NEWSLETTER

MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING

PURPOSE OF THE IC/MC NEWSLETTER

We don’t have a specific agenda for the newsletter other than inform you about what we have learned and practiced over the years. Of course, we will apprise you of new developments in this ever changing environment. But most important, Minutes of the Last Meeting is designed to open dialogue, where we can interact in an informal, beneficial setting. To get things rolling, we answer the question Where do you find great candidates? Plus, we’ve thrown in some thoughts about risk and communications. Read on!

(Minutes of the Last Meeting is the title of a book written by Bill’s favorite author, Gene Fowler, who was waxing poetic about the last days of W.C. Fields. It is hilarious.)

WHERE DOES ONE FIND GREAT IM/CM CANDIDATES FOR EMPLOYMENT?

With all of this discussion about seamlessly integrating the communications process into your business model, the question arises, “Where do I find the talent? One of the best sources is to offer an internship, preferably paid, to a student majoring in the subject, or actually hire someone right out of school with an advanced degree. A very sharp graduating senior at Azusa Pacific University recently told me that she was interviewing for an advertising position, and during the course of the interview, turned it around, and found herself explaining what IC/MC is. Understanding value added, the marketing manager was so impressed, she was hired on the spot.

Most recently, I had the opportunity to talk informally to Florida State University students, all who seemed at the leading cusp of IC/MC, albeit they hadn’t rolled up their sleeves and practiced it on a day to-day basis, but had seen it during their internships firsthand at two very successful local IC/MC agencies here in Tallahassee.

One of the most unique programs in the U.S. is at West Virginia University, where it is the only graduate school offering IC/MC via Distance Learning, 15 courses in all. What makes its program even better is that the average age of the student is 33, which suggests mature candidates that have been “out there,” practicing some form of the discipline for a number of years. It also tells me that these students recognize the new trend, and want to take advantage of it, albeit “later” in their respective academic careers. To me, these students would really be worth looking at. Chad Mezera, the director of the IMC Program at the Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism there, reports that he has students in 36 states, so you don’t even have to go to Morgantown to recruit. I’m sure he would put you in touch with top recruits in your area. Chad can be reached at chad.mezera@mail.wvu.edu.

Other prestigious schools with enviable programs in the discipline include Emerson College in Boston where I taught, University of Missouri-Columbia, Ithaca College, University of Kansas, and of course where it all began, the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

TAKE IT FROM A PRO

Don E. Schultz, the academic czar of IMC and author supreme on the subject, writes in the June 12 edition of Marketing News that “Safe strategies don’t suit small-business needs.” He echoes the sentiments of Bill Bernback, when he said, “Great advertising is risk.” Bill’s very first account was a small ready-to-wear women’s apparel store, “an unfashionable store in an unfashionable part of town,” called Ohrbach’s in New York City, which my father was instrumental in shaping as its general manager. Bill created full-page black and white ads with little copy, and giant images, one of the first being a cat with a beautiful bonnet and a cigarette holder. These eye-catching print ads, somewhat of a snobbish nature, turned the perception of the store to a “High Fashion at low price boutique that attracted the attention of such people as the Rockefellers and drew high fashion coverage from Life magazine.” The rest became history. Now, this was risk. (The quotes are from Bob Levenson’s Bill Bernbach’s Book, a must read.)

Take a look at this quote from Don: “Maybe, just maybe, the little guys know more today than the big guys. Maybe their feel for the marketplace, customers and consumers is more accurate and more relevant that the sophisticated approaches we academics and the marketing professionals keep trying to foist off on them. Maybe marketplace intuition is more relevant today when quick decisions are needed, not nine months of in-depth market research initiatives.”

An interesting thesis, and one that goes back to the 50’s and 60’s, when it was a freewheeling Creative Revolution, and the “GUT Syndrome” was in vogue. Marketing has made giant strides since then lead by research, all for the better. But the decision-making process has become committee driven. Try and get a consensus on a creative presentation from eight people sitting in a boardroom. Good luck!

Of course there’s a happy balance, but it is food for thought. Perhaps more professionals marketing their wares will take a look at this period in American Advertising History, and gain a perspective that they hadn’t realized might be an important element in their market thinking.

Don E. Schultz is a professor (emeritus-in-service) of integrated marketing communications at Northwestern University. He can be reached at dschultz@northwestern.ed.