About a month ago, AdAge published an article titled, "Why Agencies are Obsessed with Pitching on Process Instead of Talent." The article talks about the dearth of intellectual capital at the modern agency that has resulted from firms, facing more…
By Paul Bryant - Staff Writer Apr 14, 2024 A career marketing professional, Steve Smith has become a disruptor for Firehouse — a small advertising firm near Dallas. “For the last 17 years, I’ve sort of turned the agency into something…
Navigating Scope Creep and Tough Client Conversations For the advertising or marketing agency that has put in the hard work to earn a new contract with a client, these are the tough conversations. What starts out as a manageable and profitable…
When asked to describe Firehouse, one of the first words that comes to mind is family. Being a small agency gives us the chance to work closely together and build relationships, and we’re proud to support each other both in and out of the office.…
Generic New Business Client: "Our sales aren’t on track to reach our goals for the year. We’ve got to turn this ship around…and fast. HELP!” Advertising Brand Strategist: *Reviews client current messaging strategy + key assets shared…
One of the biggest days in advertising happened this weekend: The Super Bowl. Some people are there for the game, the teams, the celebrity appearances at the game, the eventual awards at the award shows. But we’re one of the ‘I’m just here for the…
It’s no longer enough for an agency to represent itself purely on the basis of its creative output. Clients today need to focus less on case studies and more on trust. There are plenty of fish in the sea for clients looking to establish a…
Read the Ad Age article here. At Firehouse, the belief is “happy people do better work.” That’s according to the Dallas ad agency’s partners, CEO Steve Smith and President and Chief Creative Officer Tripp Westbrook. The belief drives Firehouse’s…
AI isn’t the end of creativity—it’s a new chapter. The most common talking point I hear is that using AI can help us do things faster and more efficiently than before. It can write copy, make videos, create content, and more, all with just a…
Biased research, caving to opinions, internal fatigue, and moving on too quickly—these four mistakes in marketing, at any point in the process, will hamstring the work, derail campaigns, and strain agency/client relationships. By learning from…
As seen in Fast Company. Every chief marketing officer worth their salt knows the importance of having a brand stand apart from the competition, to be unique in the eyes of the consumer and get recognized for it. After all, isn’t that the main…
Sometime in the late eighties, sifting through comics, I came across an old, worn copy of ‘Astounding Science Fiction’ circa 1950. On its cover was a robot, then-unfamiliar to me, offering a wounded man in its hand. Its eyes blank and red, but…
