May 06, 2013

My New Gig


Today I'm launching a new venture. It's called Type A Group.

Type A is going to be an interesting company. It's not going to be an agency. Fortunately, I am in a position where I can work only on stuff that interests me. So Type A is going to  specialize in only three areas that I have a particular interest in:

1. Consulting to independent agencies. I have had the good fortune to help build and sell two different independent shops with combined billings over $250 million. I have a fondness for the people with the guts and skill to run independent shops. It's getting harder all the time. I am hoping to be able to help indies in a few areas of their business:
  • revenue enhancement and profitability 
  • succession planning and value harvesting 
  • operations and management issues 
  • developing and integrating a digital practice 
  • differentiation and new business 
  • mergers and acquisitions 
2. Turnaround Marketing. Most companies and brands won't need Turnaround Marketing. It is not for brands that are doing well. It is for brands and companies that are struggling.

Turnaround Marketing is for organizations that have tried all the usual marketing strategies unsuccessfully and need a "contrarian" (sorry) vision of how to market their product or service.

3. Fifty Plus. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know what an enormous opportunity people over 50 are for any marketer that can count and think straight. Unfortunately, there seem to be very few of these. I am going to be helping companies develop strategies for reaching "the most valuable generation in the history of marketing."

My partner in Type A is Sharon Krinsky, who I worked with for 20 years at Hoffman/Lewis, and was president and chief creative at the agency. Sharon and I have assembled a really good group of associates and advisors who will be helping us and our clients with specific needs.

To be honest here, I have no idea whether this thing is going to go anywhere or not, but it's a good time to do things I'm really interested in.

You can find our website here. If any of our areas of specialization sound interesting to you, please contact me confidentially at bob@typeagroup.com. The first meeting is always free.