As someone who has been knee deep in the advertising agency business for over 40 years, the type of people I look for in 2024 are dramatically different from past decades. In today’s fast-paced and dynamic advertising landscape, success isn’t just about creativity or business acumen alone – it’s about a unique blend of skills,...
Another Ad Bowl – I mean Super Bowl – Sunday is behind us, and I’m sure everyone is standing around the water cooler this morning chatting about the best commercials of the game – are water coolers a thing anymore? I thought the commercials were trying too hard to be creative and on top of...
As we begin a new year, the 78Madison team, among other things, has begun to think about what our blog strategy will be for 2024. Believe it or not, “what to blog” is one of the most common questions asked, particularly at the beginning of a new year. Sometimes it’s a fleeting moment of writer’s...
Here is a marketing truth: existing customers innately have more value than one that requires being won over. The fact is, you either have customers or prospects. One is committed to your brand, and one is not. Yet it feels like businesses continue to dedicate more time and attention to the notion of winning new...
In the business and marketing world, we’ve all heard the phrase “sense of arrival”. It’s the portion of the overall customer journey that most companies are laser focused on. But is that really the best method by which to create a customer for life? When you think about it, there is not much that is...
As I enter the 45-year mark of this amazing business called advertising, it seems like we have lost so many of the fundamentals that made this industry so powerful, starting with the art of listening. An incredibly important skill for success in the advertising agency business, and yet we seem to have become such poor...
I was reminiscing about the good ole days in the advertising agency business with a friend who like me got their start on Madison Avenue in New York City. Both of us continue to run advertising agencies some 45+ years later, but the paradigm shift in our industry is mind-blowing when you think about it....
I was fascinated by a recent national study that indicated most CEOs feel their brand(s) needed to take a stand on social issues, even though less than a third of consumers want to see politics in marketing – and pretty much the opposite of what every agency seems to be telling its clients. Curious don’t...
The “way to early” debate on the certain demise of the advertising industry due to AI continues to rage. Over past few months, I’ve had many discussions with folks in the advertising agency business, as well as with photographers, web developers, software engineers and more, and the response to the impact of AI is either...
Nobody wants to work anymore seems to be the number one rallying cry of business owners, recruiters, and cranky people who aren’t getting their coffee fast enough at Starbucks. Can you relate? Truth be told, I have wondered the same thing – pre and post pandemic. It is crazy how many jobs are available, and...