John January came up in the agency business as a copywriter. Today, John is the Co-CEO of Signal Theory, one of the biggest and best advertising agencies in Kansas City.
In this new episode of Ad Chatter—the podcast from the makers of Adpulp.com—Dan Goldgeier and I ask John about his journey. Listen in to hear how he went from “one great teacher,” to study journalism at Wichita State, to work as a copywriter, then a creative director, executive creative director, and now co-leader of an agency with 120+ people in two offices.
In this new episode, John describes the challenges of working remotely, how his agency continues to weather the storm, the business benefits that accrue when switching to a singular industry focus (in Signal Theory’s case, food), how brand experience is the name of the game, and much more.
Dan and I have both met John in person, and I’ve also been hired by him on two separate occasions, once to write copy and again to present the Ad Legends workshop.
I mention at one point in the show that we’re ‘proud of John’ and want to celebrate and share him with our listeners and readers. It’s true because there are not many people in John’s position today who remain humble, grounded, and eager to do the right thing for his teams, and consequently his clients.
