Interview with:Terry Levine [terrylevine]
ADVERTISING
 | What is your specialty: creativity, contact, or research? Creativity. I'm an advertising copywriter, blogger and aspiring author. |
| Please list some brand names or clients that you have worked for. Apple, AT&T, BMO, BP, Canada Post, CIBC, Dairy Queen, HP, IBM, Jaguar, Kraft, Land Rover, Microsoft, Purolator, RBC, Rogers, the Royal Canadian Mint, Samsung, Sunoco and Wyeth. |
| Have you got a blog or web page? |
| What do your clients value more, strategy, creativity, design, or return of investment? All the above, although probably ROI and value first, strategy second and creativity third. |
| The word 'creativity' is much-used in advertising, yet most commercials are annoying, why is that? Annoying is usually relative. What grates on your nerves might make me laugh and what makes you laugh might put me to sleep. Creativity isn't the answer to everything but if you can't position your product creatively, you probably won't get noticed. |
| Can a bad advertising campaign sell well? Again "bad" is relative. And a bad advertising campaign might sell well because (a) the product is amazing, (b) sales and service are great, (c) targeting is fantastic, (d) the offer is strong, or all or any of the above. |
| Which advertising agencies and directors seem the best to you at this moment? The ones who can put ego aside and do what's best for the client, even if it won't make the agency the most money. |
| How do you respond to the classic quote, "I love the idea, but right now's not the time"? To the client, I smile and say "okay." In my head, I scream. There's rarely a bad time for a great idea. Too often clients say no because they're not comfortable, even if it's good for the company or their product. |
| What brings you the most satisfaction: when your advert pleases your boss, your client, your friends, or your mother? If it can please my client and me, that gives me the most satisfaction of all. |
| How do you see the transition between traditional advertising and online advertising? I view online advertising as the evolution of traditional advertising. Online or off, you still need good strategy and original ideas. |
| Are people in advertising paid too much? Which people? :-)
Those at the bottom are paid too little. Those at the top are paid too much. |
| Is advertising merely spam? One man's spam is another one's advertising. |
| Have you ever felt cheated by adverts? Not particularly. Ads are meant to put the best face possible on a product or service. Like an interview or a date, it's up to us to peel away the layers and discover the truth. |
| What is your favourite thing about working in advertising and what is your least favourite? My favourite thing is working with smart, creative and strategic people. My least favourite is working with people who are afraid of their own shadows. |
| Do advertising festivals help to improve the industry, or are they only ways for the elite to pay homage to themselves? Mostly the latter. |
| IMPACT! Is this the main scale for judging the work of an advertising professional? It's one scale. But the guy who yells the loudest isn't necessarily the best at what he does. Yes there needs to be impact to get your attention but then what? |
| What are the main mistakes clients make in judging creativity? They over-analyze. Very often, a client reacts the way you hope they will -- they laugh or gasp -- but then they sit back and say "oh, but the customer won't get it." |
| Is it possible for someone in advertising to communicate well with people of other generations or cultures not their own? Of course. As an advertising professional, you must be open to learning about other generations and cultures. If you can't do that you'd only be able to advertise to people just like you. If that's the case you really have no business being in advertising. |
| In advertising, what is most effective, frequency or surprise? Surprise is nice but you can only do it once. Frequency is better. |
| Is a political candidate the same as a product? A political candidate, yes. A leader, no. |
| How do you explain the way in which some brands have been able to expand so widely and rapidly without advertising? Are the laws of marketing changing? Advertising is not the answer to every marketing problem. That's one of the greatest misconceptions about advertising -- and one that's probably fed by ad agencies themselves. How often does an ad agency tell a company with a lot of money "do X, don't do advertising"? |
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468 visits Whohub
Terry Levine
Toronto-Canada
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95745 interviews created
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