Brad Kay
| Brad Kay | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| 🎓 Alma mater | Ithaca College |
| 💼 Occupation | President and partner, SS+K |
Bradley (Brad) Kay is a marketing and advertising thought leader with a unique focus on digital and social engagement. He advises management teams from global brands to early startups on how to market in a social world now defined by highly networked, empowered audiences. Since 2008 he has been president and a partner of New York-based advertising agency SS+K.
Career[edit]
Brad Kay is a speaker, advisory board member, panelist and judge at notable events and forums within the advertising community. Brad currently serves as an Agency Advisory Board member for the Interactive Advertising Bureau.[1] He’s been a judge for the Clio and Effie Awards, a featured speaker at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity and a keynote speaker at Brazil’s Mais Account Planning Conference. He was featured in Departures Magazine as one of the advertising industry’s stylish “Mod Men,” and his insights and musings have been included in Fast Company,[2] Adweek,[3] MediaPost[4] and The Hub.[5]
Kay has been president and a partner of SS+K since August 2008. He oversees business development and marketing, operations, key client relationships, talent acquisition and retention and SS+K Labs, the agency's in-house technology and innovation incubator. He had previously worked for SS+K from 1994 to 1998 in a strategic planning role.[6]
Graduating from Ithaca College in 1992, Kay started his career in advertising as a media planner at Ogilvy & Mather, later working in account management at Saatchi & Saatchi subsidiary Cliff Freeman & Partners. He has also held senior positions at Merkley & Partners and Foote, Cone and Belding.
Thought leadership on engagement[edit]
In a byline article published in marketing journal The Hub, (Issue #19) Kay highlighted the emergence of micro-communities — social networks populated by individuals based on very narrow interests — as a valuable engagement opportunity despite being the inverse of a traditional mass communication platform. He wrote:
- “I contend that the new model for success is less about scale and more about the power of niche micro-communities and exclusivity. … The micro-community’s value lies in its enabling like-minded individuals to explore and develop their interests in a refined environment. A brand that offers conduits for connectivity becomes a valuable link in this chain, and can leverage this as part of the loyalty-building process.”
He offered eight strategies for brands looking to connect and win loyalty among members of micro-communities, including dealing with group members as individuals versus en masse; developing special content and functionality that deliver value for the group and is available to them exclusively; creating viral opportunities for them to share with others and establishing membership criteria which underscore the perception of exclusivity. In a byline article that appeared in Fast Company, Kay described a unique and unsung type of employee he felt was essential to the success of a creative agency. While the creative and strategic superstars in the agency get the bulk of the attention, he argued that a quieter and more thoughtful type of contributor — the kind of person who could see and appreciate “moonbows,” (rainbows cast by moonlight, perceptible only to long-exposure cameras) — provided a necessary counterpoint and stability to the organization.
- “People who can see the moonbow,” Kay wrote “keep their bosses honest about the culture, help identify the rising stars who may be working quietly behind the scenes, breathe new life into worthy embryonic projects and provide clarity around issues that may be troubling people in different corners of the office. They can also carry forward messages that need to be disseminated to the troops with credibility and authenticity.”
Interviewed by Adweek about the rise of anonymity apps like Snapchat, Kay was quoted as saying:
- “There’s a sense of liberation and freedom that comes from expressing yourself openly and honestly, without judgment … As more people discover this, they’ll contribute more and more often to these platforms.”[7]
In a more elaborate discussion of the same topic on the SS+K blog, Kay stated:
- “Apps and services that allow people anonymity demonstrate a shift among Millennials from hyper-curated profiles and content to real, authentic, and grittier musings that convey a sense of vulnerability. This audience wants to show the world fully formed online personas and narratives, replete with sad and happy thoughts, silly faces, and no-makeup selfies – a shift from the lopsided, ‘happy,’ stylized narratives we’ve become accustomed to online. But, not everyone is ready to associate their names and faces with their raw and candid thoughts. It’s an evolution in social media (which always come with some risks) and apps like Whisper, Secret, Truth and Ask.fm are helping people move along the continuum.”[8]
Awards[edit]
During Kay's tenure as President + Partner at SS+K, the agency has won a host of awards – especially for their work on the Obama presidential campaigns, Livestrong, HBO Go, Honest Tea, and the AFL-CIO – including Cannes Lions, One Show pencils, Webby, Andy, Effie, Clio, Sabre and Digiday awards. Their work has also been featured by Time magazine and Adweek in “best of the year” articles.[9]
Personal[edit]
Brad Kay is married and has three children, and is a self-professed health and fitness nut. He’s a practitioner of yoga and loves cross-functional fitness training.[6]
External links[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ Retrieved from Interactive Advertising Bureau website
- ↑ Kay, B. (2015, February 25) Sure, You've Got Stars, But Have You Found The Moonbow People At Your Company?. Fast Company
- ↑ Kay, B. (2008, September 22) The Specialists. Adweek
- ↑ Kay, B. (2005, September 27) Log Off: Community Web Sites, The Second Coming. Mediapost
- ↑ Kay, B. (2007, July/August) Micro-Communities: Social networks should take notes from Ian Schrager and the Delano Hotel. The Hub, Issue 19 34-35.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Retrieved from SS+K website
- ↑ Gianatasio, D. (2014, September 15) Anonymous Apps Like Whisper and Secret Have a Dark Side. Adweek
- ↑ Kay, B. (2014, September 10) Are Anonymous Apps The New Confessional? SS+K blog
- ↑ SS+K Facebook page
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