A year into new job, ad agency head savors role

The Taco Bell commercials with the little dog were fun, but sales at the Mexican food chain actually fell as the advertising campaign progressed.

An advertising campaign from the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy ("It's a fine line between respecting your teen's privacy and doing your job as a parent.") actually increased the chances of teen drug use.

Such are the vagaries of advertising. Some of it can drive you up a wall; some of it drives you straight to the mall.

Thomas Day knows all about advertising, having been with Barnhardt Day & Hines and for all of 21 years. He began as an intern at the Concord agency right out of the University of Cincinnati. He didn't know anything about Charlotte, having grown up in a small town outside of Toledo. Today BD&H is one of the region's oldest ad shops and Day is settling in as the president and majority owner.

With capitalized billings approaching $13 million, BD&H is among the Top 15 agencies in greater Charlotte--and growing. Chief among the accounts it has are CT Communications and Niblock Homes. BD&H also does the advertising for Frierich Foods, which produces a line of corned beef products.

Day has never worked anywhere else.

The late John Barnhardt, a Concord native son who acted like a goodwill ambassador, founded the agency back in 1983, having had a successful run with an entrepreneurial venture, American Display Co.

Barnhardt, who passed away five months ago, interviewed Day for an internship at the firm the week it moved into a glorious old mansion on Cabarrus Avenue, a couple of blocks away from historic Union Street.

With its high ceilings, large rooms and ornate woodwork, the Italianate Victorian was just the spot for a creative shop. Day says it was good to start at the bottom, as a student intern doing graphic design.

"That was major. That's what has helped me, starting at the very bottom and working through every level. You just get a really good perspective on the business and an appreciation for everyone here and their role."

He rose to art director and then creative director, becoming a name partner almost ten years ago.

"I've only been in this job forever," he laughs, noting how the agency has changed and grown with the times. The diverse staff of the past few years is more reflective of the different markets to which their creative work must appeal.

One of the most important markets is business. The agency has been named one of the top business to business agencies in the nation by B2B Magazine which is published by the ad agency Bible, Advertising Age. BD&H clients include Chanticleer Holdings and NorthEast Medical Center.

"I've always been surprised about how quickly agencies come and go and merge and split," Day says, noting that names resurface at potential clients, other agencies and companies. "You don't want to burn bridges."

John Barnhardt groomed Day to replace him, naming Day president in March of 2006. Last May, Barnhardt learned he had cancer. He died in December of 2006.

Day says Barnhardt was like a father to him.

With Barnhardt's death, Day says the agency is not doing anything differently. "We're more in a position to take more risks now and to maybe go a little further out on a limb in the types of clients that we pursue," he says. Still, clients like the hands-on relationship they have with the top people at BD&H.

Partner Alaine Hines is the "face" of the company, the person in charge of client development. The agency has grown enough to add another person in a similar role. "Alaine can only do so much, and retain a tight relationship with the clients," he says.

Plans are to hire a director of business development by summer. "The reason we need someone is to retain the hands-on relationship with our clients. Everyone here wears several hats and everyone is directly involved with client," Day says.

Day gets up at 5:30 a.m., focuses on getting five adopted children off to school, and hits the office by 8 or 8:30 a.m. While he's home in time for dinner, Day works on into the night, courtesy of a Mac laptop, focusing on e-mail and administrative and personnel tasks. Balancing work and family is an important issue for him.

"You definitely realize how valuable life is when you take in these little children who did not have a chance of a future. It has definitely given me a perspective on priorities in life," Day says.

A recent job opening drew 250 applications, with all but two arriving via e-mail. Lest anyone think paper is dead, Day says he printed out each of the 248 so the resumes could be marked up and placed in different stacks.

The agency has 10 full-time staffers and a few freelancers on call. Most of the creative work is done by staff because of the fast-paced nature of advertising. "As technology continues to move faster and faster, client expectations are that much higher. You once scheduled things a month out; now everything is done instantaneously," Day explains.

How does BD&H get the phone to ring for its clients?

"That's our challenge," Day says. The biggest difference between hiring a full-service agency and a freelancer is the team of people thinking strategically about effective design-not just good design, about different markets-not just one or two. "I judge advertising on the results," Day says.

While advertising on the internet has its place, one of the big issues nowadays is picking the right media. Daily newspapers are down, while targeted publications are up. Broadcast TV is struggling, while radio is hot. Indeed, a feature in TiVo lets viewers skip through TV commercials.

"The biggest challenge is being able to decide where more limited resources should go to get the biggest return on the client's investment," Day says, noting that he tries to find the combination of traditional media and more contemporary media that "allows your message to stick. People are inundated. The challenge is trying to stand out and hit the right person at the right time."

Day says the Geico commercials are an example of advertising that works. Three different themes appeal to three different segments of insurance buyers.

The caveman set is "off the wall and unexpected," and appeals to a thinking person who may very well have been in therapy at one time. The gecko cartoon character with the Australian accent appeals to a younger set, while the ads with somewhat faded spokespeople (Little Richard, Mini Me from the Austin Powers film series and Burt Bacharach) target a more mature insurance buyer.

"They have three extensive campaigns at the same time…when you see one, you don't make the connection to the [others]," Day says.

Most importantly, the advertising campaigns are working. Geico sales are up since it hired the Martin Advertising agency back in 1996.

Says Day: "You have to show the effectiveness." That's what counts.

Snapshot: Tom Day

Title: President, Barnhardt Day & Hines

First job: busboy

Education: Bachelors degree, University of Cincinnati

Lives in: University area

Always wanted to be a: Pathologist, like TV's "Quincy"

Little-known fact: Tutored from home after being hit by a car in the fourth grade