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 …