After graduating from the University of Oregon in 1996 with a degree in Sports Marketing, Mark Sacks spent the better part of a decade working for two of the world’s biggest brands, Nike and Starbucks. In late 2004 Sacks detected what he calls “the brewing of a perfect storm.” With almost no knowledge of Internet technology, Sacks moved to Creative Artists Agency to work in new media and corporate consulting. He explains why technology is changing the face of entertainment and what marketers must do to keep up, detailing how he became a new media agent.
Up until two years ago, you’d spent your entire life studying and working in marketing. What led you to believe there was about to be a major change in the business?
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I was at Nike during an incredible period of growth and transition for the company. I was responsible for our advertising, sponsorships and event marketing in the Southwest United States, with our primary focus on the NikeTown stores. The goal of these stores was to educate, inspire and entertain the costumer. We were using them as three-dimensional expressions of the Nike brand. They weren’t so much “stores” as Nike museums. It was the beginning of “retailtainment,” leveraging people’s passion for sports and entertainment to connect with them on a visceral level.
When I arrived at Starbucks, I was struck by the fact that while we were a coffee company, we were also providing a community gathering place where people could come together to connect and discover new things. Our customers gave us permission to be part of their entertainment discoveries because of the trust they had in our brand. Starbucks started with Hear Music, and now they have a 24-hour digital music channel on XM Satellite Radio, books, magazines and a partnership with Lionsgate [when they helped] market and distribute the film Akeelah and the Bee.
What became clear to me is presence is not the same at relevance. Just being in front of people stopped being meaningful. There was too much clutter, too much noise. Everything I was seeing and experiencing pointed to a perfect storm of change in the worlds of brand advertising and marketing, and across the media and entertainment landscapes.
How did you connect this “storm” with technology and entertainment?
By this time, it was becoming pretty evident to most people in the industry that technology would turn the existing business models on their heads. Technology was putting the consumer in the driver’s seat and giving people the power to choose when, where and how they consumed marketing and advertising messages.
The idea behind advertising used to be, 1) identify your target audience, 2) figure out when and where they are consuming entertainment, news or information and 3), interrupt their experience with your message.
Time-shifting and place-shifting are general ways to refer to the benefits of technologies like Tivo, iPods, Sling Box, Xbox, AppleTV, Moxi, MobiTV and GoTV. Collectively, these technologies and devices let consumers watch on-demand content when they want, where they want (cell phones) and even how they want (i.e. commercial-free).
Now, with people time-shifting and place-shifting and taking full advantage of ad-skip technologies, that model was broken. The message itself needed to be compelling enough that people would choose to watch it. As an advertiser or marketer, to be effective, you had to be able to turn your marketing into entertainment and entertainment into marketing.
What do you mean when you say technology is changing the face of entertainment?
When television is delivered as a digital signal over an Internet connection, the content itself can be manipulated. When television was delivered through antennas, each station was limited to one macro broadcast. What you watched was exactly the same as what your friend across town watched.
Now, with digital television delivered to set top boxes, the paradigm shifted. Content can be targeted based on geography, which is particularly important for advertisers. You and your friend can still watch the same program, but now the ads can be different, based on where in town each of you reside.
If advertising can be targeted to individual set top boxes, then why can’t programming? Television of tomorrow will programmed like your iPod and the ads you get will be very personal to you.
CAA reps some of the most famous, successful celebrities and artists in the world. Why would a Web site need an agent?
Along with actors and actresses, CAA represents writers, directors, producers and executives across music, TV, gaming, movies, theater, all forms of entertainment. We work very closely with production companies, movie studios and TV networks.
Whether it’s Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston, Bon Jovi or Will Wright [a video game designer], we know our clients intimately, so we’re ideally suited to looking out for their interests, minimizing their risks and maximizing their upside for any endeavor they invest their time in.
The same principles that guide us in representing individuals apply when we’re representing companies. Whether you’re talking about established brands like Coca-Cola, Sprint and Harley Davidson or new media companies like Joost.com or iMeem.com, we’re keeping the big picture and their long term objectives in mind and making sure their good work is famous.
As far as New Media, we represent content creators like YoungHollywood.com, content distributors such as Joost, and social networks like iMeem.com. It makes sense for them to come to us, and for us to represent them, because executives in my building are on the phone every single day with Les Moonves, Sumner Redstone and all the other presidents and network heads. Eventually, these Web sites will do deals with these people. We can help them obtain and maintain the right contacts. They benefit from our access.
What are you working on right now?
I’m excited about TV 2.0 and mobile 2.0. The changes going on in these two spaces will change so much of how we experience news, information, entertainment and even each other. When you combine the interactivity of Web services we’re getting on the Internet right now, with the trend toward on-demand and anywhere viewing, you start to get a sense of how significant and meaningful these changes will be.
What’s a typical day like for you?
The last thing I do every night before leaving the office is establish a game plan for the next day with my assistant. Then, the next morning, as soon as I’m in the car, we start making calls. Often, I have a breakfast meeting before getting to the office, so we’ll try to make as many time-sensitive calls as we can before those meetings even start. [My assistant] keeps the ball rolling while I’m in that meeting and then, as soon as breakfast is over, we get back on the phone and pick up where we left off. The rest of the day pretty much goes the same way.
How many hours a day do you spend on the phone?
More than I’d like to admit. I probably make and take no fewer than 60 or 70 calls a day. So much of our business is based on relationships and early access to information, it’s critical that networking be a part of every day’s agenda.
The assistants help with “rolling calls.” As I’m wrapping up a discussion, they’ll get my next client on the line so I can move on to the next piece of the business. I also get between 150 and 200 emails a day. I’m happiest when I leave the office and there’s no more than a screen’s worth of emails in my inbox. I try to get to fewer than 10, but it always seems to fill back up by the time I hit the Blackberry before dinner.
| Our new media clients are so passionate. The work they’re doing is revolutionary. I want to be right there by their side all day, because I really believe in what they’re doing. |
How long does it take for someone to become a client of yours?
It really depends on the agent or team who will be signing the client. Some signings take weeks and some take years. More than anything else, trust has got to be established and expectations must be consistent for everyone involved. I like to work with someone for awhile before signing them. I can’t work with a person unless I trust them. The client needs to know my working style. When I ask for something, I expect them to deliver. I don’t have time to waste with people who aren’t getting their stuff done. [Potential clients] usually have been emailing with me for 6 months to a year, even over three years.
What are the benefits of high-tech entertainment?
The definition of community is so different than it was 3 years go. MySpace, LinkedIn, YouTube. There are 80,000 new blogs a day! People are relating, helping, changing each others lives and they’ve never met each other. Services like Wikipedia have democratized information and made it accessible to everyone. The web is facilitating interactivity-on-demand and personalization. Customers want to get services when they want, where they want them, how they want them. Technology has leveled the playing field. You can be a millionaire or a guy in a garage. Over the last couple of years, I’ve learned if I can think it, it can happen.
You’re dealing with so many new, cutting edge companies and Web sites. Is it challenging to be on top of everything all the time?
The greatest challenge for me is, and always has been achieving a sustainable work/life balance. There’s way more to do that I just can’t possibly get to. When you’re working at a place like [CAA], opportunities and access abound. There really aren’t any doors we can’t open. It’s tough to know when to say, “No.”
Honestly, I would do more in a day if I could. Our new media clients are so passionate. The work they’re doing is revolutionary. I want to be right there by their side all day, because I really believe in what they’re doing.
Were you computer-focused before you came to CAA?
No. In fact, being interested in technology is really new for me. Two years ago most of the new media companies we’re working with and that are defining what will be possible tomorrow, didn’t even exist. What got me in the door [at CAA] was I understood the importance of marketing.
There a lot of TV shows out now that highlight the role and experience of assistants at big companies. Ari and Lloyd’s relationship from Entourage comes to mind. How important is your assistant?
Important.
Could you survive for a week without him?
Yes. But it would not be pleasant.
Four Things to Know If You Want to be an Agent:
1) You’re going to start as an assistant.
“You’ll learn what the business is really all about, how relationships are cultivated and how to gain access to information,” Sacks says. “Then, if you’re doing a great job, you’ll get promoted to the mailroom.”
2) The mailroom is where meaningful professional relationships develop and solidify.
“People bond over the shared experience and they gain an even deeper understanding of the business and the agency while they’re there,” Sacks says.
3) Don’t believe everything you see on TV: Agents should remain realistic.
“Be honest when it comes to work,” Sacks say. “Always under promise and over deliver.”
4) It’s easier to drink the Kool Aid when you and your company share similar values.
“When you’re at the right company, it ends up feeling like family,” Sacks says. “The work I do is very meaningful to me. We only have so much time in life and I’ve figure out I want to make my part count.”
Stephanie Burton is a New York-based freelancer.
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