Tête-à-Tête Tuesdays with Molly

I am excited to introduce Stephanie Retcho, Managing Director at TBWA/Chiat/Day. I won a lunch and industry chat with her through AWNY’s yearly silent auction hosted by their Young Executive committee and she was kind enough to share her insights and expertise.

What’s your background?

I've been working in advertising for more than 15 years now. I started out on Bell Canada at Leo Burnett in Toronto and then moved to New York. I've worked on everything from The Ford Motor Company and Jaguar to Nextel, Sprint and Verizon Wireless, and now touching many brands at TBWA\Chiat\Day in New York. I also did a stint as a client at Sirius Satellite Radio.

I graduated with an Arts degree and began work in travel and later as a copy writer for a software development company as well as an editor for a small publisher in Toronto before getting into advertising.

How would you describe the difference in culture and experiences between working for a smaller agency or medium sized versus a larger firm?

Both have strengths and weaknesses. While larger shops generally have greater resources and infrastructure, smaller shops most often allow for more innovation. Culturally, either can be entrepreneurial if you have the right drive. It's a matter of having a vision for the agency and for your clients.

What are some important skills and ways of approaching situations to be a successful account manager? Or advice on collaborating with a group of people in a professional environment?

There are two fundamental skills at the core of everything an account person does. These were synthesized for me by a mentor and they still apply today - be a leader and know your client's business. You need to have a genuine interest in understanding what your client does and how to sell it to others and you need to have the chops to get in front of things and try to solve them. If you don't want to pick up the phone and address a situation that needs to be addressed, don't be an account person.

In addition to these two base level strengths, you also need foresight to know what needs to happen next, and the ability to view situations laterally and understand what is going on around you that will impact what you are doing.

Where do you see advertising going in the next five years? Will print and television ads still be relevant?

I have to go against the common trend today and say that TV will still be a very powerful medium. I think print already has, and will continue to, transition to being the written word in alternate media, but as much as people say the :30 second spot is dead, it continues to be one of the most impactful media options that exists. I think the key to the future will be about the connection between TV and other media. There are wonderful examples of TV inspiring incredible work in other media and great business results, like the recent work from Old Spice.

And finally, you’re sitting across from a potential candidate in an interview. You’ve decided that you’re gong to hire him/her. What are the top three things they did that got them the job?

The most important quality to me in a candidate is the ability to engage in a non-rehearsed way on the spot. If I ask a question, I don't want to hear a canned response. I want to hear what you think and see you have a new idea, in front of me. That can't be rehearsed. Beyond that, what I don't want to hear is that you think being an account person is a facilitation role. We don't facilitate - we lead.That's not 3, but that's what I look for.

Tête-à-Tête Tuesdays with Molly

Since Father’s Day just passed, and you happen to be my father, I thought it would be appropriate to interview you. Jack Aaker started out at Wells Rich Green worked at JWT, Grey, BBDO and had his own business. He is currently a senior creative at the Kaplan Thaler Group.

Can you tell me a little bit about where you’re from and how you got into advertising?

I’m from a small town in Minnesota and went to college in Minnesota. During my Sophomore year, I saw a picture of a beautiful woman on the cover of my father’s Business Week: Mary Wells Laurence of Wells Rich Green. They were creating the best advertising at the time; Benson & Heges, American Motors, Alka Seltzer, etc. So I wrote her a love letter and got an airmail special delivery reply. She didn’t train juniors and advised me to stay in school. Then she me gave a piece of advice that I tell every creative person who wants to get into advertising -“When you see a bad ad, how would you make it better? Just think what you can do in every single way to improve it.” And I started noticing advertising around me and re-writing it. After college, I came to NYC with $300 and got a job as a mail clerk at Wells Rich Green. Three months later, I became a writer by submitting my work to writers at the agency who also taught at SVA and Parsons – but back then there were very few schools for advertising – and people actually had the time to mentor me.

You’ve worked in advertising for over 30 years. Can you give my readers some advice on how you’ve dealt with the ups and downs of the business?

It’s all about resilience. Realize you’re going to have setbacks and rejections as well as victories. Don’t ever give up. It sounds trite but it’s the truth. I have been fortunate to have a creative partner for over 20 years. We’ve formed a strong bond so we can balance and motivate each other to keep trying. We’re hard on each other, but always supportive. The great thing about advertising is that there’s always a new problem or situation. Because things change so quickly, usually bad situations pass. (And great situations can disappear overnight!) I’ve always worked with great people and always try to be honorable. We keep our promises and deadlines. We care very much. When you have that sense of professionalism, it reflects back on you and you get to work with people who are professional and honorable as well. People become more important than the situation.

Describe the most exciting, unique, crazy and interesting shoot you’ve been on aside from recording and directing Antonio Banderas on Nasonex.

Going to New Zealand for Flomax. We had to cast a line of 90 men with 15 principals and 9 of them had to speak on camera. The concept was a long line of men stepping forward in an airplane hanger to show that they’re not alone with their disease, not afraid to talk about that they were going to the bathroom all the time. We couldn’t find the right location in the USA so we had to choose between Argentina, South Africa and New Zealand. It turned out there was a brand new hanger in the Auckland airport built for the richest man in the country. It was beautiful and a perfect half circle. We cast in Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney, Wellington and Auckland trying to find people who could speak on camera in an American accent. It was a casting epic. The talent was great. When you go out of the country, it’s incredibly important surround yourself with people you can trust because there are always unexpected problems. You have to prepare for every possibility of what can go wrong – and then something happens that you couldn’t have imagined. You have to be flexible, but more importantly, you have to remember clearly what you want and stick to it when everyone is trying to compromise on money, talent, legal, etc. My partner and I also shot a memorable commercial for Puerto Vallerta tourism – but I can’t give that story away. We’re going to turn it into a movie. Let’s just say that we nicknamed the commercial director, who was mandated by certain officials, Juan More Tequila. Crew call was at 7AM. Crew showed up at 9. Tequila break was at 10:30. You can’t make this stuff up.

Well, I for one will never forget being on the set of a Duncan Hines commercial at 4 years old with chocolate chips raining from the ceiling. Maybe that’s why I chose a career in advertising. What other careers have you considered?

I was going to be a clinical psychologist – but I fell in love with advertising. After I came to New York, I was a volunteer for a suicide hotline and was trained in active listening. It’s been vital to my career.

Aside from getting a creative brief that includes a basic guideline of what you should create, you’re basically starting from a blank page. How do you start the creative process? Is there a certain time of day you find you’re more creative?

I work as part of a team and I tend to focus on all the details and see if they lead to something big. My partner (art director) focuses on the big picture and ignores the details and we just start talking. We talk about things that intrigue us, questions we have about the product, questions consumers might have. We try to fit into their shoes whether it’s a product or service. And we always start with the idea. What’s the end line? Key visual? The feeling that we want to leave people with? How can we be unique? Clever? Get people’s attention and persuade? The idea has to work everywhere - not just in television and print, but all executions in all media have to flow from it. I like getting up really early and hitting the computer instantly. It’s when my ideas aren’t affected by my rationality and come straight out of my brain without second thoughts or editing.

A lot has been said about how advertising has changed over the past 30 years with the inclusion of digital, social media, and other forms of advertising. What has stayed the same?

What has stayed the same is that there’s always a connection to humanity. There’s a connection to peoples’ likes and dislikes. And even though those likes and dislikes change over time, you’re always trying to connect to them and get an emotional response from people, from peoples’ humanity.

And finally, how do you feel about your daughter(s) following in your footsteps?

Well I think it’s an interesting career. Unfortunately, the whole model of making money has changed. The media has fragmented and the internet has reduced costs and therefore, fees. So, the question to ask is how we’ll all support ourselves in 5 years. On the other hand, advertising is always changing. That’s why it’s interesting. Every day is something different. There’s a new competitor, a new app, a new way to influence people. It’s constantly being on your toes. And I’ve learned about things that I never expected to learn about - everything from computers and phones to pharmaceuticals and peanut butter. I’ve become a more interesting person because of it and I spend time with some of the most delightful, engaging and intelligent people one can imagine.