Amid the current media-agency-review frenzy, it’s clear that Daryl Lee, global CEO of UM, is doing something right. Under his watch, his shop has snagged Coca-Cola’s North America media business, reclaimed Johnson & Johnson U.S. buying business and won CVS media. Perhaps his diverse, strategy-oriented background is intriguing to marketers as disciplines are blurring: Prior to taking on the CEO gig in 2013, he served as head of global strategy at UM and chief integration architect of McCann Worldgroup.
Or maybe it’s the socks. “This year I started wearing red socks at new-business pitches and it seems to be working.”
Q. Do you skip ads?
A. I skip the bad ones, and watch the good ones. I always watch the TV ads from Google and Facebook, along with any ad that has an elderly person being fresh and hilarious.