Thom is in charge of overseeing current clients and future business opportunities. He spent much of his career as a copywriter and creative director. He has worked on Ford, the U.S. Marines, Sony, Toyota, McDonald’s, Publix, Outback and AT&T.
Q: Is there a great client story you’d like to share?
A: While I was in Japan, I handled a huge production of a Sony Vega TV campaign that was to air in Russia. It involved shooting in LA, posting in Tokyo and finishing and in Moscow. The client and crew were, of course, Japanese and the Moscow contingent, including voice talent, were Russian. I spoke a bit of Japanese but absolutely no Russian, and found myself trying to direct a recording session, manage relationships and keep the peace between two cultures that are about as diametrically opposed as they come in two languages in which I couldn’t really communicate. It was fun.
Q: What makes a great brand?
A: A combination of relevance, experience, authenticity, trust and image that produces obsessive loyalty. There’s no logical reason to pay $4 for a cup of coffee that people don’t choose in blind taste tests, but me and all those other folks I find myself waiting in line with do it every day. Not convinced people can be obsessively loyal to a brand? Know anyone that was an active duty Marine 20 years ago?
Q: What frustrates you the most?
A: Trying to wrangle those little elastic thingies and my daughter’s hair into a French braid that meets with her satisfaction. I get about 40 seconds of futzing, then the inevitable, “Da-ya-dee!” I think I’m chromosomally impaired.
