The Siege of Sevastopol.

As astute readers of Ad Aged know, for the last ten days or so I have been ensconced in the mid-19th Century, stationed in the Crimea, as the allied French, English and Turkish troops battled the Russians over the course of empires.

During the early portion of the Crimea War a lot was centered around the port city of Sevastopol. The city was under unprecedented bombardment for a full year before the few remaining soldiers and residents evacuated and left the ruins to the allies.

Of course, the siege settled nothing. Sevastopol was meaningless as a goal. The allies captured a city that was neither St. Petersburg nor Moscow and the Russians had to keep fighting because they didn't want to begin peace negotiations coming off a loss. So, the war meandered on.

It occurred to me as my editor was posting spots last night with the suffix "v. 13" that a lot can be learned about advertising from studying sieges. We often feel
put-upon on the agency side. There are scores if not hundreds of miscellaneous missiles hurtling your way.

The way I look at it is this: most of those missiles cannot kill you. Absorb your hits, maneuver how you can to better fortifications. If you have to escape, escape--don't run and hide but retreat, tactically. But mostly, devise a plan that positions you for greater success when the next battle happens.