Tracy Wong, Advertising Executive
Tracy Wong,
Advertising Executive
Tracy Wong, 42, is chairman and executive creative director of WongDoody, an advertising agency with offices in Seattle and Los Angeles. WongDoody produces advertising for Alaska Airlines and other companies.
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What’s amazing to me is how far-reaching 9/11 has been. It affects you in so many ways.
I know a guy with a small silk-screening shop that makes shirts for Boeing and other companies. He’d printed a shirt for a ground-breaking ceremony. It had “I was a survivor of ground zero” printed on it. And he was supposed to deliver it on Sept. 11. Then there’s the Los Angeles-based advertising agency, Ground Zero. Will they have to change their name?
People are starting to heal. The vibe I get from talking to people is that things will bottom out and there will be a slow, steady incline back to normal. All ad agencies, though, remain on a 24-hour watch.
It’s been very difficult because our agency relies a lot on creative product, and often it involves humor. We’ve had to curb that.
The biggest fear is that you’ll say something that will come back to hurt your client. It’s like everyone has to ride out this wave of anxiety, fear and the potential for some unwanted backlash.
People will laugh again, though. Some funny stuff is already coming back. An interesting example is Southwest Airlines, the first airline back with advertising after 9/11. Before, they were funny. Then, immediately after the attacks, they were dead serious. Then they were lighter, and now they’re back to where they were.
There’s also the economy. The problem for us is that ad agencies are like the flea at the end of the dog’s tail, with the dog being the economy.
Most every company advertises, but advertising always is the first thing to be cut and the last thing to be restored. It’s one of those costs that’s easily controlled because you can switch it on and off.
The big difference for me is that, during the last recession, I was a paid employee. This is the first time I’m going through it as business owner. Before, if the company wasn’t doing well, all I had to worry about was doing my own job well and hope that I didn’t get laid off.
I’m much more aware now about what companies are cutting from their advertising budgets. Everywhere I go, I’m acutely aware of the economy.
When I check into a hotel or talk to the sales clerk at Nordstrom, I’m always asking how business is going. When I get a ticket at the Alaska Air counter, I’m looking for signs as to where the economy is going. I’m trying to take some of the guesswork out of when the economy is going to pick up.
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As told to Greg Johnson
