Jul 28

PWC Names Former Graffiti Artist Juan-Carlos Morales as First Creative Partner

Posted in: Uncategorized

International professional services network PricewaterhouseCoopers promoted Juan-Carlos Morales to the position of partner, making him the first creative ever to have that distinction.

The former graffiti artist currently serves as chief creative officer at PWC’s digital services division, a role he has held since  November of 2013. In that time he has built the creative department from a team of twelve to one of the business’s fastest growing departments, with a team of hundreds of creatives around the world.

ICYMI, Digital Services is PwC’s $750 million in-house ad agency.

Prior to joining PwC, Morales served as executive creative director at BGT Partners for nine months, working with clients such as Carnival Cruises, ADT, Ryder and FPL. That followed nearly five years as an executive creative director with SapientNitro, managing a team of 78 while working with brands including Coca-Cola, Powerade, Visit Florida and the XGames. Prior to that he served as executive creative director at iChameleon Group, the Florida agency he co-founded in 2005, after his leaving his position as an art director/flash developer at CP+B Miami. He spent nearly two years in that position, working with such clients as Virgin, Burger King, Truth, Ikea and Mini.

“As I got into middle school, a lot of other kids started to rebel and I rebelled through graffiti,” Morales explained to AdAge today. “That’s where I found my ability and graffiti became a big passion for me growing up.”

Regarding how his creative side led to his career path, he added, “I first started out doing print for an ad agency and then web work and freelance. I never thought in my career this is where I would end up.”

No Comments | Tags:
Jun 17

Do You Subscribe To “No News is Good News” As A Rule?

Posted in: Uncategorized

no-news-is-good-news2xIs no news truly good news? A common phrase, it reportedly stems from King James I of England, according to Dictionary.com. The phrase, by definition, means, “Having no information means that bad developments are unlikely, as in I haven’t heard from them in a month, but no news is good news.” Or, it could mean they were eaten by lions.

Today, no news is better than most news, especially for the ad industry. The current trade news has been built on lay-offs, agency closings, and executive shake-ups. Unfortunately, there are not enough agencies deeply imbedded into the economic flow of the US Economy to warrant a government bail out…unless a catchy new “American”  jingle will help the United States re-brand; The National Anthem doesn’t seem to get much respect or on-air play these days, other than leading off sporting events.

Scanning from publication to publication, news of the economy is built on both optimistic and pessimistic outlooks, the simplest method for stating, “We really don’t have a clue at this time regarding the length, or lasting effect, of the current economic conditions.” If there is nothing to say, then quit writing about it.

Today, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) announced that the economic freefall is far from over:

pwc_logo

“…[PwC] not only don’t see a recovery soon but actually think ad spending will continue sinking, such that by 2013 it will be below where it was last year, at $174 billion versus $189 billion. That’s a decline of 1.7 percent per year. Global spending will sink even more.”

Zombies Ahead

Foreboding news. Yet, it’s not the economy being singled out as the root cause; rather, the report states that the switch to digital, due to measurability and targetablity, will rise above media seen as ineffective and inneficient.The usual suspects, newspaper and magazines, are likely to  take the largest losses. However, the PwC report mentions television as a declining resource.

The internet will continue to grow as an ad medium, according to the report. “The internet’s share of

total U.S.ad revenue will rise to 19 percent in 2013 from 13 percent in 2008.” Which leads back to the original question: “Is no news good news?”

20080118-confusing-street-signThe answer? No news can be fantastic news for some mediums, while the same silence signals the death knell for others.

Jeff Louis: Strategic Media Planner, Project Manager, and New Business Coordinator. His passion is writing, contributing to BMA as well as freelancing. He’d love to hear from you, so leave a comment or follow the links: linkedin.com or twitter.com.

No Comments | Tags: , , , , , , , ,