More of/Less of: More Passion, Less Pessimism

I think of those words every time I attend a board meeting at the Ad Council an organization that has spent the past eight decades shedding light on society39s critical issues and challenges through public service advertising campaignsamp160 My involvement with the Ad Council began when I first came to the United States in early 2009 when the country was still mired in financial crisis and the prospects for recovery were still far from certain For me the Ad Council stood as a symbol of hope in those dark days a place where the passion and purpose of the people dedicated to creating advertising that creates societal change outweighed the pessimism of that moment in timeAs I approach the 10thamp160anniversary of that introduction amp160and with the country again in turmoil I sat down with Ad Council President and Chief Executive Officeramp160Lisa Shermanamp160pictured at top to discuss how the organization she leads will continue to be more about passion and less about pessimism as it closes in on its 77thamp160year of creating communications programs that make a difference to societyMainardo de Nardisamp160 Lisa what comes to mind if you apply the theme of this column More ofLess of to the Ad Council for 2019 and beyondLisa Shermanamp160 More modern marketing digital at the core bringing media and creative together giving a broader role to media agencies and fully benefiting from influencers Less focus on partnering only with media agencies for donated media The campaign on which we39ve been partnering with Omnicom39s OMD around quotBuzzed Drivingquot for which the agency handles the creative strategy and production as well the media strategy and placement comes to mind as an examplede Nardis How is this going to impact your strategies in the very short termSherman We are creating broader and deeper media partnerships and tapping into their content creation capabilities as well as leveraging more earned media Our 39Creators for Good39 influencer program is working very well Having said that we still need more in all these areas We are focused on more horizontality a true team approach to make sure we deliver in realtime Perhaps I can summarize this by saying 39More focus on partnerships less oneoff campaigns39 de Nardis Tell me more about your personal goals after four great years running this showSherman Long answer I think Blackrock Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink said it best earlier this year in his annual letter to companies quotSociety is demanding that companies both public and private serve a social purposeamp160 To prosper over time every company must not only deliver financial performance but also show how it makes a positive contribution to societyamp160 Without a sense of purpose no company either public or private can achieve its full potentialquotamp160amp160Short answer Being an evangelist for quotMore focus on purpose less obsession with only profitquotde Nardis Tell me moreShermanamp160 quotMore policy Less politicsquotamp160 I can keep goingamp160 As you know from being a board member the organization as a whole isamp160amp160very ambitiousamp160 We want to leverage our skills and experiences to create a better worldamp160 Nothing is impossible if we maintain our focus and benefit effectively from the extraordinary resources to which we have accessamp160including our board which I think may be currently underutilizedamp160 This collection of talent can become a true coalitionamp160focusing on all of the public issues we decide to tacklede Nardisamp160 To conclude perhaps you could summarize three of your most recent programs explaining to us what you haveamp160achieved for these causes using the More OfLess Of frameworkamp160 Let39s begin withamp160Love Has No LabelsShermanamp160amp160More empathy less enmityde Nardisamp160amp160Save the FoodShermanamp160 More sharing less hungerde Nardisamp160amp160Seize the Awkwardamp160suicide prevention campaignShermanamp160amp160More lives saved less lives mournedClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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More of/Less of: More Passion, Less Pessimism

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Mainardo de Nardis

"About That with Carl Mayer": Involved Media Connected Audience Fall 2024 Report (Episode 5) - By Carl Mayer

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More of/Less of: More Passion, Less Pessimism

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Mainardo de Nardis

"About That with Carl Mayer": Involved Media Connected Audience Fall 2024 Report (Episode 5) - By Carl Mayer

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