Interview with Nick Grant, Account Manager from ZLR Ignition

We had a chance to shoot around with Nick Grant, ZLR Ignition Account Manager.

So, how do you go from being a Drake basketball legend to schleppin' in this business? Even Farohkmanesh got a basketball gig overseas!

Ha! I’m FAR from a basketball legend, but I’ll take the compliment and run with it. All my life, I was told I was going to make it in basketball. It was almost as if it were my only option in life. My parents, my then-girlfriend (now wife) and I knew otherwise. It took me a while to grasp the reality that basketball wasn’t going to take me where I wanted to go, but at least I figured it out before it was too late. I knew I was smart enough to do otherwise. I had plenty of opportunities to play overseas, but hearing all the horror stories of buddy’s living on ends meet, not getting paid on time, zero amenities, just being miserable in a country they didn’t have the faintest idea about, it all really turned me off to the idea. I didn’t want to have to depend on that. I knew I could take my passion on the court and turn it towards another passion of mine, advertising, and be just as successful.

What the heck to they have you doing these days? Do the creatives let you do anything?

I am an account manager, so I basically handle the day to day business between my client, Iowa Department of Public Health’s youth-led tobacco group, Just Eliminate Lies (JEL), and my creative team. I am the schmoozer, the kiss-ass, and ultimately, the voice for each entity. I have to sell ideas to my client and I have to sell ideas to my creative staff. Two COMPLETELY different worlds. I have to be able to sell water to well, in laymen’s terms. I love it though, keeps you on your toes.
I do get to test my creative aptitude from time to time, between copywriting and the social media initiatives I do for the client and agency. I recently worked on a Battle of the Bands for JEL last year that was mostly done through social media. Was a pretty unique project that gathered a lot of attention from our target audience.

You're doing all this anti-smoking, anti-drug stuff right? Wouldn't it be a lot easier to just go out to Hollywood and slap Lindsay Lohan and some of those celebs around a bit? Take a flip cam - and show it to all the kids back here in Iowa?

Ha! I’d prefer NOT to be on TMZ, especially for slapping the hell out of some half-dead diva, but damn, would that be some newsworthy fetch or what?
(P.S. JEL is only youth tobacco prevention, not drug related.)

What do you think of the creative community in Iowa?

The potential our advertising community has to take on the nation is unprecedented, in my opinion. In Des Moines alone, I believe we have set a standard for creative communities nationwide. Year in and year out, we have creative work that is considered award-worthy by national audiences, yet we are still small enough to keep the “local” feel, thus sustaining loyalty.. The sickest part is we are only getting better and growing larger, creatively.

What can clients do to make things better?

Get bigger budgets, work WITH US, not over us, and have delicious snacks at meetings. Pretty sure this is standard for everyone’s list.

Your dream client walks into the office. What do they look like? What do they say?

They would have to be someone who will test our account and creative abilities, yet know what is good and what is shite in the realm of advertising. A client that has some meat to their bones. Not just the mass production doldrums, but all-night-brainstorm-worthy, this-product-is-too-damn-cool-to-have-half-ass-ideas client.

What's more important, great creative or a great strategy?

You can’t have “great” without both. You have to go into a campaign with extensive knowledge about your target audience. Not just mass generalizations, but really get down to the nitty gritty of that particular market. You have to use this information to create a strategy that will blow the client, and hopefully the client’s target market, out of the water. This has to be done with none other than great creative. See what I did there?

Halle Berry or Erin Andrews?

I am married to a woman 10x the both of them, so neither….but is this a serious question? Halle Berry WITHOUT A DOUBT. Have you seen her in Swordfish? D-D-DAMN! (Sorry, Jess)

What did you learn in your years at Drake that you still use today?

Drake gave me the lifelong skill of becoming more personable. Prior to contrary belief, this IS something you can learn and excel in. Between speaking engagements at booster outings or mock client meetings in the J school, I had to earn the right to say “I have the handshake under my tongue”. There are many things that go along with this that have benefited me, as well. You have to know your audience. What to say, what not to say, when to be quick-witted, or when to know your role. Drake also made me accountable for my actions when working with others. I couldn’t go to the coaches if I wasn’t pulling my end of the work for a creative project. I couldn’t bail out of a mock client presentation because I had 5 o’clock practice. Class almost ALWAYS came first, as it was kind of a mantra the university tried to live by.

Are those Korvers all a bunch of pretty boys?

Have you seen those golden locks? If Kyle and Klayton had a documentary flick based on their lives, the only sufficient actors to cast would be Brad Pitt and Jesus. They must put something in the water in Pella.