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Strategy & Planning

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Typical Ad Agency Organizational Structure Alternatives. Changing the organizational chart does NOT equal operational excellence.

Typical Ad Agency Organizational Structure Alternatives

Structure can be the hidden productivity killer. Structure is not the enemy, or the Holy Grail – it is only a tool that supports the brand. Structure provides the foundation for resource management and reconciliation – only! Agencies that are masters in the Art of Operations can work in any “structure.” Operations knowledge, information reporting, metrics and incentives are the key to understanding what structure will work best for your firm. Complexities and Issues Associated With Re-Structuring Approaching a “blank-page” solution as an organizational exercise and should involve all levels of the firm.

Most re-structuring efforts fail due to top-down solutions – not gaining the involvement and support of managers and staff. The flipside to this top-down solution is what we call Analysis Paralysis. To create an effective Operating Strategy you need not just management commitment, but support from the staff as well. A guide to Account Growth planning aimed at account owners / senior account handlers in marketing agencies. New business is the lifeblood of every agency, or so the saying goes.

A guide to Account Growth planning aimed at account owners / senior account handlers in marketing agencies

But, at the same time, the equally well-known adage is that it costs you a lot more in internal time and external / freelance costs to acquire a new client compared to retaining and growing an existing one. Unfortunately business-as-usual work on client projects or "agency life" can get in the way. So, if you (the client services / account handling team) are not focusing on existing account growth, then you should be. By the way, I’m not a fan of the term ‘organic’, which is often applied to refer to growing an existing client account. It can imply 'it’ll just happen' rather than 'let's plan to grow this account in a proactive way'. In this article I’ve suggested both a process and also a form that you can use in conjunction with nominated people in your agency.

And it’s worth saying that if you don’t yet have a good idea of who your most profitable and enjoyable (albeit a softer measure!) The account growth process 1. How to Start a Creative Ad Agency. Hiring a creative ad agency can be advantageous to businesses regardless of their industries or the types of products and services they offer, if the business wants to maximize its exposure and attract or retain clients.

How to Start a Creative Ad Agency

Creative ad agencies offer a wide range of services, including writing, design and ad placement, that are particularly helpful to small businesses, as well as others. If you're bursting with creativity and possess the know-how to accurately speak to a brand's customers, starting a creative ad agency could be your calling. Step 1 Define the target market based on your knowledge, skills, abilities and interests. Selecting a niche will help in differentiating your business from potential competitors and will demonstrate to clients that you are focused on their industry.

Step 2 Identify the types of services to offer clients. Related Reading: What I Need to Know to Start My Own Ad Agency Step 3 Consider the types of employees that will be needed help the agency run smoothly. How to Write a Strategic Growth Plan for an Ad Agency. David Cummings on Startups. In yesterday’s The Upshot section of the New York Times, there was an article titled Sterling to Reap 15,900 Percent Return on Sale.

David Cummings on Startups

From the article, “Sterling bought the Clippers for $12.5 million in June 1981, according to some reports, and he’ll get a tidy 15,900 percent return over 33 years, an annualized rate of 16.6… Reflecting on the list of publicly traded B2B SaaS companies from yesterday, it’s clear that over the past few years, companies that reached scale and went public were more likely to be acquired if they focused on selling to large companies (enterprises) as opposed to ones selling into the small-to-medium sized business segment. Companies like… Earlier this week I read a quote from Bill Gross, founder of Idealab: to build a large business, the product must be 10x better than the current standard bearer, and it must be a large market.

Naturally, this makes sense. Generally, I’m a big proponent of making things as frictionless and simple as possible.