Rob Schwartz is president of TBWA\Chiat\Day in New York City. He’s the wearer of dapper suits, and the host of a popular advertising talk show that was named “Agency-Hosted Podcast of the Year” by Adweek in 2019.
Today, the Disruptor Series Podcast features 50-plus episodes on Podbean and it’s growing. The new interview with me, which airs this morning, is episode 56. The episodes have been downloaded more than 84,000 times so far on Podbean alone. Listeners also use iTunes and other platforms to access this talk content.
Schwartz, who is @Schwartzie14 on Twitter, asked me to appear on the show to discuss Adpulp.com’s role in the advertising news and opinion ecosystem, and in particular, he was curious about our new Emerging Voices Project.
Adpulp’s Emerging Voices Project … What Is It?
The Emerging Voices Project is an apprenticeship program where college students, grad students and recent graduates in journalism, marketing, or advertising get paid to write feature articles for Adpulp.com.
Schwartz and I both see the need to elevate new people, new ideas, and new voices in order to strengthen the Marcom talent pool through diversity.
He sees positive disruption in this idea, and it’s one of the highest professional compliments I’ve ever received.
A further note on disruption…the podcast is called the Disruptor Series for a good reason—the reason being that “disruption” is in Chiat\Day’s DNA, thanks to Lee Clow—a legendary creative force who Schwartz worked closely with for many years at the LA office of Chiat\Day.
“Let’s do the brave thing,” intones Lee Clow in the video, and I don’t want to disappoint him. Do you?
Here’s how I won’t disappoint. By bringing forward new voices who see the industry and today’s media landscape differently, I am choosing a path of self-disruption which will lead to more industry disruption.
I ask you to join me in this mission by becoming a paying subscriber, a.k.a. patron of Adpulp.com, on Patreon. Will you step forward at this time to help to pay talented writers with a keen interest in media, marketing, and advertising?
By elevating new voices who are just now entering our workplaces, we all might learn something important.
+ The Ad Legends Workshop, My New Book, Meeting Janet Champ, and Working in Salt Lake City
Schwartz asked me to describe the Ad Legends Workshop that I created and presented live last year. Additionally, I note that I am about to publish a book (my first) called, Ad Brains: 20 Honest Conversations with Advertising’s Icons, Rebels, and Rulers.
We also spoke of the journey that ad pros embark upon. I mention how I got started in Portland before getting my break in Salt Lake and then moving on to Denver and The Integer Group. I leave the story there but it goes on, and on.
Plus, One Piece of Advice for the Podcast Listeners
At the end of the session, Schwartz asks me to provide one piece of professional advice for his listeners.
I say: Tell your company’s story in one compelling, actionable, memorable sentence.
I do not give any examples of this kind of highly condensed corporate poetry on the ‘cast, but I’m happy to do so now.
- HEB—Taking Care of Texas
- McCann—Truth Well Told
- L.L. Bean—The Outside Is Inside Everything We Make
- Kraft Macaroni & Cheese—The Original Taste You Love
- Cazadores—100% Blue agave Highland Tequila from Los Altos de Jalisco
Texas writer and academic, Brené Brown says, “Clear is kind.” She is correct and it works for brands, as well as it does for people.
