NEW TIMES, NEW TOOLS, Part 2
June 11, 2008 – 4:09 amSoon MCI had such a solid relationship with its customers that it could offer what I would consider the first long-distance brand ever: Friends & Family. That invocation of intimacy was possible for MCI. For AT&T? No way.
This account was significant for another reason: It defined the way we work best. That is, in rooms totally dedicated to the single problem of the particular client. I am talking war rooms. Lots of “windows” of research and information on the walls. Lots of oversized blank paper on stands. And then lots of scribbled notes, odd facts, and first-draft perceptions filling those pages. It is an exciting environment: a literal storehouse of knowledge, with a concentration of energy that feeds on itself. Very much what you would expect to find in a political campaign. Not something you would imagine seeing in an ad agency—at least not then.
Winning the MCI account was a long shot. We couldn’t compete on size;we had to be smarter. Winning the account gave us our first major client. We had competed with intelligence and with courage. Some part of that courage came from a sense of financial security. Even before the MCI win, we had said yes to a suitor that had approached us. The French company RSCG wanted us to sell them an interest in the agency. For five fortysomething ad execs, the idea of financial stability was a no-brainer. Not for ourselves . . . for the idea of the agency. We would have the freedom to invest in new technology and pursue new ways of pitching business. The larger benefit was that, right from the start, we could be an international player. It was time to play ball on a global scale.
Taken from : “Leap” A Revolution in Creative Business Strategy
