A Marketing Problem Is Just The Absence Of An Idea

After 30+ years in advertising, my mission in life is to work help businesses vanquish their marketing problems, one idea at a time. Retainer relationships (or projects) with brands or with agencies. And if needed, I built a very powerful tool, Ideasicle X, which gives us access to some of the greatest advertising minds in the country for ideas at will (no pun intended). It’s truly like having a fractional creative department at our fingertips.

Choose a path to learn more.

brands

Agencies

Consulting: Brands

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Testimonials

For Brands:

Fractional CMO / Brand Consultant - ongoing, deep brand consultation (2 FRACTIONAL SLOTS AVAILABLE)
Brand ideas - research, idea development (taglines), manifestos
Go-to-market ideas/plans
Creative briefs that inspire (click here for my perspective on briefs)
Presentation narratives/building
Manager/Organizer for Ideasicle X idea projects and productions

Don’t Just Brand The Channel, Channel The Brand

When your company has a powerful brand idea, it’s no longer about what YOU would do in the marketplace. It’s about what your BRAND would do. Employees can “channel” that brand idea into everything they do.

I typically start here with my consulting clients because nothing else matters until you’ve got a brand idea. And I can do it myself or we can involve my Ideasicle Experts. But once it’s done and you’re loving it, we move on to other things (e.g. communications plans, creative briefs, go-to-market ideas/plans, etc.).

case studies

Seybert’s Case - click image

MP (formerly MassPay) Case - click image

inquire

Consulting: Agencies

schedule zoom

testimonials

for small-to-medium-sized agencies:

Fractional CMO: ongoing new business advisor (2 FRACTIONAL SLOTS AVAILABLE)
“Obsession” differentiation: help find your agency’s differentiating obsession (more on that below)
Pitch materials audit: review RFPs, presentations, creative work, pitch strategies, and prepare recommendations to improve

Pitch prep: pitch strategies, RFP writing, presentation narratives, etc., as needed

The age of project work is here.

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 a “differentiating 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 the agency’s world view. Very different.

So when I audit an 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 interviews with agency leadership, employees, and clients, and we’ll find it for sure.

It’s never my idea. It’s always yours. It’s just been left undiscovered.

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)

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