Archive for September 10th, 2007
Sometimes Telling a Client to “Stick it” Pays
Monday, September 10th, 2007Good for Cramer-Krasselt. I’m thrilled to hear the news about their win of the Porsche business.
They’re on a roll…Zantac then Bissell and now Porsche…a great winning streak after getting screwed by CareerBuilder in February. You got to love when you tell a client, who puts you into review for no good reason, to fuck off and have it help your new business efforts. Like Peter Krivkovich, CEO of C-K did when he was told by CareerBuilder that they were going into review because the superbowl spot didn’t make the USA Today poll of favorites… “There are a few times in your life when you have to tell someone to fuck off and mean it,” Mr. Krivkovich said in an interview shortly after the memo leaked.
I think Krivkovich has real conviction and guts… something very admirable in the ad business that is way too willing to whore itself for the buck. I cheered when he told CareerBuilder where they could put their review, but “many agency and marketing executives thought Mr. Krivkovich’s public outburst would make a bad impression on prospective clients who might be reluctant to sign up a potentially volatile partner that might embarrass them when the relationship eventually deteriorated.”
In an AdAge article this morning about C-K’s successes, Porsche seem to cheer him on as well.
“If anything, it was a positive,” said David Pryor, VP-marketing at Porsche Cars North America, which awarded C-K its creative and media accounts last week. “I had a lot of respect for them standing behind their work and conviction. At Porsche, we want an agency that has conviction and passion.”
Congrats to C-K!