Mike Hughes Makes an Appearance at Advertising Week
Sep 27, 2013
One of the best things about a conference like Advertising Week is the kismet that happens in the hallways, the synchronicity that strikes when we stumble into a session by accident and find ourselves hearing inspiring narrative that we never planned to witness.
That’s exactly what happened to me Thursday afternoon. I arrived early at the Times Center Hall to see the panel “People as Brands as Publishers.” There was a film running as a tribute to some great guy named Mike that everyone loves. Apparently the guy is a legend in the advertising world. Everyone in the film just kept calling him by his first name. When the film wrapped up, Mike made an appearance. It was Mike Hughes, the legendary and brilliant president of The Martin Agency.
I went to business school at the Darden School at the University of Virginia so The Martin Agency’s story and culture are well-known to me and to my classmates because it is based in Richmond, only an hour’s drive from UVA. What I didn’t know until Advertising Week is that the culture of The Martin Agency is the envy of the entire advertising world. Everyone wants what Mike and his growing team have built, what they continue to build day by day, over decades of time. Here are their values:
Joy“I work too many hours because I love my work and I love the people I work with,” said Mike in the film. In all this work, he’s looking for just one thing: messy, unbridled, unpredictable joy. How many presidents of wildly successful companies say that? You can tell in his actions and words that he is on a mission to live a joyful life, even through his current battle with cancer. Joy is contagious. It explains why hundreds, thousands, hundreds of thousands of people are willing to get on board and follow him to the very ends of the earth, online and off. Before he exited the stage, he thanked all of us who follow his blog and support him online. “It really means a lot to me, so thanks. It keeps me going.” I wanted to run up to the front of the room and hug him. I don’t think I was alone in that.
TeamMike is a member of several halls of fame for his brilliant work on behalf of hundreds of brands over the years. He doesn’t credit his ideas, his leadership, or his talent as the driving force behind his success. “Surround yourself with hall-of-fame caliber people. Do that and the right things happen.”
Good and ToughAfter Mike, The Martin Agency’s COO Beth Rilee-Kelley walked us through their core, shared belief that they should be good to each other and tough on the work. Her opening comment said so much to me about who she is as a person and as a professional. “People who know Mike often say that he makes us feel like we can walk through walls. And that’s exactly how I feel right now. Like I could just walk right through a wall.” Mike had recounted the story that he encouraged Beth to think about becoming the head of the agency once he steps down. The next day Beth walked into his office and told him she had no interest in being president. She wanted to be COO. “And she’s the very best in the business,” he said.
Though I’m sure that they did a lot of preparation for this mini-panel (after all, they are an advertising agency!), I could see how much heart and soul went into that preparation. It made me realize that as much as I love being a freelancer, being part of an established company can pave an incredible path so long as we love, respect and admire the people working alongside us.
By, Christa Avampato
This article is part of Allvoices’ coverage of Advertising Week, the world’s largest and most important advertising gathering. This series is supported by Advertising Week.
