Client Search News – October 10, 2002

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.

There’s more to great advertising than just ADS. For starters, if you’re paying for great advertising, but your marketing colleagues claim your work is right up there with clip art, it’s time to think about change. Sure, talk with your agency, but you’ve probably done so, time and again.

Find Great Agencies that produce great advertising now:
https://www.agencyfinder.com/advertiser-register.html

Change doesn’t have to be difficult; change doesn’t have to be expensive; change doesn’t have to take long. The professional on-line and off-line services of agencyfinder.com are “easy” (we’ll explain more when we speak after you register); the service is FREE; and under normal circumstances, you’ll have your new agency in 60 days or less.

Call me (toll-free) if you’d like.

Sincerely,

Charles G. Meyst, Chairman/CEO

Business Partnering International, Ltd.
Vantage Place, 4327 Cox Road
Glen Allen, Virginia 23060 USA

Client Search News – August 21, 2002

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.

SEARCH IN YOUR UNDERWEAR. NO ONE WILL KNOW.

Many of our clients begin their search for an ad agency or pr firm from the privacy of home – clothing optional! So can you.

If you can’t find time at the office, if you want some privacy or need time to think, then home works. When you’re under pressure to identify and hire a new marketing partner, don’t let outside elements dictate when or where you start.

Search here, start now:

https://www.agencyfinder.com/advertiser-register.html

When you finish your no-charge on-line selections, you’re not left to fend for yourself. We provide “human” assistance by phone. You select who you want, we invite them. It can’t get any easier.

Let us know how we can help.

Sincerely,

Charles G. Meyst, Chairman/CEO

Business Partnering International, Ltd.
Vantage Place, 4327 Cox Road
Glen Allen, Virginia 23060 USA

Client Search News – July 29, 2002

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.

A conventional advertising or public relations agency search can get pretty expensive. There’s your time, your staff’s time, the cost of the search consultant, and the time-consuming agency candidate meetings. And there are tremendous costs, and potential market losses, when you select the wrong agency.

We can eliminate the consultant component, mentor so you specify precisely what YOUR firm needs in an agency, help identify extremely pre-qualified agencies, handle all the invitations and follow-up, and then eliminate the time and expense of inappropriate candidate meetings.

To see how, and begin your NO COST search, click here:

https://www.agencyfinder.com/advertiser-register.html

HOW LONG SHOULD IT TAKE?

If you’re serious, you want to hire a new agency and move on – not search for the sake of searching. The most critical element is defining candidates. With agencyfinder.com, that first pass can take minutes, your final pass in just under an hour. But you’ll want to confer with us to confirm or even improve upon your original selections.

From registration to agency invitations takes about 2 – 3 days. We’ll help you outline the remaining steps, but in general, it’s easy to make your final selection 30 – 60 days after we invite. If your invited agency list is small, it’s not unheard of to conclude in a few weeks.

WHEN TO HIRE A MARKETING AGENCY:

If you’re ready to look, NOW is the perfect time. Let your competition worry while you make plans for positive change. If you wait ’til the end of summer, the great agencies will be busy assisting clients that thought ahead. Don’t doodle!

For something a bit more in-depth, (although not precisely written for last week’s Market stumble), read this:

https://www.agencyfinder.com/tips-when-to-hire.html WHEN IT’S TIME FOR THE AGENCY VISIT:

Don’t invite candidate agencies to your place first – big mistake! Go to them. See how they keep their house in order. Meet ALL their employees, not just the Suits. Make it a high-touch visit. Remember, ultimately you’re looking for a true marketing partner; an agency that will lose sleep when you do, and shout for joy with you when it’s time to celebrate.

Here’s a check-list for that visit:

https://www.agencyfinder.com/tips-advertising-checklist.html

That’s it for now. Have a great “rest-of-the-summer” and call us if you need help in any way.

Sincerely,

Charles G. Meyst, Chairman/CEO

Business Partnering International, Ltd.
Vantage Place, 4327 Cox Road
Glen Allen, Virginia 23060 USA

Client Search News – June 05, 2002

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.

NIKES FOR COBBLER’S KIDS!

You know the truth – no business is immune or exempt from the need to sell its goods or services.

You also know about the cobbler’s kids and no shoes. That’s a sad story, but not a good excuse. The cobbler’s kids deserve the very best (no, this is NOT a plug for a brand; just a matter of analogy).

When you turned (or will turn) to an advertising agency or PR firm for help selling YOUR goods or services, you expect expert advice. That’s why it makes sense to find out what your agency (or the pitching agency) does to sell ITS services.

Do they have some form of sales organization, individual or pro-active outreach process? How do they “market” themselves to those that didn’t take the initiative to telephone them – i.e. what options do they use in the way of advertising, publicity, trade show participation, direct marketing, website, etc?

It takes one to know one; it takes one to BE one. Make a point to learn how your agency (candidate) handles the sales process and how they do new business development. Then keep (or hire) one that practices what they preach.

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR CORPORATE MARKETING

If you already have a great marketing partner, you’re fortunate.

If you need one, or want to check your options, now is a good time.

Try our FREE Ad Agency & PR search service at:

https://www.agencyfinder.com/advertiser-register.html

Need help right away? Call us now Toll-Free at 1-877-XFINDER, and we’ll help you get started.

SPAM & VIRUS

The economy may be suffering, but not the Spam and virus business. The good news about Spam is that it’s easily deleted. Frankly, although annoying, many people enjoy e-mail “mining” – looking for that speck of gold among the dirt! Viruses are something else. Watch out for each and every variant of W32.Klez.H@mm. It is NASTY and keeps recycling itself. For more info, check out the Symantec (Norton AntiVirus) Web site at: http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter
/venc/data/

Sincerely,

Charles G. Meyst, Chairman/CEO

Business Partnering International, Ltd.
Vantage Place, 4327 Cox Road
Glen Allen, Virginia 23060 USA

Client Search News – April 25, 2002

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.

WOULD YOU AGREE – “the good times of the 90’s let agencies get away with making a less-than-wonderful advertising product that didn’t always achieve what their clients need.”

HOW ABOUT THIS FOR A GREAT IDEA? – fund a major research study aimed at better quantifying the value and results of advertising.

At the recently concluded 4As (American Association of Advertising Agencies) convention in Dana Point, CA, Ken Kaess, president- CEO of DDB Worldwide and Chairman of the 4As Board of Directors, said and then proposed exactly that.

Ken speaks for some of the largest, some of the finest agencies in the world. 4A membership peaked at 600 or so; reports have it down at the moment. But the truth is that AAAA member- agencies don’t handle the bulk of the volume that’s done.

For that, there are almost 30,000 US companies in SIC category 7311 (Ad agencies and counselors), then another 16,300 in SIC category 8743 (Public relations services) offering to help YOU with your marketing, advertising and publicity needs.

As a matter of interest, the majority of AAAA members are registered here @agencyfinder.com, but so too are many of the finest independents.

ARE YOU PLANNING TO LOOK?

Are you thinking of conducting a search for a new, additional or replacement agency to handle your advertising, marketing or public relations? If so, please use your Reply-to-Sender button and tell us more by marking with an X:

1. If searching for a replacement agency,
you are because:

a. we’ve outgrown our existing agency
b. our agency appears disinterested, and falls
short on service
c. their creative is not delivering as needed
d. we’ve experienced some unethical practices
e. we’re too small for what they’ve become
f. the chemistry has fallen flat

2. Please rank (number) the following by importance: a. creative b. strategic planning c. tactical execution d. creative awards e. location f. service g. chemistry h. size 3. With regard to your budget: a. we’d like the agency to help define and quantify b. we have a figure in mind c. that figure (annualized) is: $ 4. Regarding timetable, we’d like to have the new agency aboard: a. next 60 days b. third quarter 2002 c. fourth quarter 2002 d. Next fiscal 2003

YOUR ANSWERS ARE IMPORTANT

The industry press is full of conflicting reports – recent news suggest that media spending is still down and continues to stay so. Others predict upturns, but with few specifics. What you do now with your marketing partners (ad agency, pr firm, etc.) and when you begin can be two different things.

There are hundreds, approaching thousands of fine companies you can turn to, and trust. But it takes time to find and sort them through.

We’d like to share these statistics once we compile them. Your information will be appreciated. But if you need to search, start soon!

Search and Find:
Advertising and marketing experts…

Identify and Invite:
Public relations professionals…

If You’re An Agency, Be Sought by:
Manufacturers, retailers and service providers
in need of marketing programs that work…

Sincerely,

Charles G. Meyst, Chairman/CEO

Business Partnering International, Ltd.
Vantage Place, 4327 Cox Road
Glen Allen, Virginia 23060 USA

Client Search News – March 25, 2002

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.

Good Morning!

Last week, a business friend commented “Yes, the economy is improving, but it appears people don’t have money to pay for it!”

He was talking about cash-flow, but there’s also a marketing lesson here. In this improving economy, nothing will be easy, and there will be losers. What worked a few years ago, won’t have a chance today. It won’t be sufficient to tout your product or service; in a way, you’ll have to help people find the money to pay for it.

TIME IS YOUR ENEMY

This emerging economy (if that’s true for your business) calls for bright, new, innovative marketing techniques. Agencies (advertising and public relations), like physicians, “practice” their trade. Unfortunately, marketing is frequently not as predictable as medicine, nor is the accreditation

process as stringent, so there is little margin for error.

If you don’t have an agency marketing partnership of some sort, now’s the time to consider one. If you do have one, take time to decide whether you’ve made your best choice for going forward. Delay is not an option; you must take decisive action now before your competition or your customers determine your corporate destiny.

NO-COST CONSULTING

You might not be ready to jump into a full-fledged agency search and review. If that’s the case, call us first. We provide no-cost consulting for each stage of your project. Agencyfinder is much more than an on-line directory and we work hard to earn that distinction.

Telephone us @ 804.346.1812 or Toll-Free 877-934-6337

What’s right for one client is different for another. Budget and location often play a significant role in identifying the best agency; so do personalities and creative styles.

Conducting an agency search MUST be done in confidence. Agencies should learn of your review from you, not from the press, not from media reps. Your review will be successful when you maintain control, and that’s done when YOU determine what are acceptable credentials – in experience, capabilities, creative, size, location and fees.

Find perfect candidates @ agencyfinder.com; now in our sixth year.

Log in: https://www.agencyfinder.com/advertiser-login.html

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If you want to build your bottom-line, or just like what you see, drop us an email.

Search and Find:
Advertising and marketing experts…

Identify and Invite:
Public relations professionals…

If You’re An Agency, Be Sought by: Manufacturers, retailers and service providers in need of marketing programs that work…

Sincerely,

Charles G. Meyst, Chairman/CEO

Business Partnering International, Ltd.
Vantage Place, 4327 Cox Road
Glen Allen, Virginia 23060 USA

Client Search News – March 05, 2002

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.

Good Morning!

The coming of spring is one great excuse to freshen things up a bit. If you’ve tried but are having difficulty breathing life back into your corporate marketing, maybe it’s time for an agency search.

agencyfinder.com is one perfect tool to identify great candidates, but as you head down the path to a review, spend a few minutes to read about the pitfalls of doing so without due consideration.

THE COST OF AN AGENCY SEARCH

It’s estimated that for every million dollars of ad budget, each day of an agency search costs about $1,500. That doesn’t include executive man-hours, brand erosion and loss of momentum or market share. The cost of a $25 million search could run $37,500 each day; more than $2 million over an uncharacteristically short 60-day search! Even a smaller budget of $2 million could exceed $180,000

over 60 days.

Here’s what can happen:

1. The incumbent learns your looking. Whether consciously or subconsciously, the agency’s work takes a downturn. Fear of loss knocks them off their cutting edge; they’re less inclined to bring you those big out-of-the-box ideas, or at worst, they’re not inclined to present anything that would benefit your new agency relationship.

2. Your review goes public. That makes you a magnet to aggressive agency new business executives. With more than 26,000 US agencies out there (SIC #7311), it’s an avalanche waiting to happen.

3. You get caught up with unqualified agencies. The Agency RedBooks, an industry resource, lists 13,500 US and inter- national agencies, suggesting that almost fifty percent of the agencies out there will never be found as long as they continue to pursue new business their “unlisted” way.

Of the 26,000, 86% have fewer than 9 employees. Consequently, many aren’t great candidates for every account, but they don’t always want to accept that. So the volume of provocative and compelling over-night shipments they send can inundate and distract you. That adds days and it adds dollars.

4. You lose key players. If the search team isn’t organized and in agreement as to selection procedures, it can result in executive departures. It’s not uncommon to see a key marketing executive walk out as the new agency walks in. And there’s no measuring the impact of exits like that on corporate morale.

5. Industry press infers your search is poorly managed. Public corporations are beholden to stockholders. An ill-run search can put the client at legal risk, giving rise to litigation for prejudicial practices.

If you run up the numbers, you can see that a poorly orchestrated or protracted agency search could cost more than the benefits derived from a great new agency.

Find perfect candidates @ agencyfinder.com; now beginning our sixth year.

Log in: https://www.agencyfinder.com/advertiser-login.html

Sponsor Message – Advertising & Marketing Tips… FREE!

Mosbygrey llc is a New Media and Market Development company that specializes in producing Interactive CDs. To introduce who we are and what we do, we’ve placed a lot of “free stuff” on our website that you might find educational, entertaining, or both. http://www.mosbygrey.com

If you want to build your bottom-line, or just like what you see, drop us an email.

Search and Find:
Advertising and marketing experts…

Identify and Invite:
Public relations professionals…

If You’re An Agency, Be Sought by: Manufacturers, retailers and service providers in need of marketing programs that work…

Sincerely,

Charles G. Meyst, Chairman/CEO

Business Partnering International, Ltd.
Vantage Place, 4327 Cox Road
Glen Allen, Virginia 23060 USA

Client Search News – February 07, 2002

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.

Good Morning!

The experts are telling us that the economy is showing signs of recovery. If site registrations are any indication, I’d agree. Our January 2002 traffic was equal to March 2001, our highest volume month last year.

This is a good time to assess your need for professional outside marketing counsel. I like the simple definition for marketing – “the process of bringing goods or services to market.” Having said that, it means that a host of processes are involved:

1. advertising
2. public relations
3. research
4. development
5. collateral materials
6. sales promotion
7. direct marketing
8. interactive marketing

5. trade shows
6. sales

You may have sufficient staff so that you don’t need much outside help. Then again, maybe you favor hiring experts “as or when you need them.” Whatever the case, the coming months will determine just how well your company fares in the improving economy.

If you already have an agency under contract, ask yourself:

1. Is their work for us exciting?
2. Are we getting what we pay for?
3. Do they think about us without being prodded?
4. If we need “full service”, are THEY “full service?”
5. Do they fight for what they believe (and know?)
6. Do they respect us (our service or product?)
7. Do they understand our target market?
8. Have they explored ALL the options?
9. Are we their BEST client?
10. Do they generate a ROI?If you don’t have an existing agency relationship, consider this:

1. You know YOUR business; are you also a marketing expert?
2. Even if YES, do you have time to handle both jobs?
3. How do you look against your best competitor?
4. Is your ad budget more than 5% of sales?
5. Do you HAVE an advertising budget?
6. Is your marketing founded on research?
7. Does your in-house work (really) save you money?
8. Wouldn’t it be nice to tell colleagues you’ve now got your “own” agency?

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AGENCY SEARCH GUIDELINES

Click, print & read:

https://www.agencyfinder.com/tips-advertising-creativerole.html
https://www.agencyfinder.com/tips-doitright.html
https://www.agencyfinder.com/tips-firstmeeting.html

ON THE BUDGET TOPIC.

How much you CAN spend depends on how much you can afford. Not just based on “what’s in the bank,” but a complex calculation that includes predicted response (ROI) to your pro-active marketing actions, coupled with cash-flow, and based on anticipated and available funds.

How much you SHOULD spend is for the marketing professionals (ad agencies, public relations folks, other marketing types). That takes into account your corporate objectives (as in – sales as a result of…), intended market share, or increase in market share, ability to fund expenditures, etc.

When you speak with agency folk, engage in open dialogue when it comes to the BUDGET. If it’s time for a new agency (or a fresh marketing partner), think and act carefully. Investigate only those candidates that possess the attributes you demand. In the final analysis, you’ll select for capability and chemistry. In business, birds-of-a-feather flock together and likes do attract.

Finally, regardless of your size (budget, market-share, employees or locations), be certain your marketing candidates will do for you that which you can’t already do for yourself.

Find perfect candidates @ agencyfinder.com. We’re beginning our sixth year and Your Search is FREE.

Log in: https://www.agencyfinder.com/advertiser-login.html

Sincerely,

Charles G. Meyst, Chairman/CEO

Business Partnering International, Ltd.
Vantage Place, 4327 Cox Road
Glen Allen, Virginia 23060 USA

Client Search News – January 07, 2002

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.

Good Day!

Our Agencyfinder pre-holiday straw poll discovered that clients and agencies alike were in a state of suspended animation – a contemplated pause, an extended period of rest and reflection. But there was also a plan to begin anew when the calendar declared 2002!

Now that we’re here, might we suggest:

1. Step back from your marketing of the past and take a new look.
2. Consider new goals, different objectives, fresh strategies.
3. Include new players, new faces, new contributors.
4. Dare to be different!

If it’s time for a new agency (a fresh marketing partner), think and act carefully. Investigate only those candidates that possess the attributes you

demand. In the final analysis, you’ll select for capability and chemistry. In business, birds-of-a-feather flock together and likes do attract.

Finally, regardless of your size (budget, market-share, employees or locations), be certain your marketing candidates will do for you that which you can’t already do for yourself.

Find perfect candidates @ agencyfinder.com; now beginning our sixth year.

Log in: https://www.agencyfinder.com/advertiser-login.html

Sincerely,

Charles G. Meyst, Chairman/CEO

Business Partnering International, Ltd.
Vantage Place, 4327 Cox Road
Glen Allen, Virginia 23060 USA

Client Search News – November 15, 2001

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.

Search and Find:
Advertising and marketing experts…

Identify and Invite:
Public relations professionals…

Be Sought by:
Manufacturers, retailers and service providers
in need of marketing programs that work…

All this and more at the FRESH, NEW agencyfinder
website. As a Registrant, you’re invited to return.

Why AgencyFinder?

Inaction is not a solution; Do Something to Celebrate!

Now – Back to business.

Sincerely,

Charles G. Meyst, Chairman/CEO

Business Partnering International, Ltd.
Vantage Place, 4327 Cox Road
Glen Allen, Virginia 23060 USA