There’s an analogy I’ve been tossing around for a few years to just about any ad pro that will listen. And yes, there are exceptions to my little theory so just take it for what it’s worth – a little fun.

Most large ad agencies are like Major League Baseball teams. I don’t mean creative boutiques, design shops, and interactive shops. I mean big, lumbering, traditional ad shops that are often owned by publicly traded holding companies. Here it goes:

You’ve got your CEOs and presidents, they’re the team owners. But they still have to answer to the League and the commissioner that tell owners how much money they should spend and then help them slice up their media revenue. In the ad world, these folks are called holding company boards and CEOs. Though not all powerful, these the agency president/team president usually has enough gravitas to not be the one out on their ass after a loosing season. (We’ll get to who is in a minute.)

Then you have the front office. These would be the folks who’s responsibility it is to bring revenue in and maintain business relationships. In advertising, we call these people AEs. This is a high pressure job but is more stable than that of a player or coach since client relationships can be fragile.

Most ball clubs have a GM. This guy is in charge of managing the on-the-field pay roll, prospects, and setting a long term strategy for success. At big shops this guy might be called a Chief Creative Officer. He’s usually in a lot of meeting and new business pitches and not down in the trenches doing the day to day creative work.

This brings us to the managers or in advertising, creative directors. They’re in the thick of it with clients, account service, and jr creative teams. Motivating, selling and making sure the work is great and profitable. When things are going well they get glory, perks, and fat contracts. When things got to hell, they or the CCO usually take the blame. It’s actually fairly rare to see the president get the blame first.

Of course the manager has his coaches – pitching coach, batting coach, third base coach. These would be your Group CDs or ACDs. In a large part their success is tied to the manager’s success. If things don’t go well, a new manager (CD) might be brought in and they could all be replaced with his guys. After all, why would a new manager field exactly the same team that got the last guy fired.

Now the players/creatives. You might think these are the most important part of the team. They actually produce the product (or play the game) but most of them are seen by management as interchangeable parts. And frankly some team presidents don’t even care about winning (garnering a gold pencil or Cannes Lion) the game. As long as they field a team, they’re collecting TV revenue (media dollars) and gate receipts (billable hours).

But there are a few players/creatives who do make an impact with management – these are your franchise players who are there to please the fans/win awards. You know who they are. The guy who gets a pencil and then agency hops for a big salary bump but always seems to be liked by the industry press, and management. Sometimes these guys make management and themselves sometimes they flame out by 35 or 40. It’s not easy being a star in the big show.

Most creatives are just journeymen players though. They’ll play for a team for a season or two then get cut in a management shakeup or a client loss or maybe even sent to the minors (a small town, healthcare or tech agency) for a stretch. They keep plugging away through till they’re in their 40s hoping they’ll make creative director. They know the business better thank anyone, they have a passion for it. Heck, they deserve a shot to be the CD. Maybe they even get a shot in a second tier market. But most end up looking for exit plan by age 50.

Maybe the old reliever becomes an announcer (45 year old freelance copywriter doing voice over work). Or maybe they become a scout  (40 year old former agency art director working as a head hunter). Or heck, maybe they even play in Japan for a few years hoping to make a come back (take a agency network job in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, or Southeast Asia.)

So that’s how the ad life is like pro baseball. Agree?

OK, so I left media out but that most of that job has been farmed out to a holding company arm any way. I don’t mean to be glib in this analogy. I suspect that people who’ve been around the industry will both find fault in it and a little truth.

Posted on: May 13, 2011, by : Jimmy Gilmore