5 Questions for Jim Brown of Muller Bressler Brown

Jim Brown, CEO and partner, Muller Bressler Brown

The 4A’s is committed to sharing the thoughts of some of the most important leaders in the ad industry. In this edition of our 5 Questions For… series, we chat with Jim Brown, CEO and partner of agency Muller Bressler Brown in Kansas City, Mo. 

What is the biggest challenge or opportunity facing the ad industry right now?

I think the biggest challenge is staying ahead of the pace of change and the shifting roles in and out of the agency. We partner with content providers more intimately today then ever before. Our role is to keep our client on brand and focused on business objectives while creating ownership over the creative and engagement outputs. There are more hands in that recipe than ever before. Internally, we have to ensure that everyone is valued. We focus on celebrating the idea and not the contributor of that idea. True ownership of the concept is getting hard to define.

What is the single most significant change you need to make in your agency in the next 12 months?

We will continue expansion of internal services or create tighter working relationships with a defined business partner in very specific areas of creative and engagement. It really isn’t about the money – it is about the quality of work and the ability to meet timelines. If we have vendors who can take on specific elements we don’t have in house, great. If not, we have to build our own.

What products/services/unique skills do ad agencies offer that guarantees the industry’s survival for another 100 years?

None. We are consultants and contributors. If we don’t add value to our clients in those roles, there is nothing that will save us. What will keep us relevant is knowledge and perspective. The perspective is the one thing the client can’t buy, and knowledge is something they will struggle to keep ahead of.

What attributes do you look for in your next generation of leaders/managers?

People as nervous as me! That is a joke – sort of. The people who perform the best at the agency are those who are constantly on their toes and wondering what we need to be doing next. Next in terms of client satisfaction, sales, messaging or engagement. We all have a healthy dose of paranoia – it seems to be working.

If you weren’t working in advertising, what would you be doing as a career? 

I started my career in media and would probably still be in it today if not for this opportunity. I miss that business and like many, yearn for the days when it seemed more a public good than an entertainment avenue. Maybe it was always this bad, but I think we had some objectivity 15 years ago.