Tag: idaho statesman

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Preparing for the Future – the Benefit of a Succession Plan

Recently, Mark Solon of Highway 12 Ventures wrote a guest article for The Idaho Statesman in which he chronicled the transformation of es/drake into Drake Cooper.  He followed the paths that led Bill Drake and Jamie Cooper to each other, and a glimpse into their plan for the future.

A few excerpts from the article: Accident that could have killed him changes CEO’s priorities

One of the first things that Bill thought about when he got back to work after the accident was the fact that he had never created a succession plan for his business. “Sure, I always thought about it,” he told me. “But life got in the way, and I never got around to it.” He realized that he had not even given a hint of direction to his staff on what to do if he got hit by the “proverbial bus.”

Around the same time, Jamie Cooper was growing restless. Jamie had been a marketing executive at a number of companies, most recently as the marketing VP at ProClarity, which had just sold to Microsoft. Having recently turned 40, Jamie was thinking about “hanging up my corporate badge and having my own business where I could leverage what I’ve learned in my career.”

Bill knew Jamie and was impressed with his thoughtful approach. According to Bill, “Jamie was a client of the firm while at ProClarity, and a tough one. Succession planning was now at the top of my priority list. I wasn’t ready to retire but I was ready to stop and smell the roses a bit more. Because of the extended nature of Jamie’s proposed earn-out, I’d be able to slowly ease out of the business and pass along the knowledge I’ve gained along the way.”

Its a good read, and worth the time to take a look at it.

Also, if you’re in a similar position, something for you to think about:  What plans do you have in place in the event that ‘you get hit by a bus’?

Nothing like some heavy thinking on a Friday…

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Media Coverage of Treasure Valley Agencies

Today finds a larger than normal amount of coverage in the news and media world about agencies in the Treasure Valley, and what they’re up to.  For example:

In today’s Idaho Statesman:

A feature story was done on the Imagine campaign that Stoltz Marketing Group did for the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure.  It highlights each of the survivors who are featured on the billboards, posters and other materials.

Rhea Allen, President of Peppershock Media, contributed an article to the Statesman’s Starting Up weekly series.

And, from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer’s website:

Drake Cooper is developing an online reality series for the Idaho Division of Tourism, and is on the lookout for a Seattle family to visit the state in mid-June.

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Does Creative Matter? Absolutely.

Everyone and their dog has an opinion on what constitutes good creative.  Is it good if its memorable? Is it good if it tells a story? Is it good if its effective?

Sometimes, the answers come not from the industry, the peers and others inside the fishbowl, but from the clients and the results themselves.

Case in point: Last fall we featured work that was being done for the United Way of the Treasure Valley by a group of creatives in the Valley.  Last month, the United Way announced that their community campaign had generated $5.9 million in donations from individuals and corporations.  Today, the United Way announced 31 grant recipients of the funds.

Included in the article from the Idaho Statesman was a quote from Tod McKay, Vice President of Communications for United Way of Treasure Valley, recognizing the effort that went into the creative for the campaign:

The local United Way’s community campaign was hugely successful this year, despite hard economic times. The organization raised $5.9 million, a 9 percent increase over last year’s campaign and the most in the group’s 81-year history.

McKay said part of this year’s success can be attributed to a creative advertising campaign put together by some of the region’s lead advertising agencies free-of-charge.

“They helped us tell our story better than we’ve ever done before,” McKay said.

That’s when you know you’ve done a good job.

Congratulations, and well done, to everyone involved.