AHEAD of the Curve part II

Nov 19, 2007

(continued from Part I)

DIVERSITY

OBD has boldly stated that the industry pays lip service to this issue but doesn’t back it up with action. Under his watch, the AAAA has made major strides in the area of diversity. To wit, the formation of committees covering Hispanic advertising, multicultural advertising and African-American advertising; and the growth of the association’s MAIP (Multicultural Advertising Intern Program), from placing 44 students at 26 ad agencies in 1994 to 150 interns at 77 agencies in 2007. In addition, under Drake the AAAA in 1998 launched Operation Jump Start, a scholarship program for multicultural students. Since the project’s inception, the association’s 20 largest members have contributed more than $2.5 million in scholarship funding for participants at the nation’s leading advertising portfolio schools.

ISSUES AND ANSWERS

Over the course of Drake’s tenure, the AAAA has never shied away from addressing the most vexing issues facing the agency business. In so doing, the association published scores of position papers on topics running the gamut from tobacco advertising and Internet privacy to agency compensation, account conflicts, and agency search consultants. One of the most important and lasting documents was “Advertising Agency Liability for Payment to Media—Sequential Liability,” which introduced the concept that agencies should not be held liable for media payments for financially unstable clients.

ADVERTISING WEEK

In 2004, the late Ken Kaess of DDB Worldwide and Ron Berger of Euro RSCG, both AAAA board members, approached Drake about forming a weeklong festival honoring advertising. The idea was to create an exciting and engaging series of events, meetings, and presentations that would attract agency people, media executives and clients nationwide to New York, the nation’s advertising capital. Drake immediately put the full resources of the AAAA behind the idea, and Advertising Week was born. “Burtch provided the financial support for Advertising Week,” Donahue said. “He was also savvy enough to recognize that it needed an executive director who possessed a unique combination of talents and he hired Matt Scheckner to run it.” Since then, under Scheckner’s guidance and with the help of a strong board of directors (including Drake), Advertising Week has become a national industry event. In September 2007, it attracted more than 40,000 participants from 60 countries who converged on New York to celebrate the advertising industry and all that it stands for.

Salute to Burtch Drake Welcome Note
Q&A with Burtch Drake Part I
More Q&A with OBD part II
More Q&A with OBD part III
What's the O For?
Ahead of the Curve Part I
Ahead of the Curve Part II
OBD Camera Ready
Jerry McGee's Last Word