Sixteen years ago, marketing strategist and new product expert Robin Koval followed her heart and, with Linda Kaplan Thaler, launched the Kaplan Thaler Group, ultimately growing the boutique advertising start-up into a company with over $1 billion in billings and a litany of iconic ad campaigns, including the Aflac duck. With the merger of the Kaplan Thaler Group and Publicis New York in 2012, Koval became CEO of Publicis Kaplan Thaler, now the fifth-largest ad agency in New York.
Besides heading up an award-winning advertising firm, Koval is an adjunct professor at NYU; author (in collaboration with Linda Kaplan Thaler) of three best-selling titles—Bang!, The Power of Nice, and The Power of Small; motivational speaker; wife and mother; and recreational figure skater. But it will come as no surprise to her associates that the busy executive made the time to share her professional experiences and management philosophy with BCAM.
What led you into a career in advertising?
I’ve always been fascinated by the culture-shaping impact of advertising communication. My original focus was the design side of the business: I went to Syracuse University for undergraduate studies and received a BFA in advertising design. But, not too dissimilar to the situation many grads find themselves in today, I entered the job market during an economic downturn. Ever resourceful, I figured, if I couldn’t get in the front door, I’d get in through the back and took a job as an administrative assistant at an agency called Benton & Bowles. One catch: I was the world’s worst typist—so I knew I needed to quickly find another plan. Fortunately, I had been placed within the Account Management Department. I had a front-row seat to observe the business management and strategic work being done by the young account executives and was hooked—That’s what I wanted to do!
Another catch: With a BFA, I hadn’t a clue how to create a P&L or write a strategic plan, and I did not have the money to return to business school full time. I was thrilled to find Baruch. I was able to return to school part time to earn my MBA in marketing while entering the account management training program at my agency. It was actually the perfect academic and real-world learning experience. By the time I graduated, I had been promoted twice and was an account executive working on Procter & Gamble brands.
What was the impetus for you to join the start-up Kaplan Thaler Group?
By 1997 I was at Interpublic’s Gotham agency, where I had worked my way up to become executive vice president, group account director, running a diverse group of businesses ranging from distilled spirits to health and beauty brands, including Clairol. Being there was comfortable, but I had an inkling that something was missing.
So when my Clairol client suggested I meet Linda Kaplan Thaler, who also did work for Clairol, I agreed to have breakfast with her. I arrived early at her chosen location—not a power breakfast spot but an understated local hangout in Chelsea named Michael’s Muffins. I ordered coffee for us and a bran muffin so huge I split it. When Linda arrived I offered her half, telling her the muffin was too big for me, I hate to waste food, and if she didn’t like bran muffins it was ok, she should order something else and I would wrap this one up to go. She took a big bite and in that instant we knew the following about each other: We were each flexible, frugal, and collaborative. It was business partner love at first bite! Before I knew it, I had agreed to become part of an underfunded, understaffed, overly optimistic start-up. By anyone’s standards, this wasn’t merely a leap of faith—it was a free fall.
Together we founded the Kaplan Thaler Group with one account, Clairol Herbal Essences. (Perhaps you remember that very happy woman in the shower? Yes! Yes! Yes! That was us.) But that risk paid off big time. I not only landed on my feet, it was the best business decision I ever made! Today, when people ask me whether it was difficult to start a business, I tell them, “It certainly wasn’t a piece of cake … It was more like half a muffin.”
You’ve been in the advertising world for more than 25 years. How has the industry changed since you started—and how has it stayed the same?
Marketing is, and has always been, about engaging consumers. To engage consumers in today’s digital age, we need to create a conversation and acknowledge their ability to shape the message and play a role in its distribution—not all that different from the personal selling and word-of-mouth marketing of the old village marketplace. Of course, now it happens at light speed and with the potential for the entire planet to participate.
Additionally, we have to remember that people are giving us something very valuable and precious when they engage with us: their time, which is becoming increasingly scarce in an over-messaged world. In exchange for that gift of attention, we have to make sure we are giving people something of equal or, ideally, greater value back: entertainment, a value opportunity, or exclusive access. Consumers are great accountants when it comes to their time. They know when we’ve wasted it and when we haven’t.
As CEO of Publicis Kaplan Thaler, what new challenges and opportunities are you looking forward to in the years ahead?
At Publicis Kaplan Thaler, our mission and call to action is “Lead the Change”—both as an agency and for our clients. As CEO it’s my job to ensure we lead the change each and every day. It’s an exciting challenge and opportunity. A key focus of mine is to make sure we care for each of our clients’ business as if it were our own. A big part of that is to make sure we are a magnet for the smartest and most creative individuals and that we provide a culture where we feel safe to both nurture and push each other to constantly challenge and innovate.
To lead change, we strive to create ideas and programs that can play a role in the culture. For example, we recently partnered with Citi to launch NYC’s Citi Bike program in June 2013, the largest public bike share program in the U.S. Citi Bike, which is operated by NYC Bike Share, has been an incredibly successful program; here are some of the highlights:
- Over 4,138,000 miles were traveled as of August 2013.
- Over 1,819,500 cumulative trips have been taken since launch in June 2013.
- Citi Bike reached a record-breaking day in early August, when riders took 42,010 trips. That’s nearly 7 trips per bike!
- Riders traveled 1 million miles in less than one month since the program began.
- Citi Bike has over 115,000 annual, weekly, and daily subscriptions.
- Over 50 million calories (estimated) have been burned since the program launched.
- The Huffington Post recently called our Citi client’s effort “The Perfect Marketing Campaign.”
- Citi Bike was featured on the cover of The New Yorker’s June 3 issue.
You’re a bestselling author, motivational speaker, and adjunct professor, and you’ve appeared on TV—that’s a lot of communicating! Is there a central message you’ve made it your mission to convey to these diverse audiences?
Be Nice. I’m a firm believer in the Power of Nice—whether as an author, speaker, professor, or CEO. N-I-C-E is the toughest four-letter word in the English language, and it’s as effective in the board room as it is in the classroom, or anywhere else you go.
And recently, I’ve begun to focus on the need for us all to combine our “nice” skills with a healthy dose of grit. Talent and intellect are wonderful, but in today’s tough economy being a gutsy, resilient, and tenacious person is often the real secret of success. That’s one of the reasons I feel so strongly about Baruch. It’s a school that has always attracted students with the gritty drive to achieve tough goals.
—Interview and Q&A by Sally Fay
Note: At press time, Koval accepted the new post of president and CEO of Legacy, a national public health foundation dedicated to research and outreach about the dangers of tobacco use.
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