Posted on March 23, 2012 by TLaBarbera
Leave a comment

The Three Pillars

By Jeffrey Bowman, Partner, North American Cross-Cultural Practice Lead Ogilvy & Mather [OgilvyCULTURE]

We are a few days away from the 4A’s “Competitive Edge” discussion at the #transformLA Conference. @ogilvyww and @ogilvyculture look forward to a great conversation about a very important topic for @ogilvyww, @ogilvyny and the Industry.

For over four years @ogilvyww and @ogilvyny has worked to curate our Inside – Outside Strategy with developing a diverse talent pool and inclusive culture. Last year we launched @ogilvyculture [www.ogilvyculture.com] to help the agency and clients prepare for the new general market through a cross-cultural approach. Thus far it’s been well received by current and new clients. This year our focus is our partner program or what we call the third pillar. Our approach has been strategically oriented toward preparing @ogilvyww @ogilvyny for the next 50 years. The three pillars is our competitive edge!

Please follow us @ogilvyww, @ogilvyny, @ogilvyculture and @saatchi_sisomo as we share best practices in preparation for the new general market. See you in LA at the Competitive Edge session on Tuesday from 4:22 – 5:00 on the main stage at the #tranformLA Conference.

Leave a comment | Share Bookmark & Share
Posted in 4A's, Recruitment and Retention, Transformation LA 2012 | Tagged , , , ,
Posted on March 21, 2012 by TLaBarbera
Leave a comment

There Is No Model: Building the Agency of the Future

By Charles Day, Founder, The Lookinglass Consultancy

We are living through an epoch. A time of change. From the known to the unknown.

For fifty years, the advertising industry was built on a food-chain of relentless reliability. Today, that hierarchy has been exploded, and agencies of all sizes are left to wonder how to make themselves relevant again to clients who have more choices and questions than ever before.

In this maelstrom, the temptation is to look for the next model. Except, there isn’t one. Today, agencies compete against companies that used to be their suppliers and against industries that didn’t exist a year ago.

Which means if you’re running an agency you’ve got to build a distinctive and multi-faceted business. One able to offer its clients a clear competitive advantage. One able to attract and retain talent on its own merits. And one able to do all that while delivering sustained profitability to its shareholders. Threading the needle 2.0.

The good news is that there are early signs of new paradigms and practices, and through the chaos a map is beginning to emerge.

In assembling the panel “There Is No Model: Building the Agency of the Future” at 4A’s Transformation LA 2012, we wanted to explore how some agencies have been able to become more valuable than ever before. We’ll discuss how to develop a culture capable of seamlessly incorporating new thinking while leveraging a company’s unique heritage, and we’ll ask these panelists what they consider the most important lessons they’ve learned along their journey.

Our hope is that you will walk away with two simple truths. That there is no new model. But there is a map. One unique to your company’s culture. We hope you’ll join us to hear more.

Charles Day, founder of The Lookinglass Consultancy, helps companies use creative talent to build competitive advantage.

Leave a comment | Share Bookmark & Share
Posted in Transformation LA 2012 | Tagged
Posted on March 19, 2012 by TLaBarbera
Leave a comment

The Competitive Edge

Mary Baglivo is CEO & Chair of the Americas at Saatchi & Saatchi, and a leader in our industry’s efforts to foster a more diverse and inclusive workforce for the benefit of all. In this post, Mary discusses the two-fold philosophy her agency uses to find and recruit the very best talent it can and looks forward to her panel discussion on The Competitive Edge at 4A’s Transformation LA 2012, March 26-28 at the Beverly Hilton.

I’m honored to be participating in the 4A’s “Competitive Edge” discussion at Transformation LA 2012. My hope is that it will serve is a valuable roadmap for how we can work together to further Diversity & Inclusion efforts in a way that is productive and truly impactful.

Saatchi’s approach on this fundamental issue has always evolved around talent. To us, it’s all about talent. More specifically, where to find talent, how to have talent come to find us, and how to encourage, celebrate, showcase and stimulate it. It’s not only about being focused on the recruitment of full-time talent within the agency itself, but about being committed to creating opportunities in the breadth of channels we touch.

There are two phrases we use at Saatchi that I look forward to sharing at Transformation.

The first is “the resilience of commitment.” Diversity is an ongoing commitment—everyday, every month, every year. As we know, it’s not a date on a calendar, it needs to be constantly worked at so that the equilibrium itself shifts.

The second phrase is “being in the traffic.” I am quoting our EVP, Deputy Director of Production Sheldon Levy here, who will be joining me for our “Competitive Edge” panel discussion. “Being in the traffic” is all about putting yourself into the position where you can be among hot talent: to see it, experience it, listen to what’s in the air, and see what’s on the streets.

I look forward to sharing Saatchi and Saatchi’s success story, and to discussing the industry’s roadmap towards gaining a true Competitive Edge, at the conference. See you in LA!

Leave a comment | Share Bookmark & Share
Posted in Uncategorized |
Posted on March 7, 2012 by TLaBarbera
Leave a comment

Creating an Inspiring Agency Culture

Allen & Gerritsen has been named one of the best places to work. Andrew Graff, a&g’s CEO, will discuss the agency’s commitment to organizational culture and detail the agency’s values, principles and beliefs at the Workshop for Small and Mid-Sized Agencies at Transformation LA 2012. In this post, Andrew offers a preview of how he and a&g are working to create an agency culture that inspires and helps to recruit top talent.

At Allen & Gerritsen we openly foster a culture that is always looking toward “what’s next?” We work hard and play hard. Like most creative agencies, we have all the things that you’d expect to find in our office—a pool table, leather couches, craft beer in the fridge…but, frankly, so does everyone else. I set out to create an environment—both physical and intellectual—that sparks the curiosity to find out what’s next. We just can’t do that without allowing employees to be fearless, take creative risks, and be unafraid to make mistakes.

What also sets our culture apart is that we take into account the passions, outside influences, and the strengths of all our employees. We use tactics like reverse mentoring and lunches with the boss to provide a platform for all our employees to feel empowered to speak up, share an idea, and point out something that could be improved. We also take into account people’s lives outside of the office by surprising and delighting them from time to time.

We find out what makes each employee unique by asking him or her to tell us who they are beyond their job title. Then, we share these specifics in a visible way in our digital signatures and on our business cards. These “&’s,” as we call them, ensure that readers have a complete picture of each of us. My “&’s” are “up before the sun” and “challenger of the status quo.” Someone else’s may be “always on the go” or “creator of opportunities.” These “&’s,” when taken in their entirety, form the substance of how every employee contributes to looking for “what’s next.”

I’ll be expanding on these and some of the other innovative ways in which a&g has achieved such an inviting corporate culture—and how we compete to attract and retain top talent. They’re not as complicated as you may think.

Leave a comment | Share Bookmark & Share
Posted in Recruitment and Retention, Transformation LA 2012 | Tagged , , , , ,
Posted on February 3, 2012 by BShaer@aaaa.org
Leave a comment

4A’s Welcomes New Members!!

The 4A’s is proud to welcome four new agencies into the membership fold: Eleven, Fitting Group, Vendor, Inc., and Sharp Communications.

San Francisco-based Eleven is a cutting-edge agency agency that has been at the forefront of digital advertising since it broke ground in 1999.  A recent selection of the San Francisco Business Times’s “Best Places To Work In The Bay Area,” Eleven boasts the kind of  agency environment that makes clients want to do business with them, and talent want to work for them.  Find out more about Eleven here:  www.eleveninc.com

The Fitting Group is the Pittsburgh Council’s newest addition.  This branding and advertising agency specializes in what they call “Brand Spanking,” a “tough love approach” to brand development.  Yowza!!  Find out more about The Fitting Group here:  www.thefittingroup.com

By its own description, Vendor, Inc. is ” filled with good people who go about their days making things.”  This Austin, TX-based creative agency boasts clients such as Green Mountain Energy, Lone Star Beer, and Pabst Blue Ribbon!  Find out more about Vendor here:  www.vendorinc.com

Finally, New York City-based Sharp Communications does it all: advertising, design, public relations, social media, and lots more.  Concentrating on higher-end brands, some clients include Sotheby’s, Whole Foods Market, City of New York Parks & Recreation, and Mount Sinai School of Medicine.  Learn more about Sharp Communications here:  www.sharpthink.com

Leave a comment | Share Bookmark & Share
Posted in Uncategorized |