Making Cultural Connections

Donald A. Coleman isn’t concerned about his daughter taking over the reins of his business. If she does, he believes she’s been well trained. “I started her out in the finance committee–not the mailroom,” he explains, “so she could see how the agency made money. She could see the expenses, she could see how we had to fight for our margins in order to reward our good employees and move forward.” Advertising is a tough business, and Coleman wants to make sure his daughter, Kelli, currently vice president of business development, fully understands the nuts and bolts of the industry.

Coleman, a youthful 58-year-old former NFL linebacker, is a no-nonsense marketing professional who has successfully carved out a vibrant niche for GlobalHue (No. 1 on the be advertising agencies list with $483.5 million in billings). He scoffs just at the mention of the award-winning TV show Mad Men, but he does marvel at its depiction of how drastically the advertising business has changed from a time when white men dominated Madison Avenue, female professionals were underpaid sex objects, black men and women were confined to the custodial class, and contracts were signed over three-martini lunches. “Nobody does lunches today,” he muses. “Who has the time?”

Not Coleman, who usually grabs a midday meal at his desk in his two-level office space in New York City’s financial district. As chairman and CEO of a full-service, all-inclusive multicultural marketing machine, the former football player busily lines up against major general market agencies that have steadily encroached on the minority consumer market, a powerful demographic that used to be the preserve of black marketers.

Even as population numbers increase for people of color and companies vie for their business, black ad agencies have been decimated in the battle for the coveted multicultural consumer. Add the devastating effect of the Great Recession on media, and you’ll find black-owned ad agencies are quickly becoming endangered in the current advertising environment.  Coleman points out that the days of gaining assignments simply based on expertise are over, but he suspects that too many companies have held on to that defunct model.

In the grip of the recent downturn, U.S. advertising spending in 2009 declined 9%, according to The Nielsen Co. As clients now micromanage costs and demand greater and more creative efficiencies, metrics have become increasingly important to justify

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spending. Measurement is not just focused on the reach of a given campaign but also its level of engagement; and social media has redefined what it means to connect with an audience. Many black agencies have struggled to compete against larger firms that have included multicultural shops among their offerings. Despite the carnage, Coleman has continued to emerge victorious.

His vision has evolved from Don Coleman Advertising Inc., a small Detroit-based agency launched in 1988, to a powerful collection of four firms targeted at distinct segments of the population: GlobalHue Africanic and GlobalHue Next (aimed at the burgeoning youth market)–of which Coleman is the majority owner–plus, GlobalHue Latino and GlobalHue Asian.

With offices in New York, Detroit, and Los Angeles, these entities have grown to become the leading African American agency, the third-largest Hispanic agency, and among the top Asian American agencies in the country. Together they were acknowledged in 2009 as Adweek’s Multicultural Agency of the Decade. And with clients that include Verizon, FedEx, Subway, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Census Bureau, and Walmart, as well as Jeep and the Bermuda Department of Tourism, both of which were gained as general market business, the agencies posted collective billings of $833.7 million last year with almost 400 combined employees.

“Because our business model wasn’t singly focused–it was multi-platformed–we were able to draw from a number of  different revenue streams. That’s how we got through,” explains Coleman. “Then, of course, there was our evolution into what we call the total market, with our win of the Jeep business at Chrysler, and Bermuda Tourism.”

GlobalHue has coined the term “total market” to address the complex, multifaceted nature of today’s overall audience, particularly in the youth market, which is less narrowly defined by race. “We tapped into all the cultural marketing approaches, and those were the revenue streams that allowed us to maintain ourselves.”

But the tough economic environment has also presented opportunities for GlobalHue. “All the politics and cronyism go out the window when the client’s butt is on the line to grow and maintain the business,” Coleman asserts. “That’s how we were able to win the Jeep business. You had a company in Chrysler that was bankrupt, bailed out, new ownership, on the edge. So they don’t have time to play the old-boy games. They want the best thinking, the best work, and that’s an opportunity for multicultural or smaller agencies to break through.”

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Through strategic planning, technology, and diversification, Coleman has not only weathered the worst economic conditions in a generation, he has leveraged opportunities to set a progressive business agenda for the future. For the creative leadership that has established GlobalHue as an innovative stalwart of industry, Black Enterprise has named GlobalHue our 2010 Advertising Agency of the Year. Coleman is the only advertising chief to receive such an honor three times: Don Coleman Advertising and GlobalHue were named agency of the year in 1998 and 2003, respectively.

READY FOR COMBAT
After close to two years of recessive business, 2010 shows promise for the industry. According to a survey conducted by Robert W. Baird & Co., first quarter revenue growth “was modestly ahead of expectations” (2.9% vs. 2.8%), and 2010 growth is expected to exceed expectations (5.6% vs. 5.3%). Moreover, another 69% of respondents noted that “the trend in their business is improving.” The analysis also indicates trends and opportunities for those best positioned to take advantage of growth, including an improved return on investment for clients; a continued focus on cost containment; bundling and creating new services; and increased use of interactive and social media. GlobalHue is solidly invested in every key area cited by the study. Among its employees, it has an array of senior-level talent in areas such as engagement and digital creative strategy, including social media tactics.

“I offer greater efficiencies,” Coleman says of his firm’s multicultural focus.

“[Because] clients’ internal rosters are shrinking, they don’t have the ability to manage a number of agencies. We [also] always quantify what we do. We’re not afraid of measurement; we’re not afraid of research. We’re always looking to show the client how we can grow and have grown their business. So we’re very performance-based.”

Stephen Quinn, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Wal-Mart Stores Inc., says the retailing giant selected GlobalHue in 2006 because of its proven track record and an approach to customer engagement that incorporated a full arsenal of media strategies. “I remember them showing us case study after case study where they had driven sales and made a difference in the organizations they had worked with.” Since then, he says his company has learned critical information about how to better

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engage their customers in a way that focuses not only on the product but on their feelings about the organization. “The other thing that was very impressive was the way they could bring integration across the mix. They are very confident in how advertising connects to the insight that’s connected to the PR and the corporate affairs way of thinking and, even on a local level, how it could really work.”

Among GlobalHue’s best creative, Quinn offers, was the development of the Walmart back-to-school campaign last fall. How it was received across markets surpassed the company’s expectations. “A ruler is way more than a way to measure,” the commercial starts, showcasing a variety of children using a ruler in learning and playful scenarios. “It just needs to be in the right hands.”

“Not only did they test well in the African American community, they tested well in the general market. They had some really powerful ideas and insights around what back to school could represent to moms that went beyond saving money on rulers and pens and paper, and made a couple of ads that were very aspirational when it came to what education and school mean in the larger context of life and what moms would hope education would lead to. They managed to pack all of that into 30 seconds.” It was a message that tied together the education expectations of the audience and the Walmart slogan, “Save Money. Live Better.” It’s a lifestyle treatment and theme that runs through many of GlobalHue’s creative messages.

Ralph Gilles, president and CEO of Chrysler’s Dodge division, expects to apply GlobalHue’s expertise particularly through online strategies to expand his company’s reach more strategically into the African American consumer market. “Through nontraditional marketing, they’ve brought some really good ideas to us that go beyond television through local events and [other creations] that will help us open up the conversation.”

Coleman understands that all retail marketing is local. To stay competitive, GlobalHue just completed a $750,000 proprietary study across all ethnicities in all major consumer categories as well as developed software that allows them to quantify sales on a local, market-by-market basis. “Most research centers around national and, in some cases, regional,” explains Coleman. “We can really get down and pinpoint things locally. Whether it’s a

store, a retail outlet, a telecom outlet, an automotive dealership, it’s on the ground where it happens. And so we believe you have to be able to measure where it happens.” Coleman is excited about their broadening online strategy but also tight-lipped: “We want to exploit it as long as we can before competition figures out what it is.”

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Quinn believes that it’s not necessarily the technology, but Coleman’s ideas about marketing that are only enhanced by online strategies. “Don Coleman was in community before community was cool,” he maintains. “The digital thing is influencing community in a different way, but what is really important now is the role communities are going to play in purchasing. For those of us working in the marketing field, it’s going to be critical that we understand communities. GlobalHue has always had a very strong connection to the impact community has on [purchasing]. They have a capability that is going to transfer very well to the digital world.”

A BUSINESS MODEL TO ENSURE GROWTH
Coleman’s business model is cemented in his strongest attribute: strategic visioning–identifying and implementing concepts in advance of the trend. “This model is more relevant now than even when he thought of it,” relates the firm’s Executive Creative Director Desmond Hall. “I think he really saw how things were going to develop.” Even as the firm thrived in the African American market, Coleman’s probing nature led him to examine other market segments for profit potential. When he read results of the 2000 Census revealing that Latinos, African Americans, and Asian Americans would make up 40% of the U.S. population by 2020, the visionary knew he had to reposition his agency. By 2002, Coleman had acquired Montemayor y Asociados, a Hispanic agency based in San Antonio with $90 million in annual billings; and Innovasia, an Asian American ad agency in Los Angeles.

GlobalHue Latino Vice Chairman Lara Marella recalls, “I remember thinking, ‘Holy cow, this is really something powerful. If they do this right, it could be something amazing in the marketplace.’” Coleman’s evolution into multicultural marketing brought talent such as Marella into the GlobalHue fold. “When I was in a Latino agency we were so siloed. Quite frankly, I was a little bit scared as a stand-alone Latino agency.”

As large mainstream agencies seek to expand budgets, Coleman believes Latino agencies will be targeted in the same manner as African American firms. “Soon, on the Hispanic side, they’re going to try to say, ‘You really don’t need to talk to anyone other than the more acculturated Hispanic that speaks English,’” he says. “People are being aggressive toward us and we’re not being aggressive in return. When you don’t return a punch in the jaw, you may get knocked out.”

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He admits that managing change hasn’t been easy. Converting his business from singularly focusing on the African American market to multicultural consumers was not fully supported by various associates in each of the agencies his brand now represents. There was also an internal learning curve. “We work together,” Coleman explains, “and that interaction means you have to understand one another and our cultural nuances, and that’s not an easy thing. One acceptable cultural scenario is taboo in another. And it took years to get those understandings.”

He has also had to manage challenges with some clients. Last year Bermuda’s then Auditor General Larry Dennis accused GlobalHue of overbilling the account by $1.8 million. Coleman says the accusations are unsubstantiated, “politically motivated, and racially charged.” He still maintains the Bermuda business, which he acquired in 2004.

Straight, No Chaser
Anyone who does business with Coleman will tell you he’s a workaholic. When asked how he enjoys his spare time, he shares with you an old Robin Harris joke about spare change: “There is none.” He does enjoy golfing, boating, and Dan Brown mysteries when he’s able to escape to homes in Florida and the Caribbean that offer “water and heat,” his favorite elements. “Water calms me and heat soothes my old football injuries.”

At the office, he is completely focused on driving the bottom line. “I’ll take five minutes to explain something that he can explain in three words,” says Hall. “And I’ll go, ‘Yeah, that’s exactly what I meant.’ That ability to be simple is at the heart of the creative process.”

Simplicity is also at the core of how he directs his business. “He is deliberate,” says the Rev. Al Sharpton. Coleman is vice chairman of the board of Sharpton’s advocacy organization, the National Action Network. “He likes to get all the information and once he makes up his mind, he executes with abandon … he takes no prisoners.” Hall confirms that no one who works for Coleman is ever confused about his expectations.

GlobalHue is often described as an eclectic, entrepreneurial environment where employees have the freedom to creatively execute company goals, but Coleman, who by the time he was sidelined from professional sports in 1977 had already received a bachelor’s of arts from the University of Michigan and an M.B.A. in marketing from Hofstra University, admits his leadership style is strongly influenced by his years of playing for the NFL. “You don’t play the game on Sunday; you play in preparation to play the game. So you have to be very disciplined–how you eat, how you get yourself in peak physical and mental condition. Then you go out and perform under pressure and you have an end goal.

“One of my senior people sent out an e-mail about some things that were going on with certain clients. He said we had some wins and we made a good showing. I e-mailed him back, ‘What’s a good showing? How does that relate to a win?’ If you have a good presentation, you’ve done your job. If the job is done well enough, then you might have a win. It’s kind of cut and dry.” But there’s another side to his management style, says daughter, Kelli. “He nurtures as a leader also, and really looks to develop people. The amazing thing about him is how much you actually learn in the process by being held to a standard of excellence.”