November 06, 2013
Companies are spending more time than ever interviewing potential new hires. In fact, it’s fairly common for a candidate to interview with 8-10 people, prepare formal presentations, and then wait months for a decision. While a thorough interviewing process is prudent, the effort to assess …
November 04, 2013
In March, SAG-AFTRA, the union representing all commercial talent, and the ANA-4A's Joint Policy Committee, representing the advertising industry, agreed on a three-year contract. Among its many provisions, this extraordinarily complex deal provides the foundation for making commercial-talent …
October 28, 2013
The recent IHAF conference demonstrated just how important talent is to the success of an in-house agency. All of the speakers noted how important it is to continuously challenge and stimulate the intellectual curiosity and creativity of their teams. Retaining top employees is a key to the success …
October 21, 2013
Having been fortunate enough to attend the IHAF’s In-House Agency Masters conference in Boston on 17 October, I wanted to share a handful of the main takeaways, focusing in particular on what ad agencies could learn from their (often less-heralded) counterparts in this space.
Mick O’Brien from …
October 16, 2013
Our largest event of the year is on deck—the IHAF Awards Show & Annual Conference. For months we’ve been planning this two-day gala, from defining the theme and outlining the agenda to directing the details and prepping the presenters. As today drew near, our pace grew more frenetic—though in just …
October 14, 2013
Great relationships are based on trust, and working as part of a team is no different. It takes serious foundational effort to build trust in a group setting—and it doesn’t happen overnight. But it’s necessary before any meaningful exchange of ideas or collaboration is possible. It’s one thing to …
October 11, 2013
Next week, IHAF is holding its eighth annual conference entitled, In-House Agency Masters. Now, I’ve heard of master carpenters, master musicians, even sushi masters—but this is the first time I’ve heard the designation used to describe an in-house agency. And you know what? I like it.
Mastery is …
October 07, 2013
When I began my career some time ago, as an eager “go get ‘em” account guy in the world of NYC advertising agencies, building a partnership with my client was the last thing on my mind. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to be liked, but describing my interactions with clients as “partnership”? Not so …
September 30, 2013
Partner has become quite a buzz word in the ad business. The big news last week was that Twitter added CBS and the NFL to its “stable of advertising partners.” The 10th annual Advertising Week conference also took place last week in NYC, with a featured session on client/agency creative partners. …
September 23, 2013
As a child, I was told I was creative—so I believed it. Aren’t all kids creative though? I did have a creative thought process and because I loved all that was art I was labeled “creative.” I loved to make things, explore, sort, compile lists, play games and rearrange the kitchen cabinets. I drew …