Pitch Therapy, Mark Schnurman’s blog on all things advertising pitch related surpassed 20,000 page views this month. Who would have thought that a blog as specific as Pitch Therapy could get 20,000 views.  It is not like this discusses critical issues of the day like the Kardashian workout regimen or Justin Beiber’s trucker hat collection.
Apparently there are enough new biz nerds out there that are simply trying to get a little better (or a lot better) at pitches and ultimately up their win rate.  If you haven’t read Pitch Therapy, give it a look at www.pitchtherapy.blogspot.com.
As Filament continues to grow, look for a new blog from Chris, Filament’s newest hire.

Following last year’s successful AAAA webinars with hundreds of people signing up for webinars on Selling Creative Work and the follow-up webinar on Defending Creative Work, the AAAAs has scheduled Filament to conduct the following webinars in 2014.  Click on each to get more information.
April 4, 2014 —Getting the job and keeping the job – What to expect in your first few years in advertising
May 8, 2014 — Managing Nerves During Meetings, Presentations, Pitches & Q&A
October 16, 2014 – Selling Creative Work Webinar (not yet posted on AAAA website. Click here for the most up to date list of webinars)
November 6, 2014 – Defending  Creative Work Webinar (not yet posted on AAAA website.  Click here for the most up to date list of webinars)
In addition to the webinars, AAAA is hosting Filament Inc. for a more in depth in person workshop on June 19, 2014 in Boston.  Click here for a full list of AAAA workshops.
We look forward to a great year of working with the staff at AAAA.

With more people accessing sites on mobile devices, and computer screens getting wider, it was time for www.pitchtherapy.blogspot.com to undergo a facelift.  The fact that the blog was not very attractive made the need for an update even more important.
It is always difficult to talk to agency folks about Filament’s new website or blog since the expert eyes of hundreds of clients and creative staff are now looking at our work.  While the new look won’t be winning any design awards, it is cleaner, more up to date and easier to view on all devices.  For the record, while blogspot.com has limited choices for blog layout, they make it very easy to have a blog. Thanks blogspot.
With a new look comes new posts so make sure to catch up with the latest posts.

Filament has the second biggest year in the company’s 16 year history with clients taking us all over the US but also sending us to Taiwan, China, Japan, Korea, Canada and Chile.  Each country had its own charm and beauty.  As much as new clients and exotic places are interesting, it seemed at times like we were getting a first class tour of the world’s greatest conference rooms.  As much as each location is different, the conference rooms all look the same.  Only the coffee machines are different.
All kidding aside, it was wonderful to work with so many new people in new locations and we appreciate your hospitality.  We look forward to an exciting 2014.

Friend and colleague, Jim Joseph has published the follow-up book to his enormously insightful The Experience Effect.  The new book, The Experience Effect for Small Business takes many of the same insights about how to build an experience for your customers and puts it in terms that make sense to small business owners who face different challenges and have different budgets that big business.
As a small business owner, it was wonderful to see someone address small businesses as a real entity, particularly professional small businesses like our business.  Too often, small business in the political and publishing world means a mom and pop cupcake shop or convenience store.  And while those businesses are important and have their own challenges, they have virtually nothing in common with small professional business like a consulting firm or a small accounting firm.
Kudos to Jim on a fantastic book!

Friend and colleague, Jim Joseph has published the follow-up book to his enormously insightful The Experience Effect.  The new book, The Experience Effect for Small Business takes many of the same insights about how to build an experience for your customers and puts it in terms that make sense to small business owners who face different challenges and have different budgets that big business.
As a small business owner, it was wonderful to see someone address small businesses as a real entity, particularly professional small businesses like our business.  Too often, small business in the political and publishing world means a mom and pop cupcake shop or convenience store.  And while those businesses are important and have their own challenges, they have virtually nothing in common with small professional business like a consulting firm or a small accounting firm.
Kudos to Jim on a fantastic book!

After a flurry of pitch activity in the third and fourth quarter for 2013, the results are starting to come in.  We worked with a number of firms in both the consumer and pharma space on 11 different projects.  We are happy to say that our clients won 8 out of the 11 pitches.  One of the pitch wins has already turned into a second assignment so that makes 9 pieces of business awarded out of 11 pitches.  Even more importantly, the win rate on the really big projects was an impressive 5 out of 6.
As you all know, pitch wins are the growth engine that drives business growth.  Without these wins, agencies shrivel and die.  We are excited that our clients had such a robust second half and are proud to have played a part.  The wins should set the agencies up for a great start to 2014.

For the second time this year, Filament has gone to Asia to help a client prepare for a huge presentation.  With tens of millions of dollars at stake, the client decided some pitch help was in order.  The first trip was to Taiwan at the beginning of the year, the second trip was to Seoul in October.

Mark Schnurman, President of Filament Inc., was the represented Filament on both trips.

Just when you thought presenting was difficult enough, add four different languages and cultures to the mix and you have a very complex presentation.  It was impressive to see so many people from different locations, with different goals come together to make a great presentation.

The presentation was both a great success and Mark looks forward to working with the staff in Asia in the near future.

Happy Birthday to us
Happy Birthday to us
Happy Birthday dear Filameeeeeeent
Happy Birthday to us!
15 years and going strong.  Thanks to all of our wonderful clients and partners!

Regards,
Mark, Pam and Brian

This October, Filament celebrated our 16th year in business.  What started with just a few clients in a few different industries has grown over the years to be a highly specialized training and consulting firm targeted at the communications industry.  Some of the changes we planned, like specializing in the communications industry.  Some of the changes were unexpected like our relationship with AAAA.org, our industry’s premiere association.
Over the years we have been brought into work with some of the world’s most respected agencies, speak at conference, publish articles and a variety of other exciting projects.  Whether planned or unplanned, these changes have helped us to grow and work with some of the most exciting clients in the industry.  We thank you all for showing faith in us and letting us into your organizations.
Warm Regards,
Mark, Pam and Brian