30 June 2007

quote of the day

"We're moving from a distributor-driven paradigm to a consumer-driven paradigm." -- David Sanderson, Bain & Co Global media Practice

The Next Thing

Yesterday was my last day at Pop Art.

This was a very valuable experience for me. I feel a great sense of satisfaction tempered with a little sadness and some regret (a sort of emotional goulash if you will).

When I joined Pop Art it was a small web shop with big dreams, good talent that had been suffering from an identity crisis. About 6 months before I started, they hired a new creative director who was truly passionate about turning the company into something special - and they hired Valerie.

For those who don't know her - Valerie is a fucking rock star. I've never worked with someone as skilled at operational management or client management.

By the time I started, Pop Art had started to turn the corner. It was no longer a job shop and had the true potential of becoming a real agency.

Looking back - I'm really proud of the fact that we worked to build a client services team that was professional and truly excellent. I'm really proud of much of the work that was sold - and a whole bunch of the relationships established.

I feel like I'm leaving the company with its destiny within its own control. It now really is an interactive agency. It's got great clients - who have great trust in the firm. It has a good portfolio and good talent. It's in a good spot financially. All the pieces are there.

I'm going to miss some of my co-workers and I'm going to miss some of my clients.

But it's time to turn my sights to the future and figure out what's next for me. Needless to say, it's going to have something to do with interactive marketing and/or strategy and/or innovation. Beyond that? No idea. I'm going to take at least this coming week to relax and de-pressurize. I've got some folks who have big plans and want me involved - and I'm pretty excited by this. But I need to step back before I make any choices.

It's a nice place to be (and I'm not just talking about sitting here in the sun with a plate of salumi and a glass of cava thought that doesn't suck either).

25 June 2007

quote of the day

“The only sustainable source of competitive advantage is superior understanding of the customer.” Robert Lauterborn, Professor of Advertising, UNC Chapel Hill

03 June 2007

Where the future lies

In some ways the fixation on "the internet" is potentially fatal for many companies.

It would be far more valuable to focus on "interactive" (or "digital") instead. I prefer the former as it hints at the changes in the control relationship between brand/media/sign and user/audience/ego.

What's even more interesting about changing that POV (and "slant") is that it radically accelerates the point at which the future arrives.


above stolen from Lynette Webb