Change Agent - John Dooner

Instead, Dooner sat down to ask big questions. What would Coke's ideal agency look like? How would it be organized? What could it offer to a brand that stretches around the world, and that must also connect with consumers on an emotional level? Fortunately for Dooner, by 1995 he had been elevated to a position -- chairman and CEO of McCann-Erickson Worldwide -- that gave him the clout to create that agency. "I wanted an agency that had real creativity -- a quality product combined with a global footprint," he says. Dooner knew that his firm needed to buy some agencies, including ones well versed in direct marketing, sampling, and database research. He also knew that the firm had to court top creative people, including DiSesa, who had jumped from McCann to J. Walter Thompson in the early 1990s.

The plan did not call for this new talent to set its sights on Coke right away. (DiSesa says that McCann didn't even start talking to Coke again until 1999.) Instead, their job was to give McCann the creative edge it needed to win new accounts -- and keep on winning -- until it was ready to march on Atlanta. In 1997, Dooner created McCann-Erickson WorldGroup to oversee seven different types of marketing firms -- including those handling health care, event planning, public relations, and, of course, the flagship McCann-Erickson. By 2000, the WorldGroup had more than $20 billion in billings, triple the amount it had when Dooner took over in 1994.

The strategy was so bold that despite the Coke loss -- which could have ruined Dooner's career -- then-CEO Phil Geier tapped Dooner as his heir apparent, and the two began crafting a strategy for all of Interpublic. Following WorldGroup's lead, Interpublic worked to meld the creative genius of hot agencies like Lowe Lintas & Partners with solid work from regional agencies like Boston's Hill Holliday and the global reach of McCann's WorldGroup. The power of this strategic blend rang true with a number of clients, including newly global brands such as MasterCard and Microsoft.

In Microsoft's case, the technology giant was trying to keep track of dozens of agencies, different campaigns, and an increasingly muddied image as it tried to take its brand around the world. By the late 1990s, Coke was finding itself battling the same problems. Early on, CAA had generated some ideas that resonated with consumers. Lots of people liked the sweet simplicity of watching polar bears drinking Coke, as well as the tag line "Always Coca-Cola." But by the end of the decade, Coke's advertising had too many tag lines and too many agencies trying to create too many treatments for a single brand.

So Dooner finally began making overtures to Coke, talking to his old buddies in Atlanta and to some new executives, including Stephen C. Jones, Coke's chief marketing officer. Dooner's pitch? Interpublic was big enough to handle Coke's global needs, but had enough small agencies and idea people to keep its advertising fresh. When Coke made its announcement in November, Jones said in the press release simply that the decision was "about ensuring that the basic messages about the world's premier brand have a foundation of consistency."

Dooner, DiSesa, and the rest of the team aren't celebrating. DiSesa says that there wasn't even a party after the November announcement: "We've got to create ads that Coke cherishes and the bottlers like. There's no cheering yet. Getting the account was the first step. Now we have to produce great work."

What's Fast

How do you react when you lose an important customer? John Dooner uses tactics that he's honed during his 30-year tenure on Madison Avenue -- tactics that allowed him to win back the most important client in his company's history: Coca-Cola.

It's better to change big things slowly than to change small things quickly. Dooner didn't set out just to win back the Coke account; he set out to reinvent McCann-Erickson and then Interpublic Group. He never expected either to be a quick makeover. "Winning," he says, "is defined by the legacy that you create -- and legacies take time to build."

Gather your gladiators. Dooner presides over a business known for creative geniuses who prefer to work alone. Using a scene from the movie Gladiator (the one in which the preservation-minded gladiators band together), Dooner gathered IPG's top management and talked about collaborating in order to win in an increasingly difficult advertising market. "In tough times, it's easier to herd these characters together," he admits. "This isn't just about winning. It's about using adversity as an opportunity to create something new."

You never cross the finish line. Winning back a lost client or bouncing back from a strategic setback isn't the finish line. It's the new starting line. The hard work begins after a client places his trust in you again, Dooner says. He and his team have already faced that with Coca-Cola. McCann's first ads were met with criticism, so the agency has gone back to the drawing board, rethinking strategy and execution to create better work for Coke.

Fara Warner (fwarner@fastcompany.com) is a Fast Company senior writer based in Silicon Valley. Contact John Dooner by email (jdooner@interpublic.com).