On January 1 Omnicom and McDonald’s will launch ‘Agency of the Future.’ According to this week’s AdWeek there is a “storied history” to that moniker. The same article explains that this futuristic agency will rewrite agency/client relationships.

I have just one question for the folks at McDonald’s and Omnicom. Who the hell do you think you are? That is the most egotistical and presumptive announcement I’ve heard in a long time. Great agencies are built by being closer to their clients and not putting extra layers of bureaucracy between themselves and the client- how many C’s do you need to serve your client?

Clearly you think you’ve got it all figured out, and I for one sure hope you do. But let me ask you this, can you stand before us now and declare that you have perfected agency/client relationships to a point where you are confident you represent a better future?

Because I don’t buy it for one second. It even smacks of a cheap ploy for media attention! But then, that’s just a zealously passionate career ad woman with delusions of perfection talking.

Old is new, and that’s not all when it comes to consumer marketing.

It was the Business Insider article, Procter & Gamble Launches Direct-to-Consumer Subscription Business, that got me thinking about how the paradigm of selling to consumers is shifting. Yet again. Read More

With the Rio Olympics kicking off tonight, tons of brands are excited to incorporate posts about the Summer Games into their social assets. Unfortunately, if you’re not officially sponsoring this event, you cannot. Yes, you read that right.

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A lot of people ask me if I’m a “foodie.” Probably because I hang out with a lot of “foodies.” My friends eat unparalleled food and drink outstanding wine. They are discerning in their selections, and most of them are gourmet cooks or professional chefs, some are even sommeliers. Read More

That’s clear based on the swift and dramatic reaction that unfolded the last 72 hours regarding Friday’s Business Insider interview with Kevin Roberts, Chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi. Read More

Bozell, a full-service advertising and public relations agency, announces the promotions of Stephanie Mesick and Rod Coleman and the addition of four new employees to the digital, public relations, account service and accounting departments. Read More

You wake up one day and your house isn’t working anymore. You have three choices: move, remodel or ignore reality. Considering the cost and inconvenience of either moving or remodeling, ignoring reality seems like the only reasonable alternative. But where will that leave you in the long run? Read More

In this brief video recently posted by ANA, Robert Rose, Chief Strategy Advisor for the Content Marketing Institute, urges organizations to view content marketing as a business strategy rather than a marketing tactic. Read More

The Upfront section of the June 13th issue of AdWeek has brought to light an issue that has perplexed me for nearly 20 years. The article discusses the recent ANA eight-month study focusing on media buying practices. The study has highlighted some “disconnects” between media buying organizations and their clients. One of the major concerns addressed is the fact that many media buying organizations regularly receive kickbacks and rebates from the media as an incentive to buy. From what I’ve observed, as unethical as this practice seems to me, it should come as no surprise since those who partake of such ill-gotten gains are in no way trying to hide the fact.

I have heard stories of media buyers given elaborate “gifts” from the media vehicles they buy and that has always been a mystery to me. I have always worked for ad agencies that would dismiss anyone who accepted anything more than a generous holiday lunch or an occasional platter of cookies.

On more than one occasion, I have been stunned by stories of broadcast executives inviting a media buyer and their entire family on an elaborate cruise. I have always wondered how a buyer can claim impartiality under those circumstances. It is such a huge conflict of interest.

A few years ago, we won a sizeable media account. They came to us because their former agency was posting at about 75% on average and they wanted to push that up into the high 90’s. One day during the transition, they mentioned in passing that they were getting sick of visiting their former media buyer and seeing all of the photos of the various cruises she’d been on – as a result of their media spending.

My only real question is, how has this gone unchecked for so long?

My suspicious nature makes me doubt Gary Vaynerchuk’s apology regarding his agency’s epic gaffe. Is it possible they were able to find the one event planning vendor who’s been living in a cave for the past 50 years, Read More