May 2012
7 posts
A Community of Friends.
If you’ve worked in advertising as long as I have, you likely have some fond memories of at least one of the organizations you did time with. For me, there actually are three firms that stand out.
The first is the agency you know as Digitas – I know it as Eastern Exclusives and later as Bronner Slosberg Associates – which gave me my (late) start in the business. That Digitas/Eastern...
Stay in school!
If you watched Sunday’s 60 Minutes interview with entrepreneur gazillionaire Peter Theil, you might have found attractive his belief that college is a waste of effort, with the money better spent on more productive endeavors. Theil is backing his theory by paying 20 people — all in their teens and twenties, all with promising ideas — $100,000 each not to attend college, but instead to...
My apologies.
If you have been a regular visitor to Adventures, you surely know something is amiss with its design.
About a week ago, the site mysteriously reverted to what you see now, losing the design format that was custom-created prior to its launch.
Not only did Adventures fall victim to this mysterious ailment, it also infected my other two sites, the one devoted to my book,...
The King’s Speech.
In a previous post I pointed out I do not know JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon; my view of him as both a public and private person is entirely shaped by what I see, what I hear, and what I read. And from those observations I infer he is smart, decisive, and, when need be, unapologetically ruthless.
I do, however, know American Express CEO Ken Chenault; Ken was my client years ago, when he was a...
Will the real banker please step forward?
So I watched this past Sunday’s David Gregory Meet the Press interview with Jamie Dimon. On screen, he is one impressive person: articulate, in command of the facts, forthright, and although he claims otherwise, very politically astute.
After I watched the show, I picked up the Sunday New York Times. On page one of the business section, there was a story by Gretchen Morgenson on Jamie Dimon...
The man who could do no wrong.
We advertising people used to be at the lowest rung of any professional work hierarchy, at best a bit ahead of attorneys and used car salesmen in terms of respect and admiration. But after the financial meltdown of 2008, most people wound up hating bankers even more than advertising people.
There was one banker, though, who seemingly escaped judgment: Jamie Dimon, CEO of the largest U.S. bank,...
Now for something really boring.
This happened years ago at the agency you know as Digitas—I recall it as Bronner Slosberg Associates — but I still quite vividly remember walking into my creative director colleague Christine Bastoni’s office and finding that one of the agency’s account people, Lisa Phildius, was working with her on some numbers. I thought they were pulling together a fee estimate, or perhaps were going...
April 2012
6 posts
Client service from another point-of-view.
Just about everyone I know has a definition of what it means to provide great client service, but if you want to see this from a different perspective, watch Charlie Rose’s interview with restaurateur Danny Meyer, owner of New York City’s Union Square Café, Grammercy Tavern, Blue Smoke, North End Grill, the restaurants in the Whitney and the Museum of Modern Art, and the Shake Shack chain.
The...
That job I mentioned.
In case you missed this in my last post, my friend and Womenkind founder Kristi Faulkner is looking for an account director. If you’re interested, follow this link to more information and an opportunity to apply. Womenkind is unlike any other agency I know, and is very much worth a look.
Kristi’s email also made a couple of suggestions for blog posts, one of which is, “10 qualities to...
“It seems so simple; why is it so hard?!?”
I can’t believe how much time has passed since I wrote a post called, “My conviction about conviction,” in which I refer to the writer Matt Beaumont’s book, E with the comment, “were we ever as evil as he makes us seem?”
The “we” in this case was a reference to account people; Beaumont’s portrayal made it seem as if account people come equipped with sharp horns and fiery pitchforks.
But...
A force for good.
In the wake of the 2008 financial meltdown, with our portfolio reeling, our real estate in decline, and our consulting business near death, I decided to go back to work. I got a resume together and began contacting people. I did a lot of lunches, I met up with old friends, and I found nearly everyone to be sympathetic. But I didn’t get much actual help, with two exceptions.
The first to come...
An accidental profession.
The best part of writing a blog, having a book, and being receptive to email is receiving notes like the one I got from Vineeta Nandakumar, who wrote me from India.
Vineeta was a little unsure if she should contact me:
“This is the first that I am ever writing to someone whom I haven’t spoken to or met earlier. So please forgive me if I sound awkward at any time.”
But she needed some...
A sense of place.
Last night I listened to an album by Sarah Vaughn, called Copacabana. Every time I hear it, it takes me back roughly 25 years or so, to a restaurant whose name I cannot recall, located on Newbury Street, in Boston, where I was a (relatively) young account person at Bronner Slosberg Associates – today you would call it Digitas – having a late night, after-work dinner with my colleagues Christine...
March 2012
6 posts
The most important client in the world.
You would think the students who attend Sally Webster’s course in Client Relationship Management at Australia’s University of Canberra would be committed to careers in advertising and marketing. Some are. But others, like Carmen Bolton, with whom I had lunch the other day, are traveling a different path.
Carmen and I met at Union Square Café, one of those critic-worthy places warranting a...
The gift of teaching.
I headed to college with a pretty clear sense that my next stop four years later would be law school. I was going to be an attorney.
My junior year, in search of a literature course, I signed up for one taught by Professor Astere Everest Claeyssens. Two years and eight courses later, Claey, as I came to call him, had changed my life.
Claey was, simply put, a teacher beyond all expectation. ...
Just say no.
I suspected I was on to a really big story when I posted, “Read this!” yesterday. Confirmation came later, when Brian Williams of NBC Evening News made it the lead story in last night’s broadcast, and this morning when The New York Times gave it page one coverage.
It seems like everyone has a point-of-view; I can only hope that mine — clients matter — doesn’t get lost in an...
Read this!
I was going to do a post today called, “The most important decision you’ll make in new business,” but I’ll save this for another day, mostly because I want you to click here to read this morning’s New York Times editorial by Greg Smith, called, “Why I am Leaving Goldman Sachs.”
I have long advocated the need to build trust with clients in order to succeed in advertising, but have felt the same is...
Yet another simple idea.
I wish I could assure you this post will be my last on simple ideas, but I’m afraid I can’t; there frankly are more than a few simple ideas worthy of praise, and I can’t promise you I won’t post on this subject again.
The surprise about today’s idea is it has little to do with advertising; instead, it’s about law enforcement.
Last week there was a page one New York Times obituary on Professor...
Another simple idea.
Ever since my last post on Richard Clunan’s website for writers, Wordfruit, I have been thinking about simple ideas.
So I’m on a flight home from Punta de Mita, Mexico, where my wife Roberta and I have a place, with our two dogs, Alvin and Molly – known as “perritos” en Espanol – stowed beneath our feet.
You wouldn’t think an airline would be known for simple ideas; they are as about as 1950 as...
February 2012
4 posts
One way to find great writers.
Great art directors, for reasons I can’t explain, always seemed to be available for freelance or for hire. But writers? They’re different. It’s really difficult to find great writers.
When I went hunting for writers in the last century, I called friends for names — “Do you know anybody who does…?” — used word-of-mouth for referrals, and depended largely on luck and serendipity to...
The future of advertising belongs to...
If there is one thing I’ve learned in my years as a consultant, it’s that I will never receive a call from a J Walter, a Doyle Dane, or an Ogilvy exec. There are two reasons, I think, for this.
The first reason is based on mechanics. These and other large shops are sustaining themselves not through growth, but rather though cost-cutting, with their staffs serving as the primary objects of...
Delivering for your agency.
Years ago I worked on the UPS account, one of the world’s two highly successful global delivery companies (the other is FedEx, of course). UPS spends hundreds of millions of dollars on advertising and marketing to build and sustain its brand, but from the outset it realized a simple, profound fact about its business: the company’s drivers — the people who make the daily pick-ups and...
Brainstorm.
Ever since I read the November 30 New Yorker article on brainstorming, called, “Groupthink,” I have been struggling to reconcile author Jonah Lehrer’s two main hypotheses with my personal experience. I’m hoping that in sharing my dilemma, I will arrive at resolution.
One of Lehrer’s ideas is about space — no, not outer space, but physical space, meaning an office – with the other idea...
January 2012
6 posts
Reputation.
It was easy to get a restaurant reservation last Sunday to celebrate my birthday; just about everyone in New York was fastened to a seat in front of the television, watching the New York Giants beat the San Francisco Forty-niners, with a trip to The Super Bowl the resulting prize. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know the Giants are headed to Indianapolis February 5 to play the New...
"Moneyball," advertising, and the elephant in the...
Back in 2003, when I first read Michael Lewis’ best selling book Moneyball, I saw it largely for what it is: a baseball book. A well-written, insightful, and funny book, but a baseball book nonetheless.
The other night, though, as I watched screenwriter Aaron Sorkin’s movie version of Moneyball, I saw it as something else: as a metaphor for the advertising business.
On its surface, both the...
The art of process.
When you ask people why they love The New York Times, they will reply, “For its political coverage, or,” “For its editorial page,” or, “For its ‘Dining Out’ section.”
Everyone has a reason. I have one too.
I love the obituaries. Yes, the obituaries. Dismissed by some other newspapers as necessary, disregarded by many readers as easily-to-ignore content, The New York Times Obituary section...
Steve Hayden says goodbye, sort of.
Nearly a year ago I wrote a post, called, “Send more Chuck Berry” which wasn’t about Chuck Berry at all; it was, instead, about Steve Hayden, who I hadn’t met, but knew I liked.
Advertising Age today reported that Steve had stepped down from his roll as Vice Chairman at Ogilvy. In its story, Ad Age included a memo from current Chairman and CEO Miles Young and former Chair and CEO Shelly Lazarus,...
Ken Chenault and OTHER clients I love.
If you saw Matt Creamer’s story in today’s Advertising Age, “Hats Off to These 10 Forward Thinking Clients,” you might have noticed a quote from me, which is taken from a longer email. The full text of what I wrote Matt is below, in case you’re curious.
Hi Matt,
After I finished writing The Art of Client Service for account people, I figured I needed to write something similar for clients. I...
What Matt Damon taught me about client service.
It seems fitting to end last year with a post on Matt Damon and the meaning of friendship. In that piece I mentioned I planned to return to the recent interview that aired on the Charlie Rose Show; now that we have begun 2012, that’s what I’m about to do.
The interview, which includes writer and director Cameron Crowe, Damon’s partner in the movie We Bought a Zoo, runs about 25 minutes. I...
December 2011
5 posts
The meaning of friendship.
The actor Matt Damon said something interesting the other day when he sat for an interview on the Charlie Rose Show. Damon was there with author and director Cameron Crowe, to promote their new movie, We Bought a Zoo.
As is so often the case with a Charlie Rose interview, the subject ranged far afield from its intended purpose. In a conversation rich with possibility, Damon reveals a...
Where have all the teachers gone?
The other day my friend, Sally Webster, a teacher of the “Client Relationship Management” class at the University of Canberra – yes, that’s in Australia – posted this, in passing, on the school’s internal website:
“You may know that Semester 1 2012 may be my last semester at UC - I hope not. If it is then I will have wonderful memories to take away and lots of fantastic experiences as...
The (real) agency of the future.
On page 41 of this week’s ADWEEK had an ad congratulating BBDO — one of several – for being named “Global Agency of the Year.” It shows part of a coffee cup, with the words, “Careful, this agency is extremely hot,” apparently in reference to the shop’s creative prowess.
Flip to the next page, and there’s an ad congratulating mcgarrybowen – one of several – for being named “U.S. Agency of...
“Ideas are where you find them.”
If you weren’t paying attention, it would be easy for you to page right by John McPhee’s article, “The Progression,” in the November 14 issue of The New Yorker. It had the disadvantage of following Malcolm Gladwell’s, “The Tweaker,” a sign-off and final word on Steve Jobs and his passing. After reading scores of stories memorializing Jobs, I actually had been waiting for Gladwell to render...
The gift that keeps on… oh, that’s right, you’ve...
If someone asked me why I wrote The Art of Client Service, here is what I would say:
“I didn’t write the book for fame; that is in short supply. I didn’t write it for fortune; there is little of that. I wrote it because it needed to be written, and by writing it I would help dozens, or hundreds, or possibly even thousands of people be better at their jobs.
“The Art of Client Service...
November 2011
7 posts
The long goodbye.
We have come to the end of an all-too-short, I-wish-it-didn’t-end semester at The University of Canberra, in Australia, where Sally Webster and her colleagues Alison Sims, Marion Hutton, and Lene Bakk-Rostad have been teaching Client Relationship Management to a bunch of I’m-ready-to-work students of advertising and marketing.
Where did the time go?
At the end of last year, Sally asked me to...
Truth in advertising.
Some years ago I attended a marketing conference and heard someone from Patagonia speak about the company he worked at, and why marketing is so destructive.
I don’t remember his name, or the job he held. I don’t remember the title of his presentation, or what, exactly, he discussed. What I do recall, vividly, is his sincerity, passion, conviction, and, above all else, sense of truth.
People...
Ten starting out screw-ups and how to avoid them.
A few weeks back I received an email from a student in Sally Webster’s Client Relationship Management class at the University of Canberra, in Australia. The student asked, “What are some common mistakes that entry level advertising professionals make? Do you have any advice for someone who’s about to work in an agency for the first time?”
Indeed I do. Here is what I emailed back:
...
Now that’s a thank you!
The final chapter of The Art of Client Service is aptly called, “Remember to Say ‘Thank You.’” In it I speak of the elegant virtue of these two simple words, and urge readers to understand their potency, take advantage of opportunities to express them, and be generous in their use.
If you have been reading my posts, you know I have been in regular email contact with Sally Webster and the...
Say it ain’t so, Joe.
At an agency where I used to consult, we would create strategy recommendations that would start by looking at the larger context in which our client would compete. We identified a number of political, social, and cultural issues; chief among them was this: consumers are experiencing “a profound loss of trust in people and institutions.”
We surely didn’t lack examples: there’s Enron of course,...
Source code, the psychology of low numbers, and...
Have you seen the movie Source Code, an American science fiction/techno- thriller starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, and Jeffrey Wright?
If you haven’t, the premise of the movie is that the Jeffrey Wright scientist character, Dr. Rutledge, has combined disparate scientific theories — “quantum mechanics, linear algebra, parabolic calculus” (whatever these are)...
Before Midnight in Paris.
Sorry to be out of touch this past week; as I mentioned in my previous post, I was in Paris, enjoying the shortest week on record. That’s Paris for you.
My wife Roberta and I went there for a bunch of reasons: great walking, beautiful weather – we luckily dodged that freak Nor’easter that assaulted the neighborhood – new food, old friends, and, needless to say, hanging out with our two great...
October 2011
8 posts
Leaving on a jet plane.
I’m about to get on a plane for Paris. Yes, that Paris. The one in France, not Texas.
I’ll be gone a week. I’ll try to post while I’m away, but if I don’t, I hope you’ll cut me some slack.
Before I go, I thought I’d share an exchange of emails between me and Tegan Clarkson, a student in Sally Webster’s Client Relationship Management class at the University of Canberra. Tegan is interested in...
Ideas are easy; execution is hard.
The other day from a colleague called with a book idea; could she run it by me?
Of course! I love calls like these, in part because I relish the enthusiasm of aspiring authors going through what I went through when I published The Art of Client Service.
My caller’s idea has merit, so we began talking about process, about taking an idea and executing it.
Should she self publish or look for a...
10,093 miles, 15 hours, and one question
I remember my first attempt to join an agency. I was essentially on my own and had to grope my way through an interview. Thinking back to those times, I figure I must have done something right, because I wound up with a job at the agency you know as Digitas. On the other hand, Digitas was so desperate for help they might have hired me right off the street.
I don’t need to remind you things are...
Going the distance to win a client.
Buried on page 8 of today’s New York Times Business section there is a weekly “Frequent Flier” profile story on Jesse Itzler, co-founder of the charter service Marquis Jet. After discovering that Matt Damon and Ben Affleck had booked a Marquis Jet for an upcoming flight out of Los Angeles, Itzler abruptly changed his plans, booked and boarded a commercial flight from New York to LA,...
The bad news, the good news, the best news.
About once a day I check The Art of Client Service page on Amazon to see where the book is in the rankings.
Okay, I lied; it’s not once a day, it’s once an hour.
The other day I checked; normally the book is in stock, with Amazon claiming copies ship within 24 hours. But now the site claimed the book “usually ships within 1 to 3 weeks.”
I hate when this happens; if people want a copy, they...
Steve Jobs.
I’ve written three times before about Steve Jobs.
The first was the second piece I posted, published December of last year, called “Art & Copy,” which discussed the television documentary by the same name, and reminded readers that clients matter when it comes to great advertising. Steve Jobs was at the top the client list.
The second was posted in February of this year; it’s called, “Send...
Why coaching makes sense (but don’t take my word...
Enough already with the checklists. Let’s talk about something else.
Dr. Atul Gawande, he of The Checklist Manifesto, recently published an article in The New Yorker, called, “Personal Best,” which speaks to the benefits and opportunities inherent in personal coaching.
Gawande is a terrific writer, and he tells a great story; you should read his piece if you can. But if you don’t, you should...
OMG, not another checklist!
I know, I know, you’d like to hit delete rather than read this, because the last thing you need is another new business checklist.
This one is useful, I swear, even more so than the last one I posted.
The virtue of this list is it pretty well summarizes what I attempt to say over the course of a two-hour workshop, and includes some stuff you might find halfway helpful the next time you’re...
September 2011
7 posts
“Better ideas through failure.”
The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal agree on practically nothing, but on one topic there is consensus: you must learn how to fail if you ever are to succeed.
Last week I wrote a post called, “Learning to fail vs. failing to learn,” in which I referred to a New York Times Magazine story called, “What if the Secret to Success is Failure,” and spoke about how knowing how to fail is...