About me
Adventures in advertising. And in life.
My personal mechanism of action is to be daring, to defy expectations, to bring life to the creative and joy to the day-to-day grind. I pride myself on being adventurous and trying new things. Except mushy foods.
In the world of advertising, I like working on new brands with new challenges. And I strive to bringing fresh thinking to my established brands. I'm not just your quirky creative though. You have to tap into both sides of your brain to be a Pharma guy.
You need the strategic knowledge and the boundless creativity. A true talent has both and can tap into each without sacrificing the other. It's a perfect blend of skill sets.
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In the "real" world, it's more of the same. My life is jam-packed with adventure. My family and I love to travel and see the world. We love the outdoors. We love athletics and nature. From skiing, to surfing, to soccer, to Scouts, we're always active (not always alliterative, that just worked out that way). And I'm not just living vicariously through my kids (yet). I push myself to try new things, both physically and creatively. I wrote and published my own children's book (see more below) and I recently ran a triathlon (but wish I did better).
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Leading others to become well-rounded creatives is equally important. My goal is to guide my staff to become versatile in both HCP and DTC writing, to embrace various therapeutic categories, and build their experience in a variety of tactical areas from digital media to traditional writing. Both artists and writers need to think both visually and linguistically.
Likewise, I take on a leadership role in my personal life. From running fantasy sports leagues or card games with friends, to coaching my boys in soccer, or serving as a Den Leader, I am always active and encouraging others to stay involved as well.
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Branding & Positioning
Features. Benefits. Value propositions. Ladders. Personalities. Essence. Emotional. Rational. This is the creative strategy behind the brands. And I'm the guy behind the scenes sweating every single word. I'm running the workshops, or creating the market research stimuli, and crafting the rules within the brand book.
Creative
Direction
No matter the medium;
no matter the audience; a good creative director needs to guide the team to meet the creative objectives, wow the clients, and create work that's worthy of the agency portfolio. That may seem like a lot to ask. But it's my day to day norm. Ready and willing.
Collaboration
& Leadership
Advertising is a team effort.
Talent can't go it alone. Managing different personalities and soothing people's egos—or keeping your own in check—is critical. It's about giving respect and earning it in return. It's about identifying talent and watching out for the bad apples. Chemistry sparks award-winning creative.
Storytelling &
Strategic Messaging
Words are where I got my start. With a copywriting background, I love this stuff. But pictures tell the story too, and I'm not shy about making sure both disciplines tell a cohesive tale.
From the raw concept to the 3rd rung of a message architecture, it's gotta be in sync.
My (first) passion project
Every copywriter wants to write a novel or a screenplay. That's a cliche. Of course, I still want to live out the cliche, but I wanted to embrace my artistic side even more. I wrote—and illustrated—my own children's book: "The Pirate's Battle." It originally sold a bunch of copies, now I just give 'em away at kid's birthday parties. But at least my nephew Patrick is a dedicated fan, always asking when the sequel is coming out.
