Don't get caught in an interview rut

by mgill 30. June 2009 10:46
Aligning your message to the audience - sounds like  a simple task for marketing professionals to be able to apply this concept to their own job search. After all, it's part of what they get paid to do and who would know the them better than themselves?  Unfortunately it's not always the case. 
I had a post a while back that stressed the need to customize your resume based on the position you are applying for. Create the resume based on  research and matching that to your experience to support the job mission.  I recently interviewed a candidate I met a couple of years back.  Last week we connected on a new position and very different from our original connection.
He did a fantastic job with his research, and his preparation.  Although the two positions were drastically different he was able to really hone in on the experience he has and the requirements of the job.
It's clear that having multiple resumes is a necessity but you also have to be sure you don't get caught presenting yourself the same way on each interview.  Be sure your preparation for an interview includes not just info on the company.  Set aside time to think through a couple of key questions:
How do your experiences line up?
How do you intend to present yourself when you get face to face?
Just like the resume, the interview should be customized to the audience.
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Does Geography Matter?

by jneer 24. June 2009 05:37
Is geography an important criterion to a client when they are looking for a new agency partner?  For many clients, the answer is yes.  Should geography be an important criterion to a client when they are looking for a new agency partner?  Again, for many the answer is still yes.  

Agencies often ask us if their location is at all a hindrance to attracting new business if a client not located in the same geographical area – we hear it from agencies in central Alabama as well as mid-town Manhattan.  This recent topic was brought front and center in a recent Ad Age article “Heineken Wants Face Time With Its Manhattan Agency”, (6/8/09).  

Although agencies argue that there are now digital capabilities that allow for instantaneous communication and that they would be willing to shift hours to service a client that maybe be a few time zones away, many clients still want their agency partner to be closer to home.  They want an agency that is working the same hours and that they can visit frequently to establish a solid partnership. “Face time” is necessary for any relationship to work.

It’s worth noting that geography is not the most important factor when a client is choosing an agency. There are many others that come into play that can also impact how strongly a client feels about where the agency is located.  If an agency has the relevant experience, has tackled similar business challenges and has a strong strategic and creative team, the client may be willing to yield on the agency’s location.

To me the key take away from the discussion raised by the Heineken announcement is that both client and agencies should be sure to state if and what the geographic parameters are. The last thing any agency wants is to go through a full review process to then find out they didn’t win because of where they were located.
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Is Twitter.......

by mgill 22. June 2009 09:36
 Marketing, Advertising, PR, Customer Service, Sales??
I am continually amazed at the stories surrounding twitter.  Many folks are trying to figure out how it fits into their marketing, a bunch of others, angling to figure out how to make money off of it and some who are tweeting key words to build up their following. Me, I'm just playing with it in case it does turn into something sustainable, but you aren't going to catch me at  a "tweetup" any time soon. This article has a few more "stories"  about twitter and how companies are trying to take advantage.
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Is Spec Work In An Agency Review Wrong?

by jneer 17. June 2009 07:23
It seems every year there are heated discussions among agencies about how they are not going to do spec work in an agency review.  I recently read a piece on the 4A’s New Business about the topic.  Dr. Jodi Lisa Smith did research with clients, agency personnel and search consultants and came up with the theory that agencies should “Avoid Spec Work Like the Plague”.

I think there are really two issues at play here.  One, should there be some sort of spec assignment within a review and two, should the client pay for it and therefore own the work?  I’d like to respond to first issue here:

Spec or No Spec:  It seems totally unrealistic to me to ask a client to make such an important decision around who their agency partner will be for the future, without getting a sense of how the agency will think about their business.  This is a creative business.  It is also a business where the lines of who is doing what are getting more and more blurred every day.  During a review, clients often see case histories and work that 2-3 agencies are taking credit for.  Is that confusion what they should base a multi-million dollar decision on?  I don’t think so.

The assignment allows the client to see how an agency thinks about their business versus trying to extrapolate relevant experience from its case histories.  The completion of an assignment provides a meaningful forum to engage in discussion with each finalist agency about the strategic and creative direction for the brand.  It also allows the client additional opportunities to interact with the agency in a more “true to life” way.  

We set up Strategic and Creative Workshops to provide collaboration along the way to the final presentations.  

A common question is: Will the work see the light of day?  If not, is the exercise a waste of time?  

It is unusual for a client to run the work actually presented in a review.  They hope for it, but it doesn’t often happen. The assignment represents a real need of the client and the process allows the agency to be much further along in getting to the final solution. So, it is not a waste of time.

Are the agencies that don’t win giving away their ideas?  I don’t think so.  I have yet to see a client take one agency’s ideas and give them to the agency they hire to execute.  And quite honestly, the client is often not impressed with the ideas the losing agencies present.  

The bottom line is that of course agencies would like to win business without doing spec work.  But if a client is doing a formal review, the spec assignment is a critical piece of the review process.
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Hiring Index for C-level, Director and VP is UP!

by mgill 15. June 2009 09:11
So here's a bit of good news: hiring for C-level, VP and director roles is on the increase.  Here is an interesting article on how CareerCast has created its own methodology for a "hiring index". 
I can attest to the fact that the job market is starting to thaw.  As the rebound occurs I expect there will be an interesting shift in the rebuilding of marketing departments.
 
A few things that will happen:
- The role of marketing will be evaluated at a high level. Specifically, how does marketing align with the goals of the company and how is it measured?
- If a team that that was 40 people is now 15, it will end up at 25-30
- The folks yet to be hired will not be working off the same old job descriptions
- Significantly more hybrid roles that require skill in multiple disciplines; marketing, advertising, PR & new media, all in one
- New positions will be highly accountable to very specific results
- Even more than before, the team will be made up individuals who are left and right brainers, thinkers AND doers
As these things roll out it will make your job search different than before. Most of the information driving the hiring decisions is new, so you'll need to be extra vigilant in your research. Candidates who stand out will apply the research and put serious thought into the business of the organization and how marketing supports it.
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