“Man’s mind once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.”
My career began in digital. I discovered that websites were the key to the castle, defining how a brand thinks, communicates, and behaves. In the beginning, it was the absolute freedom to explore and discover. Best practices and user experience design didn’t exist because we were still in the process of inventing them.
Now, with the proliferation of digital, social, and experiential marketing, it’s again a wide-open road. Almost anything is possible. And because social media has had the effect of democratizing brands, it's not about smoke and mirrors anymore. It's about a big idea that conveys a resonant truth, one that inspires people to tell the world about it.
“Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.”
My background has given me a unique perspective, not only in terms of understanding brands, businesses and ideas, but people. I find no greater joy than identifying different breeds of talent and fostering their growth. Today’s creative pool goes way beyond the classic definition of art director and copywriter. I understand this because I'm a bit of a hybrid too.
In terms of my leadership approach; I believe in a high-trust work environment. One that can only be achieved by finding the very best talent, giving them a compelling and inspirational vision of what they need to accomplish, and then empowering them to reach these goals by using their very own skills and talents in any way they choose.
Featured Editorial Contributions
9 Ways to Foster Women’s Advancement in Marketing
“Attracting female team members is easy if you’re truly fostering their career growth. That means considerations for maternity leave, a healthy work-life balance, a 50/50 split between male and female employees, and establishing a strong employee resource group for women — that’s inclusive of men. We all need to work toward equality together. I’m certain that many of the men who were dismissive toward me during my career didn’t realize their responses toward me were different. Sexism isn’t necessarily deliberate, so much as it’s learned, which means it can be unlearned.”
The Drum: Creative Director’s Choice: Bernstein-Rein’s Lara Wyckoff on Walmart’s hurricane relief efforts for the American Red Cross
When disaster strikes, brands have to be careful. It's important to help, of course. It's also important to look engaged. That engagement, though, must be handled carefully. A brand that looks like it’s trying to profit from the suffering of others risks a potentially vicious backlash.
AdWeek: Was the Recent Dove Controversy a Product of Overly Short Ads and Even Shorter Attention Spans?
“In my experience, the smaller the ad, the more creative time it may actually require,” said executive creative director Lara Wyckoff of Kansas City’s Bernstein-Rein. “It’s ironic that we think something so small has less impact or deserves less priority. The amount of eyeballs that hit these things make a big impact. Caution, care and craft apply.”