Podcasts about mdc partners

Series FiveThis episode of The New Abnormal podcast features Faris Yakob, co-founder of Genius Steals, who began his career as a strategist during the first dot com explosion, before moving into agency world.  He worked for some dynamic agencies inc Naked Communications (as their 20th employee) before moving on to be EVP Chief Tech Strat at McCann Erickson NYC. He subsequently went to MDC Partners - a network of best-in-breed agencies inc CPB, Anomaly, 72 & Sunny, and kbs+, and then co-founded the superbly named Spies & Assassins. Faris was a founding member of the IPA Social Committee, and has blogged about - and been involved in discussion around - social in the industry for a decade. He's also written for those inc Campaign, Fast Company, Forbes, Contagious, Canvas8, etc. We discuss all of the above and more, in a conversation which takes in Marx, uncertainty & risk, Kant, Severance, Cannes Lions, and the realities of Nomadic Consulting. So...enjoy!

Our special guest for our final episode of the year is our good friend Faris Yakob. He and his wife Rosie are the force behind the consultancy Genius Steals, a nomadic strategic and creative consultancy. Faris is also the author of a book about how advertising works through the lens of the concept of attention. It's called, Paid Attention which is now in its 2nd edition. He has been at a variety of media and advertising agencies throughout his career, including Naked Communications, McCann Erickson, MDC Partners and helped to found many others. He writes for Campaign, Fast Company, Contagious and other publications. And he thinks deeply about the state of the ad world - how its changing, what it does, how it does it, and what it means for us all. He sat down to talk to us before Thanksgiving about how media planning works, how brands and advertisers think about audiences, and how the stories we tell about youth cultures have been recycled and subtly upgraded since the invention of the teenager, to fulfill the hopes and dreams of not only the corporations who want them to buy stuff, but just as importantly, the people who make advertising and want to believe it is capable of doing something good in the world.This is our last episode of the year - we wish you a very happy and relaxing holiday season, and send our best wishes for the New Year. See you in January!Links!Genius/Steals: http://geniussteals.co/Paid Attention, by Faris Yakob: https://www.koganpage.com/marketing-communications/paid-attention-9781398602502"We Need to Talk about Generations", via Ben Page, CEO of Ipsos: https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/publication/documents/2023-04/Ipsos_We-need-to-talk-about-generations-WEB.pdf"Nothing Beats a Londoner" via Paula Bloodworth of Wieden + Kennedy, via WARC: https://www.warc.com/newsandopinion/opinion/why-strategy-should-embrace-execution/en-gb/2811Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science: https://marketingscience.info/ and How Brands Grow: https://marketingscience.info/how-brands-grow/Mark Ritson: https://www.marketingritson.com/Herd by Mark Earls: https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Herd%3A+How+to+Change+Mass+Behaviour+by+Harnessing+Our+True+Nature-p-9780470744598 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Great Minds is pleased to feature David Doft, Chief Financial Officer at Emerald. David discusses his career, including his prior role as CFO at MDC Partners, as well as his current role at Emerald, including Emerald's acquisition of Advertising Week. Recorded content structured by Snackable.AI

In this episode we discuss M&A at the top levels of the agency world. Paul is a ‘Renaissance' entrepreneur of the media, advertising, digital, marketing and communications industry. He has held leadership positions at the highest levels at holding companies including IPG, Y&R Inc, WPP and MDC Partners. He speaks about how he has exited and reinvested multiple times as well as his current exploits.

It's been amazing, what we've achieved by connecting up computers world-wide, webbing them together. As its full name suggests, we gave ourselves an Inter-network that provides for our every information need, on command. But there is one change that the Internet made to us, it gave us more stimulus than our biology was made to handle. The demand for our attention suddenly exceeded the supply; and this economic shift is most noticeable in the world of advertising. The digital advertising marketplace has gotten more vast, more confusing, and it's far less clear what the rules are anymore.  Thankfully, there's been a lot of research at the intersection of advertising and human attention. Effective marketers who are aware of the trends can tune their advertising to make their brands heard and win the attention of their target audience. To get the latest insights into this, we're talking to the author of the book, Paid Attention which just came out  in 2022 with a revised edition.  Faris Yakob grew up in the UK and after graduating from Oxford University, led the digital innovation efforts at global ad agencies like McCann Erickson and MDC Partners. Following that, he and his wife Rosie co-founded Genius Steals, an innovation and strategy consultancy.  He also serves as a juror for marketing awards like the Clios and the London International Awards. He's also been a member of a non-profit consortium called  the Attention Council that aims to better measure the influence of marketing on people's  attention. Clearly someone who likes the written word, in addition to his books he puts out a monthly column in Admap and the Marketing Society. People/Products/Concepts Mentioned in Show Mathew Sweezey Tim Wu Mark Shaefer and his book Content Shock Damian Hurst Claude Levi Strauss Robin Dunbar, significance of the number 150  Nielsen Catalina Solutions David Olgivy For more details, please visit https://funnelreboot.com/episode-81-paid-attention-with-faris-yakob/

Do we have to go through all the hurdles to become wiser and stronger? Tricia Benn argues otherwise. By being involved in a relevant community that positions itself towards success, we can learn faster and execute better. Tricia is a Partner and Chief Community Officer of the C-Suite Network and General Manager of The Hero Club, an invitation-only membership organization for CEOs, founders, and investors. She is a leader in creating an executive community of collaboration, based on integrity, transparency, and measuring success beyond the numbers alone – ‘The Hero Factor.' This approach has driven her more than a 20-year track record of industry disruption in building new businesses, revenue streams, and delivering double digital and more, year-over-year growth. In addition to sitting on multiple business, associations, and not-for-profit boards, Benn served as a senior executive for three enterprise-level organizations in market research, telecommunications, media marketing, and advertising. As Global Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer and U.S. Managing Director within MDC Partners, a $3 billion global holding company, Benn's leadership drove double-digit growth year-over-year and new contracts with some of the most important impact players in the world. An award-winning business leader and international speaker, Benn share an inspiring, practical, and actionable message that empowers great leaders to take their businesses to the next level.In this episode, Tricia discusses the importance of cultivating a network that fosters reciprocity and respect. She presents the realities of living as a political statement in a world of disparity and what it takes to fight for opportunities meant for us. Join us and listen in! [00:01 - 09:53] Opening Segment Tricia Benn on growing up on a farmDiscovering a love for business that delivers purposeCultivating a relevant network and community[09:54 - 25:10] Living as a Political Statement in a World of DisparityLearning from the scars of others for faster growthHow business gets poor when the ego gets in the wayLiving as a woman with a political statement on economic disparity[25:11 - 41:32] The Four R's for Understanding instead of JudgingRealizing the margins and fighting for opportunitiesPropinquity and grace to understand others as teammatesStating clearly the rules of engagement[41:33 - 49:10] Closing SegmentWe owe it to our success in creating a great impactConnect with Tricia!Closing wordsTweetable Quote:“You don't need to be an asshole to be successful in business. And I always say, you know, the greedy bastards will continue, right? They don't need support. It's those of us that actually care about the impact we're going to have with our successful businesses. We want to be able to give back to our communities…We need to be connecting.” - Tricia BennConnect with Tricia:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/triciabenn/ LEAVE A REVIEW + help someone who wants to explode their business growth by sharing this episode or click here to listen to our previous episodes. Dreamcatchers is an inclusive organization that targets people's interest in being more instead of a certain demographic. We have people from all walks of life at many different ages. Find out more at www.dreamsshouldbereal.com. Find out more about Jerome at www.d3v3loping.com or www.myersmethods.com.

Mark Penn, CEO of Stagwell Group, completed the long-awaited merger between his company and MDC Partners in August, and has since hit the ground running building its leadership team and structure. The holding company, with its eyes on the Big Six, has assembled networks that help agencies work collaboratively across P&Ls to deliver integrated services for clients. It has its sights set on international expansion through an affiliate program, and is working toward the holy grail of bringing creativity and technology together for clients.In this episode, Penn chats with Campaign US Editor Alison Weissbrot about what Stagwell has accomplished in its first few months as a combined company, how the group is attracting and retaining talent in a tight labor market and what's next on the road map for 2022. Listen here now and subscribe to Campaign Chemistry wherever you get your podcasts.

Stagwell CEO Mark Penn drops by post-merger with MDC Partners to talk media networks, cross-agency collaboration, what it means to be a challenger holding company, the importance of fusing technology with creative (finally) – and the unlikely connection between his esoteric map collection and marketing.

Presidential Pollster Mark Penn is joined by Bob Cusack, Editor in Chief of The Hill, to discuss a new Harvard-Harris Poll, fielded July 28-29, 2021 among 1,788 registered voters.TOPLINE FINDINGS- BIDEN HONEYMOON HAS COME TO AN END - APPROVAL SLIPPED 10 POINTS- AMERICANS ARE SPLIT ON WHETHER COUNTRY IS ON RIGHT OR WRONG TRACK- THERE'S BEEN A REVERSAL IN PERCEPTIONS OF THE DIRECTION OF THE ECONOMY- PERCEIVED STRENGTH OF THE U.S. ECONOMY TOOK A DIP MONTH OVER MONTH- MORE VOTERS SAY THEIR FINANCIAL SITUATION IS GETTING WORSE, UP 9 POINTSSINCE MARCH- SEVERAL JOB APPROVAL METRICS ARE WORSENING, CORE AMONG THEM MANAGING THE ECONOMY, REACTING TO COVID, DEALING WITH CRIME &  VIOLENCE - DEMOCRATIC PARTY APPROVAL IS AT 48%, DOWN 7 POINTS- GOP APPROVAL MATCHES DEMOCRATIC APPROVAL, BUT ALSO DOWN 5 POINTS- OVERALL CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL HAS SLIPPED BY 9 POINTS- THE DELTA VARIANT HAS PRIORITIZED COVID-19 AS THE COUNTRY'S TOP ISSUEDOWNLOAD THE POLLBob Cusack has been reporting on policy and politics in the nation's capital since 1995. He joined The Hill as Business and Lobbying editor in 2003 and became the newspaper's managing editor a year later. He became the editor in chief in 2014.Cusack has won five awards from the National Press Club and the Society of Professional Journalists for investigative articles on a range of issues, including national security, healthcare and 2008 presidential politics surrounding Hurricane Katrina.Cusack regularly appears on MSNBC, Fox, ABC and CNN as a political analyst.Before joining The Hill, Cusack was a chief editor at Inside Washington Publishers.A native of New York City, Cusack received his B.A. in journalism from Loyola College in Maryland. He is a member of the Screen Actors Guild and has appeared in commercials, television shows and feature films.Mark Penn is the President and Managing Partner of The Stagwell Group, a private equity fund focused on the marketing services industry. In this role, Penn directs the acquisition process and oversees the Group's portfolio companies.Mark Penn's career spans 40 years in advertising, market research, public relations, polling and consulting.  He has advised top world leaders, led companies, and written two bestselling books.  Currently, Mark serves as President and Managing Partner of private equity The Stagwell Group as well as CEO of the fund's largest investment, MDC Partners.As “The Place Where Great Talent Lives,” MDC Partners is celebrated for its innovative advertising, public relations, branding, digital, social and event marketing agency partners, which are responsible for some of the most memorable and effective campaigns. By leveraging technology, data analytics, insights and strategic consulting solutions, MDC Partners drives creative excellence, business growth and measurable return on marketing investment for over 1,700 clients worldwide. MDC Partners is part of Stagwell Group's strategy to invest in digital marketing services companies.  With over $500 million raised, Stagwell has made over 20 investments in under four years, delivering what investors call, “a superior operating model.”Prior to founding Stagwell, Mark served in senior executive positions at Microsoft. As Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, he was responsible for working on core strategic issues across the company, blending data-analytics

Presidential Pollster Mark Penn is joined by Bob Cusack, Editor in Chief of The Hill, to discuss the latest Harvard-Harris Poll, fielded June 15-17, 2021 among 2,006 registered voters.Bob Cusack has been reporting on policy and politics in the nation's capital since 1995. He joined The Hill as Business and Lobbying editor in 2003 and became the newspaper's managing editor a year later. He became the editor in chief in 2014. Cusack has won five awards from the National Press Club and the Society of Professional Journalists for investigative articles on a range of issues, including national security, healthcare and 2008 presidential politics surrounding Hurricane Katrina. Cusack regularly appears on MSNBC, Fox, ABC and CNN as a political analyst. Before joining The Hill, Cusack was a chief editor at Inside Washington Publishers. A native of New York City, Cusack received his B.A. in journalism from Loyola College in Maryland. He is a member of the Screen Actors Guild and has appeared in commercials, television shows and feature films.Mark Penn is the President and Managing Partner of The Stagwell Group, a private equity fund focused on the marketing services industry. In this role, Penn directs the acquisition process and oversees the Group's portfolio companies.Mark Penn's career spans 40 years in advertising, market research, public relations, polling and consulting.  He has advised top world leaders, led companies, and written two bestselling books.  Currently, Mark serves as President and Managing Partner of private equity The Stagwell Group as well as CEO of the fund's largest investment, MDC Partners.As “The Place Where Great Talent Lives,” MDC Partners is celebrated for its innovative advertising, public relations, branding, digital, social and event marketing agency partners, which are responsible for some of the most memorable and effective campaigns. By leveraging technology, data analytics, insights and strategic consulting solutions, MDC Partners drives creative excellence, business growth and measurable return on marketing investment for over 1,700 clients worldwide. MDC Partners is part of Stagwell Group's strategy to invest in digital marketing services companies.  With over $500 million raised, Stagwell has made over 20 investments in under four years, delivering what investors call, “a superior operating model.”Prior to founding Stagwell, Mark served in senior executive positions at Microsoft. As Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, he was responsible for working on core strategic issues across the company, blending data-analytics with creativity to help set the company on a new course.Marks's experience in growing, building, and managing agencies is well documented. As the co-founder and CEO of Penn Schoen Berland, a market research firm that he built and sold to communications behemoth WPP, he demonstrated value-creation in a crowded industry, serving clients with innovative techniques from being first with overnight polling to unique ad testing methods used by presidents and major corporations. At WPP, he also became CEO of Burson-Marsteller, and managed the two companies to record profit growth during that period.A globally recognized strategist, Mark has advised corporate and political leaders, both in the United States and internationally. For six years, he served as White House Pollster to President Bill Clinton and was a senior adviser in his 1996 re-election, identifying “Soccer Moms” as the key swing vote needed for victory. The Washington Post wrote that no other pollster had ever become, “So thoroughly integrated into the policymaking operation” of a presidential administration.

Chad is joined by Diana Bald, the new CEO of thoughtbot, to discuss her background, the organizational changes to the leadership of the company, and the reasoning behind them. Diana on Twitter (https://twitter.com/dianabald) Become a Sponsor (https://thoughtbot.com/sponsorship) of Giant Robots! Transcript: CHAD PYTEL: This is the Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots podcast, where we explore the design, development, and business of great products. I'm your host, Chad Pytel. And today, I'm joined by the new CEO of thoughtbot, Diana Bald. Thanks for joining me, Diana. DIANA BALD: Hi, Chad. This is so fun. This is so exciting. I've only done one podcast before this, so I'm excited. CHAD: Well, don't worry. You can still be CEO of thoughtbot even if you're not a podcaster. [laughter] DIANA: Okay, that's great to know. CHAD: So it's been several months now. So I want to go back and talk about how we arrived here. But I'm curious, how are you feeling now? What does it feel like? DIANA: It feels great. I think I'm getting more and more comfortable every day, which is amazing. And I think the year has gotten off to a great start, so that's helping me feel more comfortable as well. So far, so good. CHAD: So for folks who are listening, I'm sure they're wondering who are you? [chuckles] Let's give the audience a little peek into your background and how you arrived at thoughtbot, and the role you originally had. DIANA: Great. How far back do you want me to go? CHAD: As far as back as you're comfortable. DIANA: Okay. I actually was really interested in technology at a younger age. I put myself through undergrad and grad school while I was doing tech roles. I trained lawyers on how to move from the analog world into the digital world. That was one of my very first jobs at a law firm. And then, shortly after that, I did webmaster work when I was putting myself through MBA school. It was a very different world than it is now. This is way back when the internet was really just kicking off; it was 1998 to 2001, around that time. When I graduated from MBA school, I was recruited into Univision into their leadership pipeline, which was very much focused on business development. But my very first project there was web integration, integrating the univision.com with their TV and radio. That was when I started to move away from technology. I was there for ten years. I had a variety of different roles, a really fun job. I got to experience a lot of different roles, lived in a lot of different cities. I spent a lot of time in Philadelphia, where I actually launched a television station in Spanish, which was really fun. And then I came to New York. After Univision, I spent four years in the advertising and marketing world. I spent two years with IPG at ID Media, which was a direct marketing agency. And then two years at MDC Partners at an agency called TargetCast, which later became Assembly, which was more media buying and planning. And then, when I left there, I went to Liberty Mutual for three years. And at Liberty Mutual, I fell back in love with technology. I missed it. I was doing a lot of strategic partnership opportunities with really interesting companies that were doing brand new business models and disrupting insurance, and there was a lot of exposure to telematics and IoT. And it was just calling me back, and I was like, I got to get back to tech. And somehow, I don't recall exactly how, but I found you. You and I chatted, and then I fell in love with thoughtbot [chuckles], and then after that, the rest is history. CHAD: You joined us as the Managing Director of the New York City studio. I want to say that was a position we were advertising for, and you applied to it. DIANA: Yeah. CHAD: And one of the things that really stood out when I first met you and as we've got to know each other and work together is the variety of experience that you had because I've only ever done what I do, which has its own strengths. So the fact that I started freelancing web design and development in high school and have continued to do that now for 25 years is a strength, but it's also, aside from the jobs I had as a dishwasher or the checkout person at the grocery store, this is literally all I've done. And the variety of experience you have not only helps thoughtbot be better, but I also think it positions you well for our business. In consulting, you need to be unflappable in a lot of circumstances, and I think you're good at that. You're good at maintaining an even keel and talking with customers and dealing with difficult situations and that kind of thing. DIANA: In some ways, I'm envious that you have been able to stick with development the entire time; that’s really, really cool. But in other ways, I can see what you're talking about because I do feel like I have had a variety of roles and seen a lot of different situations. And every one of these situations has had their challenges. And they've all been generalist roles where I've dealt with clients, and then those clients had challenges in their respective industries. So I've really learned a lot about keeping things in perspective, if you will, more so than people who are in a role for a particular time and see that aspect of it. I'm seeing things from a bird's eye view much more often because maybe I've seen the situation in the past only it was in this industry, or I've seen this situation in the past, but it had these characters. And it's like I can carry that knowledge over to thoughtbot, which has been really helpful. CHAD: So the managing director role, I think I've described it on the show before, and it’s sort of the CEO of the individual studio. That’s the way that it works. You oversaw the individual studio, and you were responsible for business development and the whole P&L of the studio, the whole business. Going back to first joining thoughtbot, what was a surprise to you? DIANA: How comfortable I felt. [chuckles] I felt like, oh, I'm home. I felt like, oh, there you are. I've been looking for you all my life kind of feeling. I don't know how to explain it. It just felt really good. Like, okay, these are problems. I like these problems. Or this is really joyful. I felt like I was actually in my element for probably the first time in my career, although I've had some jobs where I felt pretty much in my comfort zone, but thoughtbot took it to a totally new level. And I don't know if it's thoughtbot, or the role, or the combination of the two, or maybe it's me where I am now in my life and just having had all these different jobs and experiences. Maybe it's all the above. CHAD: One of the interesting things that's been a journey for thoughtbot not only just with you but with several people is up until a few years ago, we hadn't, aside from some office managers or people operations, we hadn't had people in direct client-facing roles who are not designers and developers. And it comes from a place of fear and skepticism about that, historically for us, for me personally. And I don't think I was wrong per se; I was just misguided. And I've learned over the years that when you're afraid of something, there can be some truth in what you're afraid of, but you should let that fear guide you into making good decisions and not let it hold you back from doing anything. And that's what we were doing: we were so afraid of what adding non-designers and developers to the consulting side of the business would mean for us as designers and developers that we didn't do it at all, instead of trying to find people who would be a great fit, who would be great advocates for us, a great fit for the company. And once we figured out the recipe for doing that, I feel like not only did it make thoughtbot better and stronger on the business side, but it made thoughtbot better overall. One of the things we strive for is an inclusive, diverse environment, and that doesn't just mean the obvious things. It also means having different perspectives and experiences that a group can bring to the table that makes the results better and more enjoyable, and more fulfilling to work in. And I think that you've been successful in bringing that to the company, and it felt good and not only you but the other people that we've added in the managing director roles. And that kind of thing that brings that different experience and different skill sets to the table has made thoughtbot better, I think. So, thank you. DIANA: Thank you for letting us bring it to the table; not every place lets us do that. But you've set up a culture, to your credit, that I think brings the best out in people. And I think you've enabled that to happen, so thank you right back. [chuckles] CHAD: There's another angle to that, which has been on my mind, which is what we were doing in the past was basically forcing designers and developers to do some of those things and potentially setting them up to fail because it wasn't a strength, or it wasn't an area that they were actually interested in. They were just doing it out of love for thoughtbot or wanting to see us succeed. When you put people in a position where they're going to struggle or where they're going to not succeed, that's doing nobody a favor as well. And so that's in part been on my mind because as we've been reorganizing the company and everything, I think that's part of the lens at which we're looking at it: what can we do to make things easier to make us more successful as a team and as individuals in our day-to-day work, too? DIANA: I think that there's a lot there. I feel like in every designer; there is a business person because they're breaking things down. They're deconstructing constantly, and they're asking tons of questions that business people just naturally ask. And then developers are super creative, and they're problem solvers, and they do the same thing. I feel like it's a combination of art and science. Everybody's got their science part of it, the developers, designers, even people like me with a business development background. But then when you do enough of that thing, and you're meshed with the people who bring a complementary skill, then you're able to do the art side of it together that you wouldn't get solo, for instance. If you just put a bunch of business development people in a room together, it's very different than when you mix them up with a designer who brings that side of thinking and a developer who brings their thinking. I think together we're better than siloed. CHAD: So when it came to the actual transition and having you step into the role of CEO and move into the COO role, and I want to be relatively honest that it wasn't some grand plan that I executed over a period of a long time. And if that had been the case, I think we would have gone about it a little bit differently and certainly with more transparency for the rest of the thoughtbot team. For the listeners, the path there was that Matt Jankowski, a long-time COO and member of the leadership team at thoughtbot, was getting ready to move on. And that wasn't the only thing that was changing. Obviously, 2020 was a big year; it was a difficult year. And so the combination of all of those things and me looking at what does the leadership team at thoughtbot look like going forward? Who is going to fill Matt's responsibilities? That kind of thing, and really breaking down those roles and responsibilities and coming to the conclusion that the CEO role and particularly business development are inherently coupled at the company right now and that we have a lot of things we need to do in front of us and who is the best person to be able to do that? And feeling like it might not be me. And the things that I was going to be taking over from Matt operationally were in and of themselves a significant area. I love thoughtbot. I love helping it work better and being close to the client work. And now that we've built an incredible team of managing directors, that was another thing that was on my mind that I've built that team. I'm really proud of that team, and it's an awesome team. But who's going to be the better mentor and leader for that team going forward now that we've got a team of experienced people who are slightly different than just designers and developers and who have different needs and jobs? And again, the best person for that might not be me. And so those were all the thoughts that were going through my head. And then things came together really quickly. DIANA: Yeah, they sure did. [laughter] They sure did turn around and come together really quickly. First, I have a lot of admiration for you, in particular, like the way that you're able to take a step back and look at things objectively and not let ego get in the way of things because that's a big deal. Not everybody is able to do that, Chad. And I've worked at a lot of places, as we talked about, and I've seen ego get in the way. And I've seen ego get in the way in a bad way. It's not always a friend. Sometimes it could be a friend, sometimes it's a very powerful friend to have, but sometimes ego can hurt. And so there's a lot of wisdom to that. And in terms of the speed at which things came together, yes, I agree; I think that's a reflection of the times we're living in. We're in a time where things can change on a dime, and we just have to be able to pivot and be able to reassess the landscape, see what we have to do, make the necessary modifications and then go. And I'm really proud of both of us and the team of the managing directors and everyone at thoughtbot for our ability to quickly adjust and do what we had to do during the really crazy year that 2020 was. CHAD: I spent the majority of 2020 in intense survival mode. And so it wasn't until we were through that period that I realized how much it had affected me, whether it be in burnout ways but also in terms of realizing that we were going to survive. At the end of March, early April, it was the most difficult time. We saw a good portion of our business…new projects were starting, people doing new things. At the end of March, early April, a lot of that new stuff got completely put on hold as the whole world recalibrated. And so we saw a significant decrease in revenue in those months, and we didn't know where it was going to go. So we were very proactive about redoing our numbers and making sure that we weren't going to go out of business and didn't go out of business. And once we were able to do that and to stabilize things, we still needed to spend a significant amount of effort for the rest of the year, working really hard to make sure that we made things less bad. And that was pretty difficult. But my main point or my takeaway from the year and part of what has led to this transition is the realization that I don't really have any plans to go anywhere per se, but rather than be like, oh, I need to keep my position forever, it's more we're coming up on the 20-year mark of thoughtbot. When we came up on the 10-year mark of thoughtbot, we asked ourselves the question, “Okay, it's ten years. We're not really going anywhere. What do the next ten years look like?” And so, as we continue to move forward as a company, I think the horizon tends to expand. And it's like, okay, we're coming up on 20 years. What do the next 20 years look like? So, I don't really have any plans to go anywhere, but am I going to be doing this and the same thing in the same way for another 20 years? Probably not. [laughs] I'll be getting close to retirement age. So I always have come to work every day, just trying to create the place that I want to work, doing the kinds of things that I want to do. And I think that motivates everyone at thoughtbot. That's how we all come to work every day. And I think it's one of the things that leads to that culture that we have. And I think this transition has been part of that expanding horizon part of thinking about being a resilient company that is going to last for a long time. DIANA: Yeah, absolutely. I think that's one of the things I love most about thoughtbot is just that we're intentional and that we do want to make this a place that people want to work at. CHAD: So we asked for questions from the audience, and one of the gists of the episode was what was the actual way that we communicated this change to the company? DIANA: So I think we went about it in multiple ways. You notified people in the early stages. And then, we also went about a transition period, which was like the second phase of it. I think you can speak best to the first phase. CHAD: Yeah, one of the first things I did was once the decision was made; I met one-on-one with the rest of the C-level team and looped them in on it. And then I think the next thing was crafting a company-wide message that went out to the whole company. I'm not sure if there was much in between those two things. DIANA: Yeah, I think that's what it was. CHAD: Now, one of the interesting things, as I was saying earlier, is that part of the change that was happening at the same time was Matt transitioning out of the company. And so I think in some ways that made the whole thing a little bit more understandable for people. There was change already happening, and they were together. I think in retrospect, in other ways, or at least one thing I wanted to make sure people understood, is that the COO role and the CEO role going forward aren't necessarily the same as what they were in the past. And so even though Matt was leaving and I was taking on that title, that doesn't necessarily mean I was just going to be doing everything that he did in the same way that he did it. And the same is true for you in the CEO role. DIANA: Yeah, we bring our own personalities and our own strengths to the roles. We give each other room to do that. I know that you like to be involved in the development. You like to be involved in sales as well. It's important that things change, that things don't stay the same. I think it's important to evolve and to bring in different viewpoints and change the roles a little bit if we need to, which I think we've done and we're doing. CHAD: And so someone asked, “Were people surprised?” I think people were very surprised, don't you? DIANA: [chuckles] Yeah, I think so. I think I was surprised, [laughter] starting with me. Yeah, everybody was. But it's understandable; you’re the founder. And I think change does bring an element of surprise in and of itself. CHAD: Yeah, I think we got to that place very quickly. But in retrospect, knowing where we ended up, I could have envisioned more proactively saying, “This is a transition,” not even necessarily with you specifically just like “maybe next year I won't be CEO,” like giving people some clue that a transition of some kind might be coming. But I didn't know myself, and so it wasn't really practical to give people. But I think in retrospect, it would have been nice to make it more clear that that's the kind of thing that might be on the table. DIANA: I also feel, though, that there is an element like we were speaking about earlier that sometimes things change and they change quickly, and we can see more of that happening in the future. I don't think that's going to stop. I think that actually might increase to some extent. So it's great if we have an advance notice of things, but sometimes there isn't the room or the opportunity to do so. CHAD: So then you moved into the role. We had a transition period. What was that like for you? DIANA: It was interesting because I thought, well, let me bring things that I always wanted my CEOs to do but never did. And let me not do things that I saw my CEOs doing that I didn't like. [chuckles] Let me start there. And one of the things that I really enjoy, and I think it's part of the culture here, is just being a little goofy and a little silly and just having that freedom. And I actually think that that makes for a better, healthier environment. And I guess I wished my prior CEOs were a little bit less uptight, maybe, if you will, a little bit more goofy, a little bit more fun. And so I think bringing that even more because you already bring that but really doing it together. [chuckles] CHAD: Well, I have to be honest, I used to be a lot more goofy than even I am now. And I've just been worn down over the years [laughter], which is why part of this is just making sure that things stay fresh, too. But yes, I really appreciate that. DIANA: And also another thing that I would think is really important to me is that voices be heard. It's all a collaboration, right? Because I've worked at some big companies, I would say a lot, but not all of them have been big companies, and it's been very top-down, and it shouldn't be that way, even in big companies. I think that it should be a dialogue. You put something out there, but you also have to hear the feedback. That feedback loop is really important. And you might miss something really, really big if you don't have that feedback loop. And I really enjoy that we are doing that here. We have our director sessions where we break out into teams, and people come up with ideas, and they share those ideas. And we take that in, and we synthesize it, and we say, “Yes, that's valid. Don't agree with that. Definitely agree with that.” We're able to have that dialogue that I think serves us really, really well, which is another thing that I'm really enjoying about my new role and working with you in this capacity. It’s great. CHAD: I have a couple of things that surprised me, and I'm curious what surprised you. But the first is that I knew that things were going to have to change. There were too many pent-up questions at thoughtbot. It was too obvious that the pandemic was going to last a lot more longer, but I didn't know what any of those things were. I just had a sense that they were going to change. And so the process of navigating that change with you and not being the one who is CEO while that's happening has been really positive for me and surprising. What's been surprising for you? DIANA: Very few things surprise me if I'm honest. [laughs] I feel like with time, with so many experiences people have, things get less and less surprising the more time we're on this planet. I don't feel that surprised about things. I actually have gotten to a point in my life where I'm seeing things as opportunities (and you and I have talked about this a lot) and leaning into those challenges and turning them into what's the silver lining here? Can we find the silver lining, and how do we pull that silver lining out and actually turn that into something really strong? I'm doing that more and more. And I feel like the pandemic has actually really called that out and made that a strength in a way which is ironic, but it's actually been really a very useful skill. CHAD: So the other thing that's been surprising or unexpected, once the transition was over, some things happened that pulled me into client work much more than I was originally expecting. And that's been really interesting because I feel like it's both good and bad. There are things that I would historically be involved in, and even in my new role, I should be, and I just can't be. So all of you are left to do things without me, but there was never any doubt in my mind that you'd be able to handle it or that the team would be able to handle it. But I think it's actually been an interesting thing to have those two things coincide. We've got these transitions going on, and we've got the reorganization, and suddenly, I'm a lot less available than I have been in the past. So that's been something that's been unexpected that we've had to deal with. DIANA: I think one of the things that's helped me deal with that is that you've been working on some very important projects for the world, and that really do help humanity. And I just think that that's been one thing I keep thinking about: Chad’s doing really important stuff right now. So I think that's been a good thing to keep in mind as well. And then there's another side to it, too, where it's like a parent analogy. Even though I'm not a parent, I have young people in my life. You leave them alone sometimes, and sometimes they'll surprise you, and they'll actually be able to take care of themselves. And they're able to actually do more than you thought they would because you left them alone and it’s like, let's see what they do. And then they actually do something really cool. Some of that has played into this, too, which is interesting. CHAD: Well, from my perspective, it's almost the opposite of what one might think, which is I never had any trust issues. And I always believe in the thoughtbot team to be able to do things. But oftentimes, I feel like I'm being asked for permission or being checked in with just because I'm the founder and that kind of thing. And so I actually think it's been healthy to be not available and be pretty explicit about that because then it means that I'm not being an artificial gatekeeper for people and things. DIANA: And it also strengthens the decision-making, I think, because people get to practice that without you and not become dependent on you solving the problem for them, for instance. That's another healthy side to that. CHAD: So in upcoming episodes, we're going to talk about the reorg, and a big part of that is going remote. We don't need to dig too much into it now, but through the lens of becoming CEO through that transition, that has been entirely remote. For me, as CEO, I was traveling to each of the studios meeting people in person once a month. How has it been going through this transition, becoming more embedded into the rest of the company at different levels and that kind of thing and having it be entirely remote? DIANA: It's got its pros and cons. In some ways, we've been able to move really quickly on some things. We've also been able to bring perspectives that maybe we wouldn't have thought about before. On the other hand, I really enjoy getting out and seeing people in person, and I feel like there's a chemistry that's developed when you're able to go to lunch together or just have coffee together. And I’m missing that side of it and looking forward to the day when we can do that safely, especially the folks in London; getting a chance to do that with them would be terrific. But I think as with anything, it's got its pros and cons associated with it. We’re trying to lean into the pros as much as possible because this won't always be the case. There will be a time when we all come together. And we might as well just make the most of this time that we're apart to move as quickly as we can, learn as much as we can, and take those learnings so that when we are in person, and we do connect that we can then explore other advantages that that brings us. CHAD: So when it comes to working from anywhere, which we're specifically not saying that we're an entirely remote company; it’s just that we are now working from anywhere going forward. And that was an intentional choice. But that's been an interesting transition; I think because previously, our whole strategy as a company was local studios working with local clients with a local team. Our culture was built up around our physical places of work. So my question for you as the CEO of thoughtbot is how do you maintain that culture, or how do you change it to not lose what people think makes thoughtbot great along the way? DIANA: I think we're in the process of discovering that right now. And we are learning things that work and things that don't work. And I don't have an answer. I can only speak to things that we're trying to do. I have noticed there have been a lot of people who have left and gone to different parts of the country, or some have even left the country. And I think that was really surprising. I wasn't expecting people to move to some of the places that they've moved. But knowing that they have an increased comfort level in their lives because they're closer to their families or they're doing things that they need to do right now in certain locations that are not where they started gives me a sense of reassurance that this was the right decision because we're giving people that space, that ability to do that. And some people really did need to move to different locations and deal with certain things. And then just giving that extra flexibility that’s honestly practical, it's just practicality. I feel like all we've done is introduced the element of this is just a practical application of life. Like, if you need to take your kids to school or if you need to go to the doctor, go to the doctor, it's okay. If you need to run an errand, go ahead and do that. You don't have to be tied to a desk in one location all day long. It's healthier if you do what you have to do and then get back to work when you're ready. And then we've had a lot of issues that have impacted society in general that have affected thoughtbot overall, like the things that happened with George Floyd and some of the things we're hearing about recently in Atlanta, killings in Atlanta. Sometimes people just need to take a moment and process all that and see how do we make this world a better place and how do we bring our best selves to thoughtbot? And in our new remote structure, we're giving that, not that we didn't do it before, but it's just giving that extra space that it's okay, it's safe. It's safe to do that. Take the time you need and the place that you need, if it's closer to your families, do that. I feel like that's been a very practical thing that we've done. There's a sense of loss because I miss all the New Yorkers. [chuckles] I’d see them often, and everybody would get together on Fridays and have lunch together, and there's a sense of that loss. Seeing our Slack channel go away was sort of sad in a way, but then happy in other ways. But that's true with everything that changes. With everything that changes, there's a beginning and an end; there’s a transition. And we're going through that. I'm looking forward to the days that we can bring people together, maybe in an in-person summit. I think that's going to be fantastic. It's going to be so much fun. But right now, the summit that we had virtually was a blast, and everybody was virtual, and folks had a really good time. So it's just we're finding that right balance. We're testing and trying things. I hope people feel they can bring ideas to us, and we can implement different tactics, tricks, cultures, all that is work in process. CHAD: I think we're in for an interesting time over the next year because part of why we had offices before was that highly collaborative environment with not only the thoughtbot team but with the clients that we work with and whether that would have been in their office or in ours. And when that was completely off the table, there was no discussion. We didn't need to be in person with someone. The team wasn't going to be based in New York because you're in New York, those kinds of things. And so the pandemic was the kick in the pants we needed. And since clients were also entirely remote, it just wasn't an issue. It'll be interesting over the next year as we navigate being able to be in person again staffing projects remotely, having teams be distributed, that kind of thing. It will be fine. If we didn't think it would be fine, we wouldn't have done what we did, but just because it will end up okay doesn't mean that it won't be a little bit of a challenge or interesting. DIANA: Absolutely, yes, I agree. I think we may even be more experimental and traveling to different cities where the client is, for example, together as a group, which we really didn't do much of in the past. We've talked about having things like pop-up offices, which is something we will experiment with. So there's some experimentation to happen. I know we're going to make mistakes. But I know we're also going to do some stuff that's going to be really, really great, too. We have to try it, though. We won't learn until we try it and lean into what works. Let's do more of the stuff that's working. CHAD: Yeah. And the other thing, and I think we communicated this to the team, which is like, this is what we're doing today. It's going to be iterative. And one of the things people need to keep in mind is that we spend a lot of money on offices. And so once we remove that, that money can be put to completely different things whether it be getting together in person more often, or it be other benefits or just operating more profitably so that we're all working a little less stressed. There are all these things that are going to come out of it. And that doesn't even necessarily mean that three years from now, we won't have small offices in some places that look very different than what the previous thoughtbot offices look like. But the best way forward, we felt, was to completely wipe the slate clean and rebuild what it means to be at thoughtbot and how we're working both financially but also from making this new structure work really well perspective. DIANA: Yes, exactly. CHAD: So, any parting words of wisdom or thoughts? DIANA: Yeah. You made this really comfortable for me. I was completely out of my comfort zone, but I think you made me feel comfortable in having a podcast conversation. So thank you for that. It was a lot of fun. CHAD: If people want to get in touch with you, ask you questions, follow along with you, where is the best place for them to do that? DIANA: Email is great. Also, I am getting more active on Twitter now. It's something I'm having to do, but you can also find me on Twitter @dianabald, first name, last name. And my email is dianabald@thoughtbot.com. CHAD: Awesome. You can subscribe to the show and find notes for this episode at giantrobots.fm. If you have questions or comments, email us at hosts@giantrobots.fm. You can find me on Twitter @cpytel and Lindsey on Twitter @Lindsey3D. This podcast is brought to you by thoughtbot and produced and edited by Thom Obarski. Thanks for listening as always, and see you next time This podcast was brought to you by thoughtbot. thoughtbot is your expert design and development partner. Let's make your product and team a success. Special Guest: Diana Bald.

575: Brand Creativity Antonio Buchanan, Antonio & Paris Brand Creativity Antonio Buchanan, Antonio & Paris – The Sharkpreneur podcast with Seth Greene Episode 575 Antonio Buchanan Antonio Patric Buchanan has spent his career influencing some of the world’s top brands. His career took off at Y&R Worldwide, where he quickly became a vice president of Strategic Planning, working on American Express, Citigroup, Verizon, Evian, Disney and Club Med. He then served as senior partner and head of strategy and planning on Ogilvy Worldwide’s American Express and IBM global business, with assignments in Mexico City, London, Singapore, Brazil and Sao Paolo. After heading FCB’s Global Integrated Strategy Division for clients like Lucent, Levi Strauss, 3Com, MTV, and overseeing a $370 million revenue growth, his entrepreneurial gene took control. In 1998, Antonio and his partner Paris formed bang!zoom, a global research and strategy consultancy with offices in San Francisco Chicago and London. Their firm oversaw research initiatives for 3Com, Lucent, BBC, Avaya, American Express, and others before selling the company to MDC Partners (a Toronto-based communications holding company). Finally, in 2003, Antonio & Paris was born. The global brand innovation and design firm operating has offices in San Francisco, Paris, London and Mexico City along with virtual staff around the globe. A&P has received tremendous praise for the creation of innovative tools, non-orthodox qualitative and quantitative insight breakthroughs, creative work and comprehensive brand initiatives. The firm’s clients include AT&T, MINI USA, Levi Strauss, Rubbermaid, Discover Card, Bausch & Lomb, State Farm, Paramount Pictures, Barco, Mayo Clinic, Tenet Health Care and Evolve Biosystems to name a few. Antonio has been named one of the top creative thinkers by AdAge, named on the top innovative thinkers list for Wallpaper Magazine and one of the top 100 executives on Black Enterprise’s BE 100 list. Listen to this illuminating Sharkpreneur episode with Antonio Buchanan about brand creativity. Here are some of the beneficial topics covered on this week’s show: ● Why it’s important to have a foothold in the regions your company operates in. ● How regular team communication is important for company growth. ● Why it’s important to use emotional drivers when trying to sell a product. ● How inspiration to build a brand can come from all over the world. ● Why mindsets drive people to make purchases and should be advertised to. Connect with Antonio: Guest Contact Info Twitter @antonioandparis Instagram @antonioandparis Facebook facebook.com/AntonioAndParis LinkedIn linkedin.com/company/antonioandparis Links Mentioned: antonioandparis.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

< 28:30 > Co-elevation - how do you raise people up to bring out their brilliance? Everyone in the team is expected to be both a leader and a supporter. Leapfrogging: the leader allows the supporter to take the lead, then the leader supports them, the faster they understand what the hot seat feels like. Introverts can make good leaders as much as extroverts. Set up the mission and the alignment for the team member so they know how they are contributing. ABOUT TRICIA BENN: Tricia Benn is a Partner and Chief Community Officer of the C-Suite Network and General Manager of The Hero Club, an invitation-only membership organization for CEOs, founders, and investors. As an executive within both organizations, her mission is to build a platform and community that accelerates the success of c-level executives. She is a leader in creating an executive community of collaboration, based on integrity, transparency, and measuring success beyond the numbers alone – ‘The Hero Factor.' This approach has driven her more than 20-year track record of industry disruption in building new businesses, revenue streams, and delivering double digital and more, year-over-year growth. In addition to sitting on multiple business, associations and not-for-profit boards, Benn served as a senior executive for three enterprise-level organizations in market research, telecommunications, media marketing, and advertising. As Global Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer and U.S. Managing Director within MDC Partners, a $3 billion global holding company, Benn's leadership drove double digit growth year-over-year and new contracts with some of the most important impact players in the world. An award-winning business leader and international speaker, Benn shares an inspiring, practical and actionable message that empowers great leaders to take their businesses to the next level. Learn more at www.c-suitenetwork.com and https://heroceoclub.com/ or connect on LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook.  ABOUT THE HOST, NINA SUNDAY CSP A Certified Virtual Presenter, Nina Sunday presents virtually internationally on workplace culture, productivity and communication. Her book, ‘Workplace Wisdom for 9 to thrive; proven tactics and hacks to get ahead in today's workplace' is a selection of the C-Suite Book Club.  With a Bachelor of Arts and Diploma in Education, Nina is a Past Chapter President of Professional Speakers Australia and a CSP (Certified Speaking Professional). In the Manage Self, Lead Others podcast, Nina Sunday speaks with key experts from across the globe who share their insights in self-leadership and leading others, highlighting emerging trends since COVID. For more information visit https://ninasunday.com or follow Nina Sunday on LinkedIn, Twitter or Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode we speak with Paul Woolmington, currently the CEO of Canvas Worldwide – a creatively driven media and communications agency named Adweek’s 2020 Breakthrough Agency of the Year – that aims to reinvent its marketplace at scale. Under Paul’s leadership, Canvas has grown to become the world’s second-largest independent media agency. Paul is a ‘Renaissance’ entrepreneur of the media, advertising, digital, marketing and communications industry. He has held leadership positions at the highest levels both globally and domestically in management, media, integrated business, brand, digital and communications strategy at holding companies including IPG, Y&R Inc, WPP and MDC Partners. He co-founded Naked Communications Americas, founded The Media Kitchen, and was named one of the ten most creative/innovative people in marketing and advertising by Fast Company.Paul is also a senior fellow at Columbia University, advising in the cross-discipline ‘Committee for Global Thought’ initiative as well as a member of ‘The Digital Storytelling Lab.’ Born in Africa, raised in the UK, and now a US citizen, Paul has traveled extensively around the world both professionally and personally.We discuss:Working in the advertising industry between London and New York CityMad-Men Era / Madison AvenueBeing an intrapreneurRiding the wave of acquisitions, going public and founding new businessWhat it was like when Google and Facebook came alongEmbracing change

I have immense respect for women who know their ‘SUITE’ Spot within the business realm! Powerhouse Dynamo, Tricia Benn – continues to work her magic in dual top-leadership roles within the C-Suite Network! A NOT-TO-BE-MISSED SHOW on my C-Suite Radio / C-Suite Network Host Page!! Tricia Benn is the Chief Community Officer of the C-Suite Network and the General Manager of The Hero Club, an invitation-only membership organization for CEOs, founders, and investors. As an officer of these organizations, her mission is to build a platform and community that accelerates the success of c-level executives, owners, investors and influencers. She is a leader in creating an executive community of collaboration, based on integrity, transparency, and measuring success beyond the numbers alone – ‘The Hero Factor.’ This approach has driven her more than 20-year track record of industry disruption in building new businesses, revenue streams, and delivering double digit, year-over-year growth. In addition to sitting on multiple business, associations and not-for-profit boards, Benn served as a senior executive for three enterprise-level organizations in market research, telecommunications, media marketing, and advertising. As Global Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer and U.S. Managing Director within MDC Partners, a $3 billion global holding company, Benn’s leadership drove double digit growth year-over-year and new contracts with some of the most important impact players in the world. An award-winning business leader and international speaker, Benn shares an inspiring, practical, and actionable message that empowers great leaders to take their businesses to the next level. Learn more at www.c-suitenetwork.com and https://heroceoclub.com/ or connect on LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook.I have immense respect for women who know their ‘SUITE’ Spot within the business realm! Powerhouse Dynamo, Tricia Benn – continues to work her magic in dual top-leadership roles within the C-Suite Network! Uplifting you to fear less and to live more!  #Grateful #Radio #Podcasts #CSuiteRadio #CSuiteNetwork #CTRN #HaltonHonda #Forever #AHAthat #VRRMediaProductions #CrackingTheRichCode #BrittVentures #JimBritt #KevinHarrington #GoldsmithStakeholderCenteredCoaching #Entrepreneurs #LivingFearlessly https://livingfearlesslywithlisa.com/event/female-leadership-itmatters-with-tricia-benn/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Slow to awaken to market disruption and too reliant on ad spending, the global agency holding companies have seen their valuations plummet in recent years. To reverse their fortunes, they need to transform their service model. MDC is leading the way, aided by an infusion of capital from the new CEO Mark Penn, who is set to turn his collection of “partner agencies” into a “modern marketing company of choice”. 

In this episode, Darren Herman shares stories and examples of growth and innovation from the vantage point of an experienced private equity operating partner. Darren and Jason unpack the winning formula of talent + data + digital maturity as key enablers to be “on the right side of history.”Darren Herman is an operating partner across the North American private equity team at Bain Capital and joined the firm in 2016. Darren has worked in both the Boston and New York offices and focuses on growing the portfolio of investments through advertising, marketing, e-commerce, CRM, and innovation. Prior to joining Bain Capital, Darren was an executive at Mozilla Corporation and at multiple companies within the MDC Partners group of advertising and marketing agencies.

This week in our new series, C-Inside: Holding Company Titans, we sit down with Mark Penn, President & Managing Partner of The Stagwell Group and Chairman & CEO of MDC Partners. Mark, whose experience and innovation in polling spans back decades, talks about the latest Harris Poll findings and how brands are faring in the COVID moment; as well as what’s behind the rise in image of American corporations. Plus, he weighs in on the role that marketing will play in recovery after the crisis, what’s on the minds of voters and consumers ahead of the election, and why content standards will be more important than ever for social platforms.  (Recorded on July 30) Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers

2020 has created an intense focus for companies to reconsider their relationship with customers and how they serve them.  The vision and promise of good Customer Experience often talks about creating“wows” with customers at scale.  Yet many of the tech stack tools and operating metrics that dominate the industry discussion can detract from the fundamental human interaction that drives those positive customer responses.  And many companies have yet to create true Customer Experience capabilities tied to their fundamental growth strategies. Craig Binkley, Managing Partner of Fidelum Partners, will talk with us about The Human Brand in all our companies and how to connect our customer service vision and our operating approaches and tools.   Guest: Craig Binkley | Fidelum Partners Craig Binkley is Managing Partner of Fidelum Partners, a strategy consulting firm using customer and employee insights to drive loyalty and growth.  Before Fidelum, Craig was CEO of Northstar – an award-winning insights agency working in over sixty countries from offices in Toronto, New York, Atlanta and London. Craig was also EVP of Strategy for MDC Partners, where he led the network’s insights into digital transformation that is disrupting traditional marketing models and the overall customer experience.  Previously, Craig worked at Coca Cola as Worldwide Director of Marketing for Diet Coke, Coca-Cola light and Minute Maid. 

Paul Woolmington has held leadership positions at the highest levels both globally and domestically in management, media, integrated business, brand, digital and communications strategy at holding companies including IPG, Y&R Inc, WPP and MDC Partners. He co-founded Naked Communications Americas, founded The Media Kitchen, and was named one of the ten most creative/innovative people in marketing and advertising by Fast Company. Paul is currently the CEO & Chief Agitator of Canvas Worldwide. 

“People don't understand how much they've already invested in relationships.” (click to tweet) Though it might not seem like it at first glance, right now more than ever there are opportunities. We don't know what changes have happened yet but as we emerge from this pandemic they will become clear to us. Those who stay current and ride the wave of change are going to be the ones that succeed. It is imperative to maintain your “business hygiene” through a crisis. Be ready to pivot. Meaningfully connect with your community. Make sure you stay aligned with your mission. Figure out what the true need is and how you can serve it. On today's episode, I have brought on an extraordinary community builder, Tricia Benn, to discuss the power of relationships and service. Tricia is a Partner and Executive Vice-President of the C-Suite Network and the General Manager of The Hero Club, an invitation-only membership organization for CEOs, founders, and investors. As an executive within both organizations, her mission is to build a platform and community that accelerates the success of c-level executives. As Global Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer and U.S. Managing Director within MDC Partners, a $3 billion global holding company, Benn's leadership drove double digit growth year-over-year and new contracts with some of the most important impact players in the world. . Download this episode so you can reconnect with your community and maintain your “business hygiene.” “Service is fulfilling a true need and doing so with integrity.” (click to tweet) Highlights When you combine a great model, with great impact, and great people, you'll have great success. Right now is the perfect time to look at how you can serve current needs. Something catastrophic- like a pandemic- levels the playing field. It is critically important to be authentic with your networking. Always be mindful about how you're creating value in an environment. There is no time like the present. Most people don't take initiative. Right now we have an opportunity to create deeper meaningful connections through digital communication. “As leaders we have to step in.” (click to tweet)

“People don’t understand how much they’ve already invested in relationships.” (click to tweet) Though it might not seem like it at first glance, right now more than ever there are opportunities. We don’t know what changes have happened yet but as we emerge from this pandemic they will become clear to us. Those who stay current and ride the wave of change are going to be the ones that succeed.  It is imperative to maintain your “business hygiene” through a crisis.  Be ready to pivot. Meaningfully connect with your community. Make sure you stay aligned with your mission. Figure out what the true need is and how you can serve it.  On today’s episode, I have brought on an extraordinary community builder, Tricia Benn, to discuss the power of relationships and service. Tricia is a Partner and Executive Vice-President of the C-Suite Network and the General Manager of The Hero Club, an invitation-only membership organization for CEOs, founders, and investors.  As an executive within both organizations, her mission is to build a platform and community that accelerates the success of c-level executives. As Global Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer and U.S. Managing Director within MDC Partners, a $3 billion global holding company, Benn’s leadership drove double digit growth year-over-year and new contracts with some of the most important impact players in the world. .  Download this episode so you can reconnect with your community and maintain your “business hygiene.”  “Service is fulfilling a true need and doing so with integrity.” (click to tweet) Highlights When you combine a great model, with great impact, and great people, you’ll have great success. Right now is the perfect time to look at how you can serve current needs.  Something catastrophic- like a pandemic- levels the playing field.  It is critically important to be authentic with your networking.  Always be mindful about how you’re creating value in an environment. There is no time like the present.  Most people don’t take initiative.  Right now we have an opportunity to create deeper meaningful connections through digital communication.  “As leaders we have to step in.” (click to tweet)

A three-time entrepreneur, Paul Woolmington is the founding CEO of media agency Canvas Worldwide and a keen observer of the marketing landscape. He is a former vet of holding companies IPG and WPP, founded and ran Media Kitchen, an MDC Partners agency, and he can rock a jaunty cravat. Paul joins us for a wide ranging conversation on just about everything in the media space—from the holding company existential crisis to the recent Disney media agency review and even to the rebate mishegoss of the past four years.

Mark Penn, the president and managing partner of Stagwell Group, raised industry eyebrows six months ago when he plonked $100 million into the flailing agency holding company MDC Partners—and became its CEO in the process. Six months in, we take a look at what the polarizing pollster has been up to (both in the agency world and the political sphere), what he’s learned and where he’s taking the holding company.

Tricia Benn is the Executive Vice-President of the C-Suite Network and General Manager of The Hero Club, an invitation-only membership organization for CEOs, founders, and investors. In addition to sitting on multiple business, associations and not-for-profit boards, Benn served as a senior executive for three enterprise-level organizations in market research, telecommunications, media marketing, and advertising. As Global Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer and U.S. Managing Director within MDC Partners, a $3 billion global holding company, Benn’s leadership drove double digit growth year-over-year and new contracts with some of the most important impact players in the world. In this episode, Audrey, Lee and Tricia discuss:·           Managing negative responses to other C-Suiters·           Choice Sets – Use them!·           Avoiding unconscious bias·           Vulnerability and how it plays into moving up·           #1 Tip on what to focus on to succeed “Being a woman executive I’ve really just had my nose to the grindstone and worked like a maniac. I’m so excited about taking on new challenges and having a massive impact. You have to compete with men.” – Tricia Benn  Join hosts Audrey Strong and C. Lee Smith every week as they dive into the aspects and concepts of good business management. From debunking sales myths to learning how to manage with and without measurements, you'll learn something new with every episode and will be able to implement positive change far beyond sales.   Connect with Tricia Benn  https://twitter.com/triciabennhttps://www.facebook.com/TriciaBennHero/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/triciabenn/heroceoclub.comhttps://c-suitenetwork.com/ Connect with the hosts of Manage Smarter: ·         Website: ManageSmarter.com ·         Twitter: https://twitter.com/tallmediamaven, https://twitter.com/cleesmith·         LinkedIn: Audrey Strong ·         LinkedIn: C. Lee Smith   Connect with SalesFuel: ·         Website: http://salesfuel.com/ ·         Twitter: @SalesFuel ·         Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/salesfuel/   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, AOP Host Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner (AOP Content Director and Owner of Buyers Meeting Point) discuss their major take-aways from August’s news, industry topics and podcast interviews. In August, we split our time between active procurement practitioners and thought leaders. Dana Small, Global Category Manager at BioMarin Pharmaceutical, talked about her transition from finance to procurement (yes, on purpose) and shared how being a business blogger changes her perspective on her ‘day job’. Then Jason Cammorata, Vice President of Strategic Sourcing at MDC Partners, spoke about the qualities that make conflict “good” for an enterprise and the teams within it. On the thought leader side, Hélène Laffitte, Founder and CEO of Consulting Quest, provided insight into best practices for sourcing consulting services and Procurement Insights Founder Jon Hansen pointed out that while companies can’t transform without going through procurement and supply chain, we aren’t alone in the disruptive challenges we face. This month’s discussion topic is technology implementation ‘turn arounds’. Since implementations rarely go smoothly without considerable planning and communication, something both Philip and Kelly have experienced personally, nearly every implementation needs a turn around. Often, this stems from the misplaced expectation that implementation = digital transformation, and vice versa.

Tricia Benn is the Executive Vice-President of the C-Suite Network and General Manager of The Hero Club, an invitation-only membership organization for CEOs, founders, and investors. In addition to sitting on multiple business, associations and not-for-profit boards, Benn served as a senior executive for three enterprise-level organizations in market research, telecommunications, media marketing, and advertising. As Global Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer and U.S. Managing Director within MDC Partners, a $3 billion global holding company, Benn’s leadership drove double digit growth year-over-year and new contracts with some of the most important impact players in the world.  In this episode, Audrey, Lee and Tricia discuss:·           Tips for C-Suite women on how to compete·           What executive women need to stop doing·           Hero Leadership Model·           Playing on the same playing field to bridge the gender gap “Being a woman executive I’ve really just had my nose to the grindstone and worked like a maniac. I’m so excited about taking on new challenges and having a massive impact. You have to compete with men.” – Tricia Benn  Join hosts Audrey Strong and C. Lee Smith every week as they dive into the aspects and concepts of good business management. From debunking sales myths to learning how to manage with and without measurements, you'll learn something new with every episode and will be able to implement positive change far beyond sales.   Connect with Tricia Benn  https://twitter.com/triciabennhttps://www.facebook.com/TriciaBennHero/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/triciabenn/heroceoclub.comhttps://c-suitenetwork.com/ Connect with the hosts of Manage Smarter: ·         Website: ManageSmarter.com ·         Twitter: https://twitter.com/tallmediamaven, https://twitter.com/cleesmith·         LinkedIn: Audrey Strong ·         LinkedIn: C. Lee Smith   Connect with SalesFuel: ·         Website: http://salesfuel.com/ ·         Twitter: @SalesFuel ·         Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/salesfuel/   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

No one wants conflict for its own sake, but it can actually be an important factor in personal or organizational growth and decision making. Rather than shying away from conflict, especially in a professional context, procurement professionals need to start embracing it as proof of diverse thought and opportunities to practice empathy. That is the point of view espoused by Jason Cammorata, Vice President of Strategic Sourcing at MDC Partners, and one that he is quite passionate about. Is this podcast, Jason shares his advice about how procurement can approach “good” conflict – a dynamic that usually stems from multiple people with different ideas but equally good intentions. The procurement team at MDC Partners faces a unique challenge. They are an “umbrella” company with 55 brands in marketing that provide services such as public relations, creative, digital, advertising and production. Their decentralized corporate model is largely brand driven, so Jason regularly has to sell the benefits of procurement internally. That conversation usually starts with introductions and explanations and quickly advances to discover what the brand needs and how procurement can support them. In this podcast, Jason answers questions such as: · What is more important: technical skills or personal skills? · When should procurement be firm (but nice) about frameworks and processes, and when should we be flexible? · Does procurement face a unique set of challenges today, or are we battling the same issues as all other functions? · What does relationship-driven procurement look like, and what are the benefits of investing in that approach?

The Stevens Group is pleased to present a new podcast series that salutes the masters of public relations and revels in their observations, insights and advice to PR professionals.  This new series is part of the ongoing partnership between The Stevens Group and CommPRO to bring to PR, digital/interactive and marketing communications agencies the wisdom of those who have reached the top of the PR profession.       About Our Guest Mark Penn, Chairman & CEO, MDC Partners, Managing Partner & President, The Stagwell Group Mark Penn is the President and Managing Partner of The Stagwell Group, a private equity fund focused on the marketing services industry. In this role, Penn directs the acquisition process and oversees the Group's portfolio companies. Penn has been in research, advertising, public relations, polling and consulting for nearly 40 years. Before founding The Stagwell Group, he served in senior executive positions at Microsoft where as Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, he was responsible for working on core strategic issues across Microsoft's products, value propositions and investments and leading the company's competitive research and analysis. Penn's experience in growing, building and managing agencies is well-documented. As the co-founder and CEO of Penn Schoen Berland, a global market research firm that he built and sold to WPP, he demonstrated value creation in a crowded industry serving clients with innovative techniques from being first with overnight polling to pioneering unique ad testing methods used by Presidents and Fortune 100 corporations. At WPP, he also became CEO of Burson-Marsteller, and managed the two companies to record profit growth during that period. He is also known as the strategist for and creator of well-known campaigns and ads, helping reelect President Bill Clinton and his move to the political center, devising then Senator Hillary Clinton's successful “Upstate strategy,” creating Tony Blair's "Forward not Back" campaign in 2005 and the “3AM” ad in the 2008 Presidential primaries, and led the team on Microsoft's hugely successful 2014 Super Bowl ad when he headed advertising there. Penn has been a senior adviser to global corporate and political leaders including Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, Bill Ford, U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and President Bill Clinton. He has helped elect over 25 heads of state around the world. Penn is also a globally recognized thought leader. He authored the Wall Street Journal and New York Times bestselling book “Microtrends: The Small Forces Behind Tomorrow's Big Changes”; and was a columnist for the Wall Street Journal, Time.com, POLITICO, and The Huffington Post. In a cover story, Time Magazine called him “Master of the Message.” Penn earned a bachelor's degree from Harvard College and attended Columbia Law School. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the National Holocaust Museum's Committee on Conscience, and serves on the board of Meridian International Center. Penn is also a Visiting Lecturer at Harvard College and a Professorial Lecturer at George Washington University.

This week I'm interviewing Aaron Kwittken, founder of KWT in the latest of life stories podcasts. Aaron started KWT, formally Kwittken, 13 years ago. Before this he followed a big agency career path working at MSL, Ketchum, Fleishman, Cohn and Wolfe and Havas. KWT has a fee income of $12 to $15 million dollars and around 80 employees including 12 in London. Aarron sold KWT to MDC Partners in 2010 and still owns a minority stake in the firm. MDC Partners also owns Allison Partners, Hunter PR and Sloane & Co. Here is a summary of what Aaron and I discussed: Why having spent 13 years working for some of the world's biggest PR firms he decided to launch Kwittken. 0.59 mins Why mediocrity can hide at big agencies in a way in can't in smaller firms. 01.19 mins Why it's wrong that the more senior you get in a large agency the further away you get from actually serving clients. 01.43 mins How Aaron defines the difference between practice areas and specialisms, and why it's an important consideration in how you organise an agency. 02.05 mins Why the need for more of a collaborative approach means agencies must rid themselves of departments and fiefdoms. 02.53 mins How KWT is set up so that junior staff don't have a vertical specialsm, it's a matrix structure. 03.09 mins Why the greatest mark of success of a business is not what an employee does while they're with you, but what they do when they leave. 04.08 mins Why matching people's passions to the clients they work on is really important. 04.30 mins Whether Aaron regrets selling KWT at such an early stage (when it had eight employees, it now has 80). 05.54 mins How MDC Partners merged KWT into a digital agency and then KWT "spun themselves back out". 05.59 mins Why there will be 2 types of PR firms - earned media shops and brand marketing agencies. 07.51 mins What impact the financial difficulties of KWT's owner and holding company MDC Partners has on the business. 09.56 mins Why London still is such an important place for US firms to have a presence. 11.17 mins What has Aaron learnt from acquiring PR agencies? 14.06 mins Why Aaron looks at agencies like shopping malls. 15.31 mins Which areas Aaron wants to make acquisitions in in London next year. 16.38 mins and 28.39 mins Why short-term earn outs in PR don't work. 17.34 mins Why KWT is bigger now than if Aaron had not taken investment from MDC Partners. 19.40 mins Why Aaron never wants to grow KWT beyond 150-200 people. 21.06 mins Why agencies need a purpose. 24.07 mins Why the dots on the map approach to international PR firms is outdated. 24.48 mins How Aaron took up Ironman in 2008 after his dad passed away from congestive heart failure. 31.26 mins Why Aaron's best thinking is done when he's swimming. 33.45 mins Why Aaron isn't worried about Brexit. 36.15 mins Why firms that have multiple offices spread their risk. 37.05 mins

In this episode, we discuss: - Current market dynamics, and what a potential recession means. We touch on the Visto (Collective) bankruptcy. - The Rocket Fuel data targeting controversy and other industry examples; we touch on the Theranos book "Bad Blood" and how it's reminiscent of ad tech - The acquisitions of 2018: Nexstar buying Tribune, S4 acquiring Mighty Hive, iHeartMedia buying Jelli, and chatter about Accenture bidding for MDC Partners.

After 14 years at Anomaly, founding partner Karina Wilsher will be assuming the global CEO title at the agency. Currently the global COO, Wilsher has long been groomed for the new role and will assume the chief executive position in January. True to its name, Anomaly is an outlier in its space, a non-traditional agency that was founded with a commitment to intellectual property and creating products. Wilsher joins me today to discuss the news and what it means for her and for Anomaly. We discuss its most famous product, the legal cannabis pen Dosist, the breaking down of the holding company model, Brexit — which the London-based Wilsher describes as a “shit show.” We get into the struggles of Anomaly’s parent company MDC Partners, evolving consumer behaviors and what 2019 looks like for Anomaly. 

On this season finale of Real Famous, we have a conversation with Rosie Yakob, Faris Yakob, and Gareth Kay. Rosie was a Senior Social Strategist at Cake, led social strategy at Saatchi NY, and was also a Senior Strategist at 360i.  Faris was the Chief Innovation Officer at MDC Partners, the EVP, Chief Technology Strategist at McCann, and is the author of Paid Attention. Together, they are the brains behind the consultancy Genius Steals. Gareth was the head of planning at Modernista!, the Chief Strategy Officer of Goodby, and the founding partner of Zeus Jones SF. He is now a co-founder of Chapter SF. Enjoy!

Data seems tied to almost every media conversations today, but the devil is in the detail without strong analytics. Standard Media Index (SMI) provides that for TV networks to hedge funds based on aggregated spending data from agencies. For Episode 16 of Insider InSites, MediaVillage Managing Editor, E.B. Moss, and data/research reporter, Charlene Weisler, spoke with Global Chief Executive Officer, James Fennessy, about SMI's process and its projections for TV and digital advertising. The transcript below has been edited for clarity and length. E.B. Moss: How is SMI unique? James Fennessy: Standard Media Index started in Australia nine years ago, founded by Sue Fennessy, who ran marketing agencies, and Jane Schulze, former media editor for News Corp Australia. They saw a great opportunity to create a “give to get” data consortium. Agencies were having trouble getting at their own data and thus reporting problems with clients. So, the idea was for SMI to work with their data to normalize it, standardize it, and structure it, so they could report faster and more accurately...and then get access to that aggregated data…. Charlene Weisler: How do you get your data? Fennessy: We get data every week from the agencies via an AWS environment and take automated extracts from all of their invoices across TV, digital, radio, print, and out-of-home. Moss: What companies work with SMI? Fennessy: Partners include big holding groups like Omnicom, Publicis, Dentsu Aegis Network, Havas, Horizon…and leading independents like MDC Partners, RPA and others, and organizations in the marketing effectiveness and measurement space, like Accenture and McKinsey & Co... Weisler:  Does your data also help Wall Street? Fennessy:  We have about 15 hedge fund clients in the US – particularly those who invest directly in media stocks -- because they get to see the advertising revenue of major media companies, which could be a Google, a Facebook, a Snap… before those companies report. They have successfully modeled our data for a competitive edge around how those companies are going to perform in their next earnings period. Moss: Let’s talk about trust... Fennessy: We've got very strict privacy protocols. We never see the agency clients’ spend: we take it at the category level. Weisler: How do others work with SMI? Fennessy: Our big relationships are with the national TV networks ... across the pricing/planning/inventory management and can help them size the entire marketplace and understand their position and the flow of dollars.... We just launched a major ROI research piece with Fox Network Group. There are very good services -- the Kantars, the iSpots -- but unfortunately cost data has been 50, or 60 percent off. We fixed that problem. Weisler: What percentage of the US and the world's advertising spending do you track? Fennessy: We have about two-thirds of all U.S. national TV market invoices...about 50 percent of all premium digital invoices (excluding Google search part)… about a third of the market in print and out-of-home, and about 40% of national radio. In other markets around the world, we have between 50 and 60 percent of ad spend. Weisler: What trends are driving the advertising market?  Fennessy:  Cable news continues to be on fire. In the first couple of months 2018 it was up 13 percent. We continue to see real strength in sports; the Super Bowl was up 3.4 percentage points....The Winter Olympics were up more than 10 percent over the 2014 Games. The NFL regular season was down about 6 percent, but the playoffs were up about 1.5 percent. We've also seen real strength in tentpole events like the Grammys. Weisler: What areas are not really doing that well? Fennessy:  Late night programming on broadcast is down 15 percent for the year, but late-night comedy on cable is doing much better. Weisler: When does the drop in TV ratings impact pricing? Fennessy: The ROI studies show national TV in particular is [still] a powerhouse for return on ad expenditure. The massive problems that digital is having [with brand safety and security] is playing right into the hands of TV networks. So, we expect a strong Upfront. Weisler: SMI reported digital grew double digits last year, but there’s been a lot of talk about pulling back data... Fennessy: ...Digital has probably been overbought. As advertisers have taken more money out of TV and put it into digital, their market share has actually dropped. Now they're starting to… put it back into national TV and there’s a direct correlation to an increase in sales…. But I think you do have to have the right mix. The ARF says an ideal mix is about 82 percent TV and 18 percent digital ...and they work well in tandem, reinforcing each other. Weisler: What are the biggest trends in digital and TV for the next couple of years?  Fennessy:  In digital it has to be around privacy and security. …On the TV side we’ll continue to see innovation… less ads, but much more expensive ads; advanced targeting; different types of creative like the 6 second ad; high-quality drama programming and a real focus on live events.  

Terry Donnolly is CEO of Hillstreet Beverage Company, makers of 'The World's Best Tasting Non-Alcoholic Wine and Beer'.  Former CMO of MDC Partners, the 7th largest marketing and communications company in the world with 70 agency brands, 15,000 employees, 220 offices, and over a billion dollars in revenue.  A wealth of experience, Terry shares some amazing insights into the marketing and positioning of a unique product in the crowded beverage marketplace.

This is a conversation with Faris Yakob. Faris was named one of 10 modern day mad men by Fast Company and one of the top 53 creatives in the world by the Clio Awards. He has been the Chief Technology Strategist at McCann and the Chief Innovation Officer at MDC Partners. In 2015, he published his first book, Paid Attention and now runs his own consultancy called Genius Steals. Enjoy!

Brett Colbert, Chief Procurement Officer at MDC Partners discusses with Darren the exciting state of marketing procurement in the US, the need to move beyond savings and create a greater level of collaboration between brand and agencies to deliver increased effectiveness while focusing on opportunities for efficiency and the need to have mutually agreed measures of success and performance. https://www.trinityp3.com/2016/11/rapid-evolution-marketing-procurement/

This is a conversation with Richard Leslie, founder of Trend Influence, which he sold to MDC Partners, a founding partner of Culture, and now the Chief Strategy Officer at BFG Communications. We talked about the the path that led him to advertising and what it's like to build and sell an agency.

Katie Kempner, Vice President and Director of Agency Communications at Crispin Porter and Bogusky, and Vice President of Corporate Communication for MDC Partners, previews her new radio show, The Hook.

Katie Kempner of Crispin Porter and Bogusky and MDC Partners on her quick rise into the advertising world.