Tesar-Reynes

Tony forwarded an article to me the other day called “War of the Ages – how a host of new agency realities are pushing boomers out before their time.”

The article talks about how older (read 40-60 year old) executives are being pushed out of ad agencies because of their lack of digital experience.

Ageism, as the article states, is becoming a real problem. There are two sides to this argument, I suppose.

On the one hand, it’s the fault of executives who are not adapting to the times. As people of digital disciplines become more relevant, you can’t blame agencies for placing more value on that skill set.

On the other hand, while agencies are profiting from digital advertisers, they are losing the years of client management experience and long-term …

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I watched the show Mad Men a few times last year. I was struck by the fact there was such a high level of congruence to my memories in my early career. I went to my first ad agency in the late 60s. And it was everything that the client side people said it was… except they worked damn hard.

I remember the martini lunches, the funny-smelling smoke on the creative floor and the blatant sex that seemed to be a precursor to the next decade. I also got wise to the fact that it was pretty much a white Protestant men’s club. The other thing that struck me, after four years at Notre Dame and a couple years …

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In today’s world it is important to keep your skills as sharp as possible.  One of the more painless ways that I found to do this was to subscribe to Lynda.com.  It is a site that I have used for over a year to sharpen my skills in Excel, PowerPoint, Photoshop and in my conversion to Apple’s new OS, Leopard.

The neat thing about the site is you are allowed to sample.  The first couple of lessons are free in any of the software that they are teaching.  This gives a good flavor for the …

Moving is one of my most despised events.  We just moved our office, two blocks from 500 N. Michigan Ave to 333 N. Michigan Ave.

It was a very emotional move for me; we’d been at that same address and phone number since 1983.  Every dent in the wall, every discoloration in the carpet generated some sort of memory.  That was the address where we bought our first computer.  That was the place where we had our first $1 million year.  That was the first place where our database went over 10,000 people.  That was also the address where we survived three recessions.

We ended up moving because the rents in the …

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My sister, who interns at GolinHarris, sent me this blog entry from the NY Times.

In it, the journalist outs a public relations VP for sending him a bad pitch. He even names her, her company, and posts her entire pitch letter. The comments board alone on the entry is worth the read for any PR professional. Let it be a constant reminder to us.

In this day and age, nothing you do is private.

Sure I feel terrible for the poor lady. Even though her pitch was poorly targeted, no one deserves to be publicly humiliated for making a mistake.

Am I mad at the journalist? No. If you consider his blog, …

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I swear my heart drops every time I read one of these articles. Wednesday the Times printed the results of a consumer confidence survey. The survey recorded its worst reading in 16 years.

And in the Tribune, Gail MarksJarvis wrote in article headlined, “Confidence in consumers on the wane”, citing results from a Redbook survey.

Does this make the marketer’s job harder? Of course. But how does it effect the job market in the …

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41% of NBA fans believe NBA games may be rigged, according to a YouGovPolimetrix Omnibus poll released to AdAge.

The poll was taking before accused referee Tim Donaghy made more allegations that the NBA was purposefully altering the outcomes of games. Imagine if the poll were taken today.

As the article indicates, NBA Commissioner David Stern has long held an advantage over the commissioners of the other three majors because he understands …

These 4 books have helped me find my way as a new marketing person. They’re easy reads and the kind of books you can absorb in a short amount of time.

I recommend them to you. They’re more about basic communication and people skills than marketing theory. I guess since I’m young, I thought it important to get the basic fundamental skills down first.

1. How to Talk to Anyone, by Leil Lowndes

This is one of my favorite books. The book’s cover reads, “92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships.” The book is just that, 92 little things you can do that will immediately improve the way you communicate and interact with people.

2. The Book on Writing, by Paula LaRocque

We all know …

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I just got off the phone with a person who is looking for a job. He asked some questions about on-line registration.

Many companies now require that when sending in a resume, a candidate will also fill out a company registration on their site. The company sees it as means to “time stamp” when a potential candidate contacted them.

This information can settle potential conflicts with search firms about the source of candidates and it can serve as a reservoir for new people. My experience is that in many companies it is a black hole: everything goes in and nothing comes out.

Back to his questions:

Q. Do I address my cover letter “To whom it …