ITIABTWC Episode 14 – Kate Stanners
Kate Stanners is an incredibly creative person.
From her time at GGT under Dave Trott, via Bates Dorland, to the genesis of St Luke’s, her own start-up and then to her current position as Global CCO of Saatchi and Saatchi, Kate has taken career decisions that were unusual and, at the time, risky.
And yet they worked.
There are very few people in advertising you can say that about, and very, very few of them are women.
So Kate is a great example to anyone out there who wants to make it.
Don’t necessarily take the career path that looks most likely to make sense and create an obvious path to success. Instead, take the road less travelled and end up even more successful.
In our chat you can hear all about those decisions, along with…
How helpful it is/isn’t to have a CD for a dad.
How this Flake ad came about:
Why GGT under Dave Trott was like doing 20 years’ work in 5 years.
How the big personalities of Tim Mellors and Graham Fink worked out.
Why GGT was Dave’s attempt to beat John Webster
Why International + Andrew Cracknell meant a move to Bates Dorland
How St Luke’s began.
Why they didn’t enter awards.
What happened when they made ‘chronic’ business decisions.
…but were one of the forerunners of producing ‘content’.
The strange similarity between GGT and St Luke’s.
How it works with four creative directors and no creatives.
What it’s like when you turn up for a pitch and discover you’ve forgotten the work.
How and why you might split up with your partner of 14 years.
Whether you should start up an agency with your husband at the same time as you have your first child.
How GGT led to HHCL, which led to St Luke’s, which led to Mother.
Why Saatchi and Saatchi was and wasn’t the right thing at the right time.
How the best process can be no process.
Why playing to your position is a great skill to learn.
Why it’s never too late to champion women in advertising.
And how great it is to keep learning, particularly from the younger people in your agency.
Here’s much of the best work she’s CD-ed.
As you’ll here in the intro and the interview, it was a very enjoyable chat. Here’s the Soundcloud link, the iTunes feed and the easy old thing you can click on right here (no idea why there are two of them; unlike the last couple of weeks, it all fits in one episode).
