Creatives in advertising are crazy and they all have idle screenplays hidden in their desks. It's a well worn cliché. Yet, Adweek has found nuance in Jim Riswold. He may well be a wing nut, but it was not a screenplay he was harboring, it was art. Having transformed himself from a notorious creative director to impious pop artist during a five-year battle with cancer, Riswold, 50, says he's gone from "a career of …
“Zeitgeist” Is Gyro Worldwide’s Middle Name
Steven Grasse of Gyro Worldwide is a skilled self-promoter, and I say that with all sincerity, for self-promotion is a necessary skill that's hard to master. Too much self-promo and you're tiresome. Not enough, and you don't exist. Like a soufflé, you have to get it just right. With the help of Harriet Bernard-Levy, a celebrated French cultural theorist, Grasse is getting it right. For what agency head doesn't want a …
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Siegel for CEO
Rich Siegel, freelance copywriter and author of Tuesdays With Mantu, My Adventures With a Nigerian Con Artist, wants to run Morgan Stanley. Instead of sending his appeal directly to Mama Morgan, he's making creative use of an Adweek column instead. A cursory glance of my CV will reveal that I have little or no experience in the financial arena. Indeed, I have spent the last 25 years of my career as a creative …
Employment at Portland Advertising & PR Agencies Has Grown 37 Percent from 2003 to 2007
I had the pleasure of meeting Daniel Timothy Wood, Digital Strategy Director at PMSI, over coffee this morning at Jace Gace on SE Belmont. He mentioned a recent article in The Oregonian that lists several creative firms who have opened shop in Portland, some specifically to serve Adidas. The latest newcomers include Chicago marketing firm Tangible Worldwide and Boise-based Fuel3 Advertising, which announced its entry …
An Ad Guy’s Laundry
I just spent some time catching up on Steffan Postaer's recent posts to his blog, Gods of Advertising. Here's some of what I picked up: Creatives can be an insecure lot. Agencies need to reinvent themselves, sometimes every six to eight weeks. Steffan thinks the Caddilac spot with Kate Walsh is trying too hard. Steffan has a PR associate at Euro RSCG/Chicago look at his some of his posts before publishing …
Care More
Tom Asacker (who has a new book out) is a fountain of good advice. Here's some of his latest: Are you feeling the increased pressure of this highly competitive economy? You will. And when it hits you, here is an effective way for you to handle the inevitable stress: Care more and worry less. Care about how you can help clients save time; save money; deepen their relationships; grow their businesses. Demonstrate that …
Seth Godin Is A Man of Action
If you want to become popular enough to have your own action figure, take a clue from Seth Godin. According to BusinessWeek, the man is "hyperkinetic." Given all the business writers competing for attention, how did Seth Godin reach the top tier? How, in the lingo of his new book, has he become the leader of such a large tribe? Was it through remarkable ideas. Or has he just been remarkably good at …
Are You Well Suited for Account Management?
Adweek listened to Anomaly co-founder Carl Johnson, speak at an account management panel in midtown Manhattan yesterday. He argued that being a "suit" is the best job in the business. Johnson cited the "all-access pass" nature of working in account management, the breadth and variety of tasks associated with the role and the "sheer unexpectedness" or unpredictability of it all. "It's the agency's only white-knuckle …
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