The Perfect Fit

The Social Media vs. C-Suite Challenge

Are agencies providing the kind of relevant use of "social media" that they would have us (the public, consumers and their clients) believe?  I don't think so.  Apparently, clients agree.  There's a new study conducted by RSW/US, the "Survey of Social/Digital Landscape; Marketer and Agency Perspective" (download the pdf).  In the September 21 issue of Adweek, Andrew McMains brought up the question in his article, "Social Challenge", New Study shows social media disconnect between shops and clients.  Mark Sneider, President of RSW/US said of the results of the survey, "marketers aren't satisfied with the level of support they're getting."  He went on to say, "Just talking the talk" is not enough.

While the vast majority (over 75%) agency executives believe that they're "cutting edge" in guiding the use of social media for their clients, only 38% of the marketers acknowledged "getting the support they crave".  Interesting.  These results remind me of a previous  blog I wrote several months ago, "CMOs And Digital Marketing Disconnect".

Online marketing is a difficult thing to do well.  Virtually every client or prospect I talk to admits that they're own company's (whether agency or consumer brand) marketing effort is weak, or incomplete, or "not where we'd like it to be".  Everyone would like to have a new, better website that more effectively communicates who they are and what they do.  They'd like to be incorporating social media, the way they know it should be incorporated.  There's rarely the time or resources devoted to an agency's  own marketing effort.  It seems incongruous . . . perhaps it is.

The need to educate clients and ourselves continues and will never end.  It would be great if there were more outstanding resources for both client and agency to learn more about social marketing (online marketing) trends and tactics.  Clients care about results, as should agencies.  Finding ways to prove value from the agency/consumer perspective is not easy and is a continuous task, always needing refinement. 

The internet has replaced traditional media as the prime source of business intelligence for executives.  Agencies should be leading by example about the most effective ways of presenting a company on the internet.  They should be making a visit to their site compelling, dynamically informative, and motivating for the visitor.   It just doesn't seem like that happens enough.

Extreme Cover Letters (That Don't Work!)

I'm conducting a national confidential search for a Creative Director for an out of town client.  In addition to the normal approach of researching and calling into targeted (competitive) companies for passive candidates, I've posted the position on a couple of specialty creative job sites.

I received two cover letters today, that are remarkable in their own way.  Both fail miserably I think for obvious reasons.  I thought I'd share them with you because most people just don't understand how ineffective these approaches can be.  They basically serve to disqualify the candidate immediately.

The first Creative Director has quite an ego.  The letter is all about him . . . I've tried to deliver the format the way I received it:

"I am a
self-motivated creative super star who is unafraid to push the boundaries in order to achieve greatness! My specialty is putting the WOW factor into every facet of what I do, from creating eye-popping graphics to writing attention-grabbing copy. If it can be printed, read or otherwise visualized, I have done it in my 15-year career. My vast experience includes both corporate and agency-based creative, management of large and small teams, direction over design and production as well as mastery of Mac-based systems inside and out.
In the workplace, I
am personable and easy to talk to. I can handle criticism as easily as praise and respond to suggestions or instructions in a positive, forward-thinking manner. My colleagues often seek me out for solutions to help them better perform their own tasks.
My ideal scenario
is to find a company or agency who can utilize my talents to their full extent.
As many things as I have accomplished thus far, I have only scratched the surface of my potential. Your company will reap the rewards of the continuing growth and evolution of my career, resulting in a mutually beneficial situation. I am seeking a salary range beginning at 65K per year, but am certainly flexible, given the right opportunity. I have also filled out a profile and uploaded a resume on your site.
Please click the
following link to view my portfolio of recent work:
http://www.coroflot.com/acmecreativeguywithmassiveego
I look forward to
speaking with you further so we can begin our new relationship together soon.
Thank you for your time and consideration."

I know this next one will speak for itself:

"Hi. Attch. is a R.
Thx, DCU"

The idea is to let the company know you want to work for them, and why.  It shouldn't be all about you, it should be all about what you can do for them. 

China's Feeling Better, How 'bout You?

I was reading the newsletter of a fellow member of the International Retained Search Associates, and liked what he had to say about one of the reports we heard from a fellow member. Ted Konnerth, Managing Partner and owner of Egret Consulting.  Ted and his staff at Egret specialize in retained executive recruiting for the Electrical Manufacturing and Distribution industries.

Here's Ted's re-cap and thoughts on what's next.

"I recently attended the International Retained Search Associates fall conference. As a board member for this organization, we try to attract members from around the globe to our semi-annual conferences. Our China delegation was in attendance and updated us on the trends in Asia. It appears that Asia has completely recovered and is back in strong growth mode. Our member from Shanghai is in the process of hiring an additional 23 recruiters for his large firm. China has invested trillions of dollars in infrastructure and construction is everywhere. His firm is busy across most industries, including manufacturing. He felt that China was about 6 months ahead of the US in recovery and felt the worst is well behind us. Of the entire organization, all but one attendee had experienced an upsurge in business in the past 3 months. Although recruiting may not be a pure bellwether of the overall economy, since we focus mostly on executive hiring, the overall attitude and confidence was up strongly from our Spring conference.

I recently read a survey of employees that reported that 78% of 'satisfied' and 39% of 'extremely satisfied' employees were open to looking for a new opportunity. The irony of this report is that just 30 days earlier, those same two groups of employees were 45% and 20% (respectively) open to looking at new opportunities. So what happened?

It appears that with signs of the economy recovering that employees have changed their career mentality from riding out the storm in a bunker and hoping that they wouldn't get caught in the 5th RIF to seeing positive trends and beginning to assess where they'd like to be for the future; which apparently isn't with their current employer.

This recession has been brutal. Companies have cut deeply into their employee ranks, including wholesale reductions in some of their most tenured employees. When employees see the loss of significant company tenured assets, it becomes clear that longevity and loyalty is no longer valued when times are hard. The definition of 'career path' becomes obscured when they see long-term employees struggling to come to grips with the possibility of moving from a community or accepting a significant reduction in responsibilities.

New Business Development and the "Virtual Agency"

I received an email from a friend and candidate yesterday.  He's an online marketing Creative Director, who has significant additional skills as a Producer and Developer.  He's a very nice guy and with his skill set under "normal" circumstances, should be having no trouble whatsoever finding a superb employment opportunity.  Unfortunately, as we all know, things just aren't "normal" out there . . .

He was curious about how to find that  "Rockstar Sales Person", when he has a very, very limited budget.  I'm posting his questions and my response, because I think it has value for others that I know who are contemplating the same thing. 

He wrote:

I want to pick your brain for a second.  (Then I will owe you a bottle of Scotch or drink/payment of your choice, should you choose to respond.)

Since I have not been finding exactly what I want in a "job/career" I am thinking of creating it.  I also have a large pool of friends/talent in the same boat (nation wide) that would be interested in playing along.

The two things that I am missing to make this happen are: 1) a kick ass, take no prisoners Sales Person that understands multi-media and how to sell it, 2) the cash to pay this sales person out of the gate.

Doing the work is the easy part, especially with my pool of rockstars.

So my question is this; how do I find that Rockstar Sales Person that will take the gamble to help create a "new media" agency?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and advice!

My Response:

Thanks for the note . . . Here's my top of mind thoughts/reaction.

You're right that you need that person.  There are lots of boutique (small), virtual agencies that have formed in the last year as a result of all the marketing and advertising related layoffs on both the client and agency side.  There are scads of very qualified, premier performers who are not having any luck finding that next killer opportunity, because they don't exist . . . yet.  Most of these "virtual" agencies have very qualified creatives available for work, depending on client need.  The issues with these firms, is that there are rarely any clients.

International Retained Search Associates Fall Conference

I returned yesterday from the irsa Fall Conference in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.  The event was held at the Inns of Geneva National, adjacent to the 54 hole Geneva National Golf Course.  This was a spectacular venue where 15 of irsa's 24 members gathered to share information about retained recruiting's best practices, industry trends, business trends, etc..  Members came from every corner of this continent, and from as far away as Beijing!

The thing that makes these meeting so incredibly valuable is the willingness of all of the members to share every piece of their business strategy, workflow and documentation with other members.  Some of these guys have been doing this for more than 25 years.  You can imagine the value I get, as someone who's been recruiting for eight years.  Each of these recruiters is at the top of their profession, with many having been executives in the industries for which they now recruit.  They are experts in their area of specialization and the art of recruiting.  I can ask absolutely any question, and there will be several of these pros willing to help.

The format of the meetings is to start early, and spend five hours on the topics of discussion.  In this case the topics ranged from "What's the single best idea I've implemented since the last meeting, and what else didn't work", to hearing Eddie Lou, a partner in OCA Ventures (a venture capital firm) talk about how recruiters can work with VC firms to help build executive leadership.  The discussions are interactive and insightful.  These are conversations with peers that are difficult to have in the industry.

We spend the rest of the day on the golf course, talking more recruiting and of course golf, and all the other things guys talk about when they play golf and have fun together!  We rotate playing partners over the course of the weekend (generally playing at least three rounds), so that we get to know each other better. 

The only alternative to an organization like irsa, is to attend the industry trade shows presented by recruiting and staffing associations like the Natinoal Association for Personnel Services (NAPS), or our local Missouri Association for Personnel and Staffing Services (MAPSS).  While those events have value, and at the very least facilitate the comraderie of a profession, they take too broad a view, and are too similar to each other to have high level value.  Irsa is special, I consider myself very fortunate to have been invited to join.

One of the other topics of conversation was how best to educate clients on the difference between retained and contingency recruiters, and the the additional value clients receive from the retained recruiters.  I've previously written about how "Retained Recruiters add Value", and will no doubt do it again.

I'll be writing more about the discussions of the weekend in the next days.  I now have to start implementing some of the ideas presented, before the real work of the day starts.  I encourage you to visit the irsa website, and check out the "Insights and Resources" tab, for information on the job search, how to work with a recruiter, etc..

New Search Starts . . . Strategic Creative Director, Packaging #9802

I've just started working on a new search.  If you know of any colleagues who are qualified and you have respect for, I'd certainly appreciate a referral, in strict confidence of course!

General Description:
This new position is a result of ongoing growth and planning for significant new business expansion.  This CD must be strategically founded and capable of delivering concepts and ideas visually executed across the spectrum of “go to market” channels, specifically including sales promotion, packaging, collateral, POS and pre-press.  We need a leader experienced in concept development, senior level client presentations and the nurturing and growth of younger creatives.  The CD will have the responsibility of leading a rapidly growing staff to creative brilliance resulting in consistent, unequalled client satisfaction, loyalty and sales. 

Primary Responsibilities:
•    Be a creative/branding thought leader and articulate to our clients how to move a product or brand forward in the marketplace.
•    Lead strategy, development and delivery of consumer package solutions.
•    Work closely with Account Directors to assess client needs and service those needs beyond expectation, within the time frame and budget required.
•    Direct the delivery of creative visual solutions which can be “universally” executed across all marketing/production channels and opportunities.
•    Present creative ideas and solutions to Senior Client representatives, in a clear, thoughtful and compelling manner.  Develop and present new business and strategic initiatives.
•    Stay informed of industry trends and lead innovation within your group
•    Oversight of entire creative effort, profitability, hiring, quality of work and ongoing client satisfaction.

Experience:
We’re looking for CDs with a creative degree and a passion for design excellence.   New product ideation and development experience is desired.  We think about 10-15 years experience is appropriate, and we want candidates who have experience leading a creative department.  It is essential that you be “client focused”.  You must have significant CPG package design experience for national brands.  You must appreciate and identify younger talent and understand how to move them forward in their careers.  You must understand strategic marketing and have package design expertise.  You must be able to demonstrate experience with high level client interaction, partnering with those clients and being a marketing thought leader for their business.

Compensation:
Our client is offering a comprehensive compensation package including a base salary and outstanding benefits..  Your starting salary will be based on experience, expertise and is designed to intrigue premier candidates. The benefits package includes medical insurance (dental and vision), a 401K,  Disability and Life insurance.  An excellent re-location package is being offered.

 About our client:
Our client is mature, yet young and innovative.  . . a marketing resource that helps clients “Go to Market”, across appropriate marketing channels.  Our client is proud of the loyalty of their own client base, which is leading to frequent, substantial new business opportunities.  The environment is urban, modern, collegial and fun.  Our client is interested in loyal, productive and happy employees and works to retain them.
The client base includes Fortune 500 (and 100) consumer package goods brands.  EOE

With respect and our apologies in advance, we can only respond to candidates of interest to our client.  Please visit www.Bishop-Partners.com and upload your resume.  Please send electronic samples directly to Bob@Bishop-Partners.com.