Night Agency had the chance to talk with Steve Hall, the founder and publisher of Adrants. Prior to publishing the award-winning Adrants, Hall held management positions at Leo Burnett, Starcom/ Mediavest and Bozell. Mr. Hall has written about and spoken for industry associations on topics such as the integration of public relations and advertising, the future convergence of media, and the decline of traditional media. He is co-founder of MarketingVox, an online marketing publication and co-founder and publisher of the Ad:Tech industry trade show weblog.

Night Agent: Steve Hall, what did you have in mind when you started Adrants? Were you launching a revolution (or were you just bored?)

SH: I wish I were that insightful. Actually, I started it during a period of unemployment in March 2002 as a way to stay in touch with the industry.

NA: Well, looks like you are in touch now!

SH: I seem to be. Or so I’m told

NA: You’re media today, probably on top of any good PR person’s priority list. How does this feel?

SH: Well…. in one way it feels as though I’m just a cog in the big PR machine. In another it feels as though Adrants has been validated as an important medium. And in another, it just makes me feel as though, personally, people respect what I have to say.

NA:You have fully understood the web as a 360 degree, two-way street: you only consider yourself as one link in the chain, can you explain the value of thinking like this, for those who still don’t get it?

SH: Yes, old school marketers adhere to the notion that communication can be controlled in a top down manner. In essence controlling the conversation. The web…and blogging have become one gigantic conversation. Controlling it is impossible. Joining it, though, is highly advised.

NA: What is your favorite thing to hate?

SH: Companies like FedX who recently told that guy that made furniture out of FedX boxes to stop and to stop blogging about it. The guy was giving FedX HUGE, FREE publicity and all FedX could do was tell him to stop because they saw it as some kind of legal infringement on the brand. Old school thinking at its finest, unfortunately.

NA: Whoa, that so lacks insight…

SH: Yes it does.

NA: Some companies like our clients pay us to have people do those things and publicize them, that’s the guys that get it…

SH: hey wait…did FedX pay you?

NA: Lol, no, we are not behind that blog! What is your favorite blog?

SH: Hard question to answer. Oddly, I read a lot of non-blog websites to keep up to date with the industry. In terms of ad blogs that I read, there’s AdJab, MarketingVOX, MediaBuyerPlanner, AdPulp…I’m sure there’s others. I also read Micropersuasian, BlogHerald, Jeff Jarvis to keep up to date on general blog things.

NA: Are you still a one-person enterprise? How much time do you spend on-line researching? Writing?

SH: Still one person except for ad sales. I’m busy from about 8A to 2P then it slows down and I’ll do other management stuff like ad sales, answer emails, read comments, etc.

NA: …give interviews!

SH: yes, give interviews.

NA: What are you reading?

SH: Right now, I’m reading former BBDO Chairman Phil Dusenberry’s book, “Then We Set His Hair On Fire” That would be Michael Jackson’s hair when Phil was doing an ad for Pepsi. It’s coming out mid-September and they sent me a review copy. So far, so good. People send [books] to me a lot and I don’t read that much. When I do, I read slow. I never finish most. Phil’s has a good chance of getting finished though.

NA: Am I allowed to publish this part of the interview, about the book?

SH: yes, you can publish my comments on the book. I like the book because it has perspective. It’s not full of the latest marketing fads.

NA: Can you tell me, if you’ ve noticed significant change in the ad industry?

SH: The most significant change would be the gigantic, orgasmic rush toward anything non-traditional out of fear the strategies that have worked for years will suddenly stop working. While things are certainlay changing rapidly, it’s not as if traditional channels of communication will be gone tomorrow. Many marketers are acting as if they will and doing stupid things like forhead advertising…. Of course assvertising was brilliant!

NA: Hey thanks! Would you agree, though that there is something good there: brands starting to really want to connect with their consumers? This takes other means than just talking at them…

SH: Brands are, increasingly, seeing the value of acknowledging the existence of the conversation, realizing its treasure trove of information and actively joining it. Yes….stop talking at…..talk with: have a conversation.
A real one, like you would with a friend at a party.

NA: Does Steve Hall like sailing?

SH: Everyone asks that. Yes, I do but that pic was taken on the dock before going on a whale watch this summer.

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