| Marketing |
01/05/2000 |
Oscar Wilde was right. There is only one thing worse than being talked about – and that’s not being talked about.
In the gossip-centric world of marketing, advertising and media this is especially relevant. In an industry where profile is everything, careers can be built and destroyed on what people are saying, or not saying, about you.
If you feel that your career has reached stalemate – particularly if you haven’t yet been headhunted – then start to think about opportunities to get seen by your peers, get written about, and mix with the people whose acquaintance could one day prove useful.
Start frequenting the industry get-togethers, and come along to one of the clubs described here. Although securing membership may be tough (would it be worth joining if it was easy to get in?) you may find that a senior partner of one of your agencies is a member and would be willing to take you as his or her guest.
In fact if you are a marketer in possession of a budget you will probably have a string of eager agency types happy to get you an invite, show you the ropes and ply you with fine wines at one of these dos. You’ll be honour bound to take their calls enquiring when you are reviewing your agencies for the next few months. But this is surely a small price to pay for getting you in on the circuit which, with some work, should ensure you start to get on those headhunters lists.
Don’t underestimate the opinions of the senior agency people. Keen for your budget they may be, but they also know that it is in their interests to identify up and coming clients. Build your reputation with these people and you’ll be surprised how quickly the gossip spreads to their senior clients.
Which clubs to choose? They vary in style, average age and entry criteria, as outlined below. With the exception of the Marketing Society’s regional events, all are London based. Some you may find that birth excludes you from, but even WACL and Solus have mixed nights (in fact, for men, getting an invite to a WACL evening holds a certain cachet). But if you are under 35 you may find it difficult to become a full member of Solus or the Marketing Group of Great Britain. For once it is women who have the advantage here, with WACL the only group to have members in their 20’s – but these women are high achievers, at marketing manager level.
The usual pattern is dinner followed by a speaker. An old hand describes the pattern at the larger events; “You pile up to whichever hotel is the venue, and head straight for the table plans. Groan at who’s on your table, then quickly check which table that key contact which you’ve been trying to speak to for ages is sat on. The trick then is how to manoeuvre yourself over there after dinner, without seeming too obvious. If you can manage to be dazzling your colleagues with fascinating insights while that person is in the vicinity, so much the better.”
Some are inevitably boozier than others, with the Christmas events generally write-off –the-afternoon affairs. But if it’s total inebriation you’re after, perhaps you’d better stick to the Awards dinners – renowned for their collective alcohol consumption and antics that provide gossip for weeks after.
“The clubs are a very public platform,” warns one industry insider who has propped up the bar at many such occasions. “Opinions are quickly formed, so think twice before asking that rambling, slurred two minute question to the speaker.”
The Solus Club
If you thought that the politically correct Nineties had killed off the old boy network, come and peek through the windows of the Dorchester when the Solus Club is having one of its evenings. Men only since its first meeting in 1929, Solus members are the crème de la crème of the marketing, advertising and media worlds, with only ten from each sector allowed in at any time, plus ten from consultancies. Around 30 ex-presidents, plus member’s guests means that each event attracts around 100 people.
Monthly events have attracted a high calibre of speakers, including British Airways’ Colin Marshall, Heinz non-executive chairman Tony O’Reilly and John Major.
There is a certain amount of ritual associated with Solus – the club’s striped bow ties being the most obvious example – and you’ll be hard pressed to get in if you are lower than marketing director level. But current president John Banks (chairman of ad agency Banks Hoggins O’Shea FCB) insists that the atmosphere is far from stuffy; “The AGM in particular can be a very lively affair. All the members take part in a cabaret, which can be hysterical. Where else would you get the chance to see Peter Marsh singing, or Hugh Burkitt performing Gilbert and Sullivan ditties?”
Aspirational it might be (this is one club where you won’t find anyone in a Moss Bros-rented DJ), but “crusty” is another term that some have applied to Solus. “Full of old advertising luminaries making their monthly trip into London,” was how one recent guest described it. “Needs more young blood,” says another. “Pompous” admitted one member.
However, M&C Saatchi partner David Kershaw has been lined up as president for 2001 and is expected to bring a little more zing to proceedings, admitting younger members to encourage a rather less serious tone.
Members include: Sholto Douglas-Home (marketing director, New Millennium Experience Co), Mike Moran (Toyota marketing director), Terry Mansfield (National Magazine Company managing director)
Average age/seniority of members: Marketing directors, chief executives and agency heads. The average age is 45.
Fun factor: Depends how you describe fun. There is a good standard of speakers and ‘lively’ discussions, according to Banks. But most people are on their way home by 11pm.
Venue: The Dorchester
How to get in?: You have to be sponsored by a member. This gets you on the waiting list (currently with 12 people on it). When a vacancy comes up, the committee decides if it wants you in.
The Women’s Advertising Club of London
More commonly known as WACL (pronounced wackle – referring to it by its initials is sure to get you sniggered at). While the men are battling egos over at the Dorchester, the women are doing very nicely thankyou at the Savoy. WACL was actually founded before The Solus Club, in 1923, at a time when women in advertising were enough of an oddity to need the help of the sisterhood.
“It was started to give women in advertising the chance to entertain male business contacts without ‘compromising’ themselves,” explains Carol Fisher, vice-president of WACL and chief executive of the Central Office of Information. “I think it’s fair to say that it was all rather blue-stocking for a long time, but we have made great efforts in recent years to broaden the membership beyond just ad agency people and bring in younger women.”
These days, although it doesn’t actively wave the feminist flag, it organises an annual training forum for younger members and generally encourages a “supportive atmosphere”, according to Fisher.
Although the members list is a roll call of the most successful women in the industry, capped at 110, the atmosphere at most events is reassuringly laid back.
The fact that this is a women’s club inevitably attracts the usual remarks; “Entering the Savoy’s River Room on a WACL night can be like walking into a Max Factor factory, with an almost tangible whiff of Guerlain hanging in the air” claims one (male) wag, while another refers light-heartedly to the ‘witches’ advertising club. But even the authors of these comments admit that WACL events are worth attending. “Atleast you know it’s going to be well organised with the women in charge,” adds another.
However, there is a certain amount of disgruntled feeling in some quarters that, despite its stated aims of being all-inclusive, WACL is too cliquey. “It’s a group of women who will only allow people in that they work with, or are already matey with,” according to one senior woman in the industry who has never been approached to join.
“It’s true that it helps to get in if you are known to some of the members,” admits committee member Samantha Smith, partner at FCA. “But we try to be fair and bring people in who will contribute to the club, people willing to share their knowledge.”
Members include: Cilla Snowball (Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO deputy managing director), Tess Alps, (executive chairman, Drum PHD), Mandy Pooler (chief executive officer, Mindshare)
Average age/seniority: Average age is about mid to late 30’s. Generally board level, although some at account director/marketing manager level.
Fun Factor: Good. WACL members are a highly sociable bunch, who know how to party.
Venue: The Savoy
How to get in? Get quoted in Marketing! Fisher admits that the committee checks out the marketing press for news of newly promoted women. Or you could persuade a current member to suggest you. The committee then considers your CV and decides if you are the kind of person who will fit in.
The Marketing Group of Great Britain
This is where to head if you’re really trying to shake off the attentions of the agency world. Made up predominantly of marketing directors, this is a more business-oriented group than either Solus or WACL. The usual pattern of black tie dinner followed by a speaker applies, with a generally good standard of star guest. Prince Charles, Elizabeth Murdoch and Peter Mandelson have all addressed the group within the past couple of years.
The clique accusation levelled at other clubs – that you bump into the same tight little group of people all the time – is also true here, with a fairly high degree of members of WACL or Solus also to be found at MGGB dos. However, the potential for meeting and greeting is top quality – “it’s a marvellous networking opportunity,” says seasoned industry mingler Samantha Smith.
Members include: BBC director of marketing Sue Farr (chairman of the group), British Airways marketing director Martin George, BMW managing director Kevin Gaskell.
Average age/seniority: Marketing and managing directors. Mostly 40+.
Fun Factor: Depends on the company at your table
Venue: Claridges
How to get in? You have to be invited to become a member. Don’t get too upset if you don’t get the call – only about five people get in each year.
The Marketing Society
The Marketing Society isn’t strictly a club, more of a professional body. But it qualifies here on the strength of its legendary annual pre-conference bash, which usually attracts over 1,000 marketers from all over the country for a night of drinking, speeches, then more drinking.
Its evening seminars also support healthy networking opportunities, especially since they were made free to members, plus the chance to learn about issues affecting industries and marketing sectors other than your own. This is the place to start if you haven’t yet got the heavyweight contacts necessary to muscle you into any of the official clubs.
It might not have the exclusivity of, say Solus or the Marketing Group of Great Britain, but the Marketing Society still manages to drum up a decent quality of speaker. Attendees of this year’s Christmas dinner will hear the tales of former Sun editor and now Talk Radio chief executive Kelvin MacKenzie, while the annual conference in November boasts speeches from Marks & Spencer chief executive Peter Salsbury and Diageo group chief executive John McGrath.
Members include: Most UK marketing directors and managers.
Average age/seniority: You need atleast five years experience to get in, so members tend to be marketing manager level or above.
Fun factor: Some sparky seminars, but high point undoubtedly the pre-conference dinner
Venue: Various
How to get in? Pay your membership fee.
Other chances to get your face seen
The 30 Club, as the name suggests, is a highly select collection of movers and shakers from advertising, marketing and media who meet each month, generally at Claridges, for dinner. Member include Bozell’s Winston Fletcher, David Puttnam, and BMP DDB’s James Best.
Speakers at this event are truly A grade – John Major, William Hague, Gordon Brown, Princess Anne and Princess Diana have all regaled the group with their off the record stories. It has been described as a “drier version of Solus” by some, but the type of speakers means that it is a more serious, political club than others.
Some of the larger advertising agencies hold dinner clubs (a ‘supper’ club at the genteel Ogilvy) around once a month, to which they invite favoured clients. J Walter Thompson’s is a particularly impressive affair, mainly because of its setting in the agency’s mews annexe, off Berkeley Square. D’Arcy takes around 15 clients out to dinner once every few months, with one client acting as the speaker.
There is also a whole range of smaller, much more informal groupings of industry people, which you may get invited along to as someone’s guest.
Blakes 7 was started last Christmas by Carlton Sales chief executive Martin Bowley who wanted to belong to a mixed sex group “where the emphasis is on fun”. Its 14 members (including Yahoo UK managing director Martina King, headhunter Nicky Horner and Channel 5 marketing director Jim Hytner) take turns to organise novel events with speakers. The group has had dinner in Hamley’s, and listened to talks by Jimmy Mulville, Michael Portillo and Sam Chisholm. Members can bring guests along, which are frequently their senior clients.
The Media Fat Boys Club (entrance criteria – being over 15 stone and holding a senior position in media) has now, sadly, been disbanded. But the Media Greeks club still exists, although you obviously have to be of the Hellenic persuasion to secure an invite.
If you receive a mysterious fax inviting you to get ‘Bladdered by Fax’, it will be from your design agency. This very informal drinking club is hosted by a different design agency each time the group meets, and has spawned the Serious Drinking Club.
The young guns in the new media world have already established a lively social scene. Apart from the First Tuesday group, a club which exists principally for networking, there is Net Night and the charmingly-named Boob night (Bring Own Booze).
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