Disney's True Magic

For all of our economy's challenges, you'd have never known there was a recession going on where I was this past week...

After going on a 4-day Disney Cruise, followed by 3 days at Disney World with my wife, three kids and my parents, I have a new found respect for Disney in terms of bringing their brand's equity to bear at literally every touch point.

Disney wants to infuse magic whenever you interact with their brand...whether it's being blown away by special effects while watching a Disney/Pixar movie at a local theater, a young girl putting on a Cinderella costume for Halloween or three year-old getting a new Mickey Mouse plush toy.

What happens, though, when you get within the confines of a captive Disney-themed venue is astounding. If ever there were a case study validating the philosophy of fully leveraging a brand's essence where the brand's customer interaction is the most intimate, Disney is it. My kids' fantasies were brought to life...from the cruise and park quality, to the customer service to the way movies and characters (old and new) interacted with park guests.

The obligation Disney employees showed towards delivering on the brand promise sets a standard for all others to live up to. I can't imagine the resources they direct towards employee training, but it's more than that. It's about creating a culture that people innately desire to become a part of...think about how much easier it is to train the enthusiastic employee than one who's taking a job just for the pay. It makes companies like Zappos that much more admirable for the focus they put into creating a culture others crave to join.

While Disney has the gravitas few could even dream of, we as agency and team leaders can absolutely use their example of creating a culture talented people seek to be a part of. By commiting time and resources to ensure your agency's unique, marketable values permeate everything you do, other like-minded candidates (and clients) will gravitate towards you.

Creating a company and culture that has people climbing over each other to join or do business with is a magical pedestal we'd all like to stand on.

Be Ready for the call (2 of 2)

It's one thing to have a client requesting reductions in their advertising spend...perhaps disheartening. It's an entirely different, depressing matter to have a client reduce their agency fee.

Some agencies make the decision to take the income hit and proceed with their teams intact, knowing their profits are being eroded. Most, though, make the tough decision to cut staff. It's an even more difficult, stressful decision to make if you aren't prepared....

Leaders and managers should always have a grasp of top performers, client favorites, business-critical functions and areas of efficiency. Having that intimate understanding of your business helps you make quicker, more dispassionate (very important), more informed decisions.

If you get the call and decide to make the cuts, here's a few points to go by...

-Understand what's absolutely key to your retention of the account...what do you do above all else that keeps the account at your shop? Ideation? Mass distribution? Effective social marketing? Whatever it is, surround, protect and defend it at all costs.

-The best players play. You need the best people you have to stay around. Not the most tenured, not the nicest, and not the genius who's impossible to work with. The best people you have to perform the tasks most critical are who you must keep. To do otherwise is to put many more people and their families at risk by not delivering good work.

-It's unreasonable for the client to expect the same performance with less capacity...unless you identify systems and processes that make you more efficient. Often times urgency breeds innovation.

-Position the opportunity to those who remain. Those who are left will think they "made the cut." While thankful, they are likely to be shocked, depressed, anxious or all of the above. You are placing more responsibility on the shoulders of those who are left. Tell them this is an opportunity not only to perform at extraordinary levels, but to earn a place of respect from both the client and agency leadership. It's a tough, real-life exercise that can position them for future success.

I've been in numerous management meetings at previous agencies (prior to layoffs being announced), and have heard countless thoughts on how to break the news gently to the team. Look, no matter how you slice it, pad it or spin it...layoffs suck. It's a horrible, traumatic event to those affected. Be upfront about it with your team...but be just as upfront with yourself and your superiors about what needs to be done in order to avoid further damage.

Be Ready for the call (1 of 2)

In these tumultuous times, we all have a sense of trepidation when we see our client's number on the caller ID. As solid as your client relationship may be, you've heard too many stories and seen too many blog posts detailing the spending cuts advertisers are making. Picking up that phone may be the start of a journey down an ugly road.

Often, the irony of these situations is the revelation that we're asked to perform exercises we should have been doing all along.

If you are as embedded in your clients business as you should be, you have decent access to business performance. You have an idea of which campaigns (and parts of campaigns) are performing best and which need improvement.

With access to that kind of information, account managers (especially team leaders) should always take time to not only analyze success and failure, but prioritize elements within each campaign from essential to wasteful. Always push to eliminate or tweak areas marked wasteful, and surround, protect and defend the essential.

This is where a business analytics function combined with a tracking-focused media (online & offline) program can be a critical asset.

When the client calls and tells you they have to cut 10% of the budget, you'll know right where to go. Even if they tell you to cut 40% of the budget, you can make educated decisions about the programs you'd recommend sacrificing.

By being prepared for the "B" questions, your clients will see you as understanding their plight and proactively finding best possible solutions. Some clients will have an idea of what they want to cut. Having your analytics handy will give you the firm ground to either agree with their assessment or suggest alternative options. Either way, it looks a lot better than arbitrarily cutting from certain areas or doing the worst possible thing and cutting across the board.