The real ‘Mad’ geniuses: New York’s real-life advertising superstars
An interview with my boss from Sunday’s Daily News.
Mike Germano
AGE: 27
YEARS IN ADVERTISING: 4
COMPANY: Carrot Creative
SAMPLE CLIENT: MajorLeagueBaseball.com
From his offices in DUMBO, Brooklyn, Carrot Creative co-founder and president Mike Germano helps brands bulk up their online presence via Twitter, Facebook and other social networks.
How are you different from a typical agency?
We get cool brands that want to do something different and we get to come up with all these crazy, creative ideas. We get them to say yes and we build it digitally. It’s a cool spot for us to be. … Some of the key things we work on, we’re not even allowed to talk about them. We’re coming up with really innovative digital ways to push information and make the consumer feel that the brand is their friend.
You get clients onto networking sites where they can communicate with consumers about their new products. What kind of feedback can you gather online?
With Facebook, you can start seeing when people like statements that you make. On Twitter, you can start looking at what people are really saying. You always hear about focus groups - it’s like having a free focus group.
What’s the next digital frontier?
It’s going to evolve completely around mobile devices. Foursquare, the iPhone app that’s been out, really understands the root of the next big thing in the way it mixes social interaction and gaming. … We did some work with MajorLeagueBaseball.com where we have a new Facebook app launching where you track what games you’re going to and you get your “fan stats.” You go to 10 games and the Yankees win seven, you’re seven for three as a fan.
How did you come to online advertising? Did you work for a major firm first?
I have never worked for any ad firm. My partners and I started our business in our last year of college at Quinnipiac University because all of our professors told us to get a job in the industry we want to be in and there was no industry for us, so we created the job. … I ended up running for city councilman while I was still in college. I used Facebook and MySpace in my 2005 race to win elected office in Hamden, Conn., which I held until 2007. We moved the business to DUMBO in 2008.
How would you fit in on “Mad Men?”
I’m a die-hard “Mad Men” fan. The guys joke around and call me the “Digital Don Draper,” so I laugh at that.
