Your agency’s obsession is your agency’s differentiation.

With clients moving away from AOR relationships and towards more project work, agencies can’t rely on the same playbook anymore. Differentiation becomes even more important because you have less time and more Zoom meetings in the way of personally (or professionally) charming the clients.

I have a way to help your agency stand out. Way out.

YOUR OBSESSION IS YOUR DIFFERENTIATION.

You could have a “single point of difference” or you could have an “obsession.” Which do you think will resonate more with a prospective client? Which has more energy? The word “obsession” forces us to think not only about what’s different about the agency, but what’s different about the agency’s world view.

Very different.

It’s usually not my original idea. It’s almost always yours. Something I find left undiscovered. Agencies are so close to their magic they often can’t see it.

Is your agency obsessed with a specific psychological effect that truly makes a consumer change behavior? Is it something about your own unique approach that you really believe in? Is it something about how you unpack a brand for its consumer? Is it about a common marketing enemy that you’ve identified and are built to slay?

a proven process

Immersion → 10 ideas → Manifesto (3-4 weeks)

Immersion:

I start by auditing the agency's existing marketing materials (e.g. RFPs, videos, websites, blogs, presentations, etc.) I look for evidence of an obsession. It may not be called out and articulated yet, but it’s usually there. Couple that with 30 minute interviews with agency leadership, employees, pitch consultants, and a few clients, and we’ll find it for sure.

10 ideas:

I will present 10 or so obsession ideas to the leadership team inspired by my research. You will be amazed at how therapeutic these presentations/discussions can be, particularly for more complex organizations or agencies post-acquisition. Each idea gives the individuals on the leadership a taste of what could be. Does it feel right? Can we build upon that platform? Will clients care? And not everyone will agree, of course, which will tease out what each member of the team really thinks. And therapy ensues as the team learns more and more about each other, and how each perceives the agency, through the discussion of real ideas.

Manifesto:

Once we’ve landed on an obsession statement (think, tagline for the agency), I will then write a manifesto to bring it to life and that can be passed around to the agency so they can channel the idea into everything they do. It can be quite unifying.

Whatever the obsession is, we will uncover it and articulate it, so your agency can go BE it with passion. Watch all of your marketing communications from RFP to the website to the presentations to the agency’s culture itself suddenly "galvanize" around this new unifying force. 

case studies