MIAMI -- Our global managers' meeting continued today with presentations by the agency's leadership.
Here were some of the thoughts they expressed, with my own perspectives on them.
Ideas. Before Draftfcb and before FCB there was Lord & Thomas and one of that agency's pillars was Albert Lasker (1880-1952). In remarks today, Howard Draft pointed out that Lasker was a man who understood ideas. Lasker suggested advertising orange juice so Sunkist Growers could sell more oranges, naming rights on a baseball stadium so William Wrigley could promote chewing gum, and radio program sponsorship -- he invented the soap opera.
These are Ideas. In our industry we often confuse Ideas with Creative. All creative comes from an idea but Ideas should be bigger than the creative they inspire.
Touchpoints. Jonathan Harries has told me many times "there are many touchpoints but only certain points of persuasion." In other words we gain nothing by promulgating our messages in as many channels as possible. We must choose only the relevant ones.
Most of you know that IMC moved past spider charts (the more legs the better) and matching luggage (everything must look exactly alike) a long time ago.
Celebrate. You may not have noticed but Draftfcb is doing well right now. Laurence Boschetto encouraged us to stop and take a moment -- 3 years, 11 months and 18 days into the Draftfcb merger -- and celebrate what we've accomplished. We got into advertising because it's supposed to be fun.
Oddly, this morning while Laurence was talking, I got an e-mail from the guy who first hired me at Leo Burnett some years ago. It was a short, personal, encouraging note, completely out of the blue, that ended with this exhortation: "Have fun!"
Thank you, Hank! I will.
I was speaking with Chuck Rudnick last night and he said that the other day when someone heard he was going to Miami for a week they commented, "I want YOUR job!" He said to me, "of course they do - everyone does. Who wouldn't want this job?" I laughed because it's funny, but also because it is so true. When we think how blessed we are to have jobs that are so suited to us, that allow us to use our skills in challenging ways, and that are so much freaking fun... It's humbling. To work in an agency like Draftfcb where we are surrounded by so many other people who share the same passions and the same sense of adventure and fun? It's incomprehensible. Indeeed, how did we all get so lucky?
ReplyDeleteWhen tough times roll around, as they always do, I remind myself that even on my worst day, there is nothing else I would rather do. And no place else I would rather be. It is a blessing beyond compare.
JBE
JBE, you captured it perfectly. It's great to be part of an organization full of such wonderful colleagues -- and which is doing well.
ReplyDeleteHere's a brand spankin' new biography about Albert Lasker. I was traveling last week and stumbled onto it at an airport bookseller.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.amazon.com/Man-Who-Sold-America-Advertising/dp/1591393086
Former FCB exec Arthur Schultz is the co-author.
Thanks, Miguel. As you might imagine, many of us here at Draftfcb have copies of the book. I also posted about it at:
ReplyDeletehttp://admajoremblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/man-who-sold-america.html