If you’re a fisherman then you know what I’m talking about. The Florida Keys are like no other place on earth for fishing, be it with a pole, a fly rod, or a spear gun.

The underwater typography lends itself to some of the best and most diverse fishing found anywhere. All in one day and within a few miles of each other one can fish the flats by silently poling along, stalking a trophy permit or bone fish in just a few inches of water . . . to anchoring on the 100’ ledge and spear fishing for grouper and snapper . . .  to going of shore just a few miles and trolling ballyhoo baits in 500 to a 1,000 feet of crystal clear gulf stream water.

My family and I have been vacationing in the Florida Keys for over 20 years. We’ve had our kids snorkeling the shallow reefs since they were three. The family memories that we’ve made fishing and spending time in and on the water are priceless. We’ve been very fortunate to be able to spend time enjoying Gods wonderful creation.

There’s a funny thing about people who make predictions. History continually corrects them!

“This telephone has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communications. The device is inherently of no value to us.”

Western Union internal memo, 1876.

Being in a creative business means keeping an open mind. It means looking at things from different sets of lenses so as not to miss the opportunity that lies before us. Clients pay us for innovative thinking and creative ideas that cut through the clutter. Whether the economy is good or bad we cannot lose sight of this.

“I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.”

Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943.

What’s important is to keep moving forward. The economy has been bad more than four years, with no predictable end in sight. The pundits on both sides of the political spectrum, economists from every major university, and all the elected officials who can get their hands on a microphone continue to make predictions.

“The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better than a ‘C’ the idea must be feasible.”

A Yale University management professor in response to Fred Smith’s paper proposing reliable overnight delivery service. Smith went on to found Federal Express Corp.

Sometimes life deals us a terrible blow. It is truly in the worst of times that we come to appreciate not only the great fruit life offers but also the subtleties of normalcy, a simple leisurely coffee, an hour of playtime with your child, or a moment with your spouse that reminds you why you got married in the first place.

“We don’t like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out.”

Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962.

As we look to the future it’s imperative to not lose sight of the fact that this is only temporary. Economies, countries, and, for that matter, the world operate on timelines and cycles that cannot be seen nor accurately predicted. Just ask the weatherman next time a hurricane is coming to tell exactly where will landfall be.

“640K ought to be enough for any body.”

Bill Gates, 1981.

The economy will eventually come around. Companies large and small will begin to grow again. There will be opportunities for employment, and innovative thinking will be rewarded.

And there is one thing I do know for sure . . .

“This too shall pass.”

King Solomon, The richest man in the world. B.C.

This October, 25 years ago, I started working at Patterson/Bach. We were known as Patterson Advertising back then. This October, 20 years ago, I convinced my beautiful girlfriend of 4 years to marry me.

Running an advertising agency can be very challenging. Nothing stays the same. I’ve had to re-train myself about every 5 years to learn a new technology or to try and understand the next generation of consumers. Just when I thought I had a handle on Baby Boomers, I had to quickly get a grasp on Generation X and then Generation Y. Just when I thought I had figured out the Internet, I had to master social media. Who knows what’s next!

Someone once said the only constant is change. Well, in the ad business change is not only constant its exponential. Through all of this change there has always been one constant in my life, my marriage to an incredible person and soul mate Carolyn Bach. Through thick and thin, the good times and bad, she has been by my side on this crazy roller coaster ride we call life. We’ve faced all kinds of challenges from buying out a disgruntled partner, to landing the big account, to loosing the big account. We’ve made it through three hurricanes, two great kids whom we’re still knee deep in raising, the passing of loved ones, broken friendships and healed relationships. We’ve walked on glaciers, swam with sharks, caught the big fish, and traveled the world together.

So, to celebrate our 20-year marriage, we took a couple of weeks off and visited some places, Venice, Italy, and the Greek Islands, well . . . that haven’t really changed that much.

My favorite time in history is the Renaissance Period. This is where some of the most memorable artwork was created. Our time in Venice was inspirational to say the least. The Basilica in St. Mark’s Square was amazing. The Doge’s Palace was full of paintings and frescos from some of the most talented painters of the 15th century. My favorite piece of artwork was a painting rendered by Titian, one of the great human figure painters of all time. Traveling by water taxi or gondola keeps your pace slow and easy, giving oneself time to reflect and enjoy the moment and person with whom you are sharing that moment.

From Venice, we took off for the Greek Islands. Now this is a place where you could get off the ship and never be seen again —I mean really lose yourself. Corfu, Santorini, and Mykonos where all incredible. The most picturesque and romantic place we found was a tiny village call Oia. It’s on the tip of Santorini overlooking what was left of the Caldera from an ancient volcano. This place deserves a trip and long stay of its own. When you land on Santorini be sure and take the donkey ride up the mountain. It’s a great local tradition. Due to insurance purposes, this would never be allowed here in the U.S., but in Greece it was as common as Ouzo and Gyros.

Can’t wait to see what the next 20 years will bring!

Greetings, friends,

During this time, we always try to reflect upon our previous accomplishments throughout the year. It’s amazing to look back at everything we have completed, and we’re grateful for the opportunity to help our clients achieve their business goals through traditional and new media campaigns. Below, you will find what some members of our team are most proud of, and what they look forward to accomplishing next year.

• Tim, president: I’m most thankful for having a great list of clients who are moving forward in this difficult economy with a sense of boldness and are not letting the economic downturn dictate their businesses’ future. I’m proud of my team members, who have made significant changes and adjustments in their work to meet our clients’ expectations! This too shall pass.

• Linda, chief financial officer: It has been a pleasure and an honor to work with a very capable, talented and determined team at Patterson/Bach in a very challenging year.  This year I have successfully incorporated more efficient methods to increase productivity by providing upgraded computer applications, technical computer troubleshooting and summary analyses on client accounts.  I would like to continue in 2010 to ensure that the interface with our team, clients and vendors is a personable and effective experience.

• Brian, marketing director: With every challenge comes an opportunity. My hat goes off to our clients who saw the opportunity to market themselves during these difficult times. I look forward to more “challenges” in the New Year.

• Greg, senior art director: I am constantly learning from the people I work with. Creatively, there is nothing better. And there’s always more to learn!

• Dan, creative director: I’m proud of some of the successes we’ve been able to help our clients achieve in a particularly rough year for businesses. Two specific examples come to mind: helping the Craft & Hobby Association exceed their attendance goals for their first-ever consumer show, and re-crafting Montverde Academy’s marketing vehicles to communicate with its all-important international market. In 2010, I look forward to new opportunities to help our clients achieve the results they hire us to deliver. Providing measurable results to our clients’ success is why we’re in business. It is also deeply gratifying on a personal level to know that one’s efforts are making a difference to the businesses we serve.

• Erin, director of public relations: I am appreciative of the diverse group of clients with whom I have had the pleasure to work in 2009, and I look forward to an upcoming year of opportunities to partner with and help organizations realize the many benefits of public relations beyond media publicity.  I hope the new year will bring a fresh perspective to organizations to make employee communications and community relations top priorities.

• Ashley, public relations account executive: I’m thankful for having the opportunity to work with great clients and team members this past year. I’ve been able to assist with the development and implementation of social media campaigns, as well as help clients achieve their traditional campaign goals. I’m looking forward to expanding our social media program in 2010.

We hope that you will take time from your busy schedule to recognize your own accomplishments.

Best Wishes from the team at Patterson/Bach Communications.

Tim Bach presenting to an audience with the assistance of a translator in Russia.

Mr. Bach was invited to be a keynote speaker at the Summit Tour and Travel Conference. He had the opportunity to travel to Russia for the conference, which took place the last week of October. He spent time in the regions of Southern Russia, experiencing the culture, people and historic sites.

For two days of the trip, he presented several lectures on marketing topics, including, “Elements of a Great Advertising Campaign,” “The Power of the Internet,” and “Internet Marketing, How to Drive Traffic to Your Web Site.” He spoke to small and large audiences with the assistance of a translator. Audience members were unfamiliar with the Internet, due to lack of access to technological advancements. Tim’s presentations served as an introduction to this communication channel.

“I enjoyed speaking to audiences that were interested in learning about the Internet and its capabilities,” said Tim. “The feedback I received was wonderful, and I look forward to returning to The Summit Tour and Travel Conference in the future.”

Back to enewsletter…

What I’ve learned over 20 years is that salary is a small contributor to the overall health and well-being of a creative department and the level of quality and creativity of the projects they produce. Salary is used to bring a person on board more than anything else, but it’s the organization’s environment, coupled with an account base a creative team feels proud to work on, that makes or breaks their tenure.

It is a real tightrope trying to manage a group of people who, stereotypically, don’t like structure or conformity and are truly free-spirited. The goal is to push a team to develop great creative on time and within budget. This can be difficult. For instance, how long does it take to come up with the taglines, “Closest To The Magic of Central Florida,” or “What Can We Do For You Today?” and how much research time should be allocated to determine a client’s real issues, and are these perceived issues relevant to the target audience or just what the client thinks?

What I have learned is that creatives actually thrive when their basic environment is structured to the last detail – not so much the brainstorming approaches or the introspective thinking that is required to develop new and unique creative concepts that position the truth in the best possible light – but the everyday ebb and flow of the assignments that go through the creative department. Oh, and by the way, that’s what I think we really do, “Position the truth in the best possible light.” The best thing that you can do for your creative department is, with great detail, structure their work environment and precisely manage the information that is given to them, so they can concentrate solely on the marketing and communication challenge at hand. The account people can sometimes become frustrated with this part of the process and feel as if they are “babying” the creative department. What they are really doing is giving the creatives more time to focus strictly on the communication hurdle and find that one simple idea that cuts through all the clutter and smacks the target audience right between the eyes.

Some other things to consider – once you have found creative individuals, they need to know that you trust them. They’ll come to the account managers with all kinds of crazy questions. Don’t argue with them; just get them the information. They need to have a really solid comfort level with the account and the industry.

They also need to know that they can trust you. They need to absolutely know that you, the owner, and/or the account manager will actually fight for good creative. Go the extra mile when presenting their ideas to the client and help with the continual process of keeping the client on message along with everything and everyone else.

As far as dividing up the assignments, I think it’s important to mix things up. Yes, it’s helpful when certain individuals become familiar with an account, but when it’s time to develop new creative, give other people an opportunity to participate. Great creative is not produced in a vacuum. I truly believe that it’s the collaborative process that develops the best, most insightful, and successful creative.

Awards and accolades from peers also help drive creative thinking, even from people in our office who don’t think of themselves as “creatives.” For example, we open up the development of our holiday gift project to the entire company – from the CFO to the intern, etc. Some really outstanding creative ideas are generated from this annual tradition, and they’re not incited by money. It’s amazing what a great environment and a little competition among peers can do!

Give some thought to your corporate culture and how you can motivate, engage, and encourage your employees in the upcoming year to think creatively and give your company an edge on the competition. Our best to you and yours in 2009!

Respectfully yours,

Tim Bach
President