Podcasts about starcom mediavest group

In this episode, Brent Poer, Global Client Lead at Publicis Imagine, joins me as we explore the journey of understanding your unique value and harnessing your superpowers to create success in your career and life. We discuss how often our self-perception is influenced by others' opinions and the importance of finding clarity through introspection, especially in times of change, challenges, and failures. We also explore how he:Learned to read the roomConnects meaningfully with othersNavigates the complexities of both personal and professional lifeBelieves in embracing nuanced phases throughout your careerEngaged in honesty and vulnerable conversations with LeadershipKeeps routines to stay structuredBrent shares his insights on how he keeps his mind sharp, finds peace in his daily routine, and stays adaptable in an ever-changing marketplace. Show Guest Brent Poer is the Global Client Lead for Publicis Imagine and oversees Zenith US operations in Los Angeles while serving on the agency's Executive Board. With over 30 years of experience at Publicis Groupe, Brent has led award-winning initiatives and secured significant clients like The Walt Disney Company, TikTok, Lululemon, and Arlo. He has held significant roles, including CMO of Zenith US and overseeing the Content Practice, winning Cannes Lions and Effie Awards. Brent began his career at Starcom Mediavest Group, leading LiquidThread North America. He has also worked at Warner Brothers and Lifetime Television. Brent lives in Los Angeles with his husband, Beau Quillian, and their three dogs.Support the showJill Griffin helps leaders and teams thrive in today's complex workplace. Leveraging her extensive experience to drive multi-million-dollar revenues for brands like Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Samsung, and Hilton Hotels, Jill applies a strategic lens to workplace performance, skillfully blending strategy and mindset to increase professional growth, enhance productivity, and career satisfaction across diverse organizations. Visit JillGriffinCoaching.com for more details on: Book a 1:1 Career Strategy and Executive Coaching HERE Gallup CliftonStrengths Corporate Workshops to build a strengths-based culture Team Dynamics training to increase retention, communication, goal setting, and effective decision-making Keynote Speaking Grab a personal Resume Refresh with Jill Griffin HERE Follow @JillGriffinOffical on Instagram for daily inspiration Connect with and follow Jill on LinkedIn

Join host Brooke Skinner Ricketts in a compelling conversation with Laura Desmond, CEO of Smartly and a powerhouse in the world of advertising and media. Laura has built her career on a foundation of bold leadership and transformative thinking, taking on roles that have shaped the future of global brands like Samsung, Coca-Cola, and Spotify. In this episode, Laura delves into the three key bets that have defined her leadership journey: betting on yourself, betting on your team, and betting on your mission. She shares how her experiences, from leading Starcom Mediavest Group to becoming the CEO of Smartly, have taught her the importance of clarity and resilience in leadership.  Laura also reveals the strategies she used to overcome obstacles, adapt to new challenges, and lead with purpose in an ever-changing industry. Whether you're just starting out or are well into your career, Laura's wisdom offers a powerful reminder that true leadership requires courage, intentionality, and a willingness to embrace the unknown. Visit our website where you will find show notes and links to all the resources in this episode, including the best way to get in touch with our special guest.  

“Enjoy the journey, take stock in how you're learning, how you're building your experience, your brand. It's that openness and that patience that actually creates the opportunities for exponential success.” Andrew Swinand is the CEO of the Creative Group across all Publicis agencies, as well as the CEO of Leo Burnett As CEO, Andrew leads the agency by emphasizing the power of transparency in regards to data, and balances that with the creativity needed to drive businesses forward for clients. He was also the founder and CEO of marketing startup, The Abundancy, and co-founded its holding company Abundant Venture Partners (AVP), an incubator focused on building media and healthcare companies. Prior to that, he was president of Starcom MediaVest Group, the world's largest media agency. He also proudly served his country as a platoon leader in the U.S. Army. Andrew has been recognized by Advertising Age as a "Media Maven," and was inducted into the American Advertising Federation Hall of Achievement in 2008. Andrew has founded 9 companies, with 7 exits. And even worked on the Reflect Brand at P&G. You'll enjoy this candid conversation about focusing on problems to solve, cultivating a curious soul, and practicing kind leadership.

About this Episode: We're joined by marketing pro Noor Naseer to discuss the ins and outs of digital advertising. With years of experience in the industry, Noor has a wealth of knowledge to share about what it takes to create a successful digital marketing campaign.In this discussion, Noor covers everything especially the importance of privacy and targeting in digital advertising. She also shares some valuable tips for that will make certain your digital advertising is successful.Whether you're a seasoned marketer or just starting out in the field, you won't want to miss this informative and engaging discussion. So grab your headphones and get ready to learn from one of the best in the industry.Interested in learning more? Check out their website: https://basis.net/About Noor Nasser: Noor Naseer is VP of Media Innovations and Technology at adtech firm Basis Technologies. She leads client thought leadership and innovative digital media strategy development. She guides clients on how to evolve media strategy to accommodate fast-changing consumer behavior and media trends.Noor has written for and been cited in industry outlets including Adweek, MediaPost and SmartBrief. She has spoken at events for the 4As, the American Advertising Federation, the American Marketing Association and SXSW. She hosts the adtech podcast, AdTech Unfiltered. Prior to Basis Technologies, Noor served in media roles at Starcom MediaVest Group. She is a graduate of Northwestern University.Links:Website: https://www.noornaseer.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/noornaseer18Thanks for tuning in, and don't forget to subscribe for more marketing insights and tips! #marketing #advertising #branding #contentmarketing #storytelling #NoorNasser

Renetta McCann, Chief Inclusion Experiences Officerat Publicis Groupe, reflects on what she's learned after nearly four decades in the industry. A strategist working at the intersection of business and people, she discusses complexity, individual learning, and the development of people managers.Further reading links:https://www.linkedin.com/in/renettamccann/Keywords: Rishad Tobaccowala, Renetta McCann, Starcom MediaVest Group, Leo Burnett, Media Planning, Media Buying, Performance Management, Future of Work, Inclusion, Talent, Strategy, DEI, Personal Development, Personal Growth.

Laura Desmond has great expectations for the advertising industry and for its ability to return to an era of glory. It's for good reason – as a former operator who ran Starcom MediaVest Group for years and eventually moved over to the investment side, she's seen every perspective of the marketing industry, its opportunities and its challenges. We sit down with the operating partner of Providence Equity and founder and CEO of Eagle Vista Partners to chat on being both an intrapreneur and entrepreneur, why ads should never become scarce and why she's bullish on the retail media space. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

As Global Brand President for Starcom Worldwide and member of the Publicis Media global leadership team, John Sheehy leads a global media agency focused on the power of Human Experience, fueled by the convergence of media, technology and creativity. In his role, John is responsible for global brand vision, client partnerships, product excellence, and culture, all driving the design of experiences people want and actions brands need. Prior to joining Publicis Media, he was President of Global Operations at Starcom Mediavest Group, where he oversaw top client accounts and provided strategic direction and alignment spanning emerging and core markets. In addition, John served on the Global Product Committee, Global Content Practice and helped steward overall performance and growth. Previously, John dedicated two decades to the Leo Burnett Company, where he served on both the U.S. and global executive boards. During this time he lived in Chicago as well as abroad in Mexico and London, honing his true passion and skill for client service with key relationships like the Kellogg's business – a company with whom he still works closely today.

Tommy is the Co-Founder of The RoundTrip Group (RTG), a marketing, advertising, media and sales consultancy firm based in the New York City area. RTG's goal is to help marketers better sell to their customers, agencies better sell to clients, and vendors better sell to agencies. By quickly and clearly identifying simple solutions to today's complex business challenges, RTG helps businesses in the industry "sell-in" and "sell-through" more effectively, thus driving profitability. Additionally, Tommy is also a Strategic Advisor to Glewed.TV, a privately-owned ad-support video on demand platform that is revolutionizing the streaming space. Prior to founding The RoundTrip Group, Tommy spent 24 years in the media industry driving business growth via communication solutions for some of the world’s most well-known brands.  Throughout his career, Tommy has been known as strategic, innovative, transformation expert who has a knack for quickly identifying and simplifying business challenges and coming up with innovative communications solutions that are laser focused on driving positive business outcomes for his clients. Tommy began his career in 1995 in the media department at the Grey Global Group (prior to acquisition of the group by WPP) in New York.  During his first 3 years at Grey, Tommy helped develop and modernize communications plans that propelled Procter & Gamble’s Pantene to the #1 hair care brand in the United States.  During his time with Grey he also managed the ConAgra portfolio of food products helping to successfully launch the well know Marie Callender’s frozen food line. In 1999, Tommy helped start up a youth and entertainment company, GWHIZ Entertainment, funded by Grey Global Group.  During his tenure there, he helped grow the agency from 1 client to over 15 in a 5-year span working with clients such as Dairy Queen, W Hotels, Topp’s Confection, D-Lish Fragrances, Konami Video Games and US Cellular.  He was part of a team that created the first in-game advertising experience in the industry via a partnership with Reebok and Konami and he also developed and executed the industry-first “wireless scavenger hunt” using SMS for US Cellular.  In 2004, Tommy was recruited by Publicis’s Starcom Mediavest Group to transform their unprofitable operation in Puerto Rico. As the VP, Managing Director of our Puerto Rico office, he helped to not only establish SMG as the first stand-alone media agency in the marketplace, but also helped transform the profitability of the operation by securing new business, diversifying their service offering and restructuring marketplace deals.  During his tenure, Tommy helped to elevate the talent and product across some of our most well-known global brands in the world including P&G, Kraft, Kellogg’s and Visa.  Under Tommy’s leadership the media team won a Cuspide, Puerto Rico’s most celebrated industry award. In 2007, Tommy relocated to Mexico to take on the challenge of recapturing the Coke business in their largest market in the world.  For three years Tommy transformed and led a team that won back the business in unprecedented fashion – in less than 3 years and without a pitch.  The Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta cited this as a “first-ever” in their organization.  During his time running the Coca-Cola business he helped grow market share across the beverage portfolio to over 80% and more importantly grew Coca-Cola’s water brand, Ciel, and won the monthly share game against Danone’s long established Bonafont brand.  His team also won silver at the Circulo Oro Festival for Media Innovation for work done on behalf of Coca-Cola’s energy drink, Gladiator. During his last two years in Mexico, Tommy led business development discipline in LATAM for SMG as part of the Global Growth Team.  In 2010, he helped lead the Mexico office to an incredible 9 wins during that year picking up clients such as Banamex, Burger King, Subway, Expedia and Cadbury to name a few.  In 2011, he continued helping the region grow landing a big regional win in Mead Johnson and expanding the Subway business to include 6 additional markets.  Tommy was also instrumental in helping establish both a Content and Data & Analytics discipline within Latin America for SMG. In 2012, Tommy returned to the United States to run Mediavest’s business development practice.  During his time in this role, Mediavest experience unprecedented growth winning over $2.5B dollars in billings by winning clients such as Honda, Converse, Travelers, Brown Forman, Bloomin’ Brands, and Keurig Green Mountain.  In 2013, Mediavest won Adweek’s Agency of the Year as a result of its massive growth. In 2014, Tommy returned to the world of day-to-day business management where he oversaw the global businesses for Mondelez and Brown Forman and the domestic business for Sprint.  As an SVP, Global Managing Director, Tommy was responsible for the operations, talent and product for Mondelez across 40+ countries in the regions of North America, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa.  For Brown Forman he oversaw the communications, which included both above the line media and below the line events.  Tommy led the Sprint business during a transformational time when they were looking to prepare themselves for a sale and/or merger, thus there was a massive focus on communications that could be measured and attributed to sales.  Sprint eventually merged with T-Mobile. In 2017, OMD tapped Tommy to take over and transform the Nissan business in North America.  He quickly shifted the team’s hub from Los Angeles to New York in order to have better connectivity with the clients.  Tommy helped assemble a new team of cross-athletes who were fluent in offline and online channel planning.  With this newly built team they transformed how they approached business, building a unique communications framework that was grounded in building brand over time and driving sales over night.  The use of 1st, 2nd and 3rd party data was essential in driving both targeting and messaging decisions.  Lastly, and most importantly, Tommy’s team regained the confidence of the Nissan clients so much so that Nissan renewed its contract with OMD for another three years. Tommy is originally from Charleston, SC and attended the University of Florida in Gainesville where he graduated with High Honors with a Bachelor’s Degree in Advertising.  He’s been married to his wife, Meredith, for over 15 years and they have a thirteen-year-old son, Gaven.  Tommy’s passions include scuba diving, traveling, music and gardening.  www.theroundtripgroup.com Full Transcript Below Roy (00:01): Hello, and welcome to another episode of senior living sales and marketing. I'm rolling. Uh, we are very fortunate enough today. We have an awesome guest, uh, Tommy Nolen. He is the seat, uh, the co founder and the chief marketing officer of the roundtrip group. They are a marketing advertising media and sales consultancy firm based out of New York city. So I'm not going to waste any more time. I want to get straight to Tommy. He's got a lot of great things to talk to us today about marketing, uh, to the, uh, senior, to the baby boomer population and some great advice on how we could put that to work, to help us in the senior living space. So, Tommy, I'm going to turn it over to you, if you would tell us just a little bit, you know, kind of about your background and how you got here and a little bit about what y'all do. Tommy (00:58): Great Roy, uh, well, uh, first off, thanks for having me on, I'm happy to be here this morning and, uh, hopefully, uh, in part, a little bit of wisdom and a little bit of what we've learned at the roundtrip group, uh, you know, in, in terms of, uh, marketing to seniors and really kind of the future generation of, of your customer base. Um, just to quick, quick bit on, on how I got here, you know, as you said, I'm the cofounder of a marketing consultancy and, you know, our focus is on helping people sell better. Uh, we say we like to help marketers better sell to their customers, agencies, better selves and their clients and, uh, vendors better sell to agencies. And, um, you know, we, we look at ourselves as a, as a collaborator, not a competitor, um, in the industry. Uh, and we started at about a year and a half ago. Tommy (01:53): Um, prior to that, uh, I spent about 25 years in the advertising business partner. Uh, Barbara Martinez spent about 30 years in the business. And, um, you know, uh, during that time I worked with some of the largest, uh, I would say most sophisticated marketers in the world. Um, people like Proctor and gamble, uh, Nissan Coca Cola, the up, you know, well known brands that you've, uh, you've heard of. Um, and, you know, I would say, uh, you know, each with a different approach to talking to consumers, but, um, uh, also allowing you to learn different things along the way. Um, you know, during my 25 years, uh, I worked in big agencies. I ran agencies, uh, ran business domestically, regionally, globally, uh, lived in Latin America for eight years. So, um, you know, my, my entire career, um, has been selling in, in some way shape or form, and the most effective way to do that is to really, uh, understand your customer. And, and, um, as you, we recently just finished a project where, uh, we had a lot of focus on kind of the baby boomers understanding them and, uh, and what that means for marketing. Roy (03:12): Yeah, no, I'm going to just give you some kudos. You're doing a good job. I drive a Nissan and I do drink a lot of Coke, so whatever, whatever you did to help them is work. And so, yeah, I'm not going to let you off the hook too. You know, we, uh, we had a talk last week a little bit, and so I'm still jealous. I talk every day about, um, you took, you had an opportunity to take a gap six months and, um, I guess this was when you were a little younger, but you were able to travel around, um, uh, what were you in Europe when you were traveling? Tommy (03:48): Uh, no, I actually, and you know, the, the ironic thing is my business partner at the time was my boss and she was the one that, uh, allowed me, uh, take a six month leave of absence. And I traveled, uh, across Asia, uh, Australia and, um, a couple of parts of Africa and, you know, uh, I always say to people, um, it was, uh, something that I'll never look back on and, or Brett, um, I, you know, never wanted to be somebody who said, I wish I would have, uh, and, you know, uh, while a lot of people, I think, uh, thought I may have been making a mistake in my career. Um, I think it was the exact opposite whenever I, uh, you know, had my resume out there and would talk to people. Uh, they actually didn't want to talk about my job experience. Tommy (04:38): I wanted to talk about my, my travel and, you know, their, their, their comment was always wish I had to get to that. Um, it was, uh, it was a great experience, um, enables you to understand, uh, that, you know, in the end, uh, consumers around the world or are a lot more similar, uh, than they are different. Um, and, uh, it was a, you know, a trip I'll never forget, uh, had some amazing experiences, uh, hiked, Kilimanjaro, um, you know, Trek, the great wall of China. Uh, I was a scuba diving and the great barrier reef. So, uh, it was a triple the lifetime. And, uh, one that I would recommend anyone who, uh, maybe has the opportunity to do it, take it. Roy (05:30): Yeah. I was going to say, we don't offer too much employment advice here, but if you're, if you're a younger person listening to this, if you have the opportunity, uh, fake it, you won't regret it. That's for sure. Well, let's get back to, um, you know, our consumer, our, I guess our approach in this industry has changed a lot from, you know, back in the day where people didn't really understand what senior living. So when they came in, we were able to explain it, basically, this is where you live, this is where you eat. And now we've kind of evolved into, you know, our consumers are very, very smart, do a lot of research and, um, you know, they know our product inside and out. So we kind of have to change our approach to start where they are. And, um, you know, instead of selling, uh, basically selling the structure, you know, to sell that dream. And so anyway, I wanted to talk to you about, uh, you were, your client was actually more of a, um, a medical, they had more of a medical model than what we do in senior living. But I think after we talked a lot of the lessons that y'all learned about the consumer for this, uh, really apply to the senior living space. Tommy (06:52): Yeah, that's right. We were, um, we're working, doing a little work, uh, on behalf of a healthcare provider, uh, in South Florida. And, you know, there, uh, I would say primarily a, a treatment facility, um, you know, really focused on accepting Medicare and Medicaid, um, and has built a great business, uh, you know, uh, amazing business. But I think, uh, one of the things that, you know, they're recognizing is that, uh, um, you know, the, the world is changing and, uh, you know, um, their core consumer today is really, what's known as the silent generation, that generation, uh, born between 1928 and 1945, but a generation that kinda drew grew up in, uh, the industrial age. Um, and what is happening is that they realized in the next 10 years, uh, you know, the silver tsunami, if you will, is going to be crashing down upon them, um, there will be a 40% increase in the number of people, uh, starting to, uh, age in if you will, to their services. Tommy (08:03): And these people are the baby boomers, uh, you know, generation that we've, we've heard about, uh, for, for decades. Um, you know, the size of them, uh, is, is enormous. And the reality is, is the baby boomers are completely different from the silent generation, right. Um, and, and, and that's a, that's a result of their life experiences. And, you know, what worked to attract, uh, you know, your current customer, if you will, the silent generation, I think this is very applicable to the senior living community, um, is not necessarily what's going to work to attract if you will, your future consumer, which is the baby boomer generation. Roy (08:47): Yeah. I think that was the most, um, poignant thing that you said in our previous conversation was that, you know, whatever we don't want to misquote you, you said it very good, but it was some basically is like, whatever we've done to get to this point, if we expect to get to 20 more years, we are going to have to change our focus and our, the way that we market to our consumers. Tommy (09:12): That's right. And, um, you know, I'll talk a little bit about just, just some of the experiences that shaped boomers, um, and, and, and again, how they're very different from the silent generation, right? If you think about silent generation, again, they kind of grew up in that industrial age. Um, and when we think about the baby boomers, right, they grew up in, in really, what's now known as the digital age. Um, and, you know, they are first and foremost, a generation of learners. Um, you know, according to a Pew research study in 2005, uh, the baby boomers are the most educated group to ever, um, move into retirement age. Um, you know, uh, a high school education was, was not, if you will, kind of the, the goal for the baby boomer generation, right. Uh, higher education became the norm, um, you know, going to college and, you know, always with the idea of being better than your parents. Tommy (10:14): And, and, uh, you know, again, the parents kind of got the high school education. Um, you know, they either worked in a factory, managed the factory, you know, they were in that industrial age and, and, you know, the world was baby boomers was, was quite different. And, you know, in addition to just going out and attaining, you know, college education, um, they didn't stop there. Uh, you know, uh, their careers started, uh, like I said, in the early days of the digital revolution and, and, you know, we're in multiple waves of that now. So continuing education was critical for them, um, you know, really to kind of keep up and, and, and keep up with where the world was moving. So, you know, that became kind of the secondary piece of their education, right? So it was first off, they go to college. Now they're doing continuing education courses, um, as part of their careers. Tommy (11:07): Um, and then, you know, if you look at, uh, you know, the, the learning, um, that they've embarked on in their life, it hasn't stopped. Uh, according to USA today in 2009, there were over 400,000 students above the age of 50 enrolled in community colleges. Right? So again, these are people taking courses for, um, you know, maybe a second career, uh, maybe just a topic that they're very interested in, but these, these, uh, these people who are coming into retirement age, um, they are highly educated. They are learners. Um, they thrive on, uh, you know, knowledge. Um, and I think that was the first that's first experience that, that you have to think about, um, that, that kind of shapes them. Uh, now a second, Roy (12:01): Sorry. I was just gonna say, before we move on that I, you know, I can identify with that because of, you know, I've been a lifelong learner. I was kind of slow to do my undergrad and did it at night for many years, and then graduate at night. But, um, you know, you, people don't think about the learning that we do on the job. Like when I first started working, I mean, you know, we basically had a big chief tablet and a number two pencil, and now we've got computers, we've got zoom and, uh, you know, teams and all this electronic, um, all these electronic tools at our disposal and also my partner, she is a writer. And so, you know, she's always in seminars and conferences to, uh, you know, keep up with what the latest trends are, you know, whether it's digital or print, whatever. So definitely can, uh, identify with that for sure. Tommy (12:59): Yeah. And that's a, that's a great, great point, Roy, and that leads me to my, my sort of second, um, experience, if you will, that shape boomers. And, you know, I think that, um, you know, unfortunately stereotypes are real right. And, uh, I think a lot of times people have a perception that, um, the older generation is not necessarily, um, open to change, uh, you know, and not necessarily media savvy. Um, and it couldn't be further from the truth. Right. Um, really, when you think about it, the baby boomers were the pioneers of media expansion. Um, you know, they were the drivers of, uh, cable TV, uh, the drivers of, you know, the internet mobile. Um, you know, if you think about it, two of the most well-known tech pioneers, um, you know, in the world, Steve jobs and bill Gates, they're boomers. Right. Um, and so one of the things that you see is that, you know, um, boomers are, are, have always embraced, learned, and incorporated, um, you know, kind of new technology and media into their life. Tommy (14:15): Um, it's really second nature to them. Um, if you think about, you know, in their very, very early, early years as a kid, you know, it was radio, right? And, and now you think to where we are now, um, the, the proliferation, um, and, and just quite frankly, the sophistication of media has changed tremendously. Um, and they've been along that journey the entire time. Um, and really, you know, they've used this media and this technology to actually create a life that, you know, is really works for them. And it's a life of personalization. Um, it's a life of convenience. Um, you know, if you look at, uh, you know, gate out there today around the baby boomer, boomer generation, 75% of these boomers use social networks to keep in touch with their friends and family, um, they're actually heavier users and spend more time on social networks than the younger generation do. Tommy (15:17): Um, it's, it's been a great tool for them, right? It's a, it's a way to keep up with family all across the country or across the world, friends, you know, from, you know, that you've reconnected with that, that were childhood friends all the way up to, you know, your, your friends that you made throughout your work life. So, um, and these guys aren't afraid to, to, um, use the tools, um, online they're online consumers, you know, 84% of them plan trips, 64% of them, you know, buy flights online, a heavy percentage, actually do grocery shopping. Um, and I think, you know, one of the things that's very interesting and, uh, I think it's something important to consider, particularly in the senior living world, they have the greatest adoptation of voice devices, things like an Amazon echo, um, more so than the younger generation as well. So, you know, media expansion and, and, and learning, and, you know, embracing new media and new technology is second nature to them. Roy (16:20): Yeah, not again, I can just speak from my personal experience that, you know, I'm kind of at the, uh, the last, uh, at the, I guess the last of the baby boomers and my mother happens to be kind of in that first class, you know, the first group of M and a, as she is on Facebook, you know, she has friends that they have kept up since high school. Some of her work friends that, you know, she was with 40, 50 years ago and they, um, you know, they chat weekly for sure. And then just, uh, you know, going through this pandemic, the, the next step for her is she's actually started ordering a lot more groceries online. So yeah, it's, it's amazing. I never would have thought she would do that, but she has adapted to it very well. They don't always know how to use it. And sometimes the, uh, remote and I have to go back over there and like, I can't get this DV thing to work with. They, they have such a complicated setup that, uh, you know, you have to have, uh, an associate degree in engineering just to get the TV and the cable thing to come along. Tommy (17:29): Yeah. Well, I mean, yeah, it is, uh, you know, and even something like pandemic rice has kind of accelerated that, right. Um, with a lot of, uh, of the older folks, um, being very cautious about going out, Hey, they, you know, shopping online and, and getting your groceries delivered to you. Right. It's, um, it's, in some cases may have forced the behavior. Um, but, but again, I still think a high percentage of them were already doing it. Um, and, and the pandemic might've just, you know, put a few more of them over the edge, but, you know, they, they are, um, very, very comfortable with new media and technology. And I think that's a, that's a, uh, a perception or stereotype if you will, that, um, you know, that they're not, uh, sophisticated in that sense, that that's really important, particularly for, um, folks in your space to understand. Um, because I think the tendency is to want to use kind of the, the traditional channels and the traditional means to connect with them. Yeah. Roy (18:31): And I think it's also good to realize that they're savvy enough, that they're doing a lot of research online, you know, about the different community services and things like that. So it's kind of, double-edged, you know, we have to remember that to reach out to them, but we also have to remember that, that, you know, when they walk into one of our communities, that they are armed with a lot of information about not only our particular community, but the competitors in the area as well. Tommy (19:01): Absolutely. Absolutely. Um, and, and, you know, when I, uh, you know, I I'll say towards the end of our conversation, when I, I want to kind of lay out some of the, you know, tips, if you will, for, for the, the, the audience out there on how to, to think about leveraging this knowledge and their marketing. Um, that's certainly a place that we're going to go because, uh, research is key for them, again, goes back to being a lifelong learner. Right. Um, you know, I think another important, um, experience that, uh, the senior living, uh, marketing community needs to think about, and, and not only the market community, quite frankly, that the operational community of these senior living facilities is that, um, this is a generation that believes they will be middle-aged forever. Um, you know, uh, the silent generation, right. Uh, the, I'll say, you know, story of retirement was, you know, finish up your, your, your job. Tommy (20:05): That's been a hard job, right. You know, potentially again, and in, you know, manual labor, um, you know, finish that up and go sit on the front porch in a rocking chair, um, you know, at your, your home that you've lived in for 30 years and, and just, you know, spend the rest of your, your, your years sipping lemonade and, and, you know, watching the birds fly around. Right. Um, that's not the boomer generation of all that, that was kind of the ideal for the silent generation, but the boomer generation, you know, um, they, again, feel like they're going to be middle age. Uh, you know, when you think about it, it's the first generation that's really been to a degree, I'll say obsessed with health proactively, um, thinking about their health, uh, you know, they, they grew up in the age of, you know, chain fond that Richard Ronan, Olivia Newton, John, right. Tommy (20:59): Exercising, you know, exercising, uh, you know, not just, Oh, I'm, I'm walking somewhere, but like making a point of here's my exercise routine. Um, and you, you know, watching their diet, uh, you know, watching what they eat. Um, you know, if you look at the information out there today, 40% of maybe more members plan to work until they die, uh, you know, um, they're, uh, they're a group that oftentimes they retire and they're 66% more likely than the previous generation to retire and then decide this isn't for me and return to work. Um, and so, you know, I, I think when you think about, um, you know, who these people are, they're, they're active, they're proactive quite frankly. And, um, you know, for them, it is, you know, how do I, how do I, um, you know, stay, uh, and keep my lifestyle is as normal as possible. Um, and, uh, you know, being active is what makes them happy. Uh, you know, this isn't a generation that's ever kind of been lazy and sat around. So, um, I think it's very important when you think about the offerings and your, your, your facilities, that you have a lens of who these people are and what they're seeking. Um, and I think that's very important because, you know, if it's just a community where we're going to just sit around, it might not be for them. Right. Roy (22:39): Yeah. And I think that need to stay busy and, you know, feel useful. Everybody wants to feel useful. I think, you know, just kind of thinking, as you're talking that the silent generation, you know, they were good with that it's retirement setting in the chair. And, you know, they, most of them had had physical jobs that probably took a toll on their bodies too. So they were, you know, tired and worn out when it was time to retire. Whereas with this baby boomer generation, lot of us, you know, office jobs. And so I think it, um, we're not ready to sit in a rocking chair and just give it all up. I mean, we want to remain useful, remain relevant, even, you know, through the later years of our life. And so many people are, I mean, you know, my stepfather, he worked probably, I think until he was 85 years old and, you know, got up every day and did the same thing. He slowed down a lot after that. But, uh, up until that point, you know, you couldn't, you couldn't pry him away from you, what he was doing. Tommy (23:49): Yeah. It's, um, it's almost like a, you know, they had the reverse in terms of careers, you know, the silent generation was, as you said, labor hard work, uh, versus the boomer generation was kind of sedentary in the office, sitting behind a desk and, you know, they're looking for the exact opposite experience in retirement. Um, so yeah, it's a great, it's a great point. Uh, you know, but again, it's one of the things that, uh, you have to think about when you're attracting this future customer. Right, right. Um, you know, one other thing that I, I think is, you know, I know you're based in the, in the Dallas area in Texas. Um, and I think, you know, uh, uh, parallel, but I'll draw to, you know, the project that we're working on this, this, this client was based in South Florida. Uh, and I think one of the things that, um, you have in both of those, uh, areas or regions is a huge Hispanic population, which quite frankly, is a, uh, an extremely important, um, you know, group consumer group in America now, uh, they, they're about 20% of the population, I think, over 60 million. Tommy (25:10): And, uh, you know, I think there's some learning that, that we have to think about here as well. And one of those is that, you know, this is a, uh, when we think about boomer generation, right. Um, in terms of language, oftentimes, um, they are second or third generation now, the Hispanic consumers. Um, and I think early on in our marketing, we thought, well, if it's a Hispanic consumer, we must speak in language to them, but, uh, meaning in Spanish and our messaging needs to be in Spanish and all of that. Um, but I think one of the things is important to understand is the boomers, uh, the Hispanic population, um, within the boomer generation. A lot of these are second and third generation. I kind of say English is not a secondary language. It's just a second language and they use it. They're completely comfortable with it. Um, often times they've used it, uh, you know, throughout their working career. So I think it's just a very important, um, element to think about and marketing, because, you know, the message you deliver in the language that a true delivered in is very important. Um, and you can't ignore the Hispanic consumers, um, any longer, just the sheer size of them, uh, and, uh, you know, their, their growth in the United States. Uh, and I think they will be a future consumer, uh, in, in senior living facilities, uh, as well for a long time Roy (26:44): Rent. Yeah. I think especially the, you know, California and through the, the Southern Southwestern and Southern States for sure. Tommy (26:56): Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Um, Speaker 3 (26:59): So, so, you know, there's, yeah, Tommy (27:02): All these real, I'll say learnings and or experiences that we've been talking about. And, you know, what I kind of say to people is, you know, when you're marketing and you're targeting people, um, it's about understanding who they are. And oftentimes we get caught up in understanding who they are at a point in time. Um, but I think with this generation, it's kind of very important to understand, um, what made them, who they are at this point in time and it's those experiences. And I think we can look at how these past experiences have shaped them and anticipate kind of their future expectations in terms of meaningful engagement and marketing and what their expectation is. And I think that's kind of a really important thing for us to consider and, you know, really, I have five takeaways if you will, for, you know, marketers out there, um, thinking about the, the older community and things that they need to keep in mind when I'm there, they're trying to connect with them, they're trying to sell their products and services. Tommy (28:18): Okay. And, and I would say, number one, you have to embrace technology and digital, right. Um, don't, don't be scared of it. Don't get caught up in the, the stereotypes. Um, because, you know, as we discussed earlier, um, this generation, they're not afraid of, of, uh, technology, they've adapted to it their entire life, uh, and, and that's where they are. Um, and I know that, you know, oftentimes, you know, maybe we'll think about, well, you know, they prefer to talk to somebody that's not always the case. You know, maybe they want to inquire about information or set up an appointment, you know, via text or email versus calling a number. Right. And I think that's something important to think about. And when you're doing outreach, you know, it may not be necessarily, uh, a traditional way of doing it, whether it's, you know, direct mail, um, you know, or something like that, uh, or, or in, in print and in magazines, you might need to think about, you know, more digital, uh, communication with them. Tommy (29:26): So I think, you know, first and foremost, you need to embrace technology in your facilities. Um, but also in your communication, like I kinda was thinking the other day. Right. And, and again, one of the reasons that voice technology is so popular with this generation is you think about, uh, what you can do with voice, right. I don't have to pick up a newspaper or I don't have to, you know, kind of go on my phone and, you know, and, um, I hate to admit it, but my eyesight's going, it's much easier for me to ask, you know, Alexa, what's the weather, um, or you've gotten a lot of appointments set up, right. I can set up an, a reminder, uh, you know, right then and there. So, you know, it's interesting, you know, I think about a facility where, Hey, maybe every room has an Amazon echo in it. Tommy (30:18): Right. Keeping people on track appointments, social events, whatever. Um, but it's really easy. So I think in the end, you guys have to embrace technology and embrace digital when you're thinking about the senior living, uh, you know, community these days. For sure. Um, you know, the other thing that embracing on of digital does is it unlocks personalization. And one of the things that you start to learn when you're studying the baby boomers is that they often feel, um, I will sort of say left out by marketers. Um, you know, they don't feel like marketers cater to them. They don't feel like marketers are, um, delivering personalized messages to them. Um, and quite frankly, it's a little bit frustrating to them, right. Uh, and so they do like personalization. And the one thing that, you know, um, you know, digital does, is it unlocks personalization, right? Tommy (31:34): Um, you know, you may prefer a facility for one reason, or maybe investigating a facility for one reason, but somebody else may have a completely different reason for, or rationale for doing it. And, you know, there's a lot of data out there and it enables me to deliver a different message to try and attract one consumer to my facility versus somebody else. So I'm highlighting different features. So it's not a one size fits all message. So, you know, again, if you go back to starting to embrace digital and technology, it unlocked personalization, which is one more way that you connect with consumers and I'm sure you see it all the time. You know, if you're on a phone call with somebody you're trying to understand what their hook is or why they're interested in the facility, and then you go deeper on that. Roy (32:26): Right. Yeah. And I was just going to kind of extrapolate that to the digital that, you know, and I'm not an expert by any means, but I do know that, you know, we can tailor our messages to key words that are, or, you know, even with some online platforms, if you look up, uh, if you look up something, it will send you a related message based on, you know, kind of what you're interested in. I get those all the time. And so I, you know, like you said, if we're looking for security or maybe, you know, more help, whatever the consumer is looking for, we can tailor a message exactly to that. Tommy (33:07): Yeah. And, and the bottom line is everyone, not just boomers, everyone responds to a message that's relevant to them, right. Or is more likely to respond to a message that's relevant to them. I, you know, the, the easiest analogy, um, is, Hey, if I just had a car accident and my car has been totaled, that's what I'm paying a lot more attention to all the car ads that are out there. But if I just bought a new car, you know, and you're showing me car ads, I'm not paying attention to it. So, you know, having something that's relevant to somebody certainly, uh, makes them stand up, take notice. Um, and, and, uh, you know, and quite frankly want to research, which leads me to my next point or next really kind of key thing, which is give them information, do not hold back. Uh, I think that oftentimes, and, and I know this, you know, from my, my automotive experience, right. Tommy (34:06): You know, uh, dealers, you should just say, Hey, get them, get them to the, just figure out a way to get them to the lot and I'll take care of it. Right. And you know, what we had to kind of explain to them is, Hey, it's a different ball game now, guys, um, there's so much data and information out there by the time somebody gets to a lot, they already know what car they want. They know what price there is fair, and they're willing to pay for it. Um, and you know, they want the experience to be fast and simple, right? They're not there to get any more information from the dealer because all of that information is available out there, uh, you know, online and, you know, again, being a generation of learners, they're used to investigating learning, reading. Um, and so I think you have to think about that in your communication. Tommy (35:00): Um, and particularly on something like, uh, you know, your website, uh, you know, I actually believe that, you know, in this situation, and, and it's not often that I say this, you know, I'm usually, I usually subscribe to the less is more, but I think for something like this, providing them more information is better. Um, you know, and I kind of say to people, um, a lack of information in their mind would either equate to, you know, um, would either frustrate them or, uh, equal you're hiding something, some sort of mistrust. So put it all out there, make sure that your, your website and, and, and all of your, you know, communication about your facilities is very, very detailed. Give them the opportunity to go deep. Um, you know, I think that's so important for this generation. Uh, you know, don't, don't, don't just be surface level. Roy (35:58): Yeah. And that's important. I mean, even in my life, I will, uh, you know, when I'm making a decision and I'm doing my research, I may pick up on something, a feature service that one company has that I see on their website or in their ads that, um, the competitor didn't show. And then, you know, you'll get the phone call after the sale. And it's like, uh, you know, I bought with somebody else and they're like, Oh, well, could you tell me why? And when you explain it, then they say like, Oh, well, we do that too. And I'm like, well, but I didn't know that because all the research that I did, it never really came out and said it, but your competitor was very upfront about all the services that they had. Tommy (36:40): Yeah. And it doesn't mean, you know, you're going to have, you know, everybody's going to get the complete answer that they want, and they're not going to have questions. Right. But, you know, again, the reality is these are people that figured it out. Right. And they, they, they, they want to be, they want to have as much information as possible in making a decision. And quite frankly, they'd rather sit with the information, be able to digest it on their own terms at their own pace. Right. Versus having to call somebody, you know, you're getting it verbally, you know, versus I can see it. Right. It's okay. I can see it, I can make my notes. So, so, you know, I, I just think it's a really important thing to, to think about. Um, probably hasn't been a traditional practice. Um, but I think he got a, you gotta be willing to go really deep, um, uh, with the information you're providing them. Tommy (37:29): Right. Um, you know, I think one other thing that's really important for, um, facilities probably to think about as well. Um, and, and mind you, the research that we were doing was, was for, uh, you know, a treatment facility for, for lack of a better term. And I know that senior living facilities aren't necessarily the same, but I think that it's very important given that these guys believe they're going to be middle-aged for life. Right. And they're very proactive that, you know, these facilities think about, you know, uh, I, I would say both, I kind of say reactive care, getting, promoting reactive caregiving, but also, you know, proactive kind of activities that keep your residents happy, healthy, you know, and social, right. Again, just, just knowing how active these, these, these baby boomers and want to be and anticipate being, um, I think you have to, you know, when you're marketing yourself, you have to quite frankly, create an create and communicate a vibrant community, not a quiet sort of sedentary community, uh, for lack of a better term, because it is a completely different generation, right. They want to be active. They want to know all the things that there are to do. Um, socializing is very important to them. Uh, and so I think that's an important thing and may not be how, um, senior living facilities have always, you know, marketed themselves. Roy (39:18): Right. Yeah. That's, that's important to be sure and highlight, you know, a, a lot of these, you know, communities that I deal with, they have a lot of great stuff, a lot of activities, but sometimes in our messaging that becomes very secondary and a lot of the consumers, adult children, you know, they just don't realize how robust the, um, the life can be. If, if the resident she used to make ma chooses to make it that way. Tommy (39:49): Yeah. I mean, you know, I, uh, I have a 95 year old grandmother that's, um, in a, in a, in a facility and she's been there for years, but, you know, whenever I go visit or I talked to her, you know, she's always talking about, you know, the card games with her friends, you know, uh, you know, unfortunately right now, in, in, in the pandemic, you know, one of the biggest things she just is, is being able to go, uh, you know, to dinner with her friends, you know, because they're kind of serving them in their, in their apartments. But, um, you know, the social aspect is really important. Um, and I think that's what keeps, keeps them going and, and, you know, uh, it's what they seek out. And I don't think, as you say, it should be a secondary thought in, in your marketing. Um, I think you need to bring that to the forefront, uh, quite frankly. Um, so I think that's a really important thing for, um, you know, and a difference between, into the silent generation and the boomer generation. I mean, just think about the names, right? Silent generation, boomer generation, right. Silent, quiet. I just want to be quiet and, you know, boomers like I'm here. Notice me, so, you know, it's in the name. Roy (41:05): Yeah. That's a good analogy. I like that. Tommy (41:10): Um, you know, I think the other, the final piece right. Is, and again, it doesn't apply to all facilities, but just be mindful of language. Right. Mindful of, uh, you know, um, uh, I would say in your, um, in your collateral, in your, you know, channels, things like that, um, you know, do you need to have, uh, you know, language that, that caters to bilingual people, um, and, you know, you probably want to have, uh, Hispanic versions of that, if that is something that somebody prefers that language, but also I'll take it, you know, beyond just language, Spanish, English, something like that, but also the words that you use. Right. Um, you know, I'll say one of the things that we were, uh, you would often see, probably not as, as common in the senior living, but what we're seeing with this, this, uh, you know, kind of, uh, medical, um, facility, we were working with, everything was patient patient patient, and that has a very kind of negative connotation. Tommy (42:23): And we were like, you know, the, the, these people are members of your community, right? They're, they're not, everything is not doom. And gloom patients just has kind of the connotation of being sick and being reactive. Um, and so I think it's important that the, the language that you use, right. Um, know we always, you know, kind of have a thing in, in the marketing world, everything communicates right. And language is important and words matter. Um, so I think it really has to do go through your, your copy with a fine tooth comb. Um, you need to train your staff right on how to communicate, because let's face it. If, if somebody's coming to visit a facility to, to check it out, um, your staff, you know, who's taking them around, they're, they're the frontline of marketing for you, right. And the language that they use, um, the, the, the positivity, the energy, all of that stuff communicate. Tommy (43:23): Um, and, and I think that's very important sometimes it's, you know, uh, you know, overlooked, but, you know, I'll kinda kind of go to what I think is just a phenomenal story and marketing. Um, and, and the consistency that they've built, and it is company chick filet, right. You don't go to a chick filet without somebody saying, it's my pleasure. Right. They have trained their staff so well, right. To communicate, to have smile, you know, the positivity. Um, I think that's, you know, and, and I'm, and I'm shocked, right? That, that more companies don't focus on that because your frontline workers are really one of your biggest forms of marketing and communication. Roy (44:15): Yeah. And we do, uh, you know, we do miss the point on that a lot that, you know, I talked to him, you know, my customers, a lot about the receptionist being one of the most important contacts in this whole marketing process, because they're going to be the person that you talk to when you call to set up an appointment to go in, or they're going to be the first person that you see when you walk in. So really, um, letting you know, messaging to all the employees about how important it is to have that positive, upbeat, because I do a lot of mystery shopping, a lot of in person. And when you are touring a community, the energy and the, like you said, the positivity of the person that's taking you on this tour, it's very important. I mean, it can change the dynamics because I've been in the same community with somebody who wasn't as good and the community tended to be Bleaker. And, um, then with somebody who was really positive, upbeat, it just, it changes the whole dynamics of what, how you perceive things. Tommy (45:25): Yeah. And I think, you know, um, you're right. And I think the point here is everything communicates. Um, I used to have, uh, one of my old CEOs who said that constantly everything communicate. And I think oftentimes we think a marketing is, you know, the ad I put out right. Or, um, you know, my website, but it's so much more than that. Um, and all of the touch points that the consumer engages with, from, you know, a website, uh, uh, quite frankly, even a, uh, another resident, right. You know, word of mouth, you know, it's one of the most powerful, um, you know, forms of marketing, but everything that, uh, is a touch point with your, you know, facility is, is a point of marketing is a point of communication and, and has the opportunity to either, you know, have a customer think very positively about you and, and, and, and the, the messages you're trying to send, or it can be very negative. So I just think it's a huge thing that often just gets overlooked. And, uh, and I think when you're talking about senior living facilities, the people are so important. Um, the people are what bring me energy. Um, the people are what bring the positivity. Um, and, you know, I can't stress that enough. Right, Roy (46:58): Right now it's a very important part. Well, Tommy, I do appreciate you coming on and sharing this insight. Um, you know, about the marketing to the baby boomers, it's going to be important, you know, for us to stay on point and be sure that we change our messaging, you know, for this group versus the silent generation. So, uh, before I let you tell everybody how they can get ahold of you, if you don't mind it, is there a tool or kind of a, or something that you do every day that you just don't think you could do without? Tommy (47:36): Um, yeah. I, you know, this may not be the traditional answer, but, um, uh, music is extremely important in my life. Uh, it's, it's been something that since I was, uh, you know, a young teenager, um, I've always, I've always listened to music, loved music, uh, you know, explored different varieties of music. And, um, I don't know that I could live without Spotify. And so every morning when I, when I get set up in my office, the first thing that I do is, you know, I, I get my computer open. Um, I get Spotify on and I, you know, depending on if I'm, you know, trying to be focused on something, if I'm researching something, you know, the music that I put on my, my Barry, but, uh, you know, that's a, that's a critical app for my, uh, productivity, if you will, um, on a daily basis. Yeah. Roy (48:35): Oh, no, I agree. I could not live without my music every day. And it's something about it. Just even if you're a little bit sluggish, if you get some good music on a good song comes on and no matter the genre just seems to pick you up, lift your spirit positive outlook. So that is awesome. Well, uh, if you wouldn't mind just tell everybody, uh, first off, who is your customer, what you can do for them, and then also just a, you know, how they could reach out and get ahold of you. Tommy (49:06): Yeah. We work with, um, we work with a wide variety of, uh, I'll say customers, right. Um, and, and we are truly collaborators, not competitors in the industry, but, you know, we work with, with, uh, any type of marketer who's looking to sell better. Um, and you know, we do work all the way from, you know, branding work and helping them position themselves in the marketplace and finding kind of a white space to, um, Hey, you just need, you need help actually. Uh, where, where should I be placing this message, you know, given who my consumer is. And, and, you know, so, you know, we work with, we work with actually agencies. We work with media vendors. Um, we also work with clients direct. So, uh, you know, we have a broad customer base, um, in terms of, you know, where, where you can find us. Tommy (49:59): Um, you know, probably the easiest thing to do is go to our website, which is www.theroundtripgroup.com. And there, it talks about who we are talks about our services, um, is all the information on how to contact, you know, uh, all of us in the organization. And so, you know, I would encourage any of the listeners out there if, uh, you know, you to need, or you just want to have a conversation and see if, if we might be right for you and can help you, uh, go to the website and don't hesitate to reach out to any of them. Roy (50:36): All right. Well, again, I want to thank Tommy Nolen with the round trip group, be sure and reach out to him and, uh, you know, see how they can help you. Uh, you can also find us www.seniorlivingsalesandmarketing.com, also Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Uh, you can also reach out to me@royatseniorlivingsalesandmarketing.com. It's been a pleasure Tommy, and until next time everybody take care. Thanks a lot.    

W tym odcinku Jakub Benke, pilot Boeinga 737, opowiada o tym jak zmienił swoje życie. Z fotela prezesa Starcom MediaVest Group - największego i najbardziej utytułowanego domu mediowego w Polsce przesiadł się za stery samolotu. Jest też prezesem i udziałowcem Bartolini Air - firmy zajmującej się czarterem prywatnych odrzutowców oraz udziałowcem spółki Natural Element, produkującej naturalne kosmetyki Phenomé. Niesamowita transformacja, która udowadnia jak wiele jesteśmy w stanie osiągnąć. Bio gościaJakub Benke, absolwent Wydziału Zarządzania UW, wieloletni prezes i autor sukcesu Starcom MediaVest Group - największego i najbardziej utytułowanego domu mediowego w Polsce (m.in. dom mediowy dwudziestolecia wg Media i Marketing Polska). Rozwijającą się międzynarodową karierę w korporacji porzucił dla lotnictwa. W 2008 roku został pilotem odrzutowców i jednocześnie prezesem w Jet Story - spółce, którą uczynił największym operatorem samolotów dyspozycyjnych w Europie Centralnej. Obecnie pracuje jako pilot Boeinga 737 w jednej z linii lotniczych, jest prezesem i udziałowcem Bartolini Air - firmy zajmującej się czarterem prywatnych odrzutowców oraz udziałowcem spółki Natural Element, produkującej naturalne kosmetyki Phenomé. Ma żonę i 1,5-rocznego syna, poza lotnictwem jego największą pasją jest wspinanie sportowe.W tym odcinku audycji Zaprojektuj Swoje Życie dowiecie się:Jaki był główny powód odejścia Jakuba ze Starcomu i jak podjął tę decyzję?Jaką cenę zapłacił nasz gość za życiową woltę?Ile zarabiają piloci i od czego zależy ich pensja ?Jak Jakub widzi przyszłość zawodu pilota w nadchodzących latach?Notatki z odcinkaPatrząc wstecz Jakub podkreśla, że nie projektował swojego życia. Na początku swojej kariery chciał być częścią zachodniego świata. Zaczął pracę w korporacji, gdzie osiągnął sukces w domu mediowym. Dopiero wtedy zaczął zastanawiać się nad tym, co chce robić dalej. Mając 33 lata po raz pierwszy wsiadł do samolotu w roli pilota. Wykupił lot zapoznawczy i od tamtej pory latanie stało się jego pasją i obsesją. Bardzo szybko zrozumiał, że chciałby zajmować się tym zawodowo. Zanim jednak przesiadł się z fotela prezesa za stery samolotu, tworzył polski rynek reklamy. Ponad 13 lat był prezesem domu mediowego Starcom. Tam nauczył się budować sprawnie funkcjonujące organizacje. Zaznacza, że niezwykle ważna jest kultura organizacyjna zorientowana zarówno na zadania jak i na ludzi. Kluczem do sukcesu są dobre procesy i zaangażowany zespół. Podjęcie decyzji o zmianie swojej kariery było procesem ostrożnym. Nasz gość ma świadomość, że był w sytuacji komfortowej - zarówno finansowo jak i w kwestii statusu. Podjął próbę zarządzania dwiema firmami na raz. Przyjął propozycję zarządzania firmą lotniczą nadal pełniąc obowiązki prezesa domu mediowego. Wspomina, że pogodzenie tego nie było prostym zadaniem i nie obyło się bez problemów. Miał poczucie winy, że nie angażuje się na 100% w żaden z podjętych projektów. Postanowił porzucić pracę w korporacji i zajął się spółką Jet Story, którą uczynił największym operatorem samolotów dyspozycyjnych w Europie Centralnej. Po rozstaniu z tą firmą zaczął pracę na pełen etat jako kapitan samolotu. Obecnie lata na Boeingu 737. Dodatkowo jest udziałowcem i prezesem Bartolini Air - firmy zajmującej się czarterem prywatnych odrzutowców. Jakub chciałby aby widzowie zapamiętali, że warto pamiętać o ludziach i relacjach, którymi się otaczamy. Nie zapominajmy też o wolności, którą tak często sami sobie odbieramy. Nie bójmy się zadawać pytania: czego tak naprawdę chcę? A jak już to zrobimy to szczerze sobie na to pytanie odpowiedzmy. Pamiętajcie aby subskrybować nasz kanał na YouTube, iTunes, Spotify lub wszędzie tam gdzie słuchacie podcastów. Co czwartek wywiady z przedsiębiorcami. I nie tylko!Więcej ciekawych historii i rozmów z wyjątkowymi gośćmi znajdziecie na naszej stronie: https://zaprojektujswojezycie.plFacebook: https://m.facebook.com/zaprojektujswojezycie/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zaprojektujswojezycie.pl/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/audycja-zsz/Aby nie przegapić kolejnego inspirującego odcinka audycji pamiętajcie o subskrypcji na YouTube lub waszych ulubionych aplikacjach gdzie słuchajcie podcastów.Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2VYPLgc iTunes: https://apple.co/2VXB25k PATRONITE audycji Zaprojektuj Swoje ŻycieWspieraj być może najlepszą audycję w polskim internecie. Zostań współtwórcą i zobacz jak powstaje niezwykle ciekawa audycja - Zaprojektuj Swoje Życie. Dołącz do nas! Twój czas i Twoje wsparcie jest dla nas bardzo wartościowe.Jak to zrobić? To proste. Odwiedź nas na https://patronite.pl/zsz i zostań Patronem już dziś.

Laurie Keith is Vice President of Media, Social & Emerging for the Ad Council, “where creativity and causes converge.” The Ad Council, a non-profit organization, coordinates “contributing partners” to address the most important issues in the US and globally, including social and environmental concerns and national crises.  Laurie started her career working with big media agencies, but her heart was in her volunteer work. Joining the Ad Council in 2010 allowed her to meld her love for media strategy and planning with her passion for social good. Today, she manages the organization's relationships with major media, tech, and entertainment companies, including large tech platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Apple, Amazon, Pinterest, Reddit, eBay, and Twitch.  Since its start in 1942, the Ad Council has, over the years, produced many iconic messages. Two of the earliest were: “Loose lips sink ships” (a wartime reminder that divulging sensitive information could result in American deaths) and Smokey Bear, (who always seemed to be saying, “Only YOU can prevent forest fires.”) Other iconic messages include: “Friends don't let friends drive drunk,” Crash dummies, and the current “Love has no labels.” In this interview, Laurie explains how the Ad Council's partnership model works and how it has grown:  Nonprofit and government agency “issue experts” need help to communicate critical messages to their target audiences.  U.S. creative agencies (and the Ad Council's Creators for Good team) donate time to develop creative strategy and content  The Ad Council deploys this information to media volunteers The media volunteers provide pro bono digital “real estate” – the platform Today, these large media companies often contribute on creative side as well, honing material to produce platform-optimized messages. Before the COVID-19-precipitated cancellation of the South by Southwest 2020 conference, Laurie was scheduled to moderate a panel, “Marketing in the Age of Digital Community,” exploring the power and rise of digital communities. Here, Laurie discusses the power of Reddit, a community where anonymity opens the opportunity for people to more freely talk about sensitive issues, and the potential gains (and caveats) for brands that decide to work in that space.  Laurie talks about how the Ad Council's current “Alone together” message, encourages social isolation to slow the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic while communicating that doing so brings people into a “group” taking action together. Alone. But not alone. Laurie says she has been thrilled with the level and depth of brand involvement in communicating COVID-19 information to various audiences. Laurie can be reached on Twitter @lauriekeith, on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/adcouncil, and on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-advertising-council/. The Ad Council offers an audio/video/print “finished content” COVID-19 information toolkit for people or organizations with outreach capabilities at: coronavirus.adcouncilkit.org.  Transcript Follows: ROB: Welcome to the Marketing Agency Leadership Podcast. I'm your host, Rob Kischuk, and I'm excited to be joined today by Laurie Keith. She's the Vice President of Media, Social & Emerging for the Ad Council based in San Francisco, California. Welcome to the podcast, Laurie. LAURIE: Thank you so much for having me. ROB: It's fantastic to have you here. I think a lot of people, the name “the Ad Council” is familiar to them, but they might not be able to tell you off the top of their heads what it is, how it operates, what the deal is. I think people don't even realize how many iconic campaigns the Ad Council is associated with. So why don't you give us the big picture of the Ad Council and what the Ad Council excels in?  LAURIE: Of course. We like to say the Ad Council is where creativity and causes converge, put simply. We are a nonprofit organization. We've been around since 1942, and we bring together unique convening partners from the creative minds in advertising, media, technology, in order to address the nation's most important causes. We convene all of the partners that we have in all of those industries to tackle the country's toughest issues. We are a national nonprofit, so we're really focused on issues at home. Of course, if there's an issue of global importance, we also will take those on as well. It's a really unique intersection in that we're able to work with the nonprofits and government agencies – they really act as the issue experts – and our “clients” – the media, technology, marketing industries – in an effort to get these critical messages out there to the audiences that we're trying to reach. And then the advertising creative industry are really tasked with developing and coming up with the creative that you see out there. As you alluded to, we have created some of the most iconic campaigns in advertising history, from “Friends don't let friends drive drunk” to Smokey Bear. Our most iconic campaign right now I think is “Love has no labels.” We really are the convener, as I said earlier, to bring everyone together so that we can make sure we're getting these critical issues out there.  ROB: For sure. And even I believe going all the way back to Rosie the Riveter, at the origin? Is that right? LAURIE: That was up for debate for quite a long time. [laughs] I don't think we can claim that one, but our very iconic campaign was “Loose lips sink ships” back in World War II era. That was I think one of our first campaigns, along with Smokey Bear. ROB: Crash Test Dummies, McGruff, do you get to claim those? LAURIE: Yep, Crash Test Dummies, McGruff the Crime Dog. Those are also our iconic campaigns. I should mention we have a long history of creating campaigns in times of national crisis. I just mentioned World War II; we had a big September 11th “I am an American” campaign. Also, any time there's a natural disaster like Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Sandy. And of course, our most recent efforts that we have on the ground right now to spread awareness on the slow of the spread of coronavirus, COVID-19. We're currently spinning on all cylinders getting those messages out to the public. ROB: It's quite a charge to make these memorable and meaningful campaigns. I don't think a lot of people would think about having interesting and memorable government advertisements, but yet that is a place that the Ad Council has absolutely excelled. Let's dig a little bit into your own journey. How did you come to be at the Ad Council in the role that you are in now? LAURIE: In my role as Vice President of Media, focusing on social and emerging, I really work in this unique intersection of the tech media industry, and I manage our relationships with major media, tech, and entertainment companies, using their platforms to develop largescale, innovative, social good partnerships. I oversee our partnerships with Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Apple, Amazon, Pinterest, Reddit, eBay. I'm always worried like I'm missing someone. Twitch is a big one. A lot of the large tech media platforms really fall under my huge umbrella. Your question was how I got here. Prior to the Ad Council, joining 10 years ago, I worked at big media agencies. I started my career at Starcom MediaVest Group in Chicago, and then I moved to Los Angeles, where I worked for Mindshare, working on the Ford Automotive account, and then moved over to Initiative, where I worked on the Carl's Jr./Hardees QSR account. I reached a point in my career 10 years ago where – I went to school for advertising, I went through the media track; I really loved media. I've always been super interested in media as an industry. I was really enjoying the strategy that went behind building a media plan, understanding the specific targets and how they're consuming media and what we need to do creatively in order to get the message in front of them at the right time so they're going to take the call to action that we need them to take. But my client at the time, as I was going through this life shift, was a fast food restaurant. So, I was realizing I was doing such cool, innovative partnerships – I did one of the first text messaging campaigns for Carl's Jr./Hardees – but I was not really passionate about the brand that I was working on. It was like getting men 18-49 to continue to eat fast food hamburgers. I was also doing a lot of personal volunteering and helping out a lot in my local community in Los Angeles. I reached a point where I was like, how do I work in social good and help people, but also continue to work in advertising and media? Because I love how this industry is constantly changing and there's new technologies coming out all the time. So, I was trying to figure out how to bridge the two together. It was a long journey, which I won't get into on this podcast, but I ended up getting accepted to the United States Peace Corps, and I was thinking about going to – they wanted to send me to Kazakhstan to do youth and community development, and I was going to be the only Peace Corps volunteer. My parents are usually really excited about all of my adventures and ideas, but they were like, “Is that really what you want to be doing?” I was at the point in my career where if I were to leave to do something like, it would probably drastically change the course of my career. That was when I found the Ad Council. I was driving down La Cienega in LA. I was driving down a street that I normally wouldn't have been, but I was on jury duty during this time, so I was doing a lot of things and doing a lot of soul-searching, trying to figure out my next steps. I passed this billboard, and it was right after the Haiti earthquake, and it was a partnership that the Ad Council had with the Red Cross. It said “text (whatever) to donate to the Red Cross to help with the Haiti earthquake efforts.” It was just one of those lightbulb moments. I've had a couple in my life, and I'm grateful that the Ad Council really came to me in this way. It was like, “Who is the Ad Council? Maybe you should look into what they're doing. Clearly, they have this big billboard on La Cienega, and maybe they're a company that you should look into.” Everything just was clockwork after that. I reached out to the person that ended up becoming my boss and let them know that this was really my passion. My passion was social good, but my talent, so to speak, was media strategy and planning, and “I would love to come in and talk to you.” That turned into an informational interview, which turned into they were looking for someone with exactly my experience, which was local and national media strategy. Also, at the time in 2010, Ad Council was really starting to build out their partnership model. Of course, we've always worked off of a donated media model, and we run all of our PSAs through donated media, which we're so grateful to get from the industry. But at the time, the partnership model – which is “How do we develop custom content together? How do we bring in a measurement study? How do we develop an innovative product that can help get the message out there?” – that was when they were starting to think in that vein, and that was really what I wanted to be doing for them. So it was just a perfect timing situation. The job was in New York City, and I was really excited about the opportunity to live in New York City and jump-start my career there. I took the job about 4 months later and have been with them for the last 10 years and have really, like I said, grown the digital/social/emerging part of the Ad Council, which has been really the highlight of my career. ROB: That's such a fascinating transition to bring you out to the West Coast again and really to identify – it seems like a lot of the technology opportunity – is it really donated media from them as well? Just as perhaps airtime on radio and on television would be donated, these platforms may also donate part of their own real estate to these causes? LAURIE: Yeah. Every time you see an Ad Council PSA advertisement, whether it's in your Instagram feed, whether it's on a billboard on the highway, whether it's on the radio or a podcast that you're listening to, all of that is donated to the Ad Council, which I think puts us in a really unique position because we're able to get our messages out there on all these different platforms. It's really the generosity of the media community that allows us to do that. So yeah, it's a very unique model. I think it's also a testament to the relationships that we have with these media companies that when we do need to get messages out there, they're raising their hand and they want to support it. It's a really great place to be. ROB: Wow. For them to donate that time, there has to be an element of trust that what they're going to be using that airtime, that screen space for, is going to be of excellent quality. Who actually creates the campaigns and creates the content? Are they also donating their time? LAURIE: That's a great question. The creative is really twofold, and I feel like it's one of the things that keeps evolving. Traditionally . . . our traditional model is that the advertising agencies in the U.S., the creative agencies in the U.S. – we call them volunteer agencies, and they will donate their time pro bono to develop the creative strategy and come up with the actual creative idea that we then deploy and put out there in the media. I feel like more and more, especially with the accounts that I manage, the media companies themselves not only want to donate the media, but they also want to be very heavily involved in the creative process. Facebook has Facebook Creative Shop, Pinterest has their own creative team, Snapchat has their own creative team. So oftentimes media companies will also step up and say, “Listen, we want to donate X amount of media, but we also want to work with our creative team to develop a custom filter or come up with a new video social campaign that is very specific to this platform.” And we welcome those opportunities. Obviously, these media companies know what creative is going to perform best and what the best ways are to reach audiences on their platform, so we welcome that. Oftentimes we do work with media companies, and they will donate their time to develop content similar to advertising agencies. But of course, our agency model is very strong because there's so many media companies out there and so many ways to reach people through multiple media channels that it's important for us to have face-to-face campaign creative and have creative that's ready to get out there on any platform at any given time. ROB: That makes a lot of sense. I can definitely see, especially in your department, when you're dealing with these technology companies, even the way they would execute a campaign, they would probably like to execute it in a way that is very native to each platform that they're on in a way that might make the entire campaign different. LAURIE: Yeah. I should also add we have a whole department at the Ad Council called Creators for Good. Again, it's another small and mighty team, but they are working with talent. Anyone from digital talent, digital creator influencer, to celebrity talent, comedians, musicians. They also develop content for us and their voice, lending their talents to get these critical messages to the public. It's great. We have basically content coming in from all different directions in order to get the messaging out there. ROB: Perfect. I think very relevant to this, you were prepared at South by Southwest to be a part of a talk called “Marketing in the Age of Digital Community.” That's very relevant, I think, to this conversation. What was going to be in that talk? And maybe we'll get a chance to hear it if it comes out in digital format later. LAURIE: Yeah. It was a panel that I put through. I was planning to be the moderator, and it was with Will Cady, the Head of Brand Strategy at Reddit, Addie Marino, who's the Global Prototype Lead at the Creative Shop Studio I just mentioned – we work with them – over at Facebook, and then Adam Warrington, who is the Vice President of Better World, the CSR arm of Anheuser-Busch. The panel was going to be focused on the power of digital communities and also the rise in digital communities. 81% of companies, up from 67% in 2012, report that they have a community-centric approach to marketing. And then at the same time, there's been a significant increase in the number of internet users that engage in online forums, blogs, subreddits. Reddit did a study called “The Era of We,” and it went from 72% of global internet users saying that “yes, I engage in these online communities” and that has increased to 76%. It's this really interesting phenomenon that more and more people that are active internet/social media users are part of some type of community. Maybe they're part of one, maybe they're part of several. And at the same time, companies that are starting out or companies that are evolving are making sure that they have a community-centric strategy. We basically designed a panel around that, and as a brand, how do you authentically insert yourself into let's say a subreddit community that has millions of followers and people that are really passionate about an issue? You as a brand have a big stake in the ground, and how do you enter that community but then also do it in a very authentic way to where the people in that community are really receptive? That was another part of the panel, too. Reddit did a separate study that found that 82% of community users are receptive to brands participating, and they really respect when brands make an effort. So this whole idea of – this is a huge marketing opportunity for brands to come in and insert themselves into these communities, but doing it in an authentic way that really fares well for your brand. Of course, brands have a lot of guidelines on how they can show up and what they can say and do. How do you do that in a space that is very authentic? You don't want to stand out. You don't want to do anything that could make you come across as you don't know what you're talking about. So it was a really awesome panel that we had designed to talk about this, because I think a lot of brands are trying to figure out how to enter this space. ROB: An interesting panel for that. I would say perhaps Reddit is the place you can insert yourself into community and be most quickly corrected if you have done so in a way that is not right for that community. LAURIE: Yes, absolutely. I think Reddit is also super unique – and we were going to talk about this in the panel, too – just the anonymous nature of the platform. A lot of people are joining subreddits, but they don't reveal their real person, whereas on a Facebook, you are showing up as who you are. I think what makes Reddit so special is that you can be part of this community, but not have to reveal who you really are. From an Ad Council perspective, we've found this to be really powerful for campaigns like our Youth Suicide Prevention campaign, like holding a Reddit AMA and reaching out to different communities to get people to talk about the issue of mental health that maybe in a public setting, that's difficult to talk about. It's a sensitive subject. So we are able to see a lot of success in raising awareness on our campaigns when we do it in a really unique way on Reddit. ROB: Reddit is certainly, by contrast, also a place where if you do things right, the rewards are tremendously rich and robust. I think maybe relevant to that, you're at an intersection that is very interesting today amidst this COVID-19 crisis. At the Ad Council, I believe the day that we're recording this, there've been a couple of new ads that have come out. I think when you're talking about digital platforms, often younger audiences might be some of the folks who feel like they have the least to worry about with this COVID-19 crisis. How is the Ad Council working into this crisis and getting what messages out to the right places? LAURIE: It's a great question, and thank you for asking. We have a huge campaign, and it has a lot of legs. We actually announced our campaign on March 19th, and we are working in partnership with the White House, the CDC, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to develop this largescale national PSA campaign in order to get messages to the public. To your point, there are a lot of different targeting sets of people that we're trying to reach. We have a lot of different campaigns under this one COVID-19 umbrella, so to speak. We worked with NBCUniversal. They created a series of videos, TV, and digital and social graphics both in English and Spanish that are reaching the high-risk populations as well as the general public. Those ad sets talk about the steps that people can take to protect themselves. Then separately, we worked with ViacomCBS and really leveraged their portfolio of brands to develop a multiplatform PSA campaign that targets more of the Gen Z/Millennial, younger, low-risk, I think we're calling them – like the 16- to 35-year-olds that might be a carrier or might have had the coronavirus but had mild symptoms, but of course, are a carrier of the virus and can spread it quickly. That campaign is called Alone Together. We're partnering with Twitter, we're partnering with Snapchat, we're partnering with TikTok, all of the targeted media platforms, to really bring light to that campaign. It's also social and talent led, so we have a bunch of celebrity talents that have lent their voice to get the message out there, of course. They're really big on social platforms, so partnering with them was really important for the campaign. In addition to that, we also just launched new PSAs that feature the Surgeon-General, Dr. Birx and Dr. Fauci, the health officials that really get the message out there on social distancing. Those are also targeted to the low-risk group of Americans. And we have more and more, it seems like every day, more and more media companies coming to the table. We're now working with The Atlantic's internal creative studio to develop customized digital creative. iHeartMedia just raised their hand and they're going to be developing audio and radio spots. Wall Street Journal, I just heard this morning, and Hearst are going to be developing custom print. And then of course, the partners that we work with out here in San Francisco, our social and emerging media partners, have all – we basically reached out and asked for their support, and every single one of them is stepping up, whether that be through donating a significant amount of media to get these already-created assets out there to developing custom content. Snapchat, their creative team is developing custom filters as well as designing some new creative that will live within their app. We're partnering with TikTok and some celebrity, talent-led creative. Reddit is doing something really unique in that we're doing a trending takeover on their front page, and we're also going to be developing custom content with them. I could talk forever on all the companies that have stepped up, but it's really been an industry-wide effort to not only develop content that reaches these very specific audiences, but donating media and each platform lending their own creative team to make sure that we're getting this message out there in the way that their audience is going to consume it best. It's been definitely the highlight of my career in these last 10 years I've worked with the Ad Council. We always take the call. We take the call when there's a national crisis and a national emergency. I never thought in a million years that we would be dealing with this in our country, but it's so amazing to work at a company like the Ad Council that is really on the frontlines on this communication and media strategy in order to get people to do what we need them to do. ROB: You must really feel like this is such an opportunity to actually – I think more tangibly. Many of your campaigns have been out there to save lives, even going back to “Loose lips sink ships” or the Crash Test Dummies. I just think there's something a lot more tangible about the immediate opportunity here. I'm amazed you can keep all of that that you just shared even in your head. LAURIE: [laughs] It's hard. ROB: How do you think about organizing moving parts and partners with so many different campaigns in flight, so many different placements in flight, different contexts? LAURIE: Thankfully, we have such an incredible team at the Ad Council. Our media team at the Ad Council is really broken out in that we have different specialties and different focus areas. Of course, our team in San Francisco, we're really focused on social and emerging media companies. Anything we're doing with any of those companies, we're really leading the charge in developing those partnerships. We have another team that's focused on audio and podcasts. We have another team that's focused more on TV and radio. We have a whole team of people that are working tirelessly with all of their partners in order to get the message out there. And then, of course, we have our talent team that's leading the talent-led efforts. We have our campaign teams that are in charge of managing the relationships with the CDC and the White House. It honestly is a whole team effort. It really makes me take a step back and go, wow. I'm happy to be where I am during this crisis. Ad Council, we have the convening partners of the industry to enable us to do this. I've got to say, it's really awesome that we have a system set up for when there is a crisis and that we can get the messages out there so quickly across the entire industry. ROB: It sounds like you're saying there's a value of specialization, but there's also a value of coordination and having the right people in the right seats and enough of them to make sure this whole thing works together. LAURIE: Totally. ROB: You have the quantity and the talent. Perfect. In these moments of crisis, one thing I saw maybe right around the time that cities were beginning to lock down – there are always loud voices on Twitter, but I saw very intelligent people who were calling out and calling on some of these – probably companies you work with, the Facebooks, the Twitters of the world, and saying, “Why aren't you helping? Why aren't you getting the word out?” What do people not realize is going on behind the scenes? Because I'm sure they're talking about it. When these companies are thinking but haven't quite acted yet, what's going on behind the scenes that people might not appreciate about these companies? LAURIE: I think that's why we at the Ad Council work directly with our PR communications team, because it is important for us to get the message out there that these companies are standing up. I know we just came out with a press release last Monday talking specifically to the tech community and what they're doing to step up. You just mentioned Facebook and Twitter; they're both doing a lot for our campaigns. Facebook is donating a significant amount of media for us to get the message out there, and Twitter is developing a custom emoji that will show up any time someone types with the hashtag “#alonetogether.” It's important for us to get the message out there that these media companies are stepping up, and we do that through a press release so that we can make these announcements and so the press can write about it. Obviously, sometimes that's not happening at the same exact time these questions are being asked, like, “Why aren't these companies stepping up?” But we were able to turn around a press release within a matter of 3 days. I think these companies, beyond what they're doing with the Ad Council, I'm reading every day – Apple just created a COVID-19 special section. Facebook has a COVID-19 special section. I know Twitter does as well. So I know beyond just what they're doing with the Ad Council and helping us get these messages to the public, I do think a lot of them are doing way more beyond that. They're actually using their product to get the message out there as well. I don't know if that helps answer your question, but we try to raise awareness on the fact that they're supporting through the press that we put out there. ROB: It's yet another example, I think, of the high-level, three-dimensional chess that you all have to play that very few people have to do. There's a PR dimension to what you're doing, but very rarely do you see such a deep level of also execution, also distribution, also partnering and coordinating, all within one organization. I think it's a tremendous amount to appreciate. LAURIE: It's a well-oiled machine. [laughs] ROB: [laughs] It sounds like it, especially to be all virtual now. Laurie, when you are looking at the future, what's coming up for the Ad Council and for the industry that you are excited about? LAURIE: It's a big question. For me personally, where I sit at the Ad Council and focusing on social and emerging media and having a pulse on the frontier of what's happening and where we should really be inserting ourselves, there's a couple things I think that I'm excited about. We're talking to some companies right now on the idea of a virtual concert where you essentially can join virtually, whether you have a VR headset or you just – you don't need a VR headset to join; you can also just join and experience it from your regular desktop or mobile phone. This idea that we can bring thousands if not millions of people together in a virtual space, share our messaging, whether that be – I think we're talking about bringing in some artists, some talent – but really getting everyone in a virtual space. Obviously it's hard in person. There's a lot of logistics that go into actually planning a physically live event. But the idea of being able to pull something off like this in a virtual space and have different messaging points, different levers that we can pull, whether that's getting a reward within the experience or maybe collecting user-generated content where people can share their own experiences as it relates to that issue – of course, there's a donation stream, if we wanted to raise money for a specific nonprofit. So I'm really excited about that potential, especially after we're living in this COVID-19 space where there is so much happening in a virtual world. I'm excited to see where Ad Council can take that, especially with our partners like Twitch and other leaders that are really driving the VR space. And then I think separately, it's this whole idea of purpose-driven marketing. I think we're going to see more and more brands really step up and make sure that they stand for something that's beyond just the product that they're selling and going beyond just their pocketbooks and giving money to causes – which of course is super important, but how can they actually develop unique experiences that happen in the communities of people that follow them and help make the world a better place through the causes that they care about? I think you're going to see more and more companies step up. Of course, that's an exciting opportunity for the Ad Council as well because we work with so many brands that sit on our board of directors, so how can we really play a part there, knowing that Ad Council invented this model of purpose-driven marketing back in 1942? How can we work together? We have a separate arm at the Ad Council that is focusing on this as a revenue stream. It's called Ad Council Edge, really helping brands and other nonprofits with their purpose-driven marketing strategy. So I'm really excited to see how that will play out over the next couple of years. ROB: It's amazing to see so much agility in a nearly 80-year-old organization. You mentioned VR there for a moment; I believe you've done some speaking and thinking on VR, but then you overlaid that onto our current moment. How much of things that you've seen and thought about in VR do you think are getting jammed into our lived experience of normal work and life right now? What's stuff we've talked about for VR that just became life all of a sudden? LAURIE: I went to F8 last year and they talked a lot about the Facebook Watch platform, and they showed an example of – it was two women. Her mother lived in Australia and she lived in Los Angeles, and they were watching Red Table Talk through their VR, like Oculus headsets, sitting in their living room, watching the show together and commenting. This whole experience of, okay, we're not physically together, but we are physically together because we are watching this and feeling this through this virtual experience. I see that, especially in where we are sitting right now with this shelter in place and people staying at home, this whole idea of watch parties and watching comet together and being able to respond in real time – just like you would if you were sitting in a living room with someone watching a show together. You might pause it and say, “Oh my gosh, what did you guys think about that?” or what have you. I see this really starting to pick up in a virtual space, being able to watch content together, experience content together. And then when we get out of this space and we eventually can get back to our normal lives and be together again in community with each other, I can see brands taking advantage of this whole – we have this online world, this online community, we're doing something together online, but then facilitating how those online connections can live out in the real world and in real life. I'm interested to see how brands will really scale that. I think we'll see more of these online-meets-real-life experiences happening. ROB: Fascinating. It will be interesting to see the before and after around this forced technology adoption. People are learning things they probably would have not learned for 5 years right now. It'll be fascinating to see what that means for the community that you are involved in and the companies you are working with. LAURIE: Absolutely, yeah. It's a huge opportunity for virtual companies and really digital companies that are thinking in this way to really take advantage of this time and figure out how they can evolve their products to fit in this space. ROB: That's all brilliant. Laurie, thank you so much for coming on the podcast and for sharing. I think we all learned a great deal. When people want to find and connect with you, where should they look for you? LAURIE: I'm pretty active on social media. That should not surprise you. [laughs] My Twitter is just my name, which is @lauriekeith. I'm always welcome to be hit up on Twitter through DMs. That's probably the best way to reach me. And then I did want to also plug our Coronavirus Toolkit, if I can. ROB: Absolutely. LAURIE: For anyone that's listening to this podcast and has the ability to reach people, we have a toolkit set up. It's coronavirus.adcouncilkit.org, and you will find everything from all of our PSAs to our social media assets to sample television and audio scripts if you want to develop your own content. I just wanted to make sure I plugged that, because I know a lot of people and companies are trying to figure out how they can help. I think it's a good one-stop shop of how to get our assets and get them out there. ROB: Super solid. Thank you so much, Laurie. LAURIE: Thank you so much. Hope you have a good one. ROB: You too. Bye bye. Thank you for listening. The Marketing Agency Leadership Podcast is presented by Converge. Converge helps digital marketing agencies and brands automate their reporting so they can be more profitable, accurate, and responsive. To learn more about how Converge can automate your marketing reporting, email info@convergehq.com, or visit us on the web at convergehq.com.

Have you ever wanted to pursue an executive leadership role, but didn't know where to start? This month's episode features seasoned advertising veteran Sean Finnegan, who has years of fearless leadership experiences to share. Whether it’s climbing the ladder at an organization or founding a new business, Sean Finnegan has led teams of all sizes across his tenure in the ad industry. After climbing the ranks at agencies Starcom MediaVest Group and OMD, Sean set out to found a variety of his own businesses. In this episode, he shares how he got to where he is today by forging ahead and betting on himself. 

Don’t think a car mechanic could make waves in the influencer marketing industry? Think again, because that’s exactly what Tom Potts did. While working as a car mechanic, Tom did a 180 and ventured into the digital marketing world. There, he spent years in leadership roles at Starcom Mediavest Group, Lowe Profero and Edelman. Then, he made a big decision: he wanted to be his own boss. And that’s when he started MML Consulting & Subculture Club, helping agencies and brands develop digital marketing, communications and media strategies.We sat down with Tom to talk about how he uses influencers to deliver outcomes and drive business as well as how he uses Perlu to involve influencers upstream in the creative process. So take that much-needed coffee break and hit play to get a glimpse into Tom’s creative process.

Clients: The good, the bad and the ugly There are those clients we love and those we tolerate. And then there are those that can be characterized as... challenging. But there’s an art to building a client management plan, and it’s something anyone can learn. In this episode, we’ll guide you through the client management trinity and teach you how to balance communication and expectations. Guest - Andrew Swinand, CEO Leo Burnett North America Andrew started his career at advertising agency BBDO, and later became a marketing director for P&G. He also lead Starcom MediaVest Group, the world’s largest media agency, and has recently been named CEO of Leo Burnett North America. Host: Alex Langshur

This week with Chris Nolan we discuss the changing face of the media industry & changing role of the traditional media agency. We’ll also cover the role of data and data analytics. And what Starcom is doing to future-proof the advertiser/broadcaster direct relationship and what amazingly strange names the job roles will have that will be appearing in a media agency near you soon!

In this THINK Leaders event episode, Leah Camilla R. Besa-Jimenez, CEO from Starcom Mediavest Group Philippines chats with Robert Schwartz, VP Global Digital Marketing & Engagement, IBM, which was broadcasted from SXSW in Austin, Texas. Stay informed with THINK Leaders at ibm.com/csuite.

What a spectacular year! I'm so grateful I got to spend it serving you and thousands of other listeners around the world! As we round out 2015, I'm leaving you with the Best of the Best shows from the year. If you missed these 'chart toppers' the first time around, make sure you don't miss them again and tune in to be motivated, empowered and inspired by these incredible guests. I wish you a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year! May you be unbelievably blessed in 2016! Sriram has spent 18 years in advertising and media agencies in India, China and the Asia Pacific Region. He is no stranger to executive roles, in fact, at different points in his career, Sriram was APAC CEO for Starcom Mediavest Group and China CEO for Aegis Media Group. For the past 3 years he has been a consultant and entrepreneur advising professional service companies on market entry to China. And in the process, one of those companies asked him to step up and lead their China operations. So now he is currently the China CEO of IMD. Besides work he enjoys an active lifestyle, absolutely loves music and occasionally performs in Shanghai bars.Find more online at www.limitlesslaowai.com/bestof_dsriram and connect with Sriram on wechat at SriramN200KM.Episode sponsor: Concordia International School Shanghai; discover more at www.concordiashanghai.org.

It's TOP week where we're revisiting our top poscast in each category! Did you miss D. Sriram the first time around? If you did, definitely tune in and hear our #1 ranked executive talk life and work in China. D. Sriram has spent 18 years in advertising and media agencies in India, China and the Asia Pacific Region. He is no stranger to executive roles, in fact, at different points in his career, Sriram was APAC CEO for Starcom Mediavest Group and China CEO for Aegis Media Group. For the past 3 years he has been a consultant and entrepreneur advising professional service companies on market entry to China. And in the process, one of those companies asked him to step up and lead their China operations. So now he is currently the China CEO of IMD. Besides work he enjoys an active lifestyle, absolutely loves music and occasionally performs in Shanghai bars.

    Tune in to this LimitlessLaowai Podcast episode to be motivated, empowered and connected to one of China’s Expats! Meet D. Sriram… Sriram has spent 18 years in advertising and media agencies in India, China and the Asia Pacific Region. He is no stranger to executive roles, in fact, at different points in his career, Sriram was APAC CEO for Starcom Mediavest Group and China CEO for Aegis Media Group. For the past 3 years he has been a consultant and entrepreneur advising professional service companies on market entry to China. And in the process, one of those companies asked him to step up and lead their China operations. So now he is currently the China CEO of IMD. Besides work he enjoys an active lifestyle, absolutely loves music and occasionally performs in Shanghai bars.    

Starcom Mediavest Group social media strategy head Mat Morrison joins the Echo Chamber to discuss how websites like Upworthy and Buzzfeed are reshaping content marketing, with significant implications on the battle between PR, advertising and digital agencies.

We hope you had a chance to attend our Take Five for Your Future webcast, "Big Data: The Data-Driven Media Plan" on August 28th. If you couldn't join us, or want to review some of the information again, you can watch the complete webcast here. A panel of experts shared their thoughts on how consumer marketers are matching data from a variety of sources to increase the efficiency and impact of their ad campaigns and provided some case studies and research to back it up. Dan Stein, Senior Vice President at Crossix Solutions, Helen Katz, SVP, Director of Research at Starcom Mediavest Group and Andrew Ward, Group Vice President at Comcast Media 360 shared their insights into the industry's latest buzz, "Big Data," in addition to giving a primer on the basics of what this is, why is it important and how marketers can use this powerful data to drive a more effective campaign. Our webcast attendees learned about hyper-targeted commercials, addressable advertising and its relationship to big data from Helen. She also shared how by working with Comcast Media 360 and using multiple data sources, they were able to answer the following questions: - Can TV's actual impact on sales be quantified? - Can targeted TV drive better results than network TV alone? - What is the sales impact of TV + digital? - Is there a cross-platform impact on consumer attitudes? The CPGs that were part of the test saw a significant increase in ad recall, significant increase in brand affinity and a significant increase in pre-to-post "Intent to purchase." The results were very impressive and many of our live attendees wanted to dive deeper on the results during our interactive Q&A at the end of the webcast! Our panelists rounded out their discussion by sharing some forward thinking outlooks on how this data is going to shape the industry and how targeted advertising will continue to get more refined in the coming years. To download the slides from this or other educational videos and webcasts, please visit: http://www.comcastspotlight.com/takefive