What the Producer Said on Friday the 13th

In Hollywood, not paying attention to the desires of your audience can cost you. There is no better example of this than Writer, Director, Author Michael Cimino.

Cimino wrote and directed the Academy-Award winning film The Deer Hunter. He knew in the post-Vietnam era, there was an audience for a film stripping that conflict of the usual melodrama and glorification of war movies.  Deer Hunter was a huge success and earned an Academy Award.

After that, Michael Cimino had instant green light status from Universal Studios for any movie he wanted to make. Unfortunately, the very next project he chose was Heaven’s Gate.  As you all (should) know the film was an epic fail.  It went way over budget; almost bankrupt the studio, and certainly ended Michael Cimino’s career.  He never made another important film.

There are many examples I could cite, but I chose Cimino for one reason.  He started off as an ad guy.  Michael Cimino directed commercials for Pepsi, Kodak and United Airlines among others.  He clearly understood the concept of playing to an audience.  He should have known better.  What cost him was an ego that got in the way of his perspective.

As an Account Manager, your audience is virtually everyone you come in contact with on a daily basis.  If you want to keep your green light status, you have to maintain the right perspective. I had a great mentor who taught me to always ponder, “What is the question that needs to be answered?”

Similarly, whenever you are in a situation with a member of your “audience,” I want you to ask. “What does this person want from me?”  Not the other way around. It really is not about you. (Welcome to Account Service.)

Most account managers/producers ask the opposite.  They pick up the phone to call the Client thinking only of what they want: a signed estimate; an approval on creative; etc.

They sit down in their CD’s office; or host a status meeting; or even take part in a new business meeting thinking the same thing. “What do I want?”

I am here to tell you, that never works out.  Even when they succeed in getting what THEY want, the slight residue of manipulation lingers in the air.  Not to mention that often times what they want is not the right thing for the Client relationship. 

YOU need to walk into every situation asking, “what does this person want from me?”

You need to understand what every great producer, director, actor and writer understands.  You are nothing without your audience.  This is a service business and Clients needs should always come first. If you can make that slight change in your perspective, I guarantee it will make you even more successful than I know you will be.

If nothing else, I hope this post at least causes you to Netflix The Deer Hunter.

And…fade to black. 

What the Producer Said...The 12th Step

People think a Producer is someone who has an idea and then focuses on finding financing. They think account people just relay information between Clients and the agency.

In practice there are many types.  Look at the careers of some of the great producers like David O. Selznick (Gone with the Wind), Irving Thalberg(Ben-Hur) and Sam Spiegel (Lawrence of Arabia), you see distinct styles.  A little game I like to play is to give Account Managers Hollywood names based on their style.  Here I will do my best to tell you how to work with…well, at least these three.

Selznicks

They have a knack for understanding how to package the agency for different new business opportunities. To them, every person and piece of work the agency has is a potential lure for new business.  He has a one on one lunch/drink/dinner with everyone at the agency-- the aim is to figure out what that person’s unique offering might be. He has absolutely no real interest in the actual person.  If he is your boss, the best thing you can do is to be a new business information provider. Forward those articles you see on Adweek and Agency Spy.  What you’re really doing is making yourself a player in the only game he is interested in.

Spiegels

They are rare, because they embody the phrase, “Don’t trust her as far as you can throw her.”  Spiegels are larger than life, loud, unedited figures.  To colleagues, they can be unscrupulous, petty, dismissive, and even downright mean.  They survive through a savant-level ability to be crafty when it comes to sticky situations, and by being tremendously charming to Clients. You have to be a constant pulse-taker.  Use her admin or others to figure out what mood she is in before you have any contact. And I don’t mean the mood “today.”  I mean like 30 minutes before you meet. Because it can change that fast.

Thalbergs

In reality and in our business the life of a Thalberg is usually short. (He died at 37).  A Thalberg is the type of Account Manager who is so fascinated with the PROCESS that every other aspect of the job runs a distant second.  This person would love to personally know every single person in the agency; to understand every facet of their job; and figure out how to keep their careers engaging and moving forward. Unfortunately, at the senior level, the visionary nature of this management style often flies in the face of day-to-day profitability. These are people who are inspiring to work for.  The best thing you can do is pick their brain while you have it because they are more than willing to share.

Understand, all account leaders have a style.  Understand, it is not your job to BECOME them. The goal is to always learn FROM them. My hope for you is that one day you get to work with a Geffen.  More on that later.

And…fade to black.

What the Producer Said..."This One Goes Up to 11."

Hollywood is filled with stories of moguls who started out in the mailrooms of some the most important studios in the industry.  Icons such as David Geffen, Michael Ovitz, Barry Diller and Bernie Brillstein, all started as very well-dressed grunts in the basement of the William-Morris Agency.

When I started in the advertising industry, the Madison Avenue equivalent of the mailroom was the Traffic department.  That has since changed to the entry-level Account position.

Just as there are major advantages to starting in the mailroom at WMA, there are just as many “perquisites” to being a junior account manager.  The idea is to use your vantage to your advantage.

So, here’s what.  If you are a junior account person, here are some tipuisites on how to "take advantage of the vantage." (that's in quotes so that you memorize it!)

Find a mentor (Whether she knows it or not).

Every agency has that golden girl who seems to be getting the choice assignments.  Your first instinct is going to be to hate on them.  But I implore you to do like the fictional character Sammy Glick and find a way figure out why they are the chosen ones.  I guarantee you, it won’t be the obvious answer.

It’s okay to be ambitious.

I guarantee there are two sentences you will hear over and over again. 1. “I can’t believe this is what I went to college for.”  And 2. “My friend who works in finance makes five times what I am making.”  These are the words of the non-ambitious and uninspired.  In this business you are only rewarded if you stand out from the crowd.  Nothing is owed to you. And you don’t actually MAKE anything.  So, the only way to excel is if you find a way to make YOURSELF valuable. 

Plan your next move based on your boss’s next move.

Barry Diller, the famous wunderkind of Paramount Studios and many other ventures, famously took a job as the assistant to a Hollywood TV agent.  A week or so after he started the job, his boss became the head of the agency. So, now he was the assistant to the guy running the show.  The point here is simple. If your boss is on the fast track then you follow her. If she is talking about bagging it all and opening a bakery, make sure you start lobbying for a new account to work on. 

Pick up the check the day before payday.

My mother used to work for the phone company.  This is back in the day when there was only one “phone company.”  She told me that one thing she used to do was either go shopping or take her coworkers out to lunch the day before payday.  She did this so that the people she worked with knew that she wasn’t just working for a paycheck.  Take a few minutes and think about how baller that was.   

It makes people wonder who you are. And that my friends, is what this business is all about.  You want them to wonder who the **** you are!

And…fade to black.

(Dedicated to Patricia Y. Prince)

What the Producer Said..."10"

A statement you will never hear in Hollywood. 

“Well, I’ve been doing this for three years now, so I should be up for an Academy award by now!”

However, I hear a version of that statement daily.  We’re obsessed with how long things are supposed to take to happen.  We make assumptions based on what the traditional path is.  Agencies tend to have set timelines, which are planned based on a traditional training and development models.

So interesting that as successful as we are at creating non-traditional initiatives for our Clients, we have done very little to non-traditionalize the way we develop our people.

So, here’s what, it starts now.  Instead of using that calendar app on your iPhone to measure your career development, let’s go to the Oscars!!

Tatum O'Neal – Best Actress 1974

(My celebrity crush up until about…well I’ll get back to you on that.)

Won her Academy award at age 10.  Because she was the best at what she did that year.  Stop letting people make you feel like you’re crazy because you think you are a better account leader than your boss.  It is very possible you are.  Instead, focus on that thing that makes you better and continue to refine it.  That will pay off sooner than you realize.

Leonardo DiCaprio – Nominee for Best Actor 2004

Should have won!!! for his performance in The Aviator (that’s right…I said it).  However, Jamie Foxx got the nod for Ray.  Many feel Foxx was the sentimental favorite because the movie opened not too long after the death of Ray Charles.  As good as you are, there may be someone who has been waiting longer, or has other issues that get them the promo/raise faster than you. Don’t let that put a dent in your confidence.  You are not competing against each other. Your time will come.

The Hurt Locker Vs Avatar – Best Pic Noms 2010

Let’s face it 2010 came down to two movies vying for the top award. So, how did Hurt Locker beat out JC and the most expensive movie ever made?  Some critics say it came down to the wider breadth of nominations THL had.  Meaning it was nominated in more categories and therefore the Academy felt it was a better movie.  For you, this means making sure it is not just your boss who thinks you are amazing.  She could quit tomorrow and then where are you?  Make sure everyone you work with thinks you are amazing. Production, Media, Analytics, Planners, EVERYONE!  That’s how you move up.

Harvey Weinstein – Best Picture,  Shakespeare in Love, 1996

This fellow Queens, New York native started out as a small time local concert promoter; moved up to producing concert films; and then started an independent film company with his brother.  That collaboration produced groundbreaking films including Sex, Lies and Videotape, and Shakespeare in Love.  Harvey was famous for shameless promotion of his films during Oscar season.  Your Oscar season is typically the 4^th quarter.  That’s when agencies take a hard look at who is ready for a promotion and a raise.  So, yes, do your best all year around. But do whatever you can to remind everyone how awesome you are as soon as those summer Fridays end.

And finally…

Robert Altman – Nominated Best Director five times

The director of one of my favorite movies achieved mainstream success being nominated for Best Director for  M*A*S*H in 1970.  He was nominated five times over a 31-year long period but never won.  In 2006, the Academy awarded him an honorary Lifetime Achievement Oscar.  A few months later he died. The lesson here? Know when you’re done, and it’s okay to get some rest. His acceptance speech.

And…fade to black. 

<3 u Tatum

What the Producer Said...9-1/2

I’ve heard a lot of people use the term “reinvent” to describe their approach to the next phase of their career.   I have never believed in this concept.  We are not inventions.  We were born with everything we need to succeed.  But, I don’t want to go all David R. Hawkins on you.

When it comes to my career and the advice I’ve given, I always look to examples from the entertainment industry.  What I’ve found is “restoration” works much better than “reinvention.”  I use the following three cases to illustrate.  (You might want to have Google handy).

Michael Eisner was one of the most powerful men in Hollywood when he ran Disney.  He was a smart and ruthless executive who did not tolerate disloyalty, yet looked for it at every turn.  But he also knew how to run a studio and was extremely successful.  Post Disney, he tried to reinvent himself as a nice guy talk show host.  His show was horrific, guests were few and far between, and ultimately no one watched.  (I am sure he is writing a book.)

His friend, Michael Ovitz was another who vied for that same title.  Ovitz founded a talent agency called CAA, but always longed to be much more than an agent. He became known for two things in the industry: making huge deals and for the line “I’m confused.”  Which, when uttered barely above a whisper, frequently meant your career was about to end.  Be that as it may, Ovitz reinvention as the #2(ish) man at Disney never worked out.  It was a failure from start to finish. He was not cut out to be a corporate man, and he hated authority.  (I am sure he is also writing a book…  and I can’t wait to read it.)

My last example is Merv Griffin. Merv started out as a paunchy radio crooner while still in his teens. He then became a talk show host; then invented TV syndication; then invented Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune and then died a billionaire (without a book, I might add).  His success repeated over and over.

So here’s what.  Merv Griffin never tried to reinvent himself.  He engaged in restoration.  He looked to those things he loved that were (career-wise) sitting on a shelf collecting dust. And he figured out how to use them to move his career forward.  He became a talk show host because he loved people. He invented syndication because he wanted to control who he had on his show. Finally, he invented Wheel of Fortune because he loved crossword puzzles and figured other people did too.

At some point, you WILL feel like your career is stagnating. Before you yield to the latest  #trending media topic, I want you to try and restore interest in those things sitting on your shelf.  It might stop you from reinventing yourself out of a career.

And…fade to black.

What the Producer Said, The VIII

Every great producer or director discovered a genre that worked best.  Martin Scorcese is Gangster. Penny Marshall is Romantic-Comedy. Woody Allen is …Someone Who Was Funny Thirty Four Years Ago, etc.

If you want to be successful in the agency business, you need to take a page from your Hollywood colleagues and find the genre for you.  Sometimes it’s called a “specialty.” I hate that term because it implies that you could choose something else.  Directors and Producers succeed because at some point in their life, they were drawn to a certain type of story.  The genre chose them.

So here’s what.  To get you started here are five steps to discovering what genre works best for you.

Start With the Basics

Movies and advertising are both broken down into very simple categories.  There is advertising that makes us laugh, cry, and everything else, including scaring the crap out of us (freaky adopt a dog spots?). First, identify your category, then identify what industries fall into that category. We are talking concentric circles here.  This will significantly narrow the brands you should work on.

Know Thy History

Once you have narrowed the list of brands, simply pick those that interest you and study their marketing history.  What agencies have they been with? How has the brand evolved over the years? What awards have they won, etc.  Become an expert.

Get a Few Good Ones Under Your Belt

It took Wes Craven 12 years and six films before he became known as the Horror King.  Ideally, you want to work on a few campaigns within your genre. But even if you haven’t actually worked on them, study them.  These will become the answers to the interview question, “What current campaigns do you really like and why?” Standard.

Be Your Own Press Agent

In the movie Sweet Smell of Success, Tony Curtis plays a press agent who uses whatever tactics he can to get press for his Clients and keep them believing he has major contacts.  We no longer need the Sidney Falco’s of the world.  With social media, you are your own press agent.  Use your social media presence to opine on anything and everything that has to do with your genre.  It is simply mind-bottling how easy it is to set your self up as an expert.

Get On Set

Do whatever you have to do to work on accounts that fit your genre.  If you can’t do that right away, at least look for an agency that has those accounts,  and get in where ever you fit in.  Once there, your previous steps should set you up to eventually work on your genre accounts.  And after that, it’s all gravy.

Our industry has never been more like Hollywood in that personalities and reputations rule the day.  To succeed, you have to become one of those personalities. Easy for me, because I am so handsome.  Easy for you, because you have me.  As always, I wish you nothing but success!

And, fade to black.

What the Producer Said, On the Seventh Day

I took last week off to celebrate our country’s independence. I split my time between Sag Harbor and various parties at houses of friends and family.

Hollywood, much like advertising, is filled with nouveau riche.  People who are experiencing money for the first time, and in some cases the first generation to have financial success.  With that comes excess.

Here is where the two roads split.  If you are a Hollywood Producer, showing excess is good.  It means you know how to make money for yourself and others.  In advertising, showing excess is bad. It means you know how to take money and thus take money from others.

So, here’s what.  For you account leaders who are cracking that 200K+ sound barrier, let me offer a few tips for keeping the respect of your Clients.

An Explorer II is Still a Rolex

Your Clients tend to be surrounded by people who actually work for a living. They don’t want to see you walking into a meeting wearing a Rolex You buy yourself absolutely NO credibility by choosing to wear that to the meeting.  Keep an IronMan in your desk for just such occasions.  No one wants an agency with people who have time to climb mountains anyway.

Don’t be Norm if the Steaks Cost $40 Bucks

I have a colleague who is on a first name basis with everyone at The Grill in Beverly Hills. My first thought was, if I were his Client I would wonder why he is so familiar with this place and how much of my money paid for the relationship.  By all means, have your spot.  But when it comes to Client lunches or dinners, get a good reco from a friend.  If the food is good, you’ll be popular with the only person you need to impress that day.

Take the Rental

Howard Hughes was infamous for the jalopies he drove.  This was not because of his thrift, but more for his desire to remain non-ostentatious.  I know someone who lost an account because he decided to drive his Client in his Mercedes SL 500.   It wasn’t that his Client couldn’t afford to have a car like his. It was that his Client chose not to have a car like his. Clients always believe it is their money that bought you whatever you have.

Remember, You’re Still Turtle, not Ari Gold!

It kills me to watch people who act like they’ve had a personal assistant their entire lives.  I personally have never needed anyone to tell me where my next meeting was, and NEITHER DOES YOUR CLIENT.  You wanna play Ari Gold in the office, fine.  But when your Client is on campus, NEVER…EVER…ask your assistant what room you’re in, or when lunch is coming.  Not only do they expect you to know that, they kind of get off on the fact that you know that.  Let them have their fun.

Keep it Green

The Gold, Platinum and (….well F that, I am not talking to anyone who has a Black) card are Amex’s way of demonstrating Darwin’s theory of evolution.  The thing is, your Client wants to always feel like she’s walking a little more upright than you.  To that end, as you shell out $350 bucks a year simply to have your name stamped in grey plastic, remember to keep that “Get Into Delta Club Free” card sheathed when you are with your Clients.   They are likely to be rolling with a company Diner’s Club or Discovery card.  You whipping out your Platinum will only make their career choice seem that much more specious.

The point is, your Clients already feel like hanging out with you is the best part of their job.  You don’t want them to think you actually get paid more than they do to have all this fun?

And, fade to black.