blog-thoughts-on-marketing

Flexibility, Fluidity & Innovation in Sports Marketing

Thu, 03 Dec 2020 20:39:57 +0100

As a member of the board of directors for the American Marketing Association's Atlanta Chapter, I had the opportunity to interview the Chief Marketing Officers of the:

Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena - Melissa M. Proctor
Atlanta Falcons and Mercedes-Benz Stadium - Morgan Shaw Parker
Atlanta Braves - Adam Zimmerman

We talked about the pivots that these marketers had to make once COVID-19 rocked the sports and overall world and how they worked through those difficult early days. We also covered how they have navigated issues like the resurgence of the social justice movement in 2020. I was able to get in a plug for The A Pledge, in which I and Set up are working to get Atlanta Marketing Agencies to commit to match the diversity of their teams to the diversity of Atlanta. We also covered digital transformation, advice from "competitors" and other industries, community support efforts, and what other marketers can learn from sports marketing.

Please take a listen for yourself:

Here is a screenshot from the event:

The (Only) Time I Almost Got Fired

Wed, 02 Dec 2020 01:48:10 +0100

In late 2007, I was hired as VP of Business Development and Marketing by a small digital agency called Spunlogic that would soon be acquired by Engauge. I got called into a meeting with my boss and three of my peers (VP of Client Services, VP of Strategy, and VP of Research and Innovation). They told me to learn how to do my job or GET OUT! Here is the story recounted by four of the people who were in the room:

Recent Press For Joe Koufman

Wed, 19 Aug 2020 17:10:22 +0100

Today was a big "press week" for me:

I got featured on the American Marketing Association - Atlanta website in their "Board Spotlight."

I served as a guest on two marketing podcasts:

Advertising Stories with Peter Levitan

Digital Marketing Masters with Matt Rouse

The Atlanta Jewish Times included me in an article about matchmaking.

I wrote a Set up blog post about building your tribe of supporters.

It was fun to show up in so many places all in the same week!

Podcast guest - Bret's Chat Corner

Sun, 01 Sep 2019 20:47:42 +0100

I enjoyed being interviewed by my former (Engauge) colleague Bret Gunter on his podcast - Bret's Chat Corner. At 9:48 I begin talking about Setup and the transition from AgencySparks.

Here is the link the podcast:

Our Time Is The Most Precious

Sat, 05 Jan 2019 00:37:21 +0100

This is a REALLY excellent perspective:

We must defend our time because it is the only thing we CANNOT get more of...

Marketing Career Paths - Mine and others'

Tue, 08 Jan 2019 13:35:02 +0100

I was asked to speak at the Georgia Marketing Education Association (GMEA) Conference to 100+ high school marketing teachers about my career path and the more general marketing career path.

Here is the video:

The post I reference in the presentation is here: http://TheMarketingCareerPath.com

Helping Aspiring Atlanta Marketers Find Jobs

Mon, 01 Jun 2020 19:21:11 +0100

For many years I have enjoyed connecting job seekers with their dream jobs. We even added recruiting as a nice little side business for Setup. In fact, I wrote a series of content designed to equip job seekers with knowledge that will help them find their dream gig:

https://setup.us/blog/jobseeker-series

Also, this post is by far the most popular on all of AgencySparks.com:

https://setup.us/blog/the-marketing-career-path

In fact, if you Google "marketing career path" or "evolution of a marketing career" we come up #1 or #2 organically!

In the spirit of making connections that benefit both job seekers and employers, we have created a simple form for each group so that we can try to make appropriate matches:

Job Seeker Form (for #JobSeekers)

Job Opening Form (for #JobProviders)

Please fill out the form and we will do our best to make connections that will result in matching qualified candidates with opportunistic employers.

Cheers,
Joe

On The Radio on The Dana Barrett Show on biz1190

Thu, 02 Mar 2017 15:22:00 +0100

I love hanging out with my buddy Dana Barrett, but particularly together with her on the air on the Dana Barrett Show on biz1190!

Here is the segment I did with her on her radio show earlier this week where I talk about AgencySparks and some of the changes we are making in 2017 to further grow the business:

Best,

Joe

A Plethora of Podcasts

Sat, 03 Feb 2018 22:41:29 +0100

I have had the distinct pleasure of serving as a guest on several podcasts and radio shows in the last year. Recently, I was able to participate in podcasts hosted in four different countries (US, Canada, UK, and Australia). During each interview, I try to talk about different topics related to AgencySparks and my entrepreneurial/business journey. I have attempted to capture all of them here, so you can give them a listen:

2016 November - The Entrepreneur Way - AgencySparks CEO Featured On The Entrepreneur Way Podcast
2016 November - Western Reserve Partners - "Fully Invested" Podcast Features AgencySparks CEO - Joe Koufman
2016 October - Newsmodo's Brand Storytelling Podcast - AgencySparks CEO Featured on Brand Storytelling Podcast
2016 September - biz 1190 Radio - Radio Recap: AgencySparks' CEO Joe Koufman on The Dana Barrett Show
2016 July - biz 1190 radio - The Dana Barrett Show - AgencySparks featured on biz 1190
2016 January - Sell Personal Podcast hosted by Christien Louviere
2015 April - Leaders In The Trenches podcast - Hiring and Managing Sales Rep Series 2 of 3 With Joe Koufman
2014 June - Jason Swenk - The Smart Agency Master Class podcast - What Can You Do Better in Your Agency’s Business Development?

Celebrating the Second Anniversary of AgencySparks!

Thu, 11 Feb 2016 21:15:58 +0100

It is hard to believe that today is the second anniversary of AgencySparks! It seems like just yesterday that we were celebrating the first anniversary.

Two years ago I acted on my dream to build a company that connects brands to specialist marketing agencies, and it is hard to comprehend how much it has grown in the past few years.

We have had the good fortune to work with some amazing agencies:

The Variable
BrightWave
What's Up Interactive (now Oplogics)
Bright Fox Agency
THINK Interactive (now LiquidHub)
Rockett Interactive (now iProspect)
Brand Fever (now Phase 3 Marketing and Communications)
Vert Digital
Creaxion
Dragon Army
Capitol Media Solutions
Influent50
Hencar
Swarm Agency

Thank you to Keith Vest, Simms Jenkins, Richard Warner, Lindsay Podrid, Ben Spangler, Will duPont, Mark Rockett, Vicky Jones, Kevin Planovsky, Mark Pettit, Jeff Hilimire, JT Hroncich, Steve Upton, Joe Carter, and Tom Ellis. Without each of your belief in AgencySparks, it would not exist.

Also, thank you to Georgia-Pacific, Volvo Construction, Interface, Floor & Decor, Hancock Fabric, Turner, Cartoon Network, Coca-Cola, Verifone, ADAC, FORTIVA, The Home Depot, Haute House, Accel-KKR, Ashworth College, and others for trusting AgencySparks to help connect you to the perfect specialist marketing agency.

Special thanks to my team over the last two years - Stephanie Peterman, Katia Herrera, Anastasia Kusmartseva, William Denning, and Kate Jacoutot. You have been the engine that drives AgencySparks.

Lastly, but certainly not least, thank you to my wife Michelle and our kids for all of your support. Being an entrepreneur is not easy... it is like riding a grand rollercoaster. You have shared the front car with me for two years.

Here is the original AgencySparks logo:

To me, it represents our origins.

This is our current logo:

To me it represents our present.

Who knows what the future will hold, but I am excited for the journey! Thank you to all of you who have shared and supported this experience.

Best,
Joe