In an already crowded market space, Microsoft and Facebook both recently announced new or new versions of their business collaboration software. In an apparent knee-jerk reaction to the attention Slack has been getting, both giants piled into the market to demonstrate their muscle.
Continue reading “Why more Facebook style collaboration is not the answer to workplace productivity”
Slack is the new darling of the collaboration software world. It’s growing at a spectacular pace with a valuation of $3.8 billion in just three years. It has caught the sector a little bit by surprise. I think everyone including myself thought that the space that Slack now occupies was already well covered by Yammer, Chatter, HipChat and many others. So, what is it about Slack that has led it to being adopted by millions, disrupting many big incumbents along the way?
Ouch! We feel your pain, not physically…more empathically. Because, even though we’re a technology company, we’ve experienced those growing pains. We realise that it isn’t easy to be at a stage where you need to decide when or even how to expand your company.
There is a certain comfort with being “small” – like being a close-knit family. However as your agency grows, it reaches a point where you need to take on a more strategic role to ensure continued growth. Evolving into a full-service global agency with multiple departments that need to be synergised – is an art in itself. It doesn’t happen overnight.
Here we offer six effective solutions to managing a growing agency team:
Managing marketing campaigns across borders is challenging at best. Luckily, expert advice is available in a series of best practice webinars for clients and agencies organized recently by Screendragon.
I was delighted to attend the launch of the Mayor of London’s inititiative www.gotogrow.london at City Hall last week as part of a select group of businesses chosen as the first cohort to participate. The worthwhile initiative is a new programme of mentoring, expert advice and real business opportunities for high-growth companies in the life sciences, technology and urban sectors, just like Screendragon. Mayor Boris Johnson was at his engaging and jovial best when presenting to the audience which included many of the “great & good” from London’s technology scene. I am looking forward to getting started.
We were delighted when we heard via Brand Republic that they had been contacted by the eminent Lincoln Filene Professor of Business Administration Emeritus at the Harvard Business School, Alvin Silk and that he wanted to chat with us. He had recently read our latest report “Is an in-house agency right for you?” as featured in Brand Republic and was very keen to discuss this most interesting subject matter. Alvin’s research interests include the economics of the advertising and marketing services industry, the development and management of advertising campaigns, and decision support systems in marketing. Most interestingly for us, he has written a number of papers on the subject of In-house agencies so when we made contact and arranged to speak, it was a great thrill.
Our latest research among client and agency-side marketers has revealed a concerning lack of sophistication when it comes to agency processes. The out-dated way many of them still approach project management and the creative approvals process could be causing real problems for the future.
Continue reading “Infographic: marketing processes under the microscope”
Agencies in the marketing services sector might not think of themselves as hotbeds of project management, but all those research reports, ads and events require effective knowledge-sharing, approvals and processes with milestones that have to be met. That’s the same as any project that exists under the aegis of IT or operations.
Continue reading “Seven agency project management tips from the pros”
You’re in the marketing department of a business, with seemingly endless demands on your time: ads, PR, written collateral, events and so on. That’s a lot of projects to keep track of and a lot of potential headaches if you miss a deadline. So what do our experts think you need to do to manage those projects successfully?
Continue reading “Eight marketing project management tips from the pros”
For marketing departments and agencies focused on creative goals, the idea that process and project management are just as important can seem ridiculous. The perception exists that business processes only matter for technical areas such as operations, IT and finance and that creatives have no need for those sorts of restrictions.
Continue reading “Why creativity and process management needn’t be enemies”
