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You just struck me very hard with your Myth #2, and a problem I forsee over my end here. Especially for startups whom are too defensive about feedbacks towards their services, it's about time to re-examine the solidity of ideas. The sustainability of an action plan is very commonly missing, no doubt some of these folks have fantastic ideas.

From someone who works on the agency side, I cannot tell you how much stuff like this frustrates me. It's especially tough when you see it first-hand. Myths 3 & 5 are battles I feel like I've consistently fought.

@Ed - it's time to put ideas to the market test, yes. And frankly, great creative to me means it sells. Good call to action, solid value propositions, all of that.

@Brian - we discussed how hard it is to bridge between the enthusiasm of the agency and the reality of the company. I think client services is one of the critical and most challenging jobs out there.

Valeria

Great post and very relevent for today's business "uber-hyped" environment.

Having a good Marketer on board is smart and strategic. Having an agency that recognizes that talent is smarter still.

I liked your comment in Myth #3 about being able to focus on the customer needs - and not on the campaign's potential to win awards. How many times do we see multiple ad award winners yet can't seem to remember a week later just what product that ad was trying to sell?

Another myth: "the big idea sells". As you say, it is about the execution of the idea -- but before you get to execution, the agency has to understand the complexities of your business and help you to sell it in. The idea cannot rest on its own, it needs context and follow-through.

And then, when finally released into the wild of the marketplace, you hope it can deliver on the promise. Due diligence in the sell-through process makes this far more likely.

Hi. Just to let you know that have added your blog to Spotlight Ideas' Top 100 Advertising, Marketing, Media & PR Blogs (with blog entries placed into genres).

@Karen - there are actual examples of TV campaigns and print ads that have failed miserably because people could not remember which product or company they represented. Maybe there is a post in here about how to recognize you hired a good marketer, too ;-)

@Gavin - spot on, the big idea ends up being a purposeful collection of smaller ideas and executions done well more than we recognize.

@Eamon - thank you. You managed to give this blog yet another classification it had not gotten. So far I have communications, PR, marketing general, content marketing, social media, etc. What we talk about here is all of the things you need to create customer and market conversations for your business. It's about the customers and the business. BTW, my email back to you failed and was returned.

Valeria - Thank you for driving agencies (and frankly any business pitching a new client) to think about these points. Being on the client side, I am amazed how many agencies/vendors follow these myths of a cliff.

The whole concept of "they don't get it" really hit home for me. Constantly I have people pitching me that start off by defining digital, social media...hell even trying to describe what Facebook is. I maintain a very open online presence and simple google search would reveal to the agency what my background and experience is.

Anyone hoping to get business with a new client should tailor their pitch not only to the company but to the individual. Taking 5 minutes to learn more about your potential client could pay tremendous upside in the end. Just take the time to do your research

To me someone not willing to do the work to get the job is someone who will not do well by you once they get in. I had an agency pitch me on how we should do social media in a similar way your described. It's almost comical - there is one prepared spiel and no ability to deviate from it.

Today's connected individuals with a digital presence have tremendous advantages in that they can learn from their networks and not only the work life. This does mean that who you are talking with needs to change what you are talking about.

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