This Charming (ad) Man: Dan James the new MD of JDA (Q&A)

Well I’m only two weeks in so I’m still to find out. Actually it reminds me a lot of when I first headed up the creative department. There are certain square pegs in round holes and we’ve got a bit of sorting out to do to get people into the right roles for their talents. I can already see where I want to take things. The new role is a bit of a shot in the arm really.

Did the acting MD role come out of the blue or were you aware Mike was planning to leave?

No [it wasn’t a surprise]. Mike’s been itching to do his own thing for a while. When he came to that decision most of us were glad for him. Me and Mike were friends as well as colleagues so I always knew what was on his mind.

When that job came around was there any trepidation about taking it?

I was pleased that Mike had teed it up for me really and thankful for the opportunity. It was good to know I had his confidence and the confidence of other people. Sometimes in life you’re in situations and the best thing you can do is roll your sleeves up and get on with it. It’s a test. It’s a challenge. But one I’m looking forward to.

On a day-to-day basis is your job completely different now?

No, it’s just slightly broader. As creative director I had my fingers in the pies of all the clients so I haven’t got a big learning curve to make in that sense. I’ve got responsibility for a client services team now rather than just a creative team. That sheer number of people and concerns I’m looking after is the biggest change because it’s getting on for 40 people rather than 20. It’s double responsibility. In the past I could only shout up from a creative perspective but now I can look at it from the whole agency point of view. I also have my own views about how we should be developing our agency offer in terms of planning and digital. There are opportunities for me to put my own mark on things.

Will you be taking the agency in a different direction?

We’ve done a lot of work over the last four years to give JDA an integrated angle on things and that will continue. We’re far more than just a direct agency these days. We’re doing integrated, multi-channel campaigns on TV that are feeding through to digital sites and being supported offline. I don’t want to change our approach from integrated.

How does being part of the Direct Marketing Group affect the way the agency operates?

Does the agency retain independence or is there a lot of guidance about what it should do?

Each of the group companies have their own sector. JDA is stronger in financial services, travel, b2b. We’ve got different focuses and we‘re a little self-contained in that sense. But there is recognition that there are talents within the agencies that can be shared. In conditions like this you want to make sure you’re making the most of what everybody’s got before freelancing stuff out. We’re trying to operate like a network agency would and making the most of the contacts we’ve got.

How do you feel about the marketing scene in Leeds generally? Does it sadden you to see what’s happened elsewhere in the city (Poulters closing, others suffering…)?

I’ve always felt a bit detached from that because coming up from London I literally knew nothing about the scene at the time. And I was too busy with my head down to get involved in it when I first came up here in 2004. Instinctively where I’d rather be is just getting on with the job. I think it is sad that some major players have been pulled out of the scene.

You’ve mentioned getting your head down. In this role there will be more of the responsibility to be the face of the agency. Is that something that doesn’t sit quite as comfortably with you?

I’m no Carl Hopkins (former JDA chairman). But every agency needs a face. Every agency needs some profile and we’ve talked about how we’re going to continue to promote the agency. Even though it’s not something that comes instinctively to me it’s what I’ll be doing.

You started out as a copywriter at Oxfam before moving into agencies. What took you into copywriting?

I did a business studies degree and I worked out within two months of getting there that I didn’t want to be a lawyer or an accountant, but I found marketing interesting. After university I went travelling for a bit and then when I came home penniless there was an opportunity to work for Oxfam in Oxford as a copywriter, so I took it. When I was at Oxfam there was a clear industry and a path laid out in front of me. Once I’d worked out what I wanted to do it was pretty clear where I wanted to go… and that’s when I started commuting down to London charity agencies.

What do you do outside work? How do you let off steam?

Football and music have always been my two big obsessions. I’m from Nottingham and grew up in the glory days of the Brian Clough era - I was nine years old and listening on the radio when we first won the European Cup. I’ve got two weird heroes really, Morrissey and Brian Clough: a match made in hell. They’re my inspiration. I think what they share is their bravery to speak their minds in the face of whatever opposition. And they were both just right about so many things; what constitutes really good music and what constitutes really good football. I was the archetypal bedroom Smiths fan – maudlin, wishing girls were interested in me… had the quiff, had the trench coat. Then baggie killed the quiff off. Dungarees, a Mani hat and an 808 State t-shirt took over.

What kind of boss will you be?

The best thing to do with power as far as I can see is to give it away. I try to share responsibility as much as possible and I’ve got a really good, strong team below me. I think I’ll probably be a fairly consultative boss, and I think that’s the right thing to do.

So not Brian Clough then? Not the “we’ll talk about it for 20 minutes and decide I was right” approach?

No. Maybe I wish I could be but I’m just not built that way. I wish I was that bloody-minded. But I’m not.

Do you take anything from the people you’ve worked under previously?

I take a lot of stuff from the way Mike has been running the business. Carl [Hopkins, a former JDA boss] and I didn’t always see eye to eye but there were things he did very well. I’ve got a financial responsibility to make sure the agency’s profitable and that’s not necessarily my area of expertise. So I have to gather people who are good on the admin, good on the money and good on the client relationships and trust their opinion. Hopefully I can give people a direction to follow. But the actual doing of it, that’s down to them.

Setting up a nice football analogy. .. you’re the manager of the team…

I believe in simplicity in advertising as in football. Football is overcomplicated by tacticians. And I think advertising is overcomplicated by technology and trends and whimsies. Actually it’s a simple game… it’s about knowing the audience, knowing the product inside out, having a fantastic understanding of the client’s business and knowing what they’re trying to achieve. Then it’s about having some really creative, sparky ideas that they can’t come up with themselves and having the tools in place.

If you remember that it’s that simple and don’t get distracted then it works.