Live Streaming of 19 Key Sessions

Bring your agency positioning materials and be ready to be put to work. Handouts will be provided as you walk through a step-by-step process to audit your agency's current positioning and craft an updated version that meets three key criteria:

1) compelling to clients, while communicating the business value you create;
2) differentiating from your competitive set, while eliminating all the agency clichés; and
3) authentic to the DNA of your agency.

You will also do a targeting exercise to help identify those prospects you can most quickly - and most easily - convert into new revenue.

Tim will focus on lessons that can be applied to help your agency operationalize in a way that helps to move more quickly, efficiently and profitably - particularly as the nature of client work becomes increasingly varied and project oriented.

He will address this using real cases about the many challenges Made by Many has overcome in trying to do everything differently: inventing new digital products and services, bringing them to market, scaling them... and sometimes running into operational challenges with every aspect of the traditional client/agency model. Made by Many's mission is to create new types of products and services that make life better and scale to millions and millions of users.

This session will build upon Session One, which you must have participated in to join Session Two. Bring your agency capabilities, take the handout and be ready to be put to work again.

If you’re not going in planning a "grand slam hit it out of the park" capabilities session, you’re not taking the right approach. In fact, forget the client's agenda (unless you want to become fully commoditized by their process). And forget talking about the agency (unless you want to bore the client to death).

Based on the latest strategies from Mirren’s in-person training, this session will focus on the steps you must take to:

1) open with a bang, then hold them all the way through;
2) position your agency as truly unique, truly focused on driving the client's business (vs. brand);
3) get the client to open up about their core marketing and business challenges; and
4) close in a way that ensures the client will not soon forget you.

Take a close look at an agency that has built a high performing new business machine. Empathy Lab is a digital agency focused on eCommerce and Digital Media, with clients that include Nintendo, Comcast, DirecTV, Lions Gate, Sony, TJX and The American Red Cross.

Since being founded just 7 years ago, they have acquired an A-level client list with a systematic approach to sales: from focused targeting and strategic alliances, to specialization and a hybrid internal / external sales model. This is a sales-driven agency that, due to a consistently full pipeline and conversion rate in the 70% range, was in fact just acquired.

This session will build upon the first two sessions, which you must have participated in to join Session Three. Handouts will be provided.

New categories: one of the best sources of new revenue. And those agencies experiencing the highest growth systematically attack and convert one qualified prospect after another. These agencies are stealing business with small teams (think SWAT teams) that focus and aggressively attack with an innovative approach.

This session will systematically break down the steps in building and converting a pipeline of qualified leads, as you push out from your existing base of clients.

This double-length session is a thought-provoking exploration of how agencies are reinventing themselves by developing new services and reconfiguring their business models.

Tim Williams has created a special update to his on-going work with agency CEOs on their agency models. Here, he will outline several key principles by which you can audit and evaluate the "future potential" of your own model. The goal: identify new growth opportunities (and the required core competencies). Concepts will include a look at:

•    Redefining “creativity” and its impact on the agency business model
•    The implications of competencies focused on “pull” instead of “push”
•    Why adaptive marketing requires agencies to adopt the agile framework
•    Optimizing the two basic types of agency work: Magic and Logic
•    The organizational requirement for both generalists and specialists
•    The new role of teams in place of departments
•    Moving toward compensation agreements as a financial portfolio

Using examples from agencies around the world, this session explores how you can adopt new ways of thinking, working, and organization that will help to move further up the value chain and create new, recurring sources of revenue.

Based on the latest consumer insight and research findings from Mintel, this session will explore global consumer trends and explain how they should impact your client’s strategic development and new business planning in the US. The presentation will examine how increasingly emerging market consumers from nations such as China and India are driving consumer sectors globally both through their own domestic consumption and growing tourism.

The presence of “arbitraged” consumption, e-commerce and chain retailing in emerging markets are now propelling brand strategies in Western markets. Increasingly what is sold in the American shopping mall returns to Asia, while the new emerging market middle class and wealthy global shopper is increasingly determining everything from price to color to availability.

Will Travis will walk you through a case study on the building of a new agency model.

According to Forbes, "Sid Lee is one of the top 5 performing agencies in the world."

They have 650 people managing clients in more than 20 countries from their offices in Montréal, New York, Amsterdam, Paris and Toronto. Cirque Du Soleil is not only a strategic alliance for their Entertainment Division, they are the sole equity investor in the agency.

They are the creators of C2-MTL, a mind-bending immersive conference in Montréal focused on commerce and creativity. It takes place in "Innovation Village," a venue custom built to enhance the experience. This year, several thousand attendees will take in speakers that include Richard Branson, Philippe Starck, Chris Bangle and Elle Macpherson.

Sid Lee Architecture employs more than 50 architects engaged in residential, retail and corporate projects that earned twelve design awards in 2012 alone. Sid Lee Boot Camp partners with global business leaders in addressing global philanthropic causes, such as AIDs and Carbon Footprint reduction.

And to top it all off, they invest $200,000 each year in Sid Lee Collective, a creative incubator program to bring employee innovations to life.

Ever wondered how other agencies pitch? This is a rare opportunity to watch others at work as they craft a full pitch presentation and then deliver it live on stage.
Watch two teams go head-to-head and deliver their pitch presentation in front of the entire conference… then, take in the immediate (and often controversial) feedback from the judges.

A special thank you to Mintel for providing the research and consumer insights for the two pitch teams.

The agency world is mired in professional prejudices, causing teams to misread the opportunities created by shifts in new media. Join Nick Law, R/GA's Global Chief Creative Officer as he shares how agencies and brands can partner to create products, services and communications that build an idea bigger than any "Big Idea."

In collaboration with Mirren Training, Michael Goldberg will walk through a set of strategies and tools that you can immediately begin using for your next client negotiation. Agencies are leaving thousands of dollars on the table by going up against highly trained, highly skilled clients and procurement executives. This session will focus in on a small number of critical skills that can have the biggest impact on securing higher fees for your agency.

Limited to the first 50 people in the room… we're throwing out the old panel format and completely mixing it up this year: we're bringing the Search Consultants down off the stage and into the audience; we're going deep into only one topic; and there will be an opportunity for audience members to take a seat and join the discussion.

This first panel will look at Agency Compensation Models. They will take a look at the different models they see, the "real" compensation trends, performance-based compensation and the simplest models that seem to be working - for both large and small agencies.

Moderator:
Rupal from Adage

The new agency compensation model starts by understanding:

1) the client's specific business growth goals;
2) how much they want to grow their revenue and
3) working backwards towards the quantifiable marketing metrics they need to hit.

Pete Caputa has provided compensation counsel to many agency CEOs in his role as an inbound marketing strategist with Hubspot. In this session, he will look at how to match your service offering to a compensation model that takes the focus off of "time spent on the client" -- and all the related scope creep issues. It will instead focus squarely on premium compensation for an ROI that is meaningful for the client and achievable for the agency.

With sweeping changes initiated by a new client-side marketing chief, Barkley lost its largest client… representing 40% of their revenue. Rather than participating in a long and expensive review to save the business, they immediately launched an aggressive business development program.

The result: despite being a smaller market agency, in less than 20 months Barkley replaced more than 100% of the revenue, winning 12 new major brand assignments. Jeff Fromm will walk through the architecture of the innovative program he spearheaded, and address why it worked.

Their goal is to become the most influential agency in the world. It's ambitious, as is everything about Droga5.

Last year, they had 9 new business wins, including Coke Zero, American Express Travel, Heineken's Newcastle Brown Ale, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and several Kraft brands -- boosting their revenue 45% to $59 million. Sarah will talk about the difficult choices they've made and the infrastructure they've put in place to create a new business machine.

Whether you're a large multi-national or an aggressive regional shop, you'll appreciate this working session.

Based on practical lessons from the last 8 years as a founding partner at Anomaly, Jason DeLand will discuss the next chapter in agency compensation. Anomaly continues to drive growth with one of the most innovative business models, set of service offerings and approach to compensation. In this session, he will step back and take a look at key principles that agencies can use to push beyond the dated scope-of-work-retainer-based model. He'll also look at how to better define such overused concepts as "value"… even how to value an "idea." Expect to be challenged in this session as you also participate in some interactive exercises.

This panel discussion will take a look at the challenges of chief executive officers when it comes to ultimately being accountable for the agency's new business performance. The group will take a look at resource allocation; staffing; selecting the best new business team members; why CEOs need to play a more decisive role; and more.

 

Each year, Harvard Business Review moderates a frank client discussion on the agency business – and agency new business. This year, we'll dive into what this group believes to be the biggest business opportunities for agencies; where they believe agencies can generate the most new revenue.

They'll also provide insight into other key questions… Are we finally coming out of the recession now? Will spending increase? Where will it increase? How are they balancing short-term revenue goals with long-term brand objectives? Will procurement ever get a grip on reality?

This panel will take a look at several firms working hard to build brand new models. Joining us are Campfire, a shop focused on social storytelling, digital content and physical experiences. We'll get an update on the progress of Victors & Spoils, the crowd-sourcing agency who also has an aggressive focus on going after prospects (without being invited in). And finally, we'll have a look at B-Reel, an innovative firm that creates powerful brand experiences through products, technology, entertainment and feature films.

Whether or not you plan to sell your agency will not be the point of this keynote. Building a high-value company, driven by a sales machine, will be the point.

There are specific sets of characteristics that investors look for when paying a premium for an agency. Looking through this lens, that of an investor, Brent Hodgins will address how these characteristics inform how to build a powerful new business engine.