I grew up in a "pitch and win" household. My father was an original Mad Man (yes, one of those guys). What many don't know about the Mad Men is their success as advertising and marketing pioneers wasn't tied to creative as much as it was implementing the structure and discipline of their military backgrounds into the agency model. You see, nearly all of them were veterans. Today, we still have agencies filled with siloed, specialized business units based on head (troop) count delivering a waterfall product; which, at that time, obviously worked. My Father was a Marine and with that, came drive, honor and probably a few extra nerves that required a Marlboro and Dewars on the rocks to soothe. God Bless All Veterans.
Alas, that Marine worked so hard, he was able to pay for this second generation American marketer to have an Apple IIc in 1984. From that, a Marketing technologist was to be born. All of the frills and excitement of the hunt and chase of new clients, brands and ideas from the Mad Men-era combined with empirical, non-emotional attribution modeling, correlation data and nearly predictive analytics and outcomes.
But, with this new generation, a note of caution: the advanced tools of the martech singularity can create traps and pitfalls. The basics of good storytelling and user experience and respect for partners (Allies) can be ignored when you KNOW (or think you know) what your conversion and engagement rates are for any activation.
SO, with all of the advancement and innovation in the industry, let's not forget some of the classic Mad Men mores that I grew up listening to at the dinner table. (after Grace, of course, and no singing or laughing at the table:) ENJOY!
