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Lost & Found – Fresh Ideas

I came up in advertising in the recruitment advertising world. A company called Job News – a great company for growth as an account person, an even better company for delivering results for our clients, which made it easy to be a good account person. We always had fresh ideas, and the environment fostered fresh though perspectives. When did ideas get lost? Never mind that, we have found them. When I just graduated college, with a dual degree and too much “knowledge” for my own good, I was hired as an entry level account person for Job News, a recruitment advertising company – specializing, at the time, in a weekly print magazine. As a matter of necessity we grew to include web, events and in some markets radio & television.

The company was a great place to have great ideas. If you had an idea, and it made financial sense or was a good enough idea to take the risk, then your idea was put in play. I was 21 when I became General Manager of the Jacksonville office. At this point in my career risk was all I had. Risk and good ideas that is. I found myself becoming a maverick among many great account people, managers, creatives, and just about any other position you might find in an advertising company. I learned a great deal from one of my RVP's, he said that you have always be “top grading” – not up grading. Building teams around great ideas and instilling focus. This led me to believe in one great driving principal that you will find at Mad Men Marketing – clarity of vision.

So where is clarity of vision in most companies today? I see a lack of creativity almost every time I see an add or a sales piece. Why do companies tend to lose that “idea edge” over time? What is it that happens? I think it is lack of clarity of vision. I can assure you that every company in the world is in need of a “vision check”. Here is the test you should be taking to see if you, as a marketing person or person in a C level suite somewhere:

1. When did your company begin to lack clarity of vision? Believe me it has most of the time.
2. When did experience matter? Remember when you started your company, or you heard about the humble beginnings of the now corporate giant you may be working for?
3. Why should it matter now? Again, at one point your experience or your company's experience did not matter, it was about being a focused scrappy up-start.
4. How can I change it? It starts with one step….you have to be willing to hear some hard discussions about your marketing efforts.

Call today, take the test, call today…the creative lost and found bin is Mad Men Marketing – take the test.