Robin Whalen

Direct Response Marketing has been a professional passion of Robin's for over 10 years. Perhaps her love of 'accountability' stemmed from her roots as a U of T graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Law, Ethics and Society. Regardless of where it came from - Robin landed her first agency job in the Integrated Marketing Services division of Leo Burnett and has been hooked ever since.

Over the past decade Robin has worked at a number of agencies on accounts spanning a broad range of industries and categories. Her experience ranges from packaged goods and tourism to telco's and the retail sector. She has taken a specific focus and interest in the domain of CRM working on programs for Kellogg's, Cadbury, Bell, Purina and most recently, McNeil Consumer Products.

As Vice President, Group Account Manager at MacLaren, Robin is responsible for a number of integrated accounts including Ontario Lottery Group, Columbia House, Ministry of Research and Innovation and Ministry of Health Promotions. Robin also works closely with the CMA. In the past she chaired their annual Direct Marketing Conference and now works on the annual Business of Ideas Forum. In addition, she sits as a member of their Direct Marketing Council and volunteers time across a number of initiatives. Prior to joining MacLaren MRM, Robin was a Group Account Director at Publicis Canada and Grey Worldwide.

INTRODUCING Canadian Social Values: Dominant Themes in Canadian Culture

It’s no secret that as a Marketer, you need to understand your consumer in order to influence the likelihood of response. And before we seek to understand our specific demographic, it behooves us to take a step back and truly comprehend the nature of our broadest consumer: the CANADIAN.

For this reason, the Strategic Planning team at MacLaren McCann (Heidi McCulloch; VP, Strategic Planning and Lee Chapman; Senior Strategic Planner) embarked on a journey to study and explore emerging dynamics in Canadian values and culture. Given our proximity and relation to our Southern neighbours, we also looked at ourselves in comparison to the U.S. We condensed a variety of different research sources along with knowledge on the topic and combined it with some unique insights and perspectives of our own. The result? An understanding of 4 key defining values in Canadians.

Over the course of the next month we will share our findings via a 5 part blog series. ‘Tune’ in weekly to learn more about:
• Defining Value #1: A balance between individualism and concern for the common good
• Defining Value #2: Attitudes of acceptance and tolerance
• Defining Value #3: A distinct version of quality of life
• Defining Value #4: A culture of peace

Whether you are a Digital Marketer, a Creative Director or a Public Relations expert, identifying and being familiar with what makes a Canadian tick is quite simply, invaluable information.

Watch for the first post coming in the next week and please feel free to share your thoughts and experience on the matter. And since we all know Canadians are polite, forthcoming and friendly, I’m sure we’ll have some stimulating and mutually beneficial discussions!

Robin Whalen

Want to be Followed?

I just read a fascinating article published by the Harvard Business Review on the general topic of leadership. Although there are countless books on the subject – this white paper stood out because it spoke in a real, practical and down to earth tone.

The idea is simple…in order to be a leader – you must first be followed. And in order to be followed, you must possess the traditional skill-sets you’d expect: visionary, energy, authority and strategic direction – but equally important are four additional characteristics:

1. Reveal Your Weaknesses
Nobody wants to work with a perfect leader – he/she doesn’t appear to need help”. Brilliant. Being human is so…well…..human. Why do so many ‘people at the top’ forget this??

2. Become a Sensor
Hone your ability to collect and interpret subtle interpersonal cues, detecting what’s going on without others’ spelling it out”. Basically, listen to what’s going on around you. Read body language, listen to what is NOT being said. Listen and watch. Watch and Listen.

3. Practice Tough Empathy
Real leaders empathize fiercely with their followers and care intensely about their people’s work.” This means not always saying what they want to hear, but saying what they NEED to hear. All with the ultimate goal of making them – or the business – the best it can be.

4. Dare to be Different
“Capitalize on what’s unique about yourself…”. For anyone who knows me, they would understand why this is my very favourite point! Celebrate your differences. Don’t blend in for the sake of fulfilling a role or assuming the nature of what you think your position requires. Just be YOU.

After reading this article it became clear to me that there are leaders all around me. Some of them already know it….some of them just need to be reminded that they have it in them. Pass it on!

Robin Whalen

Bold or Brash?

While researching competitive ads in the not-for-profit category, our team came across a campaign that literally stopped us in our tracks.

The stark, contrasting, powerful imagery did such a good job at conveying a message that very little copy was needed to communicate the story. Regardless of how we individually felt about what we saw and the campaign overall, we believe that the ads delivered the message that was very likely set out as an objective in the orginating creative brief.

To be clear....I haven't seen the brief....but everyone knows that you should be able to guess what the creative strategy was if the ad was designed and written effectively.

I'd bet the farm that it went something like this:

Project Requirements: Develop a national print campaign

Communication Objective: Increase awareness of how little it costs to contribute to life saving, sustainable solutions to aid the poor in developing countries

Business Objective: Raise $XX funds to support programming for basic human needs: food, water & shelter

And if this was the brief - then this ad DELIVERED. In this business we talk about taking risks, being bold and getting your message out there by being innovative and smart and interesting. But it is quite often easier said than done.

These ads did all of those things. And to add to their credit, they have some enviable industry accolades as well. I can't vouch for whether or not they actually raised awareness funding - but I strongly suspect they succeeded on both accounts.

So I'm curious....are these ads bold? Or are they just brash? If they work to solve the stated objectives, but make you feel uncomfortable and just a little bit icky - is the creative strategy still working? I vote yes...but am interested to hear what you think.