Tag Archive for: new business

Is Your Creative Agency Ready for the Next Economic Downturn?

Why Now Is the Time to Strengthen Your Business Development Strategy.

Economic downturns rarely arrive with warning. The headlines look optimistic. Markets trend upward. Business seems stable—until it isn’t.

We’ve seen it before:

  • 1929
  • 1987
  • 2000
  • 2008
  • 2020

Every crash came quickly. Every time, most were unprepared.

Today, the FTSE 100 and S&P 500 might be in the green, but the fundamentals are flashing red:

  • Inflation is rising again
  • Consumer demand is dropping
  • Global instability and corporate pressure are squeezing budgets
  • Business confidence is shaky

This isn’t sustainable growth. It’s a bubble—and bubbles always burst.

Creative Agencies Can’t Afford to Wait

If you’re running a UK-based creative agency, marketing firm, or design studio, the next few months are critical.

During downturns, client acquisition slows, marketing budgets are slashed, and competition increases. Relying on word-of-mouth or repeat clients won’t cut it. The agencies that survive—and grow—are the ones that invest in proactive business development before the crash hits.

Why Business Development Needs to Start Now

Business development is not a quick fix. It’s a long game. That means now is the time to build your new business pipeline—not when the market tightens.

Common signs you’re not ready:

  • You’re relying on a few big clients
  • You’re waiting for referrals to fill your pipeline
  • You haven’t updated your lead generation strategy in months
  • You’re not tracking tenders, company moves, or sector trends

The Advertist: Helping UK Creative Agencies Stay Ahead

The Advertist is a specialist business development platform for UK agencies, designed to help you identify opportunities before your competitors do.

With The Advertist, you can:

  • ✅ Access verified new business leads and tenders in real time
  • ✅ Identify decision-makers and warm contacts
  • ✅ Track industry shifts like M&A activity, funding rounds, and key leadership moves
  • ✅ Discover sector-specific insights to sharpen your targeting

It’s used by some of the UK’s top lead generation and creative agencies—agencies that aren’t just surviving, but growing even in tough markets.

Don’t React. Prepare.

When the next crash comes, it won’t announce itself. Your pipeline either supports your business—or it doesn’t.

Be the agency that’s ready.

🎯 Start your free trial of The Advertist
🔍 Discover how smarter business development can protect your growth
📈 Position your agency for long-term success

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Unlocking the Secrets of Sales and Marketing: Keith Smith’s Interview with Influencer May King Tsang

Our MD Keith Smith filled the hot seat for an interview with influencer May King Tsang for her FOMO live broadcast recently.

Here’s a video catch up of the show.

In it, they discuss Keith’s background and how The Advertist came into being, how a chance encounter over the socials led to a long-term collaboration, podcasting and charity work. Importantly Keith discusses his ‘Flywheel’ principle of sales and marketing, where one origin piece fuels another action, which drives another action and another.

Sometimes, where we’re faced with so many platforms to promote our business on, it’s best to simplify and do one or two things and do them well.https://www.youtube.com/live/WM2bevVrpsY?si=qfWJ6ccd0sky4UaO&t=8

https://www.youtube.com/live/WM2bevVrpsY?si=qfWJ6ccd0sky4UaO&t=8

Get your agency’s new business started with The Advertist.  What do you do when the referrals dry up? Do you think it would be better to make new business part of your weekly routine? All the experts agree and a project in motion, stays in motion. You can take a 2-day free trial of the UK’s leading new business development platform and see for yourself how it can elevate your new business workflow: Daily new business opportunity news. The UK’s most accurate and comprehensive brand and company contact database. Daily people moves. The UK’s ONLY new business tender alert service. Hot news of investments, VC funding, tech startups, spinouts and MBOs Sector intelligence, market reports, marketing spend, trends and SWOT charts. Take a free trial here: https://www.theadvertist.com/join.aspx

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Five words that will win you new business

New business should be a priority for everyone these days.

Uncover the transformative power of five magic words that will redefine your approach. Are you prepared to take your agency’s performance to new heights? Explore the intricacies of CRM, cold outreach, and the profound impact of exceptional work in this enlightening blog by Keith Smith, from @TheAdvertist.

https://www.prca.org.uk/Five-words-that-will-win-you-new-business

PRCA recently announced a new collaboration with dedicated agency new business platform, The Advertist. Everything you need to get started in new business, including trade news, a powerful GDPR-compliant contact database, daily People Moves, Tenders, M&A and freshly funded intel.

As a PRCA member, you get 25% off the annual subscription. To take a free trial email hello@theadvertist.com and mention your PRCA membership.

#newbusiness, #businessdevelopment

Get your agency’s new business started with The Advertist. 78% of UK creative agencies know that they need a solid strategy for the acquisition of new clients and yet only 26% of them do this on a full-time basis* What do you do when the referrals dry up? Starting a new business campaign from scratch can take a minimum of six months to generate green shoots – do you have the luxury of that much time? Do you think it would be better to make new business part of your weekly routine? All the experts agree and a project in motion, stays in motion. You can take a 2-day free trial of the UK’s leading new business development platform and see for yourself how it can elevate your new business workflow: Daily new business opportunity news. The UK’s most accurate and comprehensive brand and company contact database. Daily people moves. The UK’s ONLY new business tender alert service. Hot news of investments, VC funding, tech startups, spinouts and MBOs Sector intelligence, market reports, marketing spend, trends and SWOT charts. Monthly payment options. Take a free trial here: https://www.theadvertist.com/join.aspx *The Advertist research, LinkedIn 2023

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ADAM RUBINS: CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE GROWTH KIND

Are you looking to sell your creative agency, or looking to acquire one?

You need to strap yourself in because it’s gonna get bumpy.

Unless…

You take on board the wisdom contained in the next 60 minutes of my interview with Adam Rubins, who’s experienced the highs and lows, the mental stresses and strains of the agency sales process and lived to tell the tale.

Not only that but he’s built a new business around helping agency owners avoid the common pitfalls of selling or acquiring a creative agency.

Plus

  • Hollywood
  • The future  of TV streaming
  • Mental welfare at work
  • Wearing masks
  • The value of new business to your agency’s price tag – which is useful because this show is sponsored by new business development platform The Advertist!
  • How to make your agency more attractive to a buyer
  • Agency employment laws
  • US and UK agencies –  divided by a common employment language

And sharing an office with Sean Connery

Adam’s LinkedIn profile here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamrubins/

Now, Next Why Linkedin profile here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/now-next-why/

Now, Next Why web site here: http://www.nownextwhy.co.uk

All of us at The Advertist invite you to check out The Fuel Podcast, where we pull on the experience of leaders of companies in a variety of sectors with loads of fantastic interviews, tips and tales.

To check out this episode of the podcast click here.

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THE FUEL PODCAST – KEVIN TAYLOR: THE SUBTLE ART OF NEGOTIATION

Lawman Kevin Taylor once had to negotiate for his own life with a shotgun shoved in his face. He’s also had to negotiate for other people’s lives too, because he’s been at the sharp end of hostage negotiation for decades.

These days, he prefers the cut and thrust of boardroom to the perils of policing but the skills translate to the business and sports worlds, where he’s paid to help parties achieve a win.

Negotiation is one of the foundations of the new business world but most of us have no training in the art – we just make it up as we go along.

And without knowing how to get the best deal for you and your prospect, you’re always turning up to a gunfight with a banana.

Spend the next hour and a bit listening to one of the UK’s best negotiators, spreading the wisdom about the subtle art of negotiation.

All of us at The Advertist invite you to check out The Fuel Podcast, where we pull on the experience of leaders of companies in a variety of sectors with loads of fantastic interviews, tips and tales.

To check out this episode of the podcast click here.

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THE FUEL PODCAST – EPISODE 27: JEREMY DAVIES – CONNECTING PEOPLE BY DESIGN

Don’t think he takes new business lightly. Jeremy Davies is one of the UK’s most accomplished new business practitioners and it should be noted he’s also a gifted comedian too. Is there a link? Jeremy gives us all a lesson in how to improve our pitching.

Also Jeremy Davies explains the link between punchlines and benefits.

All of us at The Advertist invite you to check out The Fuel Podcast, where we pull on the experience of leaders of companies in a variety of sectors with loads of fantastic interviews, tips and tales.

To check out this episode of the podcast click here.

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PEOPLE MOVES: VCCP HIRES NEW BUSINESS DIRECTOR

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LIDA appoints new business director

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People Moves: Tribal Worldwide hires Head of New Business & Marketing

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