The advertising agency business has been in one bind or another ever since the dawn of digital. Digital shook the industry to its core, and the reverberations are still being felt from top to bottom. The list of problems is long, but one problem we don't spend enough time discussing is the problem of not knowing who or what we are, any longer. It's a confusion that I find perplexing. May I point you to an …
Bias Against Aging People, Like All Bias, Is Idiotic and Unproductive
The truly odd thing about ageism is how every single living creature on this planet is aging. We're all aging right now, as we do each and every moment of our lives. Ultimately, this means our bias against aging people is discrimination against the self, and that ageism is a brutal form of self-hatred. As we know, ageism is also bad for business. This new 45-minute documentary film, directed by Scott Haper, …
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Ad Chatter Season 4, Episode 1: Featuring Wade Sturdivant of NowAndThentor.com
There’s no guaranteed career path in advertising. And at some point, we all need help, mentorship, or just a sympathetic ear. David Burn and Dan Goldgeier chat with Wade Sturdivant, longtime Creative Director and Copywriter and the founder of NowAndThentor, a free service to provide feedback as needed to ad professionals of all kinds. In this 35-minute Ad Chatter, David, Dan, and Wade …
Ad Chatter: Justin Bajan On Running Your Own Shop
If you're a creative working in advertising, running your own shop sounds like a dream. But it involves much more business thinking and a whole lot of other skills. On this latest episode of Ad Chatter, Justin Bajan, the co-founder of Richmond’s Familiar Creatures, talked with me about running his own shop. We discuss: How to make short- and long-term goals What accounts wouldn’t be a good fit …
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New Film Asks the Right Questions about the Agency Business
The current and future state of the ad agency business is the subject of a new documentary film from Togetherr, Kill your Darlings. The film is narrated by Anouk Jans, a Creative Director from Germany who is looking for answers, positive change, and a brighter future for herself and everyone that loves the business of creativity. Her quest leads her to seek meetings with industry luminaries like Anselmo Ramos, Greg …
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Ad Chatter: David Esrati on Being an Ad Veteran, Army Veteran, and Congressional Candidate
David Esrati is the owner of The Next Wave, an ad agency in Dayton, Ohio. He’s also currently the Democratic nominee for Congress in Ohio’s 10th District. Dan Goldgeier talks with David about the intersection of politics and marketing, along with: How military experience relates to an advertising careerThe commercialization of Memorial Day and other holidaysThe message voters deserve to hear from candidatesHow …
“Owning A Large Portion of the Best Talent” Is Pre-COVID Thinking
Like so many businesses, the agency business is a talent business from top to bottom. Nothing good happens without extraordinary efforts made by dedicated, gifted people working as one. Agency heads used to say the agency's "best assets," a.k.a. the talent, walk out the door and go down the elevator each evening. Of course, these commuters almost always returned in the morning. Today, with our newfound and …
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Ad Chatter: Joe Cole Talks About Clean Creatives and We Are Rosie
A new generation of ad pros is getting more vocal about what they’re willing (and not willing) to work on, and how to do their work. Joe Cole is at the intersection of both of those ideas. He’s the Creative Strategist for Clean Creatives and a Creative Recruiter for We Are Rosie. In this 35-minute Ad Chatter episode, I chat with Joe about whether fossil fuel advertising could become as verboten as tobacco …
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Job Number One: Ask Good Questions and Take Good Notes
I started interviewing people when I was 18 years old and a freshman at Franklin & Marshall College. One thing I know about myself—I have a journalist's temperament, which I bring to the ad business, sometimes successfully. In this new collection of 18 interviews with 19 advertising professionals, there's a series of successful moments where people I admire and respect get a chance to wax poetic about life, …
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A Book for ‘Ad People’ with Brains
One of the best things about Adpulp.com is the people we meet. The site opens many doors and behind many of these doors are amazingly unique people with fascinating stories. My new ebook—Ad Brains: Conversations with Advertising's Icons, Rebels, and Rulers—captures some of these stories. Ad Brains is now available for $10 from Amazon.com, Kobo.com, Barnes & Noble, and Apple Books, and Google Play. All …
Ad Chatter Featuring Sean Looney of Looney Advertising
This episode of Ad Chatter features a revealing conversation with Sean Looney of Looney Advertising in Montclair, New Jersey. Sean and his wife Debbie Looney started the agency more than 20 years ago. Today, Looney is one of the industry's fastest-growing agencies in the industry and we ask Sean what his secret is. The short answer is Looney believes in a healthy work-life balance. They also believe in …
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Agency Habitat in Fort Worth, Texas Is Making Bold Moves
Agency Habitat, a content-focused, full-service advertising agency will celebrate the grand opening of its new home by inviting Dallas-Fort Worth’s creative community to explore the company’s headquarters at an open house next week. The event will feature complimentary food and drinks from Fort Brewery, as well as music by DJ Sober. DFW creators, professionals, the curious, and their friends and families are invited …
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