September 11, 2001, 10:30 AM: Appointment with Jack Myers. Dan Hodges

Hi Jack,

I hope that you are well. I want to share some thoughts with you as we mark the tenth anniversary of September 11. We were meeting at your offices at 10:30AM that day to discuss a study you were conducting to evaluate the top sales organizations.

I was on a NJ Transit train at 8:55 am going into Manhattan for our meeting, when my wife called me and said that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. I looked out the window of the train and saw the smoke; it was a beautiful blue September sky. I worked in the airline industry and knew that a pilot would sacrifice his life before endangering others. I knew it was a terrorist attack.

With events like this, we tend to remember every detail. When I arrived at your office, the south and north towers at The World Trade Center had collapsed, the Pentagon had been attacked and flight 93 was reported missing. You had CNN on and we wondered aloud why is this happening? Will the world ever be the same? We had many questions that day including how this would affect the ad market, which was already reeling from a recession.

As we fast forward to the present day we know the answers to the questions that we asked on September 11, 2001.It is interesting to look back at the advertising industry in 2001, the key players and leaders of the day. Is history repeating itself? The Myers Recession 2001: Real or Self-Fulfilling could well read The Myers Recession 2011: Real or Self-Fulfilling.

2001 Highlight & Events

· Myers Recession 2001: Real or Self-Fulfilling

· Mark Zuckerberg is filling out college applications

· Steve Jobs introduced the iPod

· Eric Schmidt joined Google as CEO

· AOL had 26,000,000 subscribers and had merged with Time Warner the year before

· Neopets, Goto, Passport, Excite and Geocities where listed by Compete as the top sites ranked by monthly attention

· 128,000,000 mobile phone subscribers in 2001 and Nokia had a 36 % U.S. market share in 2001

· 3G, text messaging, a fully functional calendar and FM Radio where all mobile innovations from 2001

· Comcast had 8,600,000 subscribers in 2001 and Business Week commented that Comcast had "low debt, consolidated markets, and cutting-edge technologies make this company a cable-biz marvel: An outfit that might soon turn a profit."

As we fast-forward to 2021 what lessons can we learn from two of the most successful people in the last decade, Steve Jobs and Rupert Murdoch?

Steve Jobs says, "Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower." Apple reported sales of $5.3 billion in 2001 and $65.2 billion in 2010.

Rupert Murdoch adds, "The world is changing very fast. Big will not beat small anymore. It will be the fast beating the slow." News Corporation reported sales of $25.5 billion in 2001, which grew to $32.8 billion in 2010.

Winston Churchill said "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. "

I believe that the innovations of the next decade will come from optimists who see change and disruptions as opportunities.

Lastly, thank you for your service to the advertising and marketing communities over the past ten years and more!

Regards,

Dan

Dan joins Verve as Chief Revenue Officer, working directly with agencies and brands providing solutions and partnerships across Verve’s national footprint of premium local media properties. Dan can be reached at daniel@vervewireless.com.