Do the World’s Biggest Marketers Actually Avoid Marketing?

Call it my crystal ball prediction, but I think the world of advertising is in for a major shift… if today’s Mirren conference discussion is any indication.

A bunch of the world’s top advertising agency CEO’s were on a panel, imparting their knowledge to other advertising types as to how they got where they are, and how they bring in the big fish that have put them where they are.  In other words, what do the big agencies do to market themselves?

Here are a few quotes I jotted down as they spoke:

“Money follows talent.”

“I don’t look at it [pitching].  I don’t want to look at it at all.”

“I surprise clients with the bigness of our ideas.”

“Avoiding pitching is the smartest strategy of all.”

“We sometimes roll the dice.”

“If you are doing all the right things the growth will come.”

and, regarding making a marketing budget for the agency, “We just look at last year. Did it feel right?”

And these are people who supposedly know more about marketing than anyone else in the world.  Paradoxically, they don’t like it.  They don’t believe in it.  They guess at it. They avoid it at all costs.

I’m sure that if their client said, “We don’t need marketing.  We do good work,” there would be guffawing and eye-rolling and lecturing, and condescension.  But that’s exactly what these guys are doing.

So, dear clients, I challenge you this:  before you hire any company to advise you on marketing your business, ask the marketers how they are marketing themselves.   If they don’t walk the talk, walk away.  Because they will never understand the pain they are about to put you through.