Entirely New Website, New Features, New Agencies
Client Search News – July 24, 2006
This CLIENT SEARCH NEWS is for individuals registered @ agencyfinder.com. Forward to those in your company or others elsewhere involved in the advertising or public relations agency selection or review process.
CONTENTS:
1. Entirely New Website, New Features, New Agencies
2. Introducing Doug Sidle, Manager Business Development
3. Kaille Padgett Promoted To Director Agency Relations
4. Miller & Lawrence Butner – An Agency Alliance
5. Referrals – Viral at It’s Best or Hogwash?
ENTIRELY NEW WEBSITE, NEW FEATURES, NEW AGENCIES
I won’t say too much except to encourage you to visit and dig in. The site is full of new search suggestions, search tips & tricks, proven and tested agency search and selection advice, and great new agencies. www.agencyfinder.com
INTRODUCING DOUG SIDLE, MANAGER BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
I’m pleased to welcome (back) Doug Sidle, filling a new position here as Manager of Business Development. Doug has a long and successful career in agency business development, having previously worked with us at our sister company Sales Marketing Institute, Ltd. back in 1995-1996. Prior to SMI, Doug lived and worked in England. When he moved to the US, he hired on as a business development marketing representative for Sanders Consulting Group. After leaving SMI, Doug moved to ad:tech, literally for their start-up, where he helped produce their very first interactive and international events. He most recently spent time in the radio industry in a sales and marketing capacity.
KAILLE PADGETT PROMOTED TO DIRECTOR AGENCY RELATIONS
I’m equally pleased to announce that effectively immediately, Kaille Padgett has been promoted to Director Agency Relations. Kaille started with us in February 2002 and is our “true diamond” when it comes to helping agencies build and maintain “magnetic” records. Kaille is a wealth of information and knowledge – both about our industry and what it takes to help you find great agencies when searching at AgencyFinder. Make a point to take her calls – or make one to Kaille yourself.
THE MILLER GROUP & LAWRENCE BUTNER ADVERTISING – AN AGENCY ALLIANCE
Whenever we can, we’re happy to introduce one of our registered agencies to another. That makes great sense when two agencies or even more, but far apart in distance or specialization, are looking to bring more substance to their credentials and sub- sequently increase their opportunities for “being found” and helping clients in the AgencyFinder process. There are other advantages, but we leave that up to the agencies themselves.
A recent such “alliance” has been struck by the good folks at The Miller Group Advertising, Inc. in Los Angeles (Rene Miller – President/Creative Director), a 19- person shop founded in 1990 and Lawrence Butner Advertising, Inc, New York (Robin Butner – President) a 12 person shop, founded in 1979. The combination has already been able to parlay their new association into some “coastal” new business.
REFERRALS – VIRAL AT IT’S BEST OR HOGWASH?
We get the daily Soflow Adrants e-mails where folks in the network are busy “networking.” One came in
recently from an ad agency in San Francisco asking a simple question – “Anyone know a great PR firm?” The question didn’t include any particular requirements; didn’t even specify whether the work was to appear in the US or elsewhere.
I found the suggestions interesting. First, not one posed the question of why an ad agency would want to hire or pay a pr firm. Not that one wouldn’t, but the “assignment” would have been nice to know. As they started rolling in, most mentions were for solo practitioners rather than firms with more than one employee. I was taken aback by the number of referrals to solo practitioners in Europe, which included such rave but unsupported recommendations as “she did great work for us!”
When we’re talking with an agency and they tell us most of their new business opportunities come from “referrals”, I’m inclined to smile and think of my well- intending Aunt Florence. When I was single, she frequently had some very special lady in mind that she insisted I meet. In most cases, I smiled and thanked her, but explained that at the moment, I was seeing “Vanessa.” Referrals are well-intended suggested introductions for reasons that make sense to the referrer, but generally have little connection to the needs of the referred. The infamous RFP was an outgrowth meant to address the referral, but thank heavens, our powerful and unerring search engine has made most of that obsolete. What my aunt saw as a good match and what I sought at the time weren’t in the same ballpark. Not to say she wasn’t right!
Sincerely,
Charles G. Meyst, Chairman/CEO
Business Partnering International, Ltd.
Vantage Place, 4327 Cox Road
Glen Allen, Virginia 23060 USA
