3 Decades Of Advertising And Branding Experience

What I do for brands:

• Brand Consultant - ongoing, deep brand consultation

• Brand ideas - research, idea development (taglines), manifestos

• Communications plans

• Creative briefs that inspire (click here for my perspective on briefs)

• Presentation narratives/building

• Manager/Organizer for Ideasicle X idea projects and productions

• Presentations / Workshops - branding 101, presentation development 101, virtues of virtual, science of creativity

What I do for agencies:

• Fractional CMO: ongoing new business advisor (1 FRACTIONAL SLOT AVAILABLE)

• “Obsession” differentiation: help find your agency’s differentiating obsession

• Pitch materials audit: review RFPs, presentations, creative work, pitch strategies, and prepare recommendations to improve

• New business coaching: pitch strategies, RFP writing, presentation narratives, etc., ongoing as needed

Mark Ray, Founder and Chief Creative Officer at North Advertising:

“We’ve found Will’s new business coaching service to be invaluable, especially as it relates to identifying an ownable, differencing, raison d’être - our ‘obsession’ - that helps us stand out in pitches.”

Presentations / workshops:

• “Channel The Brand (Don’t Just Brand The Channel)” - fundamentals of branding, 2 hours plus 30 minute workshop

• “Presentation 101: The Art Of” - co-presentation with Monica Taylor including best practices for composing/designing great presentations and for high impact delivery, 90 minutes

• “Virtues of Virtual Idea Generation” - turns out there are many surprising ways I’ve found virtual creativity in groups is better than in-person brainstorms, 30 minutes

• “The Science of Creativity” - multiple research studies that I’ve uncovered over the years that show us how we can improve our creativity, 1 hour

• “Ideasicle X Under The Hood” - see the software behind the revolutionary idea generation platform, 30 minutes

My CAReer arc:

Anyone who has worked with me knows that I love nothing more than either coming up with, or witnessing the birth of, a great marketing idea. Seriously, I get the chills. So it’s no surprise, I suppose, that I'm channeling my energy and experience into a unique consultancy like Ideasicle X, where nothing is unthinkable and ideas are everything.

In 2010 I founded Ideasicle. At about the same time, I became a Forbes Contributor. But for over 20 formative years before that I criss-crossed the country experiencing the best creative agencies in the world.

I learned as a pup from creative greats, David Lubars and David Baldwin, at Leonard/Monahan in Providence, RI. I've witnessed the magic of Jeff Goodby at Goodby Silverstein in San Francisco, CA. I was immersed in the culture of unabashed creativity and attitude of Wieden & Kennedy in Portland, OR. I’ve seen ghosts in the old "mansion" of Mullen in Wenham, MA. I felt the power of an agency startup with Boathouse in Needham, MA. 

And I won over $1 billion in new business billings as head of business development at Arnold in Boston.

All the while meeting what would one day become my team of Ideasicle Experts, nearly all of whom I worked with at one of my past agencies. And now it has all led up to a powerful consultancy combining my experience with what’s effectively a “fractional creative department,” or Ideasicle X.

I volunteered for six years with the Hamilton/Wenham Edfund, serving on its board of directors. And my plan one day is to create a similar foundation, but devoted entirely to funding ways to teach creativity in public schools. Not just teaching talents (trumpet, theater, art, etc.), but teaching creativity itself to kids.

BRAND Experience:

I have had hands-on experience with such amazing brands as Microsoft, HP, Titleist, Purina, Paul McCartney, Polaroid, Volvo, Progressive Insurance, Fidelity, RadioShack, Tyson Chicken, Umbro, Miller High Life, Stanley Tools, AMD, Staples, CVS, New York Times, Warner Music, Constant Contact, Vistaprint, AMD, Lowe’s, RetailMeNot, SharkNinja, Seybert’s Billiards, JobGet, Purina, and many more.

Through my branding experiences one thing has become clear: a company without a galvanizing brand idea is a company forced into random acts of marketing. This realization was the thrust of my Forbes column and is now the thrust of everything we do here at Ideasicle X.

Most Dramatic New Business Win:

The $250 million RadioShack account while at Arnold. Why was it dramatic? Because we were not invited to the pitch. I read that the business was in review and couldn’t believe Arnold wasn’t invited. Dusting off old brands was our thing.

So I did a smidge of research and wrote the pitch consultant a letter from our CMO that made the case to include Arnold. It was VERY direct and VERY critical of the RadioShack brand. We not only got into the pitch as the 21st agency, we went on to win, riffing on the themes in the original letter. The client then framed the letter I sent as a little trophy. Boy did we ever get drunk after that unlikely win.

most meaningful Professional Moment:

Paul McCartney signed a slide I created when pitching him to Fidelity for a partnership. Paul signing my slide meant he consumed something I created, and not the other way around. Mind blown.

The partnership led to the following “This is Paul” TV campaign for Fidelity.

Podcast interviews: