Ad Chatter

This episode of Ad Chatter features a conversation between David Burn of Adpulp and artist, writer, gallerist, tour guide, teacher, and activist Chad Rea.

Chad has a degree in Advertising from Texas Tech. He taught at UT and ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena. He worked at famous agencies before starting his own.

Over the past five years, he’s been furiously making art and his paintings and artworks continue to appear in solo and group exhibitions.

In this vibrant 52-minute discussion, Chad entertains with fresh takes about:

• Why he went to Texas Tech and how he first got into the ad business
• What it was like to work at Pyro, Mother, and Kessels Kramer
• Founding and running his agency 86theonions in Venice Beach
• Why working in advertising is such an excellent preparation for being an artist
• Why it's okay to call yourself an Artist
• LockhART House, his home and gallery space in Lockhart, Texas
• His major artistic influences and reasons for making art
• How to work with him today at Good Fast & Cheap
• Why it pays to treat yourself and promote yourself like a brand

This is a man with a lot of ideas and almost as many active pursuits. Hear it all on this episode of Ad Chatter.

In his new book, “Black on Madison Avenue,” Mark Robinson has plenty to say about his career in account management and the current state of minorities in advertising. In this 36-minute Ad Chatter, Mark talks with Dan Goldgeier about:

• What agencies need to do to increase minority hiring
• The keys to successful agency account management
• Working with Spike Lee to create Spike DDB
• Getting personally sued by a celebrity for an agency business decision

It’s a fun chat. Check it out!

On this episode of Ad Chatter, host Dan Goldgeier talks about the advantages and challenges of mid-sized independent ad agencies with Steve Red, the President + CCO of Red Tettemer O’Connell & Partners in Philadelphia. Discussion topics included:

• How a copywriter/art director partnership became a business partnership
• His agency’s “No sh-theads” rule
• Whether he’d pitch the Tesla ad account if he had a legit shot at it

It’s a fun, 26-minute podcast.

There’s no guaranteed career path in advertising. And at some point we all need help, mentorship, or just a sympathetic ear. David Burn and Dan Goldgeier talk with Wade Sturdivant, longtime Creative Director and Copywriter and the founder of NowAndThentor, a free service to provide feedback as needed to ad professionals of all kinds.

In this 35 minute Ad Chatter, David, Dan, and Wade talk about:

• The importance of mentors and the lack of agency career development
• Why creative directors don’t automatically make effective leaders
• The difference between agency and in-house creative environments

Many advertising professionals dream of leaving big agency life to start their own shop. Only some follow through with it. Justin Bajan, the co-founder of Richmond’s Familiar Creatures, talks with Dan Goldgeier about running his own shop. They discuss:

·      How to make short- and long-term goals
·      What accounts wouldn’t be a good fit
·      Doing business in a smaller ad market
·      How to motivate younger employees

It’s an informative 30-minute Ad Chatter podcast.

David Esrati is the owner of The Next Wave, an ad agency in Dayton, Ohio. He’s also currently the Democratic nominee for Congress in Ohio’s 10th District. Dan Goldgeier talks with David about the intersection of politics and marketing, along with:

• How military experience relates to an advertising career
• The commercialization of Memorial Day and other holidays
• The message voters deserve to hear from candidates
• How advertising professionals can get involved in political campaigns

Find out more about David's Congressional campaign at electesrati.com.

Research and strategy are the building blocks of successful marketing and advertising efforts, and no one knows it all better than Megan Averell, Founder of The Insight Inn.

In this 55 minute Ad Chatter, Megan and host Dan Goldgeier talk about:

• The importance of going out and talking to consumers “in the wild”
• How consumers’ attitudes have changed during the pandemic
• Why one brand discovered the wrong way to “surprise and delight” customers
• How to make focus groups more productive
• Whether advertising in the Super Bowl is a good investment
• The easiest way to do research on a limited budget

A new generation of ad pros is getting more vocal about what they’re willing (and not willing) to work on, and how to do their work. Joe Cole is at the intersection of both of those ideas. He’s the Creative Strategist for Clean Creatives and a Creative Recruiter for We Are Rosie.

In this 35-minute Ad Chatter episode, Dan Goldgeier talks with Joe about whether fossil fuel advertising could become as verboten as tobacco marketing has been and why other related businesses like banks and gas stations aren’t targets of this effort. 

Dan and Joe also discuss the We Are Rosie platform, the benefits of not being tied to full-time employment, and what hiring managers are looking for in ad talent today. 

This episode of Ad Chatter features a revealing conversation with Sean Looney of Looney Advertising in Montclair, New Jersey. Sean and his wife Debbie Looney started the agency more than 20 years ago. Today, Looney is one of the industry's fastest-growing agencies in the industry and we ask Sean what his secret is. 

The short answer is Looney believes in a healthy work-life balance. They also believe in strategic decision-making and solving business problems. Another notable point of difference is Looney's belief in and investment in their own production facilities, where they make branded content and ads on their terms while saving their clients time and money. 

Ad Chatter co-hosts Dan Goldgeier and David Burn ask about Looney's location 12 miles west of New York City, how they attract and retain talent, why they insist on giving back to the community, how they get clients to slow down, and much more. 

In this episode of Ad Chatter, we hear from special guest Robb Burnham, who is VP and executive creative director at Kruskopf & Company (also known as KC Truth) in Minneapolis.

Robb is an art director by trade and an accomplished illustrator and fine artist (known as WACSO). He attended Art Center College of Design in Pasadena and worked for Martin Williams, Fallon, and Carmichael Lynch before joining KC Truth in 2000.

"Finding the truth is our mantra," Robb says about KC Truth. He also talks about the value of the agency's "No B.S." approach, and how the agency's Truth Bar—which is part bar and part conference/meeting room—can put clients at ease and get them talking "like real people." 

Robb provides an interesting perspective on working with clients today, keeping the big idea alive, attracting talent to the agency in a competitive environment, and the need for an outside creative practice that stretches one's creative muscles.