Name of agency contact: Steve Parker Jr. & Jeffrey Adelson-Yan
Company name: Levelwing
Address: New York, N.Y. | Charleston, S.C.
Phone: 646.216.8320
Web site: www.levelwing.com
Year established: 2002
Number of employees: 40 (and still hiring)
Clients: Include Bridgestone, Servpro, Countries of Germany and Austria, Le Creuset, Humana, NJ Nets & Devils, etc. Levelwing has clients on three continents and nine countries.
Steve Parker Jr. and Jeffrey Adelson-Yan came together to form Levelwing, a full-service digital advertising agency, in New York. Since it’s inception in August 2002, Levelwing has proven to be a successful company centered around understanding and best utilizing the digital space. Their award winning team is celebrated for using real-time best of breed technologies to generate actionable intelligence and measurable results. In 2008 the agency expanded to Charleston, S.C., and today, the company now has clients on three different continents and nine countries.
This is what they had to tell us when we talked with them.
Imagewest: What is your title and brief job description?
Steve Parker Jr.: Co-founder & Managing Partner (same for Jeff and myself)
IW: What college did you attend? What did you major in?
SP: WKU Ogden College of Science & Engineering
JA: WKU College of Education & Behavioral Sciences
IW: How did you get started in the business?
SP: Fortune 500 Company, Columbia/HCA starting their interactive services department in 1996.
JA: At a consulting firm in Chicago in 1996.
IW: What gets you excited to come to work everyday?
SP & JA: The smell of fresh coffee being brewed in the office is always a great reason but also, for both of us the excitement is the challenge to lead, grow and create a company from the ground up and although we have been doing that for nearly the past 9 years, each day is like a start-up day. We do love to see people learn and grow as professionals, plus it gives us more trust in them and a great sense of satisfaction.
IW: What is a typical day like for you?
SP & JA: There is no typical day. In our industry, Digital Media & Advertising, everything is still so new it is a bit chaotic and you have to be able to make quick decisions and create solutions that are not common and certainly do not have a roadmap. As founders of the company at this point the biggest challenge is managing people and their expectations, roles and responsibilities. To relate it to movies we all know, some days are like the movie Groundhog Day, others are like Terminator and some are When Harry Met Sally.
IW: What advice can you provide upcoming graduates?
SP & JA: Focus on learning and putting in your time. It seems today too many new graduates want everything given to them yesterday. They want to hit the ground as the boss. That’s not realistic, or it is -start your own company. Otherwise, be a team player first and learn from those you see are doing what you aspire to do…but don’t try and be them so quickly, because you’re not. Also, keep in mind you are not the smartest person in the room, and you may not want to be, and always be in a state of learning.
IW: What is the best piece of advice or words you live by?
SP & JA: “You look down, they know you’re lying and, they know you don’t know the truth. Don’t use seven words when four will do. Don’t shift your weight, look always at your mark but don’t stare, be specific but not memorable, be funny but don’t make him laugh. He’s got to like you then forget you the moment you’ve left his side. And for God’s sake, whatever you do, don’t under any circumstances…” Ok, so that’s really a quote from Ocean’s Eleven, but it does sound better than the truth, “Start every day fresh.”
IW: What qualities/skills are you looking for in new graduates?
SP & JA: True Team Players. Someone who wants to learn, who’s willing to learn and who is willing to be directed. Some days you can be strategic and work on the “cool” project, but you also have to be able to be the plumber some days and do the dirty work. More specifically, we look for folks with solid analytical and problem solving skills: math, statistics, economics, and science are strong needs in the new digital economy. That may seem abnormal from what you would expect in the Digital Media and Advertising Industry, but it is changing dramatically and these are much needed skills.
IW: Are you a dog lover or cat lover?
SP: I love dogs but I’m allergic to them, unfortunately. Cats creep me out, they are always up to something.
JA: I love dogs and have a yellow lab named Willy
IW: What is your favorite color?
SP: Blue
JA: Fuchsia
IW: If you could be a superhero, what would you want your superpowers to be?
SP: I’d love to have the power to fly and see people naked.
JD: I’d want the power to read minds and be invisible.
IW: What is your favorite blog, Web site and/or book?
SP & JA: Selfishly, our own, www.askingsmarterquestions.com. As for books, there are so many out there, but the best read out there you can learn from is a magazine, the Hardvard Business Review. You can literally get a Harvard education for only $119 a year. Subscribe – it’s 100% worth it.
IW: Do you have any other comments, concerns, or advice to share?
SP: Will the world really end in 2012? If you know the answer, please let me know, because if so I’m going on vacation until then.