Why did you first get online?
In 1993 bought a Mac PowerBook and it came with a “fax modem” and an AOL start-up disk. That was when I first went on the internet and got an e-mail account.
When did you first get involved with digital and why?
I was working as a media specialist at Young & Rubicam. I was immediately drawn to the internet and started clipping any article about the internet and started distributing them internally to key management. My distribution list went from 8 to 35 in 8 cities. One day, clients such as Coca Cola started asking, what is this internet thing and what should we do about it? I wound up becoming the in-house internet expert. Eventually, our clients needed websites and I had to find web agencies to develop them. I met with K2 Design, Razorfish, and http://www.facebook.com/l/3c15e;Agency.com. K2 Design wound up hiring me away. I left Y&R for K2 in 1995 and became the 6th employee. K2 eventually went public with over 65 employees and I was VP of Creative Affairs and Client Services at age 26 working with clients such as Audi, AOL, IBM, Nine West, and Toys R Us.
How would you describe your work and professional interests in the 1990’s (or 80’s etc).
Work was pretty intense. We had to create some kind of structure so we can compete head to head with large agencies and appear professional instead of a bunch of scrappy kids. We had a pitch for MCI’s MarketplaceMCI and went head to head against their ad agency, Messner Vetere Berger McNamee Schmetterer Euro/RSCG and wound up beating them. My background at Y&R helped in making sure our presentation was top notch and MCI wouldn’t be able to tell we’re a small firm of 10 people working out of former hotel rooms in the Village. Doug Cleek the Creative Director did the designs and I actually wrote all the copy for MCI’s first e-commerce effort back in 1996. After winning the business we then created online shops for Footlocker, Champs, Gourmet Foods, etc. Back then, you had to print out the order form and fax it in.
What do you think the future will hold internet/digital?
Internet and digital will be so integrated within our lives that we won’t need to mention or differentiate between internet and digital. It will just be. Mobile has done so much to immerse our lives and merge online with offline. So much of our data and information will be shared that privacy and permission marketing will be a non-issue. Brands micro-targeting to us, utilizing our digital footprint and public data will just be as expected as product placement on TV.