We are approaching that time of year when the stress level for kids graduating from college is deep. The pressure to be “successful” the day after accepting your diploma is real…but probably not realistic. Indeed, graduating students are already beginning to hear stories of peers who have gotten Fulbright’s or jobs with prestigious company’s, who...
On the face of it, consumers spending less to cope with inflation doesn’t scream marketing opportunity. And it probably isn’t in terms of driving immediate results for many businesses. Yet if you examine the changes people are making, spending less is only part of the story. It’s also about changing established routines: shopping in new...
When things are looking grim, there’s often a knee-jerk urge to move efforts to the lowest-hanging fruit. I’ve watched the same phenomena take place time after time for 40 years. When times are tough, there is always a race to performance advertising. It’s more measurable than brand marketing, drives immediate response and is easier to...
I was sitting at my desk this morning sipping on a robust cup of Joe – my daily quiet time at 6:30am – thinking it’s already been 8 years since I bought the 30-year-old Orlando-based advertising agency that I had been running for 10 years as President and changed the name to 78Madison. While I...
I don’t know about you, but I have always practiced the philosophy that if you find something you LOVE to do, you never work a day in your life. I have always believed this statement and can honestly say that 40+ years into my career, I love what I do as much as the day...
The changing consumer and media landscape now provides small and independent agencies like 78Madison a competitive edge. The world has changed. Not more or less than in previous years or decades or generations. But in a post-cookie, post-pandemic, post-ad-free-Netflix world, things are different. It’s different for consumers, for brands and for the things that matter...
Many people are surprised that I have been in the same industry – advertising – for 40 years. In fact, most are fascinated by the fact that I continue to be so passionate about what I do. I will certainly confess that this has been a great ride so far, and I don’t see it...
We understand that sometimes you bite off more than you can chew… We understand that some days you just can’t win… We understand that working hard seems to be getting harder… We understand meetings and deadlines and overtime… We understand that flights get delayed, and luggage gets lost… We understand that it’s hard to find...
I was having lunch recently with a gentleman who was asking me if I might consider being on the board of his organization. During the “getting to know each other” sequence he asked me about my career, and if things had changed dramatically since I entered the advertising agency industry in 1978. Then he asked...
In a climate of instant access, it’s getting harder to determine where and what should get our attention. With more responsibilities in our lives, we all feel an ever-increasing pressure to do more. We feel the stress of garnering new clients and full-scale customers as quickly as possible. With the constant pull of yet another...