163: Are you creative director material?
Most creatives aspire to become creative director one day. And most creatives believe they have the chops to lead a creative department. But making the leap from art director or copywriter into a leadership role takes more than a promotion. Our guest this week is an old friend, TJ Bennett, owner and creative director at […]
Six ideas on how to write better single-minded propositions.
[Published originally in December 2021, but this one never gets old.] No one wants to write a bad single-minded proposition. I get it. There’s a ton of pressure on you to not just write the damn thing, but to write a brilliant one. When everyone expects, well, Just Do It, anyone would shrivel up into […]
I had not the time to make it shorter.
Writing a book is not like writing a weekly essay for a blog. This essay has a firm deadline. A book does not, or usually does not. I’ve written two textbooks, one of which has had two new editions. The second book is due for updating. But writing a textbook is nothing like writing a […]
A global survey shows that marketers write bad briefs. Are strategists’ briefs any better?
All of us in AdLand owe a debt to Matt Davies and Pieter-Paul von Weiler for facilitating a global survey (of English speakers) on the subject of client-generated creative briefs. The results of this survey are revealing but not surprising: Marketers have not been trained to write briefs and therefore the briefs they present to […]
E84: A lively conversation with Professor Mark Ritson.
Airs September 21, 2022 This week, Henry Gomez and I are joined by a luminary in the field of marketing: Professor Mark Ritson. Professor Ritson has earned a well-deserved reputation for pulling no punches in his commentary on and assessment of marketers and their brand management. Henry is an alum of the two wildly popular […]
E81: A conversation with Gary Goldsmith, Department Chair, Creative Direction, ArtCenter College of Design.
Airs August 31, 2022 This week, Henry Gomez and I are joined by an industry veteran and legend, Gary Goldsmith. Today he is the Department Chair of Creative Direction for ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena. But his resume includes stints as creative director at DDB and TBWA\Chiat\Day, as well as chairman and CCO of […]
