Sometimes little changes just won’t do it. We need to adapt quickly and decisively. The companies that see the problems in the market and are willing to take the risk to make a change are the ones that stand to reap the big reward. Yes, its scary, but these days mediocre will only guarantee that you will be out of business along with the other hum-drum competitors. Look at your market and see where your big game changer ideas fit.

Read the full article here.

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Everyone is scrambling, rethinking, and looking for new ideas. This is a great article from Idea Driven Marketing really distills down some very fundamental strategies to surviving (and hopefully thriving) in these touch economic times.

Check it out here.

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Is an inventor or entrepreneur an innovator by default? This excellent article from Innovate on Purpose has some very good explanations of innovation in companies and why innovation seems to take hold better for entrepreneurs. Here is an excerpt…

“Entrepreneurs are innovators, usually identifying an opportunity and developing a new product or service to bring to market to fill a gap they’ve identified or to meet an unrecognized need. The difference between entrepreneurs and innovators in larger organizations is that entrepreneurs have one big idea, and they put their entire investment behind that one idea. There are no other options, and failure means shutting down the business.”

Check out the article here.

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With a tough economy we all see pressure to do things cheaper, but that does not have to mean slashing prices and giving away your work. This article from Ad Age points out that focus, efficiency, and clarity may well be positive outcomes from a down economy. Sure there is less free-flowing money, but when money is tight, a focus on what is really important is much easier to find. We are strong believers in this philosophy. Efficiency is ideal for controlling cost, and budget limitations not only bring clarity, but help focus a project on to primary goals. Its worked great with our clients and most of what you “loose” turns out to not be that important once it is viewed through the clarity of a limited budget.

Read more here.

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Innovation! The sound of the word can make some giddy. The problem is, how do we do this and more importantly, how do we inspire and teach others to do this? Jeffrey Phillips has a very insightful commentary on the subject. Check it out here.

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Looking for more resources for marketing? Ad Age has a great list of their picks for the top 10 of all time. Check it out here.

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How do we survive in these tough economic times? For many agencies this may be the first, or surely the biggest, economic down they have seen in their careers. So how do you get through, keep the troops morale up, and survive and thrive? This article doesn’t have all the answers but it offers some good practical advice to keep everyone plugged in while you push through the slimmer times to better opportunities ahead.

Check it out here.

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We are pretty fond of Basecamp as a project management tool and also are following RSS feeds, Facebook, and other alert based apps on a regular basis. This article from 37 Signals highlights how AlertThingy can bring your social and business worlds together in one place to simplify all the info. Keeping up with all the latest news and networking can be tough, but I tried this little free app out and so far it seems to help consolidate things and clear the clutter.

Full article here.

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“Social Networking” is more than just a fad these days. Agencies are starting to see how these new technologies can be powerful tools at their disposal, but what is the down side? Can clients be shown how these powerful and cheap ways to contact customers can be effective and still not loose sight of more traditional methods? Phil Johnson takes a swing at some ideas that might help bridge between old and new for ad agencies.

Read more here on Ad Age

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Some great strategies from Ad Age on how agencies can survive and thrive in this current climate. It may not be a “bail out” but some good, straight forward business advice we all can use. Read the full article here.

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