Tell us about how Austin & Williams started.
I was the Vice President of Marketing at a $1 billion savings bank on Long Island, Central Federal Savings.
Our founder, Bill Pesce, had called on me several times. In 1992, he suggested I join him, and we started what is now Austin & Williams. The name was my idea: Austin was a pen name of mine from another lifetime, and I picked Williams as the plural of Bill’s first name. Of course, Bill wanted to know why it couldn’t be Williams & Austin. I suggested we needed an “A name” in the phone book: there were phone books then!
What is the most important thing you’ve learned about running an advertising agency?
Surround yourself with great people who are passionate about what they do, and treat them with respect – better than family – and everything will pretty much fall into place.
Sum up your marketing philosophy.
You need to get the right message to the right people, and really touch their emotions. People don’t just buy on price or rate; they have to want something because it makes their day a little happier or their lives a little better. That’s pure emotion.
Share one thing that people may be surprised to know about you.
At one time I wanted to be a songwriter. My wife and I wrote a Christmas song and got it to Bing Crosby. He wrote two letters to us, and it looked like he might record the song! Sadly, he died that year, and we stuck it on the shelf and kind of forgot about it.
Besides marketing, what are you passionate about?
I’m becoming passionate about our economy, so in some ways, I’m getting passionate about politics. And it’s not pretty out there: too much influence being peddled. So I started www.bringbackthededuction.org, a first attempt at a grass roots movement to help the economy and influence Congress do to the right thing.
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Who is in your ideal golf foursome?
Well, you might expect me to say folks like Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson. But, you haven’t seen my golf game! I’d like to get President Obama, Timothy Geithner and Ben Bernanke out – although some of those bad boys can probably play pretty well. I’d have a lot to talk to them about: the 19th hole would be really interesting. Since that’s not likely to happen, three good friends who play as badly as I do would be fine.
