Comments on: Wanted: A New Kind of Ad Agency Warrior

By: Connection points for the “connected agency” in China | China IWOM Blog- Making Sense of the Buzz

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 10:30:21 +0000

[...] if you like this article, you might also like Paul Denlinger’s “A new kind of ad agency warrior” as well as Kaiser Kuo’s “Closing the marketing confidence gap Part [...]

By: The PR problem for Chinese Online Public Relations Firms | The China Vortex

The PR problem for Chinese Online Public Relations Firms | The China Vortex — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 01:37:35 +0000

[...] Online public relations firms will have to draw up and aggressively publicize clear guidelines on what they do, and what they don’t do when it comes to monitoring online behavior in China. Playing multiple roles as player and referee doesn’t make it in my book. I have talked about some of the skills needed in a previous posting. [...]

By: What Tibet and Carrefour Can Teach Us About the Chinese Internet | The China Vortex

Fri, 09 May 2008 05:04:47 +0000

[...] offline which are largely out of date. This is the background for my article on why agencies need a new approach to online marketing in [...]

By: Jason Vu

Jason Vu — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 04:39:23 +0000

Someone with soft skills could apply for the position, a fresh way agencies should refer to.

By: Sam Flemming

Sam Flemming — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 03:16:20 +0000

Basically, what you are suggesting is that what is needed is someone with a sense of what is happening in the real world. I think you are right on with this. We have seen that a number of the big agencies and their clients are encapsulated in the way things have always been done. It is risky business for all involved to break out and see what’s really happening, but there really is a new reality happening.

Consumers are talking back: consumers attacked SVW for a silly advert (http://www.seeisee.com/sam/2006/07/09/p173) and attacked Dell for false advertising (http://www.seeisee.com/sam/2006/08/03/p169).

Search does have an impact on brand advertising. Search for Ford Focus using the most common nicknames used on the net and you will find almost all results point to consumer comments (http://www.seeisee.com/sam/2007/08/20/p333).

Consumers are more informed and are spreading the information more quickly than perhaps brands are hoping they will and the information is trusted. No longer does the brand control the information flow like they used to. For example, Focus owners knew about oil pump recall months before it was officially recalled (http://www.seeisee.com/sam/2007/11/14/p399)

Having a warrior capable of talking to the client “at levels” is indeed essential as you suggest. However, just as important is for agencies to have its people at all levels understand IWOM and other components of the “new reality” and be able to communicate and execute with clients at all levels. Too often we see that an agency will have one or two “thought leaders” who are truly pushing the envelope via their blog or via impressive presentations to clients, but in the end, when the rubber hits the road, the agency people who actually execute didn’t get the memo and are stuck in the old ways and at best, miss opportunities, and at worst, make obvious mistakes which damage credibility of the brand. You need the warrior, but you need the right culture and the learning organization to support the warrior.

By: Paul Denlinger Guest Post - Wanted: A New Kind of Ad Agent Warrior

Paul Denlinger Guest Post - Wanted: A New Kind of Ad Agent Warrior — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 19:49:18 +0000

[...] following appears in its entirety with the permission of Paul Denlinger. The original post is here at Paul’s excellent blog, The China [...]

By: Kaiser

Kaiser — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 12:40:40 +0000

An excellent and insightful post, Paul. I think you summarize the changes now sweeping the industry, and you lay out the issues with real clarity. I do believe I’ll use your job description next time I’m hiring. I’m also going to pass this post around to all of our people, and really make them live it. Ideas like this do the business a tremendous service. Would you mind if I cross-posted it in its entirety on the blog, with you as “guest author”?

By: John Guise

John Guise — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 03:38:25 +0000

That’s a very interesting proposition Paul. It’s a very challenging one too. You’d need a really tech-savvy independent thinker who is also a creative person. I agree with you that this is not a type of job that can be trained for in school. This is a job where one needs to be able to learn on his/her own — especially since continual self-training and awareness of new technologies is a big part of the job.

John