Profiles of the Powerful: Advertising Exec Dudley Fitzpatrick

In a experience, the doorway to SFGT is a window into the individual that leads the corporation, Dudley Fitzpatrick, CEO. Open the large the front door of the vintage metropolis residence on Walnut Street and the primary issue you word is 3 vintage stone steps. Couldn’t they come up with the money for new steps?
Then you notice the second one door. It’s all glass and via it you notice the present day reception room,
the conventional furnishings, the appealing receptionist and the small oriental rug withinside the middle of the lovely wooden floor. “I get it,” you watched to your self.

When you meet Dudley and chat with him, you absolutely get it. He’s a traditionalist, just like the steps and the beams at the ceiling. He’s assured and assertive, just like the stately furnishings and the places of work themselves. He’s tasteful, just like the oriental rug and just like the convention room at the 5th floor. You pass there for the interview after a experience at the present day elevator.

And Dudley’s a experience.

This is a person who is aware of in which he is going, who desires to do it the proper manner, who has robust emotions approximately his loved enterprise. Notice that I did not say “his loved marketing and marketing enterprise.” He has exclusive perspectives approximately that manner of searching on the enterprise of advertising and marketing and marketing.

Life and profession are pretty exclusive than he might have expected whilst he graduated from Miami University in Ohio. He were given a diploma in Mass Communication despite the fact that he says he went there commonly “to play hockey.” While there, he found that “films have been extra fun” and determined that he would love to write down films. Off to New York, he “bummed round for over years” seeking to join withinside the movie enterprise and sooner or later needed to get a constant activity.

He determined to accept “30 2nd films” and he landed a activity withinside the innovative branch of one in every of New York’s largest companies, now called Ammirati Puris Lintas. There, he labored completely on tv and took part in community spots for Heineken, Diet Coke, Lysol and Mennen.

The company changed into account-carrier ruled which inspired his company perception that “approach and innovative are absolutely the equal issue.” That is an concept which maintains to pressure his paintings and the company’s intentions.

While in New York, he changed into recruited to a Los Angeles company, Dancer Fitzgerald-Sample. He took the activity and have become their youngest ever vp however he admits that he possibly took it due to the fact making films nevertheless had a few intrigue for him. At D-F, he labored on their efforts to get debts to complement their Toyota enterprise. The company landed Pioneer Electronics which have become one in every of his proudest successes. His marketing campaign, “Catch The Spirit of a True Pioneer,” led Pioneer to top notch fulfillment.

Dudley created and produced the primary music-video industrial withinside the enterprise for his customer, Pioneer. It changed into a takeoff on West Side Story. Because it meditated the social realities of that era, it changed into decided on to be a part of the everlasting series of the Smithsonian’s Cultural Mores Section.

Both Dudley and his wife, Tanice, have been raised in New Jersey. They stay there now, in Pennington, with their 3 kids: Aubrey, Drew and Tess. The older kids visit The Lawrenceville School, Dudley’s alma mater. The proximity to New Jersey changed into one of the motives he replied to an possibility at Lewis Gilman and Kynett (now Tierney Communications.)

He changed into very inspired via way of means of the excellent of LG&K’s paintings. As vp and organization innovative director, he participated in what he calls their “glory years” however changed into one of the sufferers of one in every of their many pinnacle control changes.

He and an excellent buddy at LGK, Bob Schell, have been each permit go along with pretty restrained severance. Fortuitously, they have been contacted via way of means of Herr’s Potato Chips which presented them
the account in the event that they desired to begin an company. That changed into in 1992, the start of what’s now SFGT. Herr’s changed into with them for 12 effective years. Today, the company has 30 human beings and serves 8 debts. Interestingly, in their debts, Tylenol and Sunoco, are deeply concerned in NASCAR racing.

Dudley feels that their paintings with NASCAR is one instance of why he prefers now no longer to be idea of as a conventional marketing and marketing company. He insists that the companies which depend commonly on “marketing and marketing” for fulfillment are on the incorrect track. His imaginative and prescient requires an company that’s deeply concerned in all components of a customer’s advertising communications sports. For SFGT’s customers, NACAR is one (essential) aspect in all-inclusive applications for the customers’ middle customer markets, for customers’ public members of the family awareness and for customers’ worker pride.

When requested approximately the account he’s maximum happy with, he winces and strikes a chord in my memory that he is proud of each account. Prodded, he volunteers that he’s specially happy with the paintings SFGT did for the hole of the Constitution Center. His emotions of patriotism appear to be meditated withinside 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” matters he ever did in enterprise are definitely the equal issue. “The smartest issue I ever did changed into to surround myself with my partners: Sarah Lenhard, Managing Director and head of Account Service and Dan Reeves, Managing Director and Executive Creative Director.” The dumbest issue? “Not bringing them on board faster.”

That helps his conviction that the hardest a part of the advert enterprise is locating, hiring, nurturing and developing with right human beings. He issues approximately that due to the fact he reveals it tough to discover applicants with extremely good skills, precious enjoy and an excellent cultural in shape. He additionally issues approximately the opportunity that right customers can be dropping self belief in companies. He says, “Agencies should be emotionally capable of have entire self belief in themselves which will be steady sufficient to warrant significant collaboration from customers and which will offer most effective carrier.”

Dudley Fitzpatrick is assured. It’s obvious. Think approximately the vintage stone steps main into the company. Sure, they might come up with the money for some thing new however “vintage” has man or woman and man or woman is what he desires to undertaking. It’s obvious whilst you are taking the elevator to the spiffy convention room at the 5th floor. That’s any other, high-quality message to site visitors. It’s obvious while you listen his simple solutions to direct questions. Yes, Dudley Fitzpatrick is assured approximately his company, approximately his imaginative and prescient of the enterprise he is in and approximately himself.