refreshing for all of us.  Why?  Because in our day-to-day experience, we see too many clients that have expectations that are not aligned with their agency’s view of the world.  

In the workshop, we spent a lot of energy helping the client and the agency to emerge with some highly-refined processes.  That was the day’s primary focus, because it’s these sweaty tools that … if not established at the start of a relationship … often lead to breakdowns later.  And we’re talking mental and financial breakdowns.   Read the rest of this entry »