Search Results for 'My Career'
Going up?
Anyone who wants to get anywhere in the agency business ought to start out in account management.
Though “creative director” has been the title I’ve held for the most years of my career, I owe a good deal of my success to having started out as an assistant account executive.
BBDO Direct. 385 Madison Avenue.
Pepto Bismol was the agency beverage of choice. There were as many ulcers as vice presidents. But I didn’t know enough to be scared. That was piece of luck number one.
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Tags: account management, advertising, mark dimassimo, the art of client service
It’s just over thirteen years since I introduced the concept of “Brand Direct” in an Op Ed style piece in Adweek. It’s a time capsule that holds up well, especially in light of subsequent events. In fact, while most of the “dot coms” went off the cliff like so many lemmings, some of our clients went on to define and lead the next and more lasting boom. Direct Model Leader: “There is no time but the present to build a brand.” Check it out:
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Tags: ad week, advertising, brand direct, mark dimassimo
Ole is a Norwegian expatriate whose empathic and curious nature has driven him to explore consumer experiences on several continents. His eclectic, cross-cultural background ranges from military training in the Norwegian Armed Forces, to deep immersions into a diverse range of sub-cultures across the globe.
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More than a few years ago, an advertising colleague told me a great Bruce Springsteen quote I often think about. I can’t remember who told me the quote and I can’t actually remember what the quote was, but I can assure you it was great. He said something to the effect of this: when you go on stage, you have to think like you’re the biggest rock star in the world. At the same time, you have to remember you’re not saving lives out there; it’s just music. (more…)
Tags: advertising, bruce springsteen, change, copywriting, mark dimassimo
Stuck? Blocked? Or worse, mediocre? Boring? Average?
Maybe you’re hanging out with the wrong ideas. You see, your best ideas aren’t going to be found in a crowd of professionals all dressed for the office. The great idea isn’t the guy wearing the cooler tie. That crowd can’t help you now.
Your best ideas are where you might never think to look. They are right there in the middle of the crowd of your worst ideas. They are with the rude, the preposterous, the angry, the unpolished, and the infantile. (more…)
Tags: advertising, change, creativity, mark dimassimo, marketing
My first day working in an ad agency. Assistant Account Executive. BBDO Direct. 1986.
I hadn’t studied advertising. I was in love with ideas, and that was my window in to brands. All my searching, comparing and contrasting – without any plan at all – led to the day I started my advertising career, and from the first I was full of opinions, convictions, relevant knowledge and confidence. (more…)
Tags: advertising, assistant account executive, change, mark dimassimo
Early in my career, I came in to find I had a new boss. It wasn’t long before he shared with me the following priceless and absolutely useless advice, “Mark, being too smart can be a disadvantage in this business.”
Inside my big brain, I thank him every day for the motivation that remark still gives me. Every successful day of my career is at least in part a victory over the stupid, thoughtless, and hackish impulses that are inside of every one of us. (more…)
Tags: advertising, change, mark dimassimo, marketing
Tim Tebow is currently the hottest property in the sports world, but he is fast becoming Hollywood’s hottest property as well. The New York Jet is signed to the sports division of leading Hollywood agency CAA, following an alleged battle between the top agencies, who all wanted a piece of Tebow.
But could all the Tinseltown-type attention jeopardize his game and wholesome Christian image? (more…)
Tags: branding, change, christianity, nfl, Tim Tebow
Research in Motion (RIM) co-CEO’s are stepping down. RIM stock has gone nowhere since 2008. Today, RIM’s (RIMM) market cap is $7.74B. Apple’s (AAPL) market cap: $391.88B. Which means that Apple is 50 times more valuable than RIM! (more…)
Tags: change
Presidents and Companies as Challengers and Leaders.
Successful presidential candidates and innovative fast-growth companies have lot in common. Both must succeed first as challengers and ultimately as leaders. This is as rare a trick among companies as it is among politicians. (more…)
Tags: change
I used to think that I had to overcome people’s natural reticence in order to get them to be more creative.
I suppose I thought this because I had overcome my own natural reticence in order to be more creative.
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Tags: change
DIGO Founder Mark Dimassimo on the impact on Gingrich’s character and brand of his response to his ex-wife’s claims in an interview.
Neil Cavuto: There was no admission. ABC News did NOT offer us any opportunity to have surrogates in the piece. It took THREE DAYS of putting pressure on ABC News before they agreed to interview anyone to give our side of the story. Branding expert Mark DiMassimo says that what happened here could be sort of the tip of the sort of character iceberg here. Explain that, what do you think this tells us.
Mark: Well, I’m a brand guy and I look at Newt Gingrich’s brand and the strategy that he is pursuing to try and win this nomination. Now Newt is a great strategist he knows that the conservatives need a champion, so he tries to position himself as a champion. But he’s not just a strategist on this campaign, he’s also the product – the product- and the product has a problem. And the problem is that the brand is certainly a challenger brand but there’s a difference between a challenger and a champion. A challenger is aggressive, a challenger fights, a challenger can be hopping mad and excessive. Right? But a champion is loyal, honorable, fare, a gentleman. A champion will stand by you and look what happening now with this story. There’s the personal life – by the way go to politico.com right now the most popular story is this story. The most popular…the most discussed are the political stories, so the political folks don’t necessarily want to talk about the personal. People are interested because it connects at the brand level. Disloyalty.
Neil Cavuto: What this goes back to is, I always think that people who are gifted, he’s very gifted as a speaker but usually your greatest gift can also be your greatest weakness and I remember the boxer Mike Tyson, he tried to corral a bull, at the strength of tin man, and he could just beat the crap out of everybody. But it was that same out of control recklessness in the ring that was very common behavior outside the ring and ultimately torpedoed his career. And I know no one is going to confuse Mike Tyson for Newt Gingrich but my point is that they both suffer the same problem, of both having a wonderful strength that can be their wonderful undoing.
Mark: It’s the tragic flaw. In characters and in brands. In order to be a successful candidate you have to look like a successful president. So, yes he’s the fighter, he’s the challenger, he’s hopping mad. “Hot-headed arrogance,” said Coulter today, right. “Hot-headed arrogance.” So, he’s the fighter but is he also the leader?
Neil Cavuto: But isn’t that his selling point right now, you need that, you know take prisoners and bang up the china shop kind of guy.
Mark: The other elements of the brand are too negative, disloyal is the key word. Devious… and deviant, now how can you represent…
Neil Cavuto: Where did the deviant come from?
Mark: Oh let’s see here- Emmitt Tyrell, The American Spectator
Neil Cavuto: Well that’s crossing into a dangerous territory when you move into that. But you think that he’s in trouble on the character thing that ultimately he tried to dismiss is going to be his undoing.
Mark: I think that it connects to the political issues and his own history. He’s a historian burdened by his own history. And what they’re saying is he has a history of disloyalty. Even to Reagan that’s another very big story today, He criticized Reagan and he was disloyal … that’s what they’re saying.
Tags: change
By Mark DiMassimo Founder and Chief of DIGO.
You can take the elephants and the dinosaurs – I like the Cheetahs.
I’ve spent the better part of my career working closely with leaders of innovative, fast-growing midsized organizations. I’ve coined a term for these leaders and their companies – I call them “Cheetahs.”
It is a privilege to be able to work intimately with these visionaries. Every working day is like going to the school of my dreams. As a young man living in Paris in the 1920s, (more…)
Tags: agency, book, change, cheetahs, digitalatspeed
By Mark DiMassimo
A closet down the hall from my office is about half full of brooms. Whisk brooms, push brooms, straw brooms… even a few bronze and pewter miniatures.
I don’t ask for them, I don’t encourage them, but people keep on bringing. or sending them to me and they have been for years.
It started more than fifteen years ago when I wrote about leaving a senior position at a big, bureaucratic agency. “I bought a broom,” I wrote, “and showed up at a great agency I had read about in the press. I took my broom to the top guy there and I said, “I’ve realized I’d rather sweep the floors in a great place than rule a mediocre place.” (more…)
Tags: brooms, change, mark dimassimo, Social World
We are looking to extend our network of Flash Developers, Web Designers and Web Developers to help us make the Internet a better, more beautiful place.
We’ve got a lot of work to do and need an army of creative contractors to help us out. Join our network of interactive talent.
Flash Developers
- resizes based on existing banner ads
- turn static concepts into engaging animations and interactive experiences
- solid knowledge of Flash, Photoshop and AS2/AS3 programming
- knowledge of best practices and ways to keep file size down
- experience with rich media applications, or additional web development is a plus
- please provide examples of banners you have animated
Web Designers
- engaging front end development for dynamic, interactive websites, microsites, apps and content management systems
- create and flesh out wireframes and design user interface
- extensive knowledge of Dreamweaver, Flash and PhotoShop
- familiarity with HTML, CSS, JavaScript
- please include links to websites you have designed
Web Developers
- manage website development team of designers and external programmers from conceptualizing and creating graphic and user interface solutions to implementation of back end development/coding.
- develop projects plans, schedules and SOWs, prepare estimates and manage costs throughout project
- proven understanding of User Experience and Information Architecture
- responsible for QA testing across system and browser platforms throughout development.
- excellent communication and client facing skills and maintaining a positive and solution-oriented attitude at all times.
- Technical Skill Requirements: working knowledge of PHP, MySQL, HTML/CSS, XML, JavaScript, experience with WordPress.
Send resumes, urls, apps or any other way we can get a feel for your work to careers@digobrands.com
Tags: developers, DIGO, fix, flash, internet
After double-majoring in Psychology and Advertising, Lee began his career as a writer at OgilvyOne and Harris Drury Cohen. His entrepreneurial spirit led him to DIGO in 1998, and at the age of 24 he became the youngest partner (more…)
Tags: DIGO, Leadership, lee goldstein, new business, Strategy
Myles Kellam is a leader in marketing strategy, team-building, agency management and client services with extensive experience in digital (websites, ecommerce platforms, digital media and advertising, applications), social media, experiential marketing, and traditional advertising. (more…)
Jeff, a pioneer of the digital media revolution, leads DIGO’s content and digital strategy practice. (more…)
Amanda Ingram feels the force. It’s her smart phone beckoning with messages. The only way she can keep in touch with her friends is through Facebook, she explains.“I don’t think it’s affecting my marriage … yet … but there are times that I feel like I have to check my texts when someone sends one,” she wrote, you know, in an e-mail. With society falling further under the spell of iPads, BlackBerries and other digital devices, two New York guys have decided it’s time to put them down and back away a little, if only for your sweetheart on Valentine’s Day. Eric Yaverbaum and Mark DiMassimo, who have made a career of using digital devices, are urging people to go “Offlining,” pledging to release their grip on their phones and other digital devices for 10 dinners. To read more click here.
Tags: change, digobrands, mark dimassimo, offlining, valentines day
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