Helping create strong brands

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TRANSCRIPTION WITH SPEAKERS
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[00:00] SPEAKER_01: Welcome to Canada's Podcast.
[00:05] SPEAKER_01: Hello, I'm Mario Toneguzi, managing editor of Canada's Podcast.
[00:10] SPEAKER_01: Joining me today on Calgary's Podcast is Todd Sloan,
[00:13] SPEAKER_01: Principal and Creative Director of Tag Advertising.
[00:17] SPEAKER_01: Thanks for joining us today, Todd.
[00:20] SPEAKER_01: Thanks, Mario. Thanks for having me. Looking forward to this.
[00:23] SPEAKER_01: All right. Let me ask you a little bit about Tag Advertising.
[00:27] SPEAKER_01: Just explain a little bit about what you guys are and what you do.
[00:31] SPEAKER_02: Sure. Tag is now 32 years old.
[00:35] SPEAKER_02: We're probably, if not the oldest or one of the oldest advertising agencies in Canada, independently owned.
[00:47] SPEAKER_02: Tag 32 years ago,
[00:50] SPEAKER_02: worked my way up through a couple other smaller agencies at that time.
[00:55] SPEAKER_02: And again, this is 32 years ago,
[00:58] SPEAKER_02: but things were done a little bit differently in the ad visor.
[01:03] SPEAKER_02: We would come up as I come from the creative side.
[01:07] SPEAKER_02: So I went to what we've a cat back then,
[01:10] SPEAKER_02: which is now you a you arts here in Calgary.
[01:14] SPEAKER_02: And then just rose up through the ranks as a creative director with a couple other agencies.
[01:21] SPEAKER_02: So at that time, when we would come up as creative people would come up with the great ideas and focuses the strategies,
[01:29] SPEAKER_02: we would have to they didn't turn over that pitch document to affectionately called suits account managers or owners or VPs of the ad agency itself.
[01:40] SPEAKER_02: So we were sort of kept in the back room and throwing a pork chop over the wall every once in a while just to keep us going.
[01:47] SPEAKER_02: Yeah, with all those great ideas.
[01:50] SPEAKER_02: And then we would have to turn that over to others to pitch to the client.
[01:55] SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
[01:56] SPEAKER_02: So, you know, as a creative person, it was it became very frustrating to have the team come back from after the pitch.
[02:06] SPEAKER_02: And you know, we're all excited as creative people. How did it go? Did you sing and then explain the strategy?
[02:12] SPEAKER_02: And they just said, well, the client didn't really understand it didn't get it. So we're going to we're going to have to go back to the table and figure things out.
[02:22] SPEAKER_02: So again, that can became very frustrating as a creative person not to be in the room to present our own ideas.
[02:30] SPEAKER_02: True.
[02:30] SPEAKER_02: When I started tag 32 years ago, I flipped that around.
[02:36] SPEAKER_02: I would always have the creative people present to the client directly in the boardroom of their ideas and their strategies.
[02:46] SPEAKER_02: And you know, things have changed over the 32 years and things are done more like the creative people actually presenting the work directly to the clients.
[02:57] SPEAKER_02: And that became very successful for us in the early days.
[03:02] SPEAKER_02: We were considered, you know, the young hot shop of Western Canada for a while there.
[03:09] SPEAKER_02: The first five years, we were one, the Ernst and young, Nisbit Burns entrepreneur of Western Canada award, which was great.
[03:24] SPEAKER_02: And it was satisfying, right? And coming, being an owner, but coming from the creative side, it was nice to know that I can also run the business.
[03:35] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know, right financially sound.
[03:39] SPEAKER_02: You've done exceptionally well over those years.
[03:42] SPEAKER_02: We've attracted a wide range of clients, everything from local regional, some national accounts and a couple international accounts.
[03:53] SPEAKER_01: So tell me a little bit about your background, Todd, how, how did you get involved in this kind of this industry and more the wide like what attracted you to this whole field?
[04:05] SPEAKER_02: Yeah, well in my high school days, I've always been interested in art.
[04:12] SPEAKER_02: I also paint and sculpt on the side.
[04:18] SPEAKER_02: I'm glad I have a second career as a living in ad agencies because that's a tough struggle being an artist.
[04:27] SPEAKER_02: So I realized that early on in high school days that I liked art and being creative and coming from the fine arts side, I realized that might be a bit of a challenge making a living in it.
[04:41] SPEAKER_02: So these two chaps from what was called a cad then the University of the Arts came to our high school and did a little presentation on advertising, graphic design.
[04:55] SPEAKER_02: And they said if you work hard and become successful, you'll do really well on that side of being artistic. So it was great.
[05:03] SPEAKER_02: You know, you have to be creative and get to be artistic. And if you do well, you can sustain a living from it.
[05:11] SPEAKER_02: So then I of course enrolled in the A U Arts, did my program there and it was great. I had a wonderful time, learned a lot.
[05:24] SPEAKER_02: And then again, I started tag after working at a couple of smaller agencies as soon as I got out of school.
[05:31] SPEAKER_01: So you know, this is something that's always intrigued me is, you know, the creative person who becomes a businessman or a business woman.
[05:46] SPEAKER_01: Tell me a little bit about that. Well, it's a transition, but it's not because you're kind of doing both, right? And was that a difficult thing for you?
[05:56] SPEAKER_02: It can be, you know, it's great fun to be wild and creative and coming up with all the black he is.
[06:05] SPEAKER_02: And then as you said, it's the flip side of that is running a business. And sometimes it can be two totally different mindsets.
[06:14] SPEAKER_02: You have to make sure you hire the right people and you take care of them. So more and more, you're doing a little more H and R every year.
[06:25] SPEAKER_02: Yeah, taking care of staff and making sure that business is running securely and soundly and not so much time focused on the creative.
[06:36] SPEAKER_02: So I knew early on that I had to not only run tag as a solid business, but of course attract very creative and talented people to do the creative and the strategy behind tag.
[06:50] SPEAKER_02: So over the years, we've attracted some great recruits from art directors to writers to production artists. And it's been a good go.
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[07:12] SPEAKER_01: So what you know, like today, do you find that you still have enough time to do the creative side or does a business side take over a lot of your time?
[07:24] SPEAKER_01: I maybe talk a little bit about that.
[07:27] SPEAKER_02: Well, I still love being involved in the creative Greece and the challenges. Yeah, the clients have for us.
[07:35] SPEAKER_02: But you're right. Less and less time of my focus is actually producing the creative and it's more of the strategy helping the client build their business as an entrepreneur themselves.
[07:51] SPEAKER_02: How do I make their business grow? And it's more to do with business to business now instead of being creative.
[08:02] SPEAKER_02: Which is great.
[08:05] SPEAKER_02: They still let me wander the creative halls here at tag and get my hands dirty with some creative and come up with ideas. So it's a really nice group of people.
[08:17] SPEAKER_01: Okay, so you know, obviously, you know, the business that you're in, you're helping brands, well, helping create brand strong brands.
[08:30] SPEAKER_01: What's the key? What's the key for a company in creating? Well, anybody can create a brand, but I guess it's a it's the right brand and the strong brand that that's important.
[08:42] SPEAKER_02: How do companies do that? Absolutely. And it's timing to, I mean, you're absolutely right as far as keeping awareness of what's going on in with their client base along with what's going on in the world that we're living in.
[09:00] SPEAKER_02: And it's changed a lot. When I started, I started it in a recession.
[09:05] SPEAKER_02: And I've been to what are we three now?
[09:10] SPEAKER_02: And it's how to help clients transition through those recession times and become strong and get their brand out there to the right audience.
[09:26] SPEAKER_02: We've always had a philosophy around here. There are no small clients. We've helped small entrepreneurs grow their business over the years.
[09:37] SPEAKER_02: And to that end, that's why they've been with us for 10, 15 and 20 years is because we've stuck with them and we've helped grow their business.
[09:48] SPEAKER_02: And it's always amazing to talk to other entrepreneurs and small business owners who feel, you know, we don't have enough money for marketing or there's nothing we can do.
[10:01] SPEAKER_02: And we don't want to do cold calls. There's a lot because that can be done on a small budget, especially with the advent of social media.
[10:08] SPEAKER_02: I mean, you know, a cost per click doesn't cost as much as a billboard.
[10:14] SPEAKER_02: So there's a lot that can be done if the branding is on target and the strategy is correct.
[10:21] SPEAKER_02: There's a lot they can do for a small budget.
[10:25] SPEAKER_01: What was the intent when you started the company with the name?
[10:30] SPEAKER_01: What did you hope that you know what this tag resonate with people when they think of you guys?
[10:38] SPEAKER_02: That's a good question. So actually when the company first started, it was called the agency group.
[10:48] SPEAKER_02: And people just, our clients just started calling us tag the acronym TAG instead of the agency group. It was short.
[10:57] SPEAKER_02: It was quite clever. It still worked.
[10:59] SPEAKER_02: So we adopted it years ago. I think we were into sort of your three when we officially switched the name to tag advertising.
[11:10] SPEAKER_02: I mean, no tag conjures up a whole bunch of things is, you know, labels, price tags and how you're tagged as far as a brand.
[11:22] SPEAKER_02: And what are you able to do with it? So it really worked for us.
[11:26] SPEAKER_02: And we've grown with it. I mean, we've gone through, you know, with all entrepreneurs and all businesses, you have to reinvent yourself.
[11:35] SPEAKER_02: A little bit every five years. So we've certainly done that for TAG.
[11:40] SPEAKER_02: And we continue to do that for our clients.
[11:43] SPEAKER_01: All right, super.
[11:46] SPEAKER_01: So having a business in Calgary.
[11:49] SPEAKER_01: Can you talk a little bit about that Todd and what do you like about, I guess, having a business in this city?
[11:59] SPEAKER_02: I enjoy it. Calgary has been really good to me.
[12:03] SPEAKER_02: I was not born in Calgary. I was born in Taber, Taber Alberta.
[12:09] SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
[12:09] SPEAKER_02: But we moved here when I was two years old. So practically a Calgaryen.
[12:16] SPEAKER_02: It certainly is a more oil and gas city for sure.
[12:23] SPEAKER_02: Early on in Tag Days, we did the hat room. We still have some oil and gas clients related clients who've become international in their scope.
[12:35] SPEAKER_02: We wanted to be the agency that works with you, not for you.
[12:43] SPEAKER_02: And today that still is very true that we work with our clients.
[12:48] SPEAKER_02: We just don't work for you. We're not, yes, people.
[12:53] SPEAKER_02: But we'll definitely work with you.
[12:56] SPEAKER_02: And it's your company, right? At the end of the day, we're dealing with the entrepreneurs and marketing managers that it's their responsibility to grow their company.
[13:04] SPEAKER_02: But it's really nice to find that fit. And that's what we look for is a good fit.
[13:10] SPEAKER_02: Calgary has always been a good fit and a central hub for Tag.
[13:16] SPEAKER_02: Over the last couple of years, we've branched out into other areas, mostly because of our digital clients.
[13:24] SPEAKER_02: So for example, we have a small satellite office in Spain and Australia.
[13:29] SPEAKER_02: And that's mostly, you know, it's a one two-man shop, but there's still under the tag umbrella that handle a lot of our digital work.
[13:38] SPEAKER_02: So Calgary's great place. You know, for business, there's a lot of head offices here.
[13:45] SPEAKER_02: And it is a central hub for a lot of economic development here.
[13:50] SPEAKER_01: Yeah. What advice would you give a young person who's starting a business? What would you tell them?
[13:59] SPEAKER_02: I've seen it before and I've seen it a million times, but don't get down on yourself.
[14:06] SPEAKER_02: You know, there are there's ups and downs when those down times come around and they will.
[14:12] SPEAKER_02: When you're feeling like this is just too much to handle or the finances aren't in order.
[14:18] SPEAKER_02: So, I would suggest that you are surrounded by people who are enthusiastic and are helpful.
[14:26] SPEAKER_02: I would suggest any sort of business meetings that are available to you to talk to other entrepreneurs or other peers in your industry or outside of your industry.
[14:37] SPEAKER_02: They're great people to talk about the daily business functions of whatever your business is.
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[14:57] SPEAKER_01: Anybody in the business world inspired you?
[15:04] SPEAKER_02: Not specifically, not an individual. I mean, there's been there's some great upstart young ad agencies that are coming up all the time.
[15:14] SPEAKER_02: And it's great to see them do well.
[15:17] SPEAKER_02: I've even had on staff a few of these people that have gone on to their own ad agency and that's really nice to see.
[15:27] SPEAKER_02: It's some that's hard.
[15:29] SPEAKER_02: It's nice to see that you've helped develop them into a place that they feel comfortable that they want to take a shot at running their own agency.
[15:39] SPEAKER_02: So that's really nice.
[15:41] SPEAKER_01: Now, what do you know, I just wanted to go back to the creativity side of things.
[15:49] SPEAKER_01: From that perspective, like where are the ideas come from?
[15:56] SPEAKER_02: In the shower.
[15:57] SPEAKER_01: Well, you might be surprised. A lot of people have.
[16:02] SPEAKER_01: Bring the place of the thing just popping their ads or whatever.
[16:05] SPEAKER_02: Absolutely. I, you know, years ago, I used to have a notebook beside my bed and you come up with these these ideas.
[16:15] SPEAKER_02: And then you fall asleep and then you forget them.
[16:18] SPEAKER_02: No, I hear you the next morning. So I would keep a night.
[16:22] SPEAKER_02: I still do occasionally keep a notebook by my side table of my bed.
[16:27] SPEAKER_02: You come up with this sort of wild idea and it's great to write those ideas down because then you can have a fresh look at them in the morning and sometimes with a good night sleeping.
[16:38] SPEAKER_02: Oh, that's.
[16:39] SPEAKER_02: That's not such a good idea.
[16:42] SPEAKER_02: There's those sparks of those ideas.
[16:46] SPEAKER_02: Go a long way and then you get to share them with the rest of the team and then you know you run that by the rest of the group and say.
[16:54] SPEAKER_02: Is there some place to go further with this site?
[16:58] SPEAKER_02: So sharing ideas, I think is very important, especially with us.
[17:03] SPEAKER_02: We have work in pods and different groups.
[17:05] SPEAKER_02: Different groups, you know, it'll be a creative director and art director and a writer together and you have a couple of those pods that work in isolation of a campaign.
[17:20] SPEAKER_02: And then we all get together and then we come up with well, that's a great idea. But what if we did that?
[17:25] SPEAKER_02: So it's a great way to share ideas and help them flourish and grow.
[17:32] SPEAKER_01: Okay, so interest outside of work.
[17:36] SPEAKER_01: What do you do to kind of relax and wind down?
[17:39] SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I still sculpt and I love it.
[17:44] SPEAKER_02: It's hard finding time to do it.
[17:48] SPEAKER_02: And it's been great and I do it just for me.
[17:52] SPEAKER_02: I do it because I enjoy it.
[17:54] SPEAKER_02: It takes some stress away. It takes your mind away from the business.
[18:00] SPEAKER_02: And I've been very fortunate. I call them Vogue Bots.
[18:06] SPEAKER_02: If anybody wants to see them, it's a Sloan Concepts.
[18:12] SPEAKER_02: S-L-O-A-N-E Concepts.
[18:15] SPEAKER_02: And they're called Vogue Bots. They are a mixture of vintage typewriters, TVs.
[18:25] SPEAKER_02: I take them apart and reassemble them into these sort of female robot shapes.
[18:32] SPEAKER_02: I've been lucky enough and very fortunate enough to have a couple of art shows in New York and in places in Australia and Europe.
[18:41] SPEAKER_02: So very fortunate. But again, I don't do it to be noticed for that.
[18:49] SPEAKER_02: I do it just for me and just for the relaxation and then the joy it brings me to have somebody want to purchase.
[18:57] SPEAKER_01: When did you start doing that?
[19:00] SPEAKER_02: I took it on more seriously, probably about 20 years ago.
[19:05] SPEAKER_02: And like anything, it has evolved. The way I started them, I still illustrate.
[19:13] SPEAKER_02: I still like sketching and drawing.
[19:15] SPEAKER_02: So that's how it started with the 3D sculpting is I would draw or illustrate these pieces.
[19:23] SPEAKER_02: And then one day I was looking at it, I think it was a typewriter.
[19:27] SPEAKER_02: And it is such a beautiful thing, like those 1920 and 30 old cast iron typewriter,
[19:35] SPEAKER_02: or beautiful pieces of art all onto themselves.
[19:38] SPEAKER_02: I mean, nothing's built as well anymore as those were.
[19:44] SPEAKER_02: So I was looking at that thing and it is like how do I take those keys or that technical industrial look and transform it into my drawings.
[19:54] SPEAKER_02: So then I took my drawings and made them basically 3D using old vintage parts.
[20:02] SPEAKER_01: So the interest in sculpting that it come from like a class that you took or how did it all end?
[20:12] SPEAKER_02: It mostly came again, like I've always been creative on the creative side and enjoyed painting and drawing.
[20:21] SPEAKER_02: The sculpting, you know, I really enjoyed it and it just came out of a high school and came through college.
[20:32] SPEAKER_02: In college, you know, at the university, they make you, they let you take various courses first year.
[20:42] SPEAKER_02: And then you have to major in and I took advertising and graphic design in the second year.
[20:49] SPEAKER_02: But the first year you got to experiment with sculpting jewelry, glass blowing, print baking.
[20:57] SPEAKER_02: So it was a great eye opener to the other mediums that were out there.
[21:03] SPEAKER_02: So I think that's what helped let lead me to sculpting.
[21:07] SPEAKER_01: Alright, wonderful. Well, thank you Todd for joining us today.
[21:12] SPEAKER_02: Oh, my pleasure. Thanks for having Mario. Always a pleasure.
[21:16] SPEAKER_01: Alright, that was Todd Sloan, Principal and Creative Director of Tag Advertising.
[21:21] SPEAKER_01: I'm Mario Tonoguzi, Managing Editor of Canada's Podcast with Calgary's Podcast. Thanks for joining us today.