• Are You Stuck in 51/49 Thinking?

    May 19, 2014

    A number of years ago, when I was at Bose, we embarked on a transformative journey—a journey to eradicate 51/49 thinking. What is 51/49? It’s a term we used to characterize the balance of power between the in-house agency and its clients. On one hand when you’re in house, you all work for the same …

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  • Hey Clients, Don’t Drink and Draw

    April 28, 2014

    At the ripe old age of 24, I was given the unique opportunity to design a complete corporate identity for a commercial real estate development that was to be erected on the South Shore of Massachusetts, a region that runs south of Boston along the shoreline of the Massachusetts and Cape Cod Bays. I …

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  • What Makes a Strong Brand?

    March 17, 2014

    The term “brand” has been used to describe everything from company logos to corporate gestalt. In fact, brand is an amalgamation of things including the name or symbol used to identify your company, products and services, the essence and values of your company as well as the assets and liabilities …

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  • What Makes a Master?

    October 11, 2013

    Next week, IHAF is holding its eighth annual conference entitled, In-House Agency Masters. Now, I’ve heard of master carpenters, master musicians, even sushi masters—but this is the first time I’ve heard the designation used to describe an in-house agency. And you know what? I like it.

    Mastery is …

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  • Partnership Principles

    September 30, 2013

    Partner has become quite a buzz word in the ad business. The big news last week was that Twitter added CBS and the NFL to its “stable of advertising partners.” The 10th annual Advertising Week conference also took place last week in NYC, with a featured session on client/agency creative partners. …

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  • Data Deep Dive

    July 24, 2013

       Earlier this year, IHAF published its In-House Agency Report Card—a study capturing performance feedback from over 200 clients actively engaged with in-house agencies, with comparative data from some of the leading external agencies in the country. The results showed that clients rate internal …

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  • Who’s Directing Traffic In House?

    July 15, 2013

    Skillful project trafficking can increase team efficiency by optimizing resources, facilitating information sharing, and maintaining budgets while reducing costly rework. What’s curious is that while “traffic” is seen as an essential function, few in-house agencies have resources devoted to it. …

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  • Workflow Systems: The Ultimate Horserace

    July 08, 2013

    Which workflow system is best? It’s a question we hear over and over, which is precisely why IHAF chose Workflow Systems as our topic to explore this month.

    At the recently wrapped IHAF Huddlediscussion group series, held in four locations across the U.S., participants concluded that there is no …

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