Ponderance And Procrastination Hinders Agency Weblog Adoption

As we've mentioned before, ad agencies can get a lot of mileage out of publishing a weblog. In this New York Times article, Nate Ives takes a look at the ad agency weblog landscape and queries insiders on the benefits agencies can gain from producing a weblog.

Most importantly, weblogs grant agencies a streaming voice to the advertising community providing prospects a better grasp on both the tangibles and the intangibles of an agency and its culture. While flashy and creative, current agency websites are woefully inept at providing any sense of insight for the prospect. Agencies are always blathering on about thought leadership and expert opinion yet are loathe to share that with the industry for fear of leaking their "proprietary process." Deutsch COO offered perfect commentary on why, unfortunately, many agencies will never publish a weblog. "Blogs are in fashion, and it is easy to hop on the bandwagon and say that every company should have one. The questions any smart marketer should be asking are, 'Does this provide a platform to connect with their most relevant audiences and how will this address business objectives?' " "That's not to say we would never enter blogland," she continued, "but there is a fine line between being timely, topical and keeping current while making sure that we are doing what's best for our business long term."

We'll excuse her for using the term "blogland" and for sounding like a press release by suggesting Nike's "Just Do It" tagline is a perfect response to that mouthful. Don't sit back and pontificate and perpetuate analysis paralysis. Put your voice into the marketplace now and win new business by doing so. New business presentations are extremely costly and have a low ratio of success. An agency published weblog is analogous to gathering new business prospects in a room everyday to impart agency knowledge that will help that prospect gain trust, insight and confidence in an agency. While it's unlikely an agency will ever win a piece of business directly from a blog post but it moves the client/prospect relationship to much firmer ground when the opportunity to stand in front of that prospect presents itself.

by Steve Hall    Oct-26-04    




Stern and Powell Have On-Air BitchFight

On Tuesday morning, Howard Stern called in to San Francisco's KGO AM 810 while FCC Chairman Michael Powell was being interviewed and engaged in a bit of verbal warfare.

Stern told Powell he is ruining free speech and that the only reason he has the job is because of his famous father, Secretary of State Colin Powell. Powell disagreed stating he was appointed during the Clinton administration when his father did not hold his current position. The two continued their exchange for ten minutes.

by Steve Hall    Oct-26-04    




Verizon Wireless to Offer WeatherBug Service to Customers

Verizon Wireless has teamed with WeatherBug to deliver local weather forcasts to Verizon Wireless Mobile Web 2.0 customers. Verizon Wireless customers can now access live weather information and alerts from WeatherBug's network of 7,000 local neighborhood WeatherBug Tracking Stations. In addition, customers can choose the WeatherBug Tracking Station closest to them at any time - whether they stay close to home, travel or want to view weather from a station across the U.S. - to receive live local weather and alerts. Customers can also view WeatherBug's extensive collection of community photos, and subscribers with camera phones can capture photos of weather as it is happening and submit the images directly to the WeatherBug Photo Community.

by Steve Hall    Oct-26-04    




Meyer Golden Parachute Could Serve Many

When Grey Global Chairman-CEO Ed Meyer gets his $87 million golden parachute as part of the WPP acquisition, he could:

by Steve Hall    Oct-26-04    




Enjoy what you've read? Subscribe to Adrants Daily and receive the daily contents of this site each day along with free whitepapers.

NBC Adds Five Second Delay to NASCAR Broascasts

Following an October 3 NBC NASCAR telecast in which winner Dale Ernhardt Jr. said, in response to what the win meant to him, "It don't mean shit right now. Daddy won here 10 times," the network has bent over for a few party poopers who think the word shit somehow degrades human life and added a five second delay to all future NASCAR broadcasts.

by Steve Hall    Oct-26-04    




Four Reasons to Use An Online Ad Network

Writing in iMedia Connection, Acceleration Media Director Julie Jeancolas offers four reasons planners should consider ad networks for their clients. From reach in high quality environments to strong return on the dollar to the targeting technology, Jeancolas claims ad networks should be part of every media plan.

by Steve Hall    Oct-26-04