Marketing Exposed

Exhibiting a wholly unsurprising lack of self-awareness, an agency owner recently published an article in Entrepreneur.com bemoaning his shrinking budgets, campaign pauses, and even a case where a client bailed out on a contract.

This, despite his "good metrics".

Woven through the article was a nest of things to blame:

- Economic shifts
- AI disruptions
- Talent trends
- Evolving client expectations
- Inflation
- Tariffs and international trade uncertainty
- Increasing expenses
- Remote work vs return-to-office policies
- and so on...

All resulting in shrinking budgets and increasing expectations.

But here's "the tell"; the flaw in the logic. It's where he says:

"A few years ago, simply having the skill and technology to launch a campaign or email program gave you an edge. That's no longer true today."

Is he for real??? Since when was being able to execute a campaign ever more important than getting actual sales results?

Sure, that's what many people believe. But that doesn't mean it's right, or even true. And so maybe now the clients are just catching on.

Anyway, his solution? "Brands must produce original content and produce it with skill. Agencies that help clients build genuine authority founded on quality, relevance and consistency will prosper, while those focused on quick victories will be lost in the din."

OMG. Are you kidding me?