Latest news with #JacquelynLaMarBerney
Forbes
3 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
20 Ways Clients Adapt Campaign Strategies In An Uncertain Climate
Long-term forecasting is becoming increasingly unreliable, pushing marketing leaders to rethink campaign strategies. Many are shifting away from rigid, year-long plans in favor of agile, data-informed approaches that allow for quick pivots and measurable impact. From shorter campaigns to AI-driven personalization, today's marketers are focusing on what drives real results in real time. Below, 20 members of Forbes Agency Council share how their clients are reimagining campaign strategies to stay resilient and responsive amid uncertainty. 1. Simplifying And Leaning Into Customer Understanding In times of uncertainty, clients simplify their approach, focusing on maintaining agility and flexibility so that they can quickly pivot with changing market conditions. They focus on using fewer vendors, simplifying campaigns and leaning into those that are proven and measurable. Mostly, they are leaning into their understanding of the customers, meeting them where they are with empathy and personalized experiences. - Tate Olinghouse, Acxiom 2. Adopting Flexible, Emotionally Resonant Strategies Clients are moving away from rigid, year-long plans and leaning into adaptability. The focus now is on emotional resonance, fast feedback and the willingness to act on real-time information. Data-driven flexibility is becoming the new foundation of all campaign strategies. - Jacquelyn LaMar Berney, VI Marketing and Branding 3. Treating The Brand As A Decision-Making System As forecasting remains foggy, the businesses staying afloat aren't pulling back on strategy—they're getting surgical. They're investing in their brand as a decision-making system to sharpen focus, speed up calls and gut anything (or anyone) misaligned. Short-term moves still happen, but only if they serve the long game. In uncertain times, brand isn't decoration—it's how you adapt with discipline over chaos. - Shanna Apitz, Hunt Adkins 4. Pivoting To Customer LTV And Inventory-Based Strategies With e-commerce, specifically, we're seeing a number of clients pivot to focus on customer lifetime value more than ever. With uncertainty surrounding sourcing and manufacturing, having some level of repurchasing probability provides a focus point for demand and the replenishment level required. This also might mean pulling back on new product releases and sticking with product lines with plentiful stock. - Bernard May, National Positions Forbes Agency Council is an invitation-only community for executives in successful public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies. Do I qualify? 5. Prioritizing Speed, Flexibility And Measurable Outcomes With economic uncertainty, business and brand leaders are leaning into flexibility, speed and measurable outcomes, meaning shorter campaigns, modular creative, real-time optimization and trusted channels with strong ROI data. They're not pulling back. Instead, they're pushing forward by demanding a smarter, faster and more responsive strategy. - Mary Ann O'Brien, OBI Creative 6. Launching Shorter, Performance-Driven Campaigns Many are leaning into shorter, performance-driven campaigns with flexible budgets. Instead of committing to long-term strategies, they're favoring agile sprints, real-time data tracking and channels that offer fast feedback loops—such as paid social, influencer collaborations or micro-content. The focus is on adaptability and measurable ROI over predictability. - Boris Dzhingarov, ESBO Ltd 7. Prepping Assets For Many Paths, Per Scenario Mapping Clients are shifting toward scenario mapping, developing modular campaigns built around possible future conditions. Instead of betting on one trajectory, they prep assets for multiple paths, activating based on live signals. This cushions volatility while enabling strategic speed without starting from scratch each time. - Vaibhav Kakkar, Digital Web Solutions 8. Building Projections Around Conservative Estimates In today's climate of uncertainty, companies are leaning into more conservative forecasting, building projections around cautious estimates. This approach ensures that any upside can be reinvested strategically into growth opportunities rather than just sustaining baseline operations. - Jessica Hawthorne-Castro, Hawthorne Advertising 9. Investing In Deeper Social And Experiential Engagement As forecasting becomes more challenging, clients turn to deeper social engagement and experiential brand communications. The focus is on real human interaction, from live events to brand activations. Long-form and episodic content are also rising, building lasting narratives and stronger connections with audiences beyond short-term campaigns. - Cagan Sean Yuksel, Dreamspace 10. Creating Timeless Content For Long-Term Value Clients adapting to uncertain budgets are focusing on relevant and helpful content that delivers lasting value in the short and long term. This approach supports continuous engagement, builds brand authority and reduces the need for frequent campaign changes. By investing in timeless content, they maximize ROI, maintain consistent visibility and stay resilient in shifting market conditions. - Elyse Flynn Meyer, Prism Global Marketing Solutions 11. Diving Into Al Search Visibility And Positioning Our clients are leaning into strategies that can impact their AI search visibility. As a PR agency, generating earned media with contextual relevance on authoritative sites can impact this metric. They're looking for guidance on how they appear in LLMs versus their competitors and how they can show up more often for specific prompts. AI search is new territory for us all, but it is demanding attention. - Lindsey Groepper, PANBlast 12. Delivering Dynamic Personalized Experiences With AI The short answer is AI-driven personalization. Customers expect personalized experiences and often lose patience when brands do not deliver. This makes companies invest heavily in advanced segmentation and dynamic content creation. They know that if they don't, tomorrow their competitors will happily claim a bigger slice of consumer trust and market share. - Nataliya Andreychuk, Viseven 13. Training Sales Teams To Maximize Lead Conversion Clients who are adapting well are turning inward: strengthening their sales teams and focusing on conversion rates. Rather than chasing more leads, they're training teams to maximize what they have. It's a shift from volume to skill, helping them stay resilient even as the market slows. - Austin Irabor, NETFLY 14. Centering Strategy On Proof, Not Promises I am noticing clients pivoting to 'proof over promises.' They're investing in expert-led thought leadership in core competencies, momentum announcements that show resilience and case studies with measurable outcomes. When budgets tighten, demonstrable results and authentic expertise become the currency of trust. They are also paving the path forward with owned research and customer events. - Kathleen Lucente, Red Fan Communications 15. Embracing Modular Narrative Systems With long-term budgets becoming harder to forecast, more teams are shifting away from big-bang campaigns and embracing modular narrative systems. Instead of one splashy launch, they're creating repeatable, multiplatform content that spans earned media, social, podcasts and owned channels. The goal is structured visibility—not just reach, but also memory. - Kyle Arteaga, The Bulleit Group 16. Doubling Down On Owned Channels We're seeing a strong move toward content-driven engagement—things like thought leadership, evergreen content and educational resources—because these assets provide value over time without requiring constant reinvestment in paid media. Additionally, there's a growing emphasis on owned channels: improving website experiences and building stronger direct relationships with audiences. - Goran Paun, ArtVersion 17. Running Testable Campaigns For Fast Feedback Clients are ditching long bets for fast feedback and smaller, testable campaigns with clearer ROI. There is less 'brand awareness' and more, 'Did this move the needle this week?' Messaging is punchier, platforms are chosen for speed and budgets are fluid. In uncertain times, flexibility beats forecasting. It's not about guessing right; it's about adjusting fast to the data you have and having detailed things to test. - Tony Pec, Y Not You Media 18. Relying On Agency Insight And Staying Flexible Honestly, clients can't know for sure what to do in this uncertain and rapidly changing business environment. The best decision today could look dumb tomorrow. Clients need to get as much insight as possible, including asking the people closest to what's happening in marketing: their agency. After that, they need to simply remain flexible and never become attached to any one campaign or strategy. - Mike Maynard, Napier Partnership Limited 19. Going Back To Basics With CPL Metrics I am advocating for clients to go back to basics when it comes to long-term business projections by not complicating forecasting. Ultimately, you want to predict how much your cost per lead is, and then how much your average lead spends. It's really as simple as that. Without getting leads coming in the door at an affordable price each day, your business will go backward, and fast! - Adrian Falk, Believe Advertising & PR 20. Staying Committed To Long-Term Brand Building Volatility is the new normal. Instead of chasing trends, smart companies stay committed to long-term brand building and reputation management. They recognize that consistency, not constant pivots, yields meaningful business outcomes. - Jason Mudd, Axia Public Relations
Forbes
3 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
The High Cost Of Putting Creativity On The Clock
Jacquelyn LaMar Berney is President of VI Marketing and Branding , an independent agency known for delivering behavior-changing campaigns. getty If it feels like breakthrough creative work is getting rarer, you're not imagining it. The spark that redefines a brand or disrupts a category has dimmed. Not because of AI. Not because of short attention spans. It's because, somewhere along the way, we stopped paying for value and started pricing creativity like it's a task on a checklist. Now, agencies are scrambling to prove their productivity instead of chasing their best ideas through the creative alchemy of experience, instinct, insight and bold thinking. In the absence of commissions, most agencies defaulted to hourly billing—a model rooted in the Industrial Age, when factory lines equated hours with value. It created a pressure to constantly perform and justify every hour. I've watched senior strategists with 30 years of pattern recognition solve problems in minutes, but under an hourly model, that kind of talent and expertise is penalized. Less time means less billable value. Imagine hiring an architect to design your dream home, then telling them they're only worth what they can sketch in an hour. That's the reality creative agencies live in every day. Writer and entrepreneur Alan Philips suggests we're in 'the Age of Ideas,' where creativity and innovative ideas are crucial for generating value and achieving success. But these things don't run on a schedule, and we need to stop pricing our services like they do. Performance-based models sound ideal: shared risk, shared reward. When structured well, they align agency and client goals and drive measurable outcomes. This pricing approach is especially effective for campaigns with clear KPIs and short sales cycles. But when misapplied to brand-building work or when the metrics are too narrow, they become a trap. Performance-based models undervalue creative thinking and create misaligned incentives that can erode trust on both sides. For example, at VI Marketing and Branding, we've encountered situations where clients agreed to terms and benefited from our work, then refused to pay. When performance criteria are unclear or loosely defined, it can create loopholes that expose agencies to financial risk despite their expertise and effort. In theory, performance-based pricing are also beneficial for incentivization because they tie compensation directly to outcomes. The better the results, the greater the reward. This structure motivates teams to focus on what drives measurable success and gives clients confidence that their investment is tied to performance, not just effort. But in reality, it only works when the agency can control the full customer journey—from lead generation to conversion. Without shared accountability and data transparency, performance-based pricing is a gamble. And it's what can devastate a small agency. Value-based pricing is a financial structure that rewards the true worth of a delivered outcome rather than time spent. With it, agencies clearly define and communicate their unique value proposition to build trust and justify their fees up front. The model reflects the depth of strategic thinking, the strength of proprietary processes and the power of experience by aligning compensation directly with impact. This honors the intellectual property embedded in every brief, the years of expertise behind every recommendation and the insights gained from dozens of past campaigns. However, value-based pricing isn't without challenges. It requires precise measurement of success metrics and strong client-agency collaboration. The model can be hard to scale or standardize, particularly for agencies with diverse service offerings, and there's the risk that comes with uncontrollable external factors hindering outcomes. Additionally, established agencies transitioning from hourly or retainer models must reshape client expectations and update internal processes to focus on outcomes rather than effort. Beyond The Billable Hour In creative fields, hourly billing isn't just outdated. It's a destructive model that treats seasoned experts like interchangeable cogs. As private equity consolidates agencies and packages ideas into templated service lines, the industry risks losing its originality. Strategy gets collapsed into execution, bold thinking is scoped out and the creativity that once made this business remarkable is sold off by the hour. Value-based pricing looks beyond inputs and offers a way to preserve and reward originality. Because in the age of AI, creativity is the one thing that can't be automated, templatized or timed to the minute. The way forward requires honoring the experience and intellectual property of the people behind the work. When creativity has the space it needs, it doesn't just solve problems. It reshapes categories, builds unforgettable brands and changes the way we see ourselves and the world. Forbes Agency Council is an invitation-only community for executives in successful public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies. Do I qualify?
Forbes
11-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
How To Market Local Brands In Uncertain Economic Times: 10 Expert Tips
U.S.-based companies producing domestic goods have a unique opportunity to stand out as global supply chains face ongoing disruption and the cost of imported goods continues to fluctuate. When such market forces are at work, it may lead consumers to seek out locally sourced products that are produced and distributed closer to home. During times of global economic uncertainty, smart local brands can create powerful marketing campaigns that resonate with buyers by leveraging real transparency and building trust. Here, members of Forbes Agency Council share strategic ideas for marketing domestically made goods and seizing the opportunity to achieve a win for both businesses and customers. Highlighting the benefits of buying domestically made goods, especially in light of shifting import and export economics, can help businesses stand out. They should emphasize how purchasing locally supports the economy, avoids import taxes and keeps money circulating within the community—reinforcing the idea that reinvesting income into local businesses benefits everyone and creates a stronger and more sustainable economy. - Jacquelyn LaMar Berney, VI Marketing and Branding Businesses should highlight the delays and costs of overseas goods, then position their product as the faster, smarter alternative. One idea is to run a 'No Boats, No Borders' campaign—emphasizing speed, reliability and pride in locally made goods while others wait on ships. They can use current headlines to fuel urgency and trust. - Miller McCoy, Limitless MFG Amid shifting global trade, what's always worked still works: Tell the 'why' behind American-made goods and services. You should spotlight your makers, your materials and your mission. Customers want transparency and values they can stand behind, and storytelling turns the supply chain into brand pride. - Mary Ann O'Brien, OBI Creative Forbes Agency Council is an invitation-only community for executives in successful public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies. Do I qualify? Businesses will gravitate toward campaigns that either highlight the cost advantages of domestic production or that play to a patriotic desire to 'buy local.' This is wrong. Brave companies will talk about the reasons why their products are better; they'll highlight benefits and then offer the financial and speed-of-delivery advantages as an aside to make the product's superiority shine. - Mike Maynard, Napier Partnership Limited Local influencers are able to reveal the value and significance of a domestic product. They know the audience well, so they can build in native storytelling about the brand, revealing all its advantages. This will generate interest and trust in the product. - Michael Kuzminov, HypeFactory I recommend focusing on storytelling over slogans. Instead of waving the 'Made in the USA' flag as a reaction to tariffs, you should spotlight the people behind the product—local makers, family-run shops and skilled workers. In uncertain times, customers respond to stability, transparency and the feeling that their purchase supports real people, not just a brand. - Jimi Gibson, Thrive Agency Businesses can run a 'Tariff-Free Guarantee' with promotional locked-in pricing for 2025. They could go a step further and provide a limited-time swap-out of their existing foreign-made product (in-store only) for a new domestically made product for an additional discount. How far a brand wants to push this comes down to making sure the promo tone aligns with the brand's messaging. - Bernard May, National Positions You should focus on highlighting what's close to home. You'll want to build a campaign around transparency: who made it, how it was made and why that matters. Consumers today aren't just looking for the next hot thing. They want brands that reflect their values, their beliefs and their story. You should live the narrative your brand presents. - Monica Alvarez-Mitchell, Pulse Creative, LLC Businesses shouldn't just say their product is made domestically. They should emphasize that its components are also sourced or built in-house or within the country. This signals that their pricing will remain stable and will not be impacted by tariffs or global supply chain issues. In uncertain economic times, buyers value reliability, and full domestic production becomes a key trust signal. - Austin Irabor, NETFLY Being clever is less important than understanding that these economic shifts can lead to fundamental changes in consumer consumption. For example, during Covid, brands that quickly adapted consumer experience strategies to new consumer expectations captured market share. Predicting these changes, especially using first-party data, helps brands thrive (or at least survive) in uncertain times. - Tate Olinghouse, Acxiom
