An attorney once told me, “You better get it in writing in case one of you guys gets run over by a beer truck tomorrow, just so your heirs know what the deal is.”

Well, I almost got run over by a Staples truck yesterday. And then a funny thing happened.

This is not the actual Staple's truck that almost clobbered me yesterday. It's added here for visual impact.

I was walking from our agency to the UPS store carrying Christmas gifts like chord wood destined for Seattle. All of a sudden, this large Staples truck comes nearly careening around the corner and onto the parking lot access road I was just stepping into. I heard him before I saw him and stopped in my wing tipped tracks. The clean cut driver deftly pumped his breaks. The bright, shiny delivery truck hissed to a stop. With an apologetic smile, he waved me across the street.

But the funny thing is, as soon as I looked up and saw the Staples’ logo on the clean truck with the handsome driver, I knew he wasn’t going to run me down. There was a very basal emotion of calm that rose inside me, and it was directly associated with their brand.

Where do you think that calm came from?

From their advertising campaign, and the easy shopping experiences I’ve enjoyed in their stores. Like the ad guy I am, I immediately appreciated the power of the brand, even as it almost clobbered me outside my own agency.

Then I asked myself, “Would I have reacted the same way if it were just a big ‘ol nondescript white van, a  Shucks Autoparts truck, or a delivery guy for Schlitz Beer?” Probably not. I instinctively knew everything was cool, even as I stood in the cross hairs of the Staples van’s hood ornament. Kind of creepy stuff.

I guess their brand pushed my “Easy Button.” Does yours?

• Powerful brands always deliver on their promises
• Powerful brands should resonate even outside of their comfort zones
• Powerful brands can ask for forgiveness and get it
• Powerful brands make life comfortable
• Powerful brands care

What’s your brand story?

Join Park&Co and the rest of the Phoenix creative community on Tuesday, October 13 as we host the latest Creative Connect. Meet some new faces and mingle with the old throughout Park&Co’s courtyard starting at 6 p.m.

Also, to support a good cause we’re asking that each person in attendance bring a bag of donations for Goodwill. There’s a Goodwill donations bin in the parking lot.

For more details, including a map to the office, check out the official Creative Connect page here. We look forward to seeing everyone on Tuesday.

I’ve been in and around advertising for more years than I care to mention. When I first got in the business, everyone warned me about the stress of working in an agency. After all, advertising account executives are listed in the top five most stressful jobs according to Careercast.com. Yep, working in an agency would eventually wreak havoc on my health, psyche, personal time and sense of humor.

Advertising is a tough business with more than its share of ups and downs. Clients lose the love for their agency and find that spark with another. A major account leaves and half your happy hour buddies are gone the next week. New marketing directors bring new insights, ideas, and sometimes other agencies with them. The office coffee machine is broken so you don’t have that first shot of caffeine you need in the morning.

Well, I’m happy to say that after many years at a variety of agencies, working on national accounts and small local start-ups, I don’t have an ulcer, I don’t have to see a therapist, I still have time for fun, and my sense of humor is probably better (it has to be in our business).

Why have I been so fortunate? I think its because of some advice from great people I have been fortunate to work with.

1. As many a wise man/woman has said, two heads are better than one; five heads are better than two. You really need a team to tackle all the challenges that agencies face. If you think you can do it all on your own, you will need a therapist soon and your family will hate you.

2. One of my mentors told me to survive in this business you have to try to stay on an even keel. It’s the drastic ups and downs that kill you. Hit a home run? Celebrate and fully appreciate it, but don’t feel bulletproof. You badly miss the mark for the client?  Feel the pain and learn from it, but don’t go into the black hole of depression. In either case, remember, tomorrow is a new day and you could win the lottery.

3. I don’t want to diminish what we do (and some clients will hate to hear this), but with a few exceptions, what we produce isn’t saving lives. We don’t perform brain surgery or pull people from burning buildings. We do educate, stimulate and propagate. Keep it in perspective or your life might be in danger.

4. Always try to manage expectations with the client and with the agency staff.  If you make sure people know what to expect, then very few surprises will pop up that you have to stress about. That’ll help keep that ulcer away.

5. Since our business is hard and we spend so much time at work, make an effort to identify and appreciate the talents in the people you labor with – both clients and staff. Sometimes finding what you can appreciate isn’t always easy. But if you build on that and nurture relationships, work may not be any easier, but it will be more bearable. Heck, it might even be more fun.

6. I’ve always had a desk drawer full of chocolates in my office. One Twix or Kit Kat and dark clouds seem to fade away. Not only for me, but the rest of the staff who snag a few during the day. Chocolate - the miracle drug.

7. Make time to watch the Simpsons to fight off the blahs. Is there anything that this show can’t cure?

But the biggest reason I survived in this crazy business is because I love what I do. Corny, I know. But if you don’t love advertising, there are much easier ways to make money.

That’s about it.

Oh, wait. Kraft Macaroni & Cheese - 10 boxes for $5. Keeps me going strong.

We pride ourselves on being creative. Our level of strategy is unparalleled. We work harder than everyone else. Need proof? Check out this segment that ran last night on our local CBS affiliate and we’re sure you’ll agree.

Following the conclusion of the big game there’s no shortage of conversation on Super Bowl commercials. Advertising folks around the world all seem to weigh in with their winners and losers. Trouble is, everyone says the exact same things. Apart from how funny the talking baby is, few talk about who engaged viewers beyond the TV screen. That’s why we created the “Park&Co Super Social Media Bowl.”

The Park&Co staff along with some outside experts, Jeff Goodman, president of word of mouth marketing company “Blabbermouth,” Ed Tankersley, online marketing consultant, and Michael Gass of Fuel Lines and Michael Gass Consulting, rated this years ads in four categories to get to the bottom of who had the best overall campaign on and off the screen. Categories include:

• The TV ad itself
• Digital Footprint (How many places the company is online)
• Social Media Engagement (How well are they interacting with customers online?)
• Word of mouth/”buzzworthiness” (Are viewers likely to talk about them the next day?)

 
The results are what we believe are the real advertising winners and losers from this years Super Bowl. Here’s a peak at the highlights. Full list of winners and losers here. 

Top 3 Winners:

First Place - Denny’s with a cumulative score of 70.

The typically low-key restaurant chain won the prize with a combination of an effective ad and a killer word of mouth campaign centered around free breakfast for the nation. Says Goodman, “Brilliant idea… Now, if the quality of their product lives up, they’re going to develop a whole new following.” Kim Hodge, film and video manager at Park&Co took notice immediately, “The announcement made me stop, say ‘Wow’ and look at the TV again. Who’s coming with me tomorrow?!”

Second Place - Monsters vs. Aliens 3D scoring 68.

While the ad may not have been dynamic in itself, the buzz generated beforehand, and their social media presence online, was good enough to garner a second place finish.

Third place - Tie between Pepsi and Pedigree with 67 points.

Pepsi scored high by driving viewers to its refresheverything.com network while Pedigree’s new direction from the usual animal welfare campaigns resonated well across the board but left some to be desired. As Ed Tankersly points out, “This is a clever spot that’s fun to watch but with no noticeable call for online engagement.”
Our sentiment from this years game was that there were far more duds than studs. Thus, it was much easier to compile our list of worsts. 

The Three Lowest Scores:

H&R Block scored the lowest with a total of 33.

Now might not have been the best time for the death and taxes theme. Couple that with no online presence and no word of mouth potential, and you’ve got a recipe for disaster. Dan O’Boyle, Park&Co’s associate creative director laments, “They spend oodles on production for these things and the concepts are no good.” 

NFL dissapoints at 37.

You’d think if it’s the grandest stage in the world, and you own it, you’d come up with something a little better. Maybe even something that takes advantage of the constant NFL conversation? “Consumer participation used in its creation, but how does it build on it?” said Jeff Goodman. Park&Co account manager Rene Hinz also saw an opportunity missed, “Well produced and good stories, but nothing different than what they typically run.”

Coca-Cola comes up short at 38.

This was as much about opportunities missed as anything else. Coke stuck to the same blueprint as always, deciding not to look to their consumers for help. While the ads themselves scored well in our rankings, their lack of social media and word of mouth presence was enough to doom them to the bottom. 

It’s our thought that much more goes into a successful advertising campaign than a clever tagline or slick animation. Even at $3 million dollars and with hundreds of millions potentially watching, nothing beats a good ole’ peer-to-peer recommendation. The real winners are the companies that create buzz and sustain it. 

Who did you think were the winners and losers this year? Ar you engaging with any of these companies beyond simply watching the ads? Let us know. Thanks!

I am a big fan of the AMC cable series Mad Men. I like the show’s accuracy in depicting the style, the attitude, and the persona of the era. Being in advertising, I like the storylines specific to the business — clients, creative inspiration, and how management works. Sometimes the show does get a bit slow, but what I really enjoy is the writing and the little gems that come out of the show’s dialogue, particularly from the main character, Don Draper. Draper is fictional New York agency Sterling Cooper’s stellar creative director. He is also the stud of the show. (Darn. Why can’t account guys be the studs?) His comments aren’t unique or earth shattering, but to me they are well delivered reminders of what makes this crazy business interesting and why I think I stay in it.

Here is just a sampling of my favorite Draperisms.

• “There has to be advertising for people who don’t have a sense of humor.”
• “Part of this job is doing things you don’t want to do.”
• “Young campaigns don’t necessarily come from young people.”
• “Clients don’t understand. Their success is related to standing out, not fitting in. One wants to be the needle in the haystack, not a haystack.”
• “There’s life and there’s work.”
• On the idea that sex sells: “Just so you know, the people who talk that way think that monkeys can do this. And they take all this monkey crap and just stick it in a briefcase, completely unaware that their success depends on something more than their shoeshine. You are the product. You, feeling something. That’s what sells. Not them. Not sex. They can’t do what we do and they hate us for it.”
• Draper to his administrative assistant: “You do not cover for me. You manage people’s expectations.”
• On presenting a controversial prime time TV show to a conservative client: “Controversy means viewers. Women will find a way to watch this. Maybe just because they don’t want to get left out. It’s catharsis. That’s hard to come by. There are limits to what you get from daytime.”
• On showing only one concept for a new business pitch: “I don’t care if we are just selling a point of view, but we have to commit to one thing. They don’t like wiggle room. They like to see us blowing up bridges behind us.”
• On the creative team showing different elements of a campaign: “We’ve got a lot of bricks, but I don’t know what the building looks like.”
• On a heart-to-heart meeting with the head of accounts: “You’re pitching more to me than you have to clients. You’ve been selling their ideas to me more than mine to them.”
• After an impressive idea is not used — but is loved — by the client: “I think we bought a couple of years of security. If they ever decide they want to go that way, they know we can do it.”

Maybe you have favorite Draperisms or lines from the other characters. Please feel free to share.

You can find out more about Mad Men here.