“We want connect our
brand with failure fans and to make sure they are using the brand in the best
possible way. That necessitates a whole new range of services. It’s not only
strategic thinking and creative; it is also technology. So, it is the alchemy
of good thinking, the intelligence, the brain, creativity (which is coming from
the heart), science and technology. When you have that alchemy, you arrive at
something that is quite unique and which is giving you the winning brand.”
One of the greatest talents possessed by Alan Edgewater was
an ability to distill information quickly and make it his own. This latest
patter seemed to come to him almost by osmosis, having had the opportunity to meet
some pretty high level executives from Omnicom and Publicis who were recently engaged in merger discussions. A merger of these advertising giants would create a behemoth that would certainly experience account conflicts and tangled agency-client relationships around the
world. The merger would also result in newly formed strategic business units to
accommodate clients who are sorting through a completely new rhetoric in the ad
biz. Ambrosia, principally owned by Omnicom, was formed as a sort of test. All the confusion in the marketplace would have the net effect of closing the gap
between genuine expertise and the quick-study Alan’s ability to sound like an expert.
“I hate to tell you this but I have made a tough decision
regarding marketing effective immediately. I’m so grateful for everything you
guys have done to help me get this far but I have to listen to my publisher
when it comes to marketing my next book. I have also gotten some advice from
others who suggest that I don’t have the right kind of firepower behind Negative
Space. You know there is no guarantee this third book is going to be as
well received in the marketplace as the first book and sales of the second are
a little off projections. I hope Dan Bluestone and Jan Abbeshire will stay on
as advisers but if that is not possible, I understand. We have signed a
contract with Ambrosia. They are an exciting new agency formed by digital
marketing stars from Fleishman-Hillard and some NYU kids. They are a young and
fresh group that has been purchased by Omnicom. Ambrosia comes highly
recommended by our publisher. They have unique understanding of the publishing
business… ”
Jan and Dan were stunned by this announcement. Laurie never
understood any of the marketing expenses but shrugged off the decision as
nothing really that extraordinary. Bob got a sense of this decision but wasn’t
passionate about saving the Dan and Jan circus, of which he was kind of getting
tired anyway. Now Jan and Dan both wished they had a more cohesive strategy for
saving the business. The consequences will be Jan cutting back on contract work
for her staff of PR specialists and Dan will have to lay low when his
freelancers came sniffing around. For each, the Alan Edgewater Failure Coach
LLC business was a feather in their respective caps. In fact they will both
still include AE success stories in their new business portfolio tool kits. Jan
shows several positive reviews: The Detroit Free Press, The Cleveland
Plain Dealer and a more recent review and interview in the New York
Times. Dan had the Lincoln/Failures Poster, the 110% book cover design and
seminars literature. Both recognize the reality. The Alan Edgewater account was
never really profitable but it gave them something to talk about that was
current and interesting, if not immediately relevant, to their respective
prospects.
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