For a 38th occasion, the Marketing Club of New York toasted the business leadership, career achievements, and social contributions of several professionals and one corporation in our field — during a celebration at the Edison Ballroom in Times Square.

It was a stellar night. Nearly 120 family members, friends, practitioners and students gathered to pay tribute, and say thank you, to our lineup of honorees:

• Steve Carbone, Managing Director and Chief Digital Officer – North America, Digital & Investment, MediaCom (New York, NY)
• Sheila Colclasure, Global Chief Digital Responsibility and Public Policy Officer, IPG Kinesso (New York, NY, and Little Rock, AR)
• Jan Chandler, Divisional Vice President – Entertainment and Media, Wiland (Niwot, CO, In Memoriam)
• Jim Kabakow, Chief Executive Officer, Media Horizons (Norwalk, CT)
• John Montgomery, Executive Vice President, Brand Safety, GroupM (New York, NY)
• Michael Wooh, Global Head of Marketing, Gurobi Optimization (New York, NY)
• Andy Yost, Chief Marketing Officer, HomeServe USA (Norwalk, CT), and,
• Corporate Honoree Adstra (Princeton, NJ).

Emcee Vincent Pietrafasa, vice president, B2B partnerships and products, Stirista, and an MCNY Board Member, joined MCNY Club President Alicia Wiedemann, chief strategy officer, Summer Friday, in leading the tribute — with Vincent providing his usual laugh-a-moment score. 

A Standing Ovation for Wiland’s Jan Chandler

Amid the celebration, there was also sorrow. Tragically, Jan Chandler of Wiland, passed away unexpectedly, just days before the Silver Apples. Her Wiland colleagues were present at the gala to mark her life and leadership — just as she would have had it.

“First, I just want to say ‘thank you’ to many of the room who walked up to either me or one of our team and just shared your condolences for Jan. It’s been a hard week as Jan was a great part of our team,” said Dan Wells, executive vice president, nonprofit, at Wiland, speaking for Jan’s friends and family. “Sixteen years ago, I hired Jan and she’s done amazing things for us. I’m honored to receive this award on her behalf.

“She was a wonderful person. Her kindness and concern for her work, her industry, and her family were exceptional,” Wells added. “She wanted to make a difference and she did. And I was fortunate enough to be her first mentor at Wiland and to help her along her path and her personal commitment to excellence. And her volunteerism as was mentioned and her desire and her commitment to mentoring was just amazing at Wiland. You know, she took on a whole mentoring challenge and ran that program for us internally. And she did that externally as well. And I’m just blessed to have had her in my life.”

We all share in that sentiment of Jan Chandler, for those of us who knew her.  The marketing industry is fortunate to have had Jan Chandler’s many contributions, and just as fortunate to be able to celebrate her and the other honorees’ accomplishments.

Marketing’s Data-Driven Now and Future

In his acceptance remarks, Adstra CEO Rick Erwin himself toasted the ascension of data-driven marketing, all the way to the C-suite of brands, publishers and advertisers. “Ten years ago, the vast majority of ad spend was in untargeted broadcast and print,” he said. “Today the clear majority of ad spend is in digital media. And digital media is addressable at the personal level, with the individual. I just can’t overstate how much of a sea change this is for all of us in the room. If you understand the plumbing of how digital media works, the tech technology as many of you do, it is highly and accurately measurable. So for the first time ever… the way brands are marketing to consumers, and the media through which they’re communicating with those consumers, is all a direct marketing process. They don’t call it that, but that’s exactly what it is.”

Erwin continued, “This is the opportunity for us. Those brands need our help, they need our advice, they need our innovation; they are banking on solutions that we have already developed for other sectors of this industry. So I hope you share my enthusiasm for the future of our business. I really believe our future has never ever been brighter than it is right now.”

Michael Wooh of Gurobi Optimization, though not in attendance, echoed that sentiment. In his recorded remarks he said, “Marketers, I think we all strive to be transformative disruptors. I believe that is one common denominator we all share — that we all want to make a difference to make that connection and to have a positive impact on the lives of others. I try to apply that guiding principle in my professional life as well as my personal life and I’m a big believer in forwarding on.”

Following the dinner, the individual honorees joined a panel discussion moderated by Julia Monti, senior vice president, global communications, at Mastercard, who engaged the honorees on all matters of career advice, mentorship, and the state of marketing in practice and consumer engagement.

Among the sentiments expressed on marketing:

“What we’ve heard tonight [is that] we’re in a bit of a marketing crossroads, a bit of a marketing opportunity depending on how you look at it,” said Sheila Colclasure of IPG Kinesso, speaking up for data ethics. “A lot has changed around us, from the economy to technology. There’s a lot to be caught up on in terms of the consumer. The most important thing I think we need to remember as marketers is the data that we use relates to people, and the data deserves as much dignity as people. So, do we have to think about that in our daily view? Yes, it takes a great deal of governance.”

“Advertising’s has got to work better for people,” MediaCom’s Steve Carbone said.  “We’re all consumers. We’re all on our mobile phones, and we all know what good advertising looks like. We want to create ad models that are providing value for people, providing value for consumers. And that’s an important responsibility. Cause if you’re in this business, you need to be in business.”

So that’s also why we have a sustainability responsibility,” Carbone continued. “Which media owners and which media providers can we work with that we know are taking sustainability seriously — that they’re creating technologies that allow less usage of servers, less waste on those servers, less waste in electricity, less server farms, anything that’s allowing advertising to become more streamlined. As we’re spending billions and billions on impressions, these two areas matter.”

“I love the view that [marketing’s] all about people, that is so important,” Jim Kabakow said. “And for me as a marketer …really understanding the whole customer experience make for the best brands we interact with. Leverage technology, leverage digital experiences to really create strong connections. How do we bring the best brand experiences into all that we do as consumers?  Data insights help us understand how to be more effective.”

The Importance of Being Mentored – and Mentoring

Given the Silver Apples criteria on giving back, the panel also discussed career development and advice the honorees would give new professionals. Among perspectives on mentoring:

HomeServe USA’s Andy Yost said, “My mentors throughout my career have made so much of a difference in terms of helping me develop as a leader. And what I like to instill in people is the importance of encountering persons not only for business opportunities, but also for personal development. Your being here is amazing, because you’re building your network, you’re making connections that can help you be successful, both in your job and beyond that.”

“There’s an Indian proverb – and I may not get this exactly right,” said GroupM’s John Montgomery. “If you take no risks, you’ll do few things ill, but you’ll do few things. I think that a lot of us are scared of taking risks, particularly in our jobs because you think you’ll get fired. We may think that way, but I don’t many companies that fire people for taking risks. Another bit of advice is to say ‘thank you.’  It costs you absolutely nothing to do so.

“First, let me just say, find a mentor,” Carbone said. “Find somebody who can help you get you through your career. I am lucky enough to have had five of those throughout my career. One them is sitting in this audience right now: George Wiedemann [who himself is a past Silver Apple honoree]. Second, immerse yourself with data. What’s going to get you connected to your clients is to go out there and volunteer for that new business pitch when your manager comes and asks you. Because the more you do that, that’s going to build more connections.”

“The nastiest four letter we’re I know is can’t,” Andy Yost said. “So we have to make sure that we approach our career and everything we do with the mindset, ‘We can make this happen.’ Break things, have fun, experiment along your way and I think you’ll find you’ll end up better at the end of the day.”

“When you’re starting out in your career, it’s probably not going to be your ideal job,” Sheila Colclasure said. “I would say there are three things you need to keep in mind. Number one, every single opportunity that you have is a learning opportunity. There is something you can learn, grow from, extract, and develop from. Number two, every time you have an opportunity, look for a way to add value. You may not be the star. You might be number two, or you might be number 10 on the team. But every single time, [think,] “I can’t be the star but I can add value this way.” And the third thing that I would tell you, starting out in your career, is to cling violently to your integrity. Always do the right thing. Be brave enough to do the right thing in every situation. Always.”

All the MCNY Silver Apples honorees do indeed serve as examples of leadership, integrity, and achievement. 

The entire proceedings of this year’s gala is viewable on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdiWieX96hY

Thank you to Adstra, Digital Advertising Alliance and The Customer, who served as 2022 Silver Apples event sponsors.

About the Author

Chet Dalzell

Chet Dalzell has more than 25 years of public relations management and expertise in service to leading brands in consumer, donor, patient and business-to-business markets, and in the field of integrated direct marketing. He serves on the Association of National Advertisers International ECHO Awards Board of Governors, as a Board Member to the Marketing Club of New York, and is senior director, communications and industry relations, with the Digital Advertising Alliance, a privacy self-regulatory program for data collection for digital and mobile interest-based advertising.

Chet also served on Direct Marketing Association’s Committee on the Environment and Social Responsibility and where he led its Marketing Strategy outreach group. He also served on the United States Postal Service Greening the Mail Task Force, heading its Life Cycle of Mail Subcommittee. He loves UConn Basketball (men’s and women’s) and Nebraska Football (that’s just men’s, at this point), too!