| What is your agency name? | |
|---|---|
| John Brown | |
| Emily Ross- VP, Group Account Director | mcgarrybowen |
| Katie Hartman, Director of Business Development & Group Account Director | Vizeum |
| Samuel Tait, Managing Directors | MKTG |
| Kim Barrett, VP Corporate Development | Fetch |
| Alexandra Ivacheff Head of Client Development US | |
| Linsey Loy, Director of Brand Solutions | Amnet / Accordant |
| Christina Mohebbi SVP, Client Development | Firstborn |
| Asher Wren, Director Business Planning | Firstborn |
| Emily Hom, Director of Communications | Gravity |
| Rob Douglas, EVP | Carat |
| David Sederbaum, SVP Video Activation | |
| Garret Vreeland, CRO | |
| Liz Eisenhardt, Manager, Infrastructure & Intelligence, Business Development, Dentsu Aegis Network Americas | Isobar |
| James Lazar, Vice President, Strategic Growth & Network Collaboration | |
| Erica Puccia - Director, Business Development | Isobar |
| John Gilboy Chief Development Officer | |
| Monica Pastor, Sr. Manager, Business Development | Isobar |
| Nick de Molina - Associate Director, Brand Solutions | Dentsu Americas |
| Keisha Edwards, New Business and Marketing Coordinator | Isobar |
| Melissa Dorko, Chief Growth Officer | Cardinal Path |
| Tyler Gibbs, VP Business Development | ICUC |
| Joel Parent - VP Business Development | |
| Nik Werk, Research Director | Amplifi |
| EVP, Digital Investment | Firstborn |
| What is the total number of employees at your office and nationally? How has this changed over the last 2 years? | |
| Emily Ross- VP, Group Account Director | 350 globally and 11 in US |
| Katie Hartman, Director of Business Development & Group Account Director | 180 at my office (steady over past 2 years) 700 nationally |
| Samuel Tait, Managing Directors | 143 - reboot in 2018 |
| Kim Barrett, VP Corporate Development | 1300. We continue to acquire other agencies, globally. |
| Alexandra Ivacheff Head of Client Development US | 70 currently in my office -200 Globally it doubled |
| Christina Mohebbi SVP, Client Development | 180+/- Yes, the organization has more than doubled since the acquisition of Accordant Media. |
| Asher Wren, Director Business Planning | 70 ish. Don't know. |
| Emily Hom, Director of Communications | 78, used to be 105 |
| Rob Douglas, EVP | 34; dropped from 45 |
| Garret Vreeland, CRO | 60, relatively flat |
| Liz Eisenhardt, Manager, Infrastructure & Intelligence, Business Development, Dentsu Aegis Network Americas | ~3500 across NY offices; 10,000 in US |
| James Lazar, Vice President, Strategic Growth & Network Collaboration | 85 in NYC; 500 in USA; 6,500 globally |
| Erica Puccia - Director, Business Development | 93 total, decreased slightly |
| John Gilboy Chief Development Officer | 50+ / decrease in staff |
| Monica Pastor, Sr. Manager, Business Development | Nationwide: 10,000+. I've only been here for the past five months but believe the increase in staff numbers is a result of recent acquisitions (M8, character, etc.), big wins across the network and organic growth (and recruiting bigger, better talent) |
| Nick de Molina - Associate Director, Brand Solutions | 1000+ |
| Melissa Dorko, Chief Growth Officer | 500 in the US - (Flat) |
| Tyler Gibbs, VP Business Development | 1, 110; yes through employee churn. |
| Joel Parent - VP Business Development | 350 - used to be over 500 with extended contractor teams globally |
| Nik Werk, Research Director | 11 in the US, 120 globally. 15-20% growth over 2 years. |
| EVP, Digital Investment | 200 |
| Gabe Garner SVP, Business Planning | 70+, It's been reduced from about 100+ |
| As if you were writing to a prospective client, describe the agency in no more than 3 sentences: | |
| Emily Ross- VP, Group Account Director | John Brown Media is a global content marketing agency that builds world-class, omnichannel content programs starting with the strategy through content creation for our clients. We build editorial intelligence into the heart of our clients’ communications—matching the audience’s needs, passions, and behaviors with relevant and exciting content to create lasting value for both them and our client. Our point of differentiation is our talent--professionally trained editors, strategists, and art directors--with deep editorial knowledge and industry contacts. |
| Katie Hartman, Director of Business Development & Group Account Director | We are not a traditional agency, or a digital agency, or a social agency, we are a change agency. One that believes in the power of creativity to have a transformational effect on companies, brands, communities, and the world around us. We have a proven record of developing brand stories and delivering brand actions that move hearts, minds, and products. |
| Samuel Tait, Managing Directors | Vizeum is an innovative, business results focused media agency. We have built a model where we bring the best of the Dentsu Aegis Network together for our clients. |
| Kim Barrett, VP Corporate Development | MKTG is a global lifestyle marketing agency – comprised of pioneers and practitioners of live events, sport and entertainment, sponsorship, enterprise/b2b and retail innovation. Our outlook on marketing is simple. The more human a brand can be, the more people will connect to it and value adopting it. Our job is to humanize brands and connect them to passionate communities everywhere. |
| Alexandra Ivacheff Head of Client Development US | Fetch is a full-service, performance and measurement-minded, media agency with deep roots in mobile. We understand mobile consumers better than anyone, and that helps us design top performing marketing programs. We assign agile, cross-functional teams to each client. We fully integrate with our clients, their systems, workflow, and their teams to make media planning and buying more efficient in order to hit their business objectives |
| Linsey Loy, Director of Brand Solutions | The Dentsu Aegis Network, was built from integration and growing through collaboration. We are collective network of specialists who deliver solutions that propel our client's brand promise through technology, creativity and entrepreneurialism. |
| Christina Mohebbi SVP, Client Development | Amnet is the group of programmatic specialists within the network. We provide a set of services that span strategy, planning, activation, insights and analytics. Our integrations with both third party and proprietary technologies coupled with our expert strategists allow us to formulate best-in-class solutions tailored to each of our clients. |
| Asher Wren, Director Business Planning | Digital design and innovation agency with industry-leading capability in user-experience across web, ecommerce, mobile apps & games, AR & VR content, and digital screens and interfaces. We drive tangible business results through exceptional design, and we help some of the most recognized brands in the world to ensure that digital is at the heart of their business. |
| Emily Hom, Director of Communications | Firstborn is a NYC-based design and innovation agency. We build digital products, platforms and campaigns that move our clients' businesses forward. |
| Rob Douglas, EVP | Gravity, a part of the Dentsu Aegis Network, is a full-service ad agency with expertise to integrate brands into multiple cultures. Those cultures include audiences segmented by lifestyle, life stage and country of origin because we believe shifts occur within fringe groups that affect the masses. |
| Garret Vreeland, CRO | Accordant Media is a programmatic media services company combining purpose-built tech, full managed service and an insights/analytics team. We work as an extension of a Marketer's in-house team to develop and execute performance media programs in a completely transparent fashion. |
| Liz Eisenhardt, Manager, Infrastructure & Intelligence, Business Development, Dentsu Aegis Network Americas | Dentsu Aegis Network, innovating the way brand are built. Dentsu Aegis Network is a network, not a holding company, with one P&L. Data at the core of what we do. |
| Erica Puccia - Director, Business Development | Mitchell is an award-winning PR firm creating real connections between people, businesses, and brands. We provide strategic insights, customized conversations and consumer engagement solutions that make real impact. With offices in New York and Fayetteville Arkansas, we are positioned to deliver local, national, and global campaigns for some of the world's largest companies and best-known brands. |
| John Gilboy Chief Development Officer | Mitchell understands retail and consumer connections. We own one of the longest agency relationships with the world's #1 retailer. We leverage target, market and trend insights to drive results and impact business growth. |
| Monica Pastor, Sr. Manager, Business Development | Dentsu Aegis Network is a network - not a holding company. We can integrate all talent across the network to deliver the best business results for our clients. Our powerful tool M1 allows us to reach "real people" as opposed to cookie based IDs |
| Melissa Dorko, Chief Growth Officer | Isobar is a global, experience-led, transformation company. We deliver this through defining digital roadmaps, unlocking new approaches to uncovering deeper, non-biased consumer insights and behaviors, building commerce experiences that bring inspiration closer to transactions and uniquely defining innovation for our clients. |
| Tyler Gibbs, VP Business Development | Cardinal Path is a leading digital analytics consultancy with highly skilled staff located across North America. As Google's largest Partner in providing sales, support and implementation services for the Google Marketing Platform (formerly Google Analytics 360 Suite) coupled with a long history with Adobe Analytics, we have have the ability to deliver enterprise level analytics which the meet the highest standards for our clients. Our public and corporate training programs in both digital analytics and digital marketing have been offered across the globe in which we have trained over 500,000 people in the best practices of analytics and search engine marketing. |
| Joel Parent - VP Business Development | ICUC helps brands and their agencies find ways to extract ROI from their Social Media channels. We keep brand social channels safe and free from irrelevant or inappropriate content and keep social audiences and satisfied by maintaining premium levels of customer service. We do this social media content moderation, social media community management, social listening/monitoring services and other strategic social media services. |
| James Lazar, Vice President, Strategic Growth & Network Collaboration | Isobar is a full service, global digital agency that delivers experience-led transformation solutions. We provide strategy, design, technology and optimization services to create digital marketing, digital ecosystem and digital products for large, multi-national clients. We are proud of our analyst recognition by both Gartner and Forrester but we exist to deliver measurable results for our clients by leveraging innovation at our core. |
| Nik Werk, Research Director | B2B International is the world's most experienced b2b research agency (3500+ b2b projects completed). We committed to empowering b2b brands with actionable insights, based on a deep understanding of their business, sector and clients. |
| Gabe Garner SVP, Business Planning | Our 21-year history is steeped in understanding user behavior as it relates to digital, and how we can guide a customer towards consideration and purchase. Our primary tools to do this are dynamic, thoughtful experiences, and the belief that great digital experiences yield business results. Firstborn is built with strategic thinkers and digital craftsmen who share this belief and prove its effectiveness every day for our clients. |
| List the top few agencies that you do/will compete against most often. In the eyes of clients, what do they provide of value, that you do not? | |
| Emily Ross- VP, Group Account Director | Meredith- This is a trusted brand that also creates high quality print content and they are now trying to dive into the digital space NewsCred- We don't see them as a competitor but when clients don't understand the difference they may choose this because they're cheaper. |
| Katie Hartman, Director of Business Development & Group Account Director | Locally: Goodby Silverstein & Parnters - Big creative ideas AKQA - Technology Innovation Digitas - Performance Marketing |
| Samuel Tait, Managing Directors | Mediahub Wavemaker Assembly Starcom Spark Mediacom - Unsure what they provide of value that we do not. |
| Kim Barrett, VP Corporate Development | Jack Morton Genesco GMR Octagon Wasserman Lead Dog |
| Alexandra Ivacheff Head of Client Development US | MCSaatchi- They have the exact same marketing speech. They have fewer clients and understand the mobile landscape according to clients who switched to us less than us Justmedia- They are a full service digital agency but are not performance driven and are very executional driven as Fetch is more strategic |
| Linsey Loy, Director of Brand Solutions | UM, Starcom, |
| Christina Mohebbi SVP, Client Development | Managed service DSPs (Adobe, Oath, MediaMath, The Trade Desk, etc.) - Client prefer this approach as they believe they receive more advantageous rates, greater access to platform and full ownership of data. While there is occasionally truth behind the better rate factor, the other two factors (greater platform access and full ownership of data) are easily solvable through conversations grounded in trust and openness. |
| Asher Wren, Director Business Planning | R/GA, HUGE, Code & Theory. Scale, connection to business goals, breadth of category expertise (in some cases), current reputation (they're hot shops) |
| Emily Hom, Director of Communications | Work & Co: Sole focus on building digital products, not traditional messaging. They can embed more easily with client teams--seen as extension of in-house talent. Critical Mass: Data strategy consulting Fjord/Heat: Consultancy-backed solution, so understand all aspects of business |
| Rob Douglas, EVP | For many including Alma, Casanova, Conell, Gallegos, UniWorld, Community: company awareness and reputation. |
| Garret Vreeland, CRO | We compete across several sectors including tech platforms (Google, MediaMath, The Trade Desk), as well as programmatic agencies (Varick, Goodway Group), as well as Ad Networks and Retargeters (Quantcast, Criteo). We separate ourselves by combining owned tech, analytics, full managed service and customized solutions. We are also transparent. |
| Liz Eisenhardt, Manager, Infrastructure & Intelligence, Business Development, Dentsu Aegis Network Americas | We are up against all other major holding companies. If I had to pick, I'd say groupM and Publicis Media most frequently. |
| Erica Puccia - Director, Business Development | Coyne, Taylor, Dan Klores (DKC), DeVries, Marina Maher I'm not sure what clients believe they provide of value that we do not - maybe cool factor. |
| John Gilboy Chief Development Officer | Golin Edelman MWW M Booth |
| Melissa Dorko, Chief Growth Officer | SapientRazorfish, Huge, R/GA, Wunderman, Mirum, Code & Theory |
| Tyler Gibbs, VP Business Development | Luna Metrics eNor Analtyics Pros Napkyn They have commonly been known to compete on price for the Google Anatytics 360 platform as a foot-in-the-door offering. They focus on the Google stack and tend not to offer Digital Marketing or training on the same scale as Cardinal Path. |
| Joel Parent - VP Business Development | Liveworld, CrispThinking, The Social Element, ModSquad, 24/7 intouch, Appen |
| Monica Pastor, Sr. Manager, Business Development | UM - small and nimble, can serve smaller clients Publicis - deliver on innovation |
| James Lazar, Vice President, Strategic Growth & Network Collaboration | Huge - better creative SapientRazorfish - more established brand Deloitte - vertical expertise Accenture - existing C-level relationships |
| Nik Werk, Research Director | GfK, TNS, Nielsen - higher awareness and footprint SIS International, GeoStrategy, TMR Research - smaller research agencies with personal relationships McKinsey, BCG, Bain - better brand name and C-suite buy-in |
| EVP, Digital Investment | GroupM: Clout, experience Publicis: experience, diverse Client roster OMG: Pricing, Clout |
| In the eyes of clients, what do you provide of value, that none of your competitors do? | |
| Emily Ross- VP, Group Account Director | We are a content agency that hires starting with the areas most talented editor and creative director in their industry. We created content with an editorial view point which is very different from other content agencies. |
| Katie Hartman, Director of Business Development & Group Account Director | Integrated creative & media services with ability to execute technology/development in-house. |
| Samuel Tait, Managing Directors | We bring the full network to bear for our clients, not just a media agency, and can bring expertise as required to support the business problems facing our cleints' businesses. |
| Kim Barrett, VP Corporate Development | Our budgeting structure is one where we pass through all hard costs. Clients pay only for hours against projects. Our transparency in budgeting is a differentiator in terms of value. We also offer blended rates should a client become a retained client or a multi-event client. |
| Alexandra Ivacheff Head of Client Development US | We are very strong in subscriptions and understand the mobile landscape better than any other when it comes to media vendors and measurement. We are performance driven and own our clients KPI's and objectives. We can prove measurable results( sales, subs etc.) that makes them increase their budgets |
| Linsey Loy, Director of Brand Solutions | Our network, not to be confused with a holding company, is built to be nimble in order to continually adapt in the digital economy. This is a trait that legacy holding companies just can't compete with. |
| Christina Mohebbi SVP, Client Development | We provide a holistic approach when properly integrated with our sister agencies. That enables a richer dialogue around the client's business objectives and ensures that the programmatic approach is aligned and cohesive with the media strategy being implemented by the sister agency. |
| Asher Wren, Director Business Planning | Scrappy, boutique, serviced by our top-talent, no filler, no drift wood - we're a smaller shop so their business means more and they'll get our best people. |
| Emily Hom, Director of Communications | Boutique-level service |
| Rob Douglas, EVP | (1) Truly multicultural, not uni-culture; we cover many cultural groups while our competitors are experts at just one. (2) AudienceM: custom created by Gravity, it's the only DSP that has the ability to accurately target audiences based upon their country of origin beating Google and other data providers who "lean" Hispanic, Black, LGTB, etc. (3) Diverse agency team that speaks more than 20 languages |
| Garret Vreeland, CRO | There is no single thing. It is a combination of: customization, full managed service, analytics/measurement, transparency. |
| Liz Eisenhardt, Manager, Infrastructure & Intelligence, Business Development, Dentsu Aegis Network Americas | M1 and data insights |
| Erica Puccia - Director, Business Development | We are a part of the Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN), and can provide varied support and bring in specialists from the network as needed. DAN is the leading agency brand and fastest growing agency network in the world. With a presence in 145 countries, DAN agencies continually innovate the way brands are built to make clients more successful. |
| John Gilboy Chief Development Officer | We have a long history with retail - but not convinced we demonstrate enough insider knowledge. |
| Melissa Dorko, Chief Growth Officer | US team is big enough to do complex projects but clients feel connected closely to the "A" Team. |
| Tyler Gibbs, VP Business Development | The backing of a major company like DAN. Training - we have a value proposition that no one else has in terms of our management of a global Google program. We work with both Adobe and Google Analytics in large enterprise clients. Scale. We are the largest in our field in North America. |
| Joel Parent - VP Business Development | A combination of technology married to teams of experts who can deliver social media results 24/7 globally in virtually any language. |
| Monica Pastor, Sr. Manager, Business Development | We can deliver on the full service agency model (creative + media) and we have M1 to target real people in real time. |
| James Lazar, Vice President, Strategic Growth & Network Collaboration | Seamless and balanced discipline integration resulting in innovative concepts that can actually be built |
| Nik Werk, Research Director | We understand b2b markets better than any other research agency, which is a strong differentiator for us. We also deliver outputs of the highest quality - our story-telling, use of frameworks and ability to explain insights in a context that resonates with decision makers - sets us apart in an industry that is prone to delivering PPT decks of repetitive charts. |
| EVP, Digital Investment | Data - Management and application |
| Are there any negative perceptions about the agency that might hold back your new business efforts? | |
| Emily Ross- VP, Group Account Director | We are a bit more expensive and we are also newer so we're not as trusted as some other brands. |
| Katie Hartman, Director of Business Development & Group Account Director | Entrepreneurial tendency to say 'yes' and then figure out how to staff/solve. |
| Samuel Tait, Managing Directors | We are relatively unknown. Or if known seen as the conflict shop for Carat, or part of 360i since the business was merged in 2016 & demerged this year. S |
| Alexandra Ivacheff Head of Client Development US | We were involved in a law suit with Uber that is still going on. We were the first one to flag Fraud in the industry but unfortunately this client instead of fighting this together decided to put all the responsibility on us. That still sometimes negatively impacts my job |
| Linsey Loy, Director of Brand Solutions | Yes - While we often speak to collaboration and having 1 P&L, territorialism, process and a hierarchy of decision making is still difficult to navigate at times. |
| Christina Mohebbi SVP, Client Development | Since we are owned by the same organization as the agency of record, there is sometimes initial hesitation at the outset of the engagement. Clients may question commercial terms or challenge the strength of the offering in comparison to other, external solutions. |
| Asher Wren, Director Business Planning | No |
| Emily Hom, Director of Communications | No longer seen as edgy, independent agency |
| Rob Douglas, EVP | Creative ideas not big or strong enough |
| Garret Vreeland, CRO | Being owned by DAN removes the "independent" claim. That said, DAN provides significant resources/capabilities that Accordant did not have on its own. |
| Erica Puccia - Director, Business Development | Because we are based in Fayetteville, Arkansas, some clients might need to be assured of our national reach and capabilities (even though we have a NY office as well). There might also be a perception that we are all Walmart/corporate, but we have actually worked to diversify over the years and have more revenue from non-Walmart work. |
| John Gilboy Chief Development Officer | Walmart is our biggest client. This is great - as we have such a long / deep history. This is problematic as we are viewed as Walmart's agency - and we have a long list of conflicts that impact alternative growth. |
| Melissa Dorko, Chief Growth Officer | No one knows who the hell we are. |
| Tyler Gibbs, VP Business Development | I believe that we lose opportunities on price more than anything; less on agency brand/reputation. |
| Joel Parent - VP Business Development | We hire high volumes of temporary work from home contractors who sometimes hold grudges against us for their work experience and write negative reviews of us on glassdoor. We also operate in an increasingly commoditized/automated field where clients expect top customer service at incredibly low prices - it is a fundamental disconnect. |
| Monica Pastor, Sr. Manager, Business Development | We may not be able to deliver on staff after winning business. M1 may not be a holistic planning solution (from insights, to activation etc.). We are expensive. Lots of new executive hires - how stable is that? |
| James Lazar, Vice President, Strategic Growth & Network Collaboration | Lesser/unknown brand recognition |
| Nik Werk, Research Director | We are often seen as expensive - particularly where a client has not worked with us before. Our fieldwork costs are higher because we use verified b2b sample, where others rely on interviewing 'self-stated' business decision makers on panels. Our awareness is also relatively low (we're still a small company), and we are sometimes met with skepticism when introducing ourselves to a large corporate client who doesn't know us. |
| What percent of new revenue comes from the following sources: | |
| Emily Ross- VP, Group Account Director | 51-60% |
| Katie Hartman, Director of Business Development & Group Account Director | 21-30% |
| Samuel Tait, Managing Directors | 6-10% |
| Kim Barrett, VP Corporate Development | 21-30% |
| Alexandra Ivacheff Head of Client Development US | 31-40% |
| Linsey Loy, Director of Brand Solutions | 0 - 5% |
| Christina Mohebbi SVP, Client Development | 61-70% |
| Rob Douglas, EVP | 11-20% |
| Garret Vreeland, CRO | 51-60% |
| Liz Eisenhardt, Manager, Infrastructure & Intelligence, Business Development, Dentsu Aegis Network Americas | 11-20% |
| Erica Puccia - Director, Business Development | 41-50% |
| John Gilboy Chief Development Officer | 61-70% |
| Melissa Dorko, Chief Growth Officer | 81-90% |
| Tyler Gibbs, VP Business Development | 6-10% |
| Joel Parent - VP Business Development | 81-90% |
| Monica Pastor, Sr. Manager, Business Development | 11-20% |
| James Lazar, Vice President, Strategic Growth & Network Collaboration | 51-60% |
| Nik Werk, Research Director | 61-70% |
| Expanding on your answer above, how has most new business come in? | |
| Emily Ross- VP, Group Account Director | Most have come from referrals from clients. |
| Katie Hartman, Director of Business Development & Group Account Director | In the last 6 months: 1) through our mcgarrybowen/DAN acquisition 2) referrals from former clients 3) competitive reviews/RFPs |
| Samuel Tait, Managing Directors | We have picked up existing network clients in the USA. AB Inbev is our largest and makes up approx 95% of revenue. Have proactively pitched new business throughout 2018 however with no success. |
| Kim Barrett, VP Corporate Development | It varies. (1) connections, (2) searches that bring prospects to MKTG, (3) DAN connections, (4) word-of-mouth. |
| Alexandra Ivacheff Head of Client Development US | Outbounds: Me and my team, proactively chasing and building relationships with our targets |
| Linsey Loy, Director of Brand Solutions | Net new opportunities / Competitive Reviews |
| Christina Mohebbi SVP, Client Development | Most new business has come in via RFPs to our sister agencies. |
| Asher Wren, Director Business Planning | In-bound |
| Rob Douglas, EVP | Partnership, collaboration with Dentsu Aegis Network (i.e., LVMH, United, etc.) |
| Garret Vreeland, CRO | Growth from current clients is the highest. As we don't have much Marketing support, we rely on proactive prospecting. |
| Liz Eisenhardt, Manager, Infrastructure & Intelligence, Business Development, Dentsu Aegis Network Americas | Usually through outreach via consultants or procurement. |
| Erica Puccia - Director, Business Development | From existing relationships and growing current clients |
| John Gilboy Chief Development Officer | DAN cross sell opportunties |
| Melissa Dorko, Chief Growth Officer | Referrals and Inbound Web Leads |
| Tyler Gibbs, VP Business Development | We have had a lot of business come to us as referals through Google (can explain more on this if required), and a lot through our marketing efforts/direct website inquieries. We have recently started a more direct outbound approach to bringing in new leads for webinars, data labs, etc. to prospect further based on interest. We are also getting more focused on growing organically with a select set of clients. |
| Joel Parent - VP Business Development | Marketing Efforts and RFPs |
| Monica Pastor, Sr. Manager, Business Development | In my experience since joining, most new business has come in through formal reviews run by consultant agencies. That being said, we have had to foster positive relationships with most of these consultancies in order to be invited and have a good perception from consultant --> client. |
| James Lazar, Vice President, Strategic Growth & Network Collaboration | RFPs and referrals |
| Nik Werk, Research Director | We have a strong brand and SEO - when people search for B2B research, B2B International will usually come up. The vast majority of new leads come through this path. |
| Have you done any outbound business development over the last 2 years? If so, please explain. | |
| Emily Ross- VP, Group Account Director | A little bit but mainly from personal contacts through our CEO or employees. Currently working on also collaborating with other DAN agencies |
| Katie Hartman, Director of Business Development & Group Account Director | Just networking; may be benefiting from DAN outbound efforts. |
| Samuel Tait, Managing Directors | None known of. |
| Kim Barrett, VP Corporate Development | I'm not sure I understand the question. |
| Alexandra Ivacheff Head of Client Development US | conferences, events and dinners, sponsorships etc |
| Christina Mohebbi SVP, Client Development | Minimal via Accordant Media (Direct to brand arm of Amnet). |
| Asher Wren, Director Business Planning | We have an active outbound / outreach program where we send c500 emails per month to prospects, former clients, industry-movers, etc. |
| Rob Douglas, EVP | (1) Yes, leveraging our credentials, white papers, and areas of expertise expedited cold-call out reach to prospects using Winmo. (2) Via socializing at conferences and events |
| Garret Vreeland, CRO | We have 2 Sales people that prospect actively with coordinated email efforts. We have done events/conferences in the past, but did not do as many this year. |
| Liz Eisenhardt, Manager, Infrastructure & Intelligence, Business Development, Dentsu Aegis Network Americas | New to the team, but I believe we have a prospecting plan. |
| Erica Puccia - Director, Business Development | Yes. We developed a 2018 prospecting strategy and work those client relationships with outreach as appropriate. We often share new products/services with this group to strike a conversation that might be relevant to their current business challenges. |
| Melissa Dorko, Chief Growth Officer | No. |
| Tyler Gibbs, VP Business Development | We have most recently started this. |
| Joel Parent - VP Business Development | Yes - outbound email campaigns to prospect lists, advertising campaigns, retargeting advertising, outbound appointment setting vendors |
| Monica Pastor, Sr. Manager, Business Development | No |
| James Lazar, Vice President, Strategic Growth & Network Collaboration | Marketing outreach, conferences, strategic events |
| Nik Werk, Research Director | Very little - it's a new area where we've utilized software like 'Pearlfinders', and when we open new offices, we tend to try to cold-call and set up introductions. We have grown organically for the most part with very little outbound BD. |
| How many Competitive Reviews/RFPs did you enter last year? | |
| Emily Ross- VP, Group Account Director | 2 |
| Katie Hartman, Director of Business Development & Group Account Director | 11-15 |
| Samuel Tait, Managing Directors | 1 |
| Kim Barrett, VP Corporate Development | 21-30 |
| Alexandra Ivacheff Head of Client Development US | 4 |
| Linsey Loy, Director of Brand Solutions | 2 |
| Christina Mohebbi SVP, Client Development | 8-10 |
| Rob Douglas, EVP | 11-15 |
| Garret Vreeland, CRO | 3 |
| Liz Eisenhardt, Manager, Infrastructure & Intelligence, Business Development, Dentsu Aegis Network Americas | 30+ |
| Erica Puccia - Director, Business Development | 16-20 |
| John Gilboy Chief Development Officer | 8-10 |
| Melissa Dorko, Chief Growth Officer | 21-30 |
| Tyler Gibbs, VP Business Development | 8-10 |
| Joel Parent - VP Business Development | 5-7 |
| Monica Pastor, Sr. Manager, Business Development | 2 |
| James Lazar, Vice President, Strategic Growth & Network Collaboration | 16-20 |
| Nik Werk, Research Director | 30+ |
| Of those, what percentage did you win? | |
| Emily Ross- VP, Group Account Director | 50-60% |
| Katie Hartman, Director of Business Development & Group Account Director | 50-60% |
| Samuel Tait, Managing Directors | 90-100% |
| Kim Barrett, VP Corporate Development | 50-60% |
| Alexandra Ivacheff Head of Client Development US | 70-80% |
| Linsey Loy, Director of Brand Solutions | 50-60% |
| Rob Douglas, EVP | 20-30% |
| Garret Vreeland, CRO | 30-40% |
| Liz Eisenhardt, Manager, Infrastructure & Intelligence, Business Development, Dentsu Aegis Network Americas | 50-60% |
| Erica Puccia - Director, Business Development | 40-50% |
| John Gilboy Chief Development Officer | 30-40% |
| Melissa Dorko, Chief Growth Officer | 10-20% |
| Tyler Gibbs, VP Business Development | 20-30% |
| Joel Parent - VP Business Development | 20-30% |
| Monica Pastor, Sr. Manager, Business Development | 5-10% |
| James Lazar, Vice President, Strategic Growth & Network Collaboration | 10-20% |
| Nik Werk, Research Director | 20-30% |
| On the smaller half of your Competitive Reviews/RFPs, how much do you typically spend on each (out of pocket on average)? | |
| Emily Ross- VP, Group Account Director | $1,000-$5,000 |
| Katie Hartman, Director of Business Development & Group Account Director | $20,000-$30,000 |
| Samuel Tait, Managing Directors | $10,00-$20,000 |
| Kim Barrett, VP Corporate Development | $10,00-$20,000 |
| Alexandra Ivacheff Head of Client Development US | $1,000-$5,000 |
| Linsey Loy, Director of Brand Solutions | $1,000-$5,000 |
| Rob Douglas, EVP | $1,000-$5,000 |
| Liz Eisenhardt, Manager, Infrastructure & Intelligence, Business Development, Dentsu Aegis Network Americas | $5,000-$10,000 |
| Erica Puccia - Director, Business Development | $1,000-$5,000 |
| John Gilboy Chief Development Officer | $1,000-$5,000 |
| Melissa Dorko, Chief Growth Officer | $5,000-$10,000 |
| Tyler Gibbs, VP Business Development | $5,000-$10,000 |
| Joel Parent - VP Business Development | $1,000-$5,000 |
| Monica Pastor, Sr. Manager, Business Development | $30,000-$50,000 |
| James Lazar, Vice President, Strategic Growth & Network Collaboration | $20,000-$30,000 |
| On the larger half of your Competitive Reviews/RFPs, how much did you typically spend on each (out of pocket on average)? | |
| Emily Ross- VP, Group Account Director | $1,000-$5,000 |
| Katie Hartman, Director of Business Development & Group Account Director | $150,000-$200,000 |
| Samuel Tait, Managing Directors | $50,000-$75,000 |
| Kim Barrett, VP Corporate Development | $30,000-$50,000 |
| Alexandra Ivacheff Head of Client Development US | $5,000-$10,000 |
| Linsey Loy, Director of Brand Solutions | $250,000+ |
| Rob Douglas, EVP | $1,000-$5,000 |
| Liz Eisenhardt, Manager, Infrastructure & Intelligence, Business Development, Dentsu Aegis Network Americas | $75,000-$100,000 |
| Erica Puccia - Director, Business Development | $10,00-$20,000 |
| John Gilboy Chief Development Officer | $5,000-$10,000 |
| Melissa Dorko, Chief Growth Officer | $5,000-$10,000 |
| Tyler Gibbs, VP Business Development | $100,000-$150,000 |
| Joel Parent - VP Business Development | $5,000-$10,000 |
| Monica Pastor, Sr. Manager, Business Development | $150,000-$200,000 |
| James Lazar, Vice President, Strategic Growth & Network Collaboration | $100,000-$150,000 |
| On a scale of 1-10, how well do your presentations back up the agency’s recommendation with an irrefutable logic trail? In other words, how well do you typically build a strong argument for the agency’s recommendation? (10 = we are always strong in this area) | |
| Emily Ross- VP, Group Account Director | 8 |
| Katie Hartman, Director of Business Development & Group Account Director | 7 |
| Samuel Tait, Managing Directors | 5 |
| Kim Barrett, VP Corporate Development | 8 |
| Alexandra Ivacheff Head of Client Development US | 7 |
| Linsey Loy, Director of Brand Solutions | 7 |
| Christina Mohebbi SVP, Client Development | 10 |
| Asher Wren, Director Business Planning | 3 |
| Rob Douglas, EVP | 8 |
| Garret Vreeland, CRO | 6 |
| Liz Eisenhardt, Manager, Infrastructure & Intelligence, Business Development, Dentsu Aegis Network Americas | 8 |
| Erica Puccia - Director, Business Development | 8 |
| John Gilboy Chief Development Officer | 6 |
| Melissa Dorko, Chief Growth Officer | 6 |
| Tyler Gibbs, VP Business Development | 7 |
| Joel Parent - VP Business Development | 4 |
| Monica Pastor, Sr. Manager, Business Development | 4 |
| James Lazar, Vice President, Strategic Growth & Network Collaboration | 7 |
| On a scale of 1-10, how well do you build your presentations around a new and unexpected strategic consumer insight vs. a predictable consumer insight? In other words, how well do you always have something brand new to share about the client's target audience? (10 = we are always strong in this area) | |
| Emily Ross- VP, Group Account Director | 5 |
| Katie Hartman, Director of Business Development & Group Account Director | 8 |
| Samuel Tait, Managing Directors | 5 |
| Kim Barrett, VP Corporate Development | 8 |
| Alexandra Ivacheff Head of Client Development US | 6 |
| Linsey Loy, Director of Brand Solutions | 2 |
| Christina Mohebbi SVP, Client Development | 8 |
| Asher Wren, Director Business Planning | 3 |
| Rob Douglas, EVP | 7 |
| Garret Vreeland, CRO | 5 |
| Liz Eisenhardt, Manager, Infrastructure & Intelligence, Business Development, Dentsu Aegis Network Americas | 8 |
| Erica Puccia - Director, Business Development | 8 |
| John Gilboy Chief Development Officer | 3 |
| Melissa Dorko, Chief Growth Officer | 6 |
| Tyler Gibbs, VP Business Development | 5 |
| Joel Parent - VP Business Development | 2 |
| Monica Pastor, Sr. Manager, Business Development | 2 |
| James Lazar, Vice President, Strategic Growth & Network Collaboration | 7 |
| Nik Werk, Research Director | 9 |
| On a scale of 1-10, how well do you build your presentations around a new and unexpected creative/concept/program/tactical idea? (10 = we are always strong in this area) | |
| Emily Ross- VP, Group Account Director | 10 |
| Katie Hartman, Director of Business Development & Group Account Director | 6 |
| Samuel Tait, Managing Directors | 5 |
| Kim Barrett, VP Corporate Development | 10 |
| Alexandra Ivacheff Head of Client Development US | 6 |
| Linsey Loy, Director of Brand Solutions | 6 |
| Christina Mohebbi SVP, Client Development | 8 |
| Asher Wren, Director Business Planning | 8 |
| Rob Douglas, EVP | 3 |
| Garret Vreeland, CRO | 6 |
| Liz Eisenhardt, Manager, Infrastructure & Intelligence, Business Development, Dentsu Aegis Network Americas | 6 |
| Erica Puccia - Director, Business Development | 9 |
| John Gilboy Chief Development Officer | 4 |
| Melissa Dorko, Chief Growth Officer | 8 |
| Tyler Gibbs, VP Business Development | 7 |
| Joel Parent - VP Business Development | 2 |
| Monica Pastor, Sr. Manager, Business Development | 2 |
| James Lazar, Vice President, Strategic Growth & Network Collaboration | 7 |
| On a scale of 1-10, how well do you demonstrate the business impact of your recommendations? (10 = we are always strong in this area) | |
| Emily Ross- VP, Group Account Director | 6 |
| Katie Hartman, Director of Business Development & Group Account Director | 5 |
| Samuel Tait, Managing Directors | 8 |
| Kim Barrett, VP Corporate Development | 7 |
| Alexandra Ivacheff Head of Client Development US | 8 |
| Linsey Loy, Director of Brand Solutions | 10 |
| Christina Mohebbi SVP, Client Development | 10 |
| Asher Wren, Director Business Planning | 3 |
| Rob Douglas, EVP | 6 |
| Garret Vreeland, CRO | 6 |
| Liz Eisenhardt, Manager, Infrastructure & Intelligence, Business Development, Dentsu Aegis Network Americas | 8 |
| Erica Puccia - Director, Business Development | 7 |
| John Gilboy Chief Development Officer | 3 |
| Melissa Dorko, Chief Growth Officer | 3 |
| Tyler Gibbs, VP Business Development | 7 |
| Joel Parent - VP Business Development | 6 |
| Monica Pastor, Sr. Manager, Business Development | 6 |
| James Lazar, Vice President, Strategic Growth & Network Collaboration | 3 |
| Nik Werk, Research Director | 8 |
| Bottom line, what do you think the agency most has to do to improve at new business? | |
| Emily Ross- VP, Group Account Director | We need to get into more pitches! We also need to make sure the right people are there (decision maker) or else it lingers on. |
| Katie Hartman, Director of Business Development & Group Account Director | Build consistency into our story/service/offering; define our ideal client and proactively pursue. |
| Samuel Tait, Managing Directors | Experience - the whole leadership team is new in 2018. |
| Kim Barrett, VP Corporate Development | Proactive vs. reactive. Stronger creative & innovation. More strategy behind asking clients to take risks with their brands. Less expensive is always great, but tough to justify. |
| Alexandra Ivacheff Head of Client Development US | Have a broader solid team of NB experts that my team can tap into for pitches. Qualify better each opportunities. Rehearse and pitch process |
| Linsey Loy, Director of Brand Solutions | We need a more succinct story and formalized process driven at the network level. |
| Christina Mohebbi SVP, Client Development | Collaborate more with sister agencies to better present as a cohesive team. |
| Asher Wren, Director Business Planning | Connect our strategy and creative to business results, and prove out the impact / ROI. |
| Rob Douglas, EVP | (1) Building brand reputation through our work on existing clients and for contributing to new business pitches (i.e., LVMH, United) (2) Big, creative ideas (3) Have a stronger lead, presence in new business pitches. |
| Garret Vreeland, CRO | Refresh our go-to-market. Refine our target prospect criteria Develop marketing collateral Attend targeted events/conferences |
| Liz Eisenhardt, Manager, Infrastructure & Intelligence, Business Development, Dentsu Aegis Network Americas | Storytelling and strong pitch team (chemistry and cast). |
| Erica Puccia - Director, Business Development | Focus and bandwidth - we have extremely lean account teams and a non-existent bench to support client work when they're tapped for new business opportunities. |
| John Gilboy Chief Development Officer | Balanced / core new biz pitch team. Deeper talent pool - with agency + brand experience. Elevated creative thinking. Holistic campaign development. |
| Melissa Dorko, Chief Growth Officer | Demand Generation/Defined Prospecting Program |
| Tyler Gibbs, VP Business Development | We need to develop a solid lead funnel from outbound initiatives. We need to ensure our marketing materials are managed, maintained, and always speaking about the great work, innovation, etc. we can deliver. We need to get more recognition and participation in DAN - i.e. brought in to more current client engagements and more RFPs - and earlier. |
| Joel Parent - VP Business Development | Provide a strong, confident strategic offering that is highly connected to client success metrics. Having confidence in our ability to deliver effectively will also help (connecting our delivery/account teams closer with our new business people). We need to connect our more tactical social media services offerings to larger DAN proposals where we offer a complete and strategic solution. |
| Monica Pastor, Sr. Manager, Business Development | I think we need to pull stronger insights from the beginning - something the client doesn't already know about their business. we need to be better story tellers and still have media/data present, but be able to tell the clients more effectively how we can grow their business - plain and simple. |
| James Lazar, Vice President, Strategic Growth & Network Collaboration | Honing in on new insights and driving the story based on those |
| Nik Werk, Research Director | Awareness - once a client works with us, they almost always stay, and we often get non-competitive RFPs from them. We're small with limited marketing muscle, so simply getting consideration in the first place is key. Our conversion is good. |
| Within the past 3 years, has your agency conducted any training to improve the performance of your team members? This might include: to improve strategic ability, organic growth, new business, etc. | |
| Emily Ross- VP, Group Account Director | no |
| Katie Hartman, Director of Business Development & Group Account Director | Just starting with this event! |
| Samuel Tait, Managing Directors | N/A |
| Kim Barrett, VP Corporate Development | Yes. Our learning & development team is very strong. |
| Alexandra Ivacheff Head of Client Development US | yes |
| Linsey Loy, Director of Brand Solutions | no |
| Christina Mohebbi SVP, Client Development | No |
| Asher Wren, Director Business Planning | Yes |
| Rob Douglas, EVP | No. |
| Garret Vreeland, CRO | Limited |
| Liz Eisenhardt, Manager, Infrastructure & Intelligence, Business Development, Dentsu Aegis Network Americas | Not sure. |
| Erica Puccia - Director, Business Development | Yes, we brought Donna Wiederkehr in to host a two day new business training workshop with our entire leadership team. This was spring of 2017. |
| John Gilboy Chief Development Officer | We did one session with Donna W. - very little presentation skills training (big problem) |
| Melissa Dorko, Chief Growth Officer | No. |
| Tyler Gibbs, VP Business Development | Nothing overly formal in terms of 'sales' in recent years. |
| Joel Parent - VP Business Development | Not really much in the way of training aside from a couple online courses/seminars |
| Monica Pastor, Sr. Manager, Business Development | This usually occurs during pitches - we have not had the opportunity to train outside of pitch processes. The closest we have been to addressing this has been in pitch post mortems. |
| James Lazar, Vice President, Strategic Growth & Network Collaboration | Presentation and comms training |
| Nik Werk, Research Director | We have conducted external body-language pitch training, external sales training, and a lot of internal training on thought-leadership/frameworks to educate our client-facing people. |
| Any final advice for us as we prepare your training program? | |
| Samuel Tait, Managing Directors | Think of us as a startup within Dentsu, with AB Inbev as our foundation client. |
| Alexandra Ivacheff Head of Client Development US | would love top hear about other agencies NB process, what to look for inside an RFP between the lines. How to build better relationships with procurement etc |
| Linsey Loy, Director of Brand Solutions | We have LOTS of chefs working off different recipes, in a kitchen with minimal cooks on the line. |
| Rob Douglas, EVP | If I am correct in that elevating our creative excellence is one mandate, how to educate leadership in its short- and long-term value. Also, in the case of Gravity, we have becomes a 2-headed beast: (A) the full-service multicultural agency that supports Dentsu Aegis Network as multicultural experts, but DAN doesn't take us as seriously as they should in providing an "X-factor" in new business pitches. (B) the full-service ad agency to pitches right-sized client-- general market clients with budgets too small for Carat (i.e., Fage Greek yogurt, GORE-TEX) |
| Garret Vreeland, CRO | Understand that every agency in the Network is different, and has differing scope, scale, budgets, resources, etc. |
| Erica Puccia - Director, Business Development | No, looking forward to it! |
| Melissa Dorko, Chief Growth Officer | What should the ideal new biz team look like. How do you build the right team for the right size of your agency. |
| Tyler Gibbs, VP Business Development | Cardinal Path is 'different' than many of the agencies in DAN. We do a lot of remote 1-hour 'presentations' which are not the same as 'pitches' that other agencies often do. Many of our relationships start off with license agreements with Google Analytics products and grow from there. New Business here is to win over new clients, start relationships, and let the delivery team do great and impressive work to grow the relationships. We tend not to do >$1M RFP pitches etc. so our sales cycle is high in volume. |
| Joel Parent - VP Business Development | Keen to learn how to optimize our presentations, pitches and techniques to win more business more often. |
| Monica Pastor, Sr. Manager, Business Development | Think it would be beneficial to have pitch members pitch other speakers' sections to understand the whole story - not just their section. |