Have you ever wondered how some of your favorite pro athletes lock-in their contracts, negotiate endorsement deals, deal with controversy and hecklers, or become the face of the next Nike/Adidas/Under Armour campaign? Steve Astephen, professional Sports Agent and Managing Partner of Sports Marketing agency Wasserman, joins Christie for a behind-the-scenes look at this and much more. 

011 | Sports & Athlete Marketing with Wasserman Managing Partner, Steve Astephen

Welcome to the Commercial Grade podcast! Listen in as Christie Bishop, an award-winning Advertising Executive, answers your questions and gives you an insider's look at what really goes into crafting commercial campaigns.

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Season #1 of Commercial Grade is a wrap! Season #2 will kick-off after the holidays with new guests, topics & confessions in advertising. Today's finale features ad sales veteran Lisa Solomon, one of the 1st AOL/Microsoft digital ad sales reps (hello dial-up!) before moving onto NBC/Universal & eventually launching the marketing version of Master Class, Atheneum Collective. Lisa explains the ins/outs of ad sales, how the industry has evolved and gives pointers on how anyone can master the art of sales. 

036 | Season #1 Finale | From Dial-Up to Dialed-In: An Insider POV on Media Sales | Lisa Solomon, Founder/CEO, Atheneum Collective

Competition amongst ad agencies has historically been fierce yet predictable. An agency's foremost competition was typically another shop with similar offerings: Integrated vs. integrated, PR vs. PR, media vs. media. Recently, the landscape has become increasingly complex with traditional consultancies (Deloitte, McKinsey, Bain & Co.) playing AND winning on agency turf. Sam Hawkins, Senior Consultant at Deloitte, joins to discuss the evolution of consultancies & their impact the agency/client relationship.

035 | Are Consultancies Making Ad Agencies Redundant? | Sam Hawkins, Senior Consultant | Deloitte

Marcus Wesson, award-winning Chief Creative Officer of Dailey Advertising in LA, joins Commercial Grade to talk through the ins and outs of creative production, what it takes to makes an award-winning campaign (think: Carls Jr. burgers & bikinis!) and how he evolved from a junior art director to CCO of a major ad agency. Marcus and Christie also talk through the time they, unbeknownst to them, pitched against each other to win the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare account. 

034 | "Inside the Agency" Series | Part 2: Creative Direction | Marcus Wesson, Chief Creative Officer| Dailey

In the second part of my conversation with Erin Matts, CEO, and Anita May, MD, of Omnicom's Hearts & Science, we cover a topic high on the priority list of most agencies and corporations: Diversity, Inclusion & Allies in Advertising. From ageism to sexism, Erin and Anita share challenges they've faced and how they approach diversity internally and when hiring. Anita also takes us through the "aha" moment behind P&G;'s "The Talk," which details the harsh reality African American parents and children face.

033 | Diversity, Inclusion & Allies in Advertising | Erin Matts, CEO & Anita May, MD, Hearts & ,

In Part #1 of "Media Magic & The Road to CEO," Erin Matts, CEO, and Anita May, Managing Executive Director, of Omnicom's Hearts & Science global marketing agency, join Christie to talk about the role and power of media in advertising, evolving approaches to data insights and storytelling, and their respective roads to becoming influential female marketing executives. Anita, Heart & Science's Procter & Gamble account lead, also takes us through the media strategy and emotional creative idea behind "The Talk," one of the agency's most lauded campaigns.

011 | Sports & Athlete Marketing with Wasserman Managing Partner, Steve Astephen

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