In a sense, the entrance to SFGT is a window into the
person who leads the company, Dudley Fitzpatrick, CEO. Open the big
front door of the old town house on Walnut Street and the first thing
you notice is three old stone steps. Couldn't they afford new steps?
Then you see the second door. It's all glass and through it you see the
modern reception room, the classic furniture, the attractive
receptionist and the small oriental rug in the center of the beautiful
wood floor. "I get it," you think to yourself.
When you meet Dudley and chat with him, you really get it. He's a
traditionalist, like the steps and the beams on the ceiling. He's
confident and assertive, like the stately furniture and the offices
themselves. He's tasteful, like the oriental rug and like the conference
room on the fifth floor. You go there for the interview after a trip on
the modern elevator.
And Dudley's a trip.
This is a man who knows where he's going, who wants to do it the right
way, who has strong feelings about his beloved business. Notice that I
didn't say "his beloved advertising business." He has different views
about that way of looking at the business of marketing and advertising.
Life and career are quite different than he would have anticipated when
he graduated from Miami University in Ohio. He got a degree in Mass
Communication even though he says he went there primarily "to play
hockey." While there, he discovered that "movies were more fun" and
decided that he would like to write movies. Off to New York, he "bummed
around for over two years" trying to connect in the film business and
finally had to get a steady job.
He decided to settle for "30 second movies" and he landed a job in the
creative department of one of New York's biggest agencies, now known as
Ammirati Puris Lintas. There, he worked exclusively on television and
participated in network spots for Heineken, Diet Coke, Lysol and Mennen.
The agency was account-service dominated which influenced his firm
belief that "strategy and creative are really the same thing." That is
an idea which continues to drive his work and the agency's intentions.
While in New York, he was recruited to a Los Angeles agency, Dancer
Fitzgerald-Sample. He took the job and became their youngest ever vice
president but he admits that he probably took it because making movies
still had some intrigue for him. At D-F, he worked on their efforts to
get accounts to supplement their Toyota business. The agency landed
Pioneer Electronics which became one of his proudest successes. His
campaign, "Catch The Spirit of a True Pioneer," led Pioneer to great
success.
Dudley created and produced the first music-video commercial in the
industry for his client, Pioneer. It was a takeoff on West Side Story.
Because it reflected the social realities of that era, it was selected
to be part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian's Cultural
Mores Section.
Both Dudley and his wife, Tanice, were raised in New Jersey. They live
there now, in Pennington, with their three children: Aubrey, Drew and
Tess. The two older children go to The Lawrenceville School, Dudley's
alma mater. The proximity to New Jersey was one of the reasons he
responded to an opportunity at Lewis Gilman and Kynett (now Tierney
Communications.)
He was very impressed by the quality of LG&K's work. As vice president
and group creative director, he participated in what he calls their
"glory years" but was one of the victims of one of their many top
management changes.
He and a good friend at LGK, Bob Schell, were both let go with quite
limited severance. Fortuitously, they were contacted by Herr's Potato
Chips which offered them
the account if they wanted to start an agency. That was in 1992, the
beginning of what is now SFGT. Herr's was with them for 12 productive
years. Today, the agency has 30 people and serves eight accounts.
Interestingly, two of their accounts, Tylenol and Sunoco, are deeply
involved in NASCAR racing.
Dudley feels that their work with NASCAR is one example of why he
prefers not to be thought of as a traditional advertising agency. He
insists that the agencies which rely primarily on "advertising" for
success are on the wrong track. His vision calls for an agency which is
deeply involved in all aspects of a client's marketing communications
activities. For SFGT's clients, NACAR is one (important) ingredient in
all-inclusive programs for the clients' core consumer markets, for
clients' public relations focus and for clients' employee pride.
When asked about the account he is most proud of, he winces and reminds
me that he's proud of every account. Prodded, he volunteers that he is
particularly proud of the work SFGT did for the opening of the
Constitution Center. His feelings of patriotism seem to be reflected in
the positioning they created for the Center, "The Freedom To Be You. It
All Starts With The Constitution."
Oddly, he says that the "dumbest" and the "smartest" things he ever did
in business are actually the same thing. "The smartest thing I ever did
was to surround myself with my two partners: Sarah Lenhard, Managing
Director and head of Account Service and Dan Reeves, Managing Director
and Executive Creative Director." The dumbest thing? "Not bringing them
on board sooner."
That supports his conviction that the toughest part of the ad business
is finding, hiring, nurturing and growing with good people. He worries
about that because he finds it difficult to find candidates with
outstanding talent, valuable experience and a good cultural fit. He also
worries about the possibility that good clients may be losing confidence
in agencies. He says, "Agencies have to be emotionally able to have
complete confidence in themselves in order to be secure enough to
warrant meaningful collaboration from clients and in order to provide
optimal service."
Dudley Fitzpatrick is confident. It's apparent. Think about the old
stone steps leading into the agency. Sure, they could afford something
new but "old" has character and character is what he wants to project.
It's apparent when you take the elevator to the spiffy conference room
on the fifth floor. That's another, positive message to visitors. It's
apparent when you hear his straight forward answers to direct questions.
Yes, Dudley Fitzpatrick is confident about his agency, about his vision
of the business he's in and about himself.
Author Bio
Allan Kalish founded, managed and sold Kalish & Rice, one of
Philadelphia's largest ad agencies. He is currently chairman of Trichys,
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