Does thinkLA address some new issue in the advertising industry?
The advertising business has changed in a really positive way. We are now collaborating with search engines and movie studios, for example. As we started to develop the mission for thinkLA, we broadened it and these people came in droves. We brought Google, Yahoo as well as William Morris people onto the board. Q. Why did you become president? A. I’m not a joiner. I was reluctant to take on this role. But when you think about it, there’s no other market that has all these ground here: advertising, media, entertainment, technology – all in the same city. Los Angeles needs to put its stake in the ground and say, “This is all happening here.” That’s the message of thinkLA. Q. What does thinkLA hope to do for its members? A. Ultimately, it’s about raising the profile of Los Angeles in the marketing community and bringing more business to this city. And we think we have a great story to tell. Q: How has the ad agency business changed? A: It used to be you had an ad agency that made great TV
