John and a musician friend, Jason Medvec, share a love of their hometown of White Bear Lake MN. Wanting to invite others into the spirit of the community, they wrote a “love song” to White Bear Lake – “Ain’t Home ’til White Bear.”

But just the song wasn’t enough to capture what White Bear Lake and “brand generosity” are all about. Instead of selling the song for profit, John and Jason focused on giving back to the neighbors that give them so much. All net proceed from CD sales are being donated to the White Bear Lake Emergency Food Shelf giving listeners a little good-time country rock – and a lot of goodness.

“People get a fun summer song that’s also doing some good,” says King. “And that’s what brand generosity is all about. ”

Read more about John King’s “brand generosity” and CD with “Ain’t Home ‘Til White Bear” here.

Awards in general are a good thing, but the Alice effort is especially rewarding because it’s a living breathing example of Development in action with creative + media + digital working hand in hand. Nice work everyone!

I don’t read leadership books, though I’m told there’s a glut of them on the market. I also don’t pretend to know how to lead companies other than those who see creativity as their central reason for being. I do, however, have some opinions on leadership, especially during challenging times.

The commonality among the varying styles of successful leadership is that they must evolve around the character, values, belief systems and personality of the person at the top. They must also have a genuineness about them. It can’t be faked or people will smell it and refuse to follow. Employees follow real people whose actions demonstrate by specific example, not by overall dictate.

Read more of the article at Adweek here

Pat founded Fallon in 1981 with the single-minded desire to stand for creative excellence—in the people hired, in the partnerships forged, in the work produced, and in the results achieved.

He spends much of his time today nurturing the company’s culture, being a brand ambassador, coaching young people, and consulting on clients’ businesses. Fallon’s deep knowledge of branding issues, his thirst for learning all things new, his relentless need to achieve, and his rigorous approach to problem solving continue to make him an invaluable asset to client CEOs.

Fallon has won virtually every recognition in the business, but his most valued achievement is the trust he has earned from his clients. Moreover, through the years he has had amazing good fortune in attracting and keeping talented people—people of character and unusually high standards of excellence that have made Fallon their professional home. Fallon never forgets the gratitude of debt he owes to them for taking his vision and making it their own and then working together to attain the shared ideals of creativity and profitability.

Fallon is a past board member of the Minnesota Orchestra, The Guthrie Theater and the Ordway Center for Performing Arts. He is currently a board member for the National Children’s Defense Fund. Fallon is also an active commissioner for the Minnesota Combative Sports Commission (formerly the Minnesota Boxing Commission). Fallon is a published author—Juicing the Orange—written with his long-time partner and friend, Fred Senn. And rumor has it he may have a novel in him that is currently trying to escape the boundaries of his 5-foot-7-inch, blue-steel anatomical frame.

Fallon, who lives in Minneapolis, has five children—Kevin, Megan, Duffy, Reilly and Tressa—as well as one grandson, Leo, and a daughter-in-law, Leslie. They are the center of his life and an ongoing source of tremendous pride.

Read more about Pat’s induction in the American Advertising Federation Hall of Fame.

A group of us thought it would be interesting to ask Pat to list his top fifteen Fallon-produced TV commercials of all-time. So, here it is — Pat’s Top 15:

Read more about Pat Fallon’s induction in to the advertising hall of fame.

The future of advertising

Advertising surrounds us, in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. Advertising executive Pat Fallon and media analyst Jack Myers talk about the different companies vying for our attention and our loyalty.

Guests

• Pat Fallon: Co-founder and chairman emeritus of Fallon Worldwide.
• Jack Myers: Media economist and founder of M.E.D.I.Advisory Group.

Resources

• About Pat Fallon
• About Jack Myers

Check out some of the work on Fallon London’s website, here.

Here is a link to the story.