- Advertising Star
Rodger Roeser: President, Eisen Management Group
by Heather Jung
by Heather Jung
When Rodger Roeser left his job at a major advertising agency in June of 2001 to create his own marketing and PR agency, he did so in the midst of uncertainty. Three months after he created the Eisen Management Group, the 9/11 attacks occurred and further damaged an already hurting economy.
"One of the first things that went by the wayside in the advent of 9/11 was advertising and marketing; most companies pulled way back or cut their marketing budget entirely," Roeser said. "I think it was weeks before you started even seeing ads on TV again because they felt that it was in bad taste. PR was challenged because almost everything that was discussed centered around these sorts of issues."
Now, almost six years later, the economy has regained its footing and Eisen is a thriving company whose clients include White Castle, NASCAR, and the real estate agency ERA. Despite Roeser's success, many people may wonder why he would leave a life of stability during a very uncertain and unstable time.
"It really came out of a desire to do it a little better, to do it a little smarter, and to grow in a direction that I was more comfortable [with] and that I really wanted to grow in," he said.
Roeser, who has a degree in journalism from Kent State University in Ohio, first began his advertising career as a young man promoting his rock band in the mid-to-late 80s. As the lead singer and head of Turning Force, it was his responsibility to promote the band. He organized publicity stunts and put press kits together in order to get their name out to the public. While he still performs as a member of Turning Force, he now focuses most of his attention on his clients.
"My job is to help other businesses grow and make more money and be more profitable. We try to have a little fun doing it," Roeser said.
Eisen helped create the "Holy Chicken Encounter," a popular ad campaign that promoted White Castle's chicken rings. The viral video answers the question "What is a chicken ring?" It is reminiscent of Loch Ness Monster and Big Foot videos, featuring a seemingly paranoid man who is describing the unusual chickens he has encountered—chickens that smell like Tabasco sauce and Hidden Valley Ranch and have "holes right through their middle." The ad was wildly popular and is now featured on video-hosting sites such as YouTube and Google Video.
In addition to working with major clients such as White Castle and NASCAR, Eisen works with smaller business-to-business companies such as the Cadence Network, Inc., (an energy management company) and Essential Care (an insurance provider for part-time and hourly employees). Eisen provides these companies with PR, marketing, and advertising strategies.
With the advent of TiVo and DVR, which give people the option of ignoring and fast-forwarding through commercials, advertising agencies have had to change their tactics. According to Roeser, his company attempts to create interesting and memorable ads that people will want to watch. He also believes that advertisers will take cues from the Golden Age of Television and use sponsorships, in which television shows are brought to audiences courtesy of certain companies or products.
"Mass media is dead; there's just no way around it," Roeser said. "People like you and I are tuning out commercials, fast-forwarding through commercials, so you really want to find new and more creative and more innovative ways to reach out to your target audience. Not that using TV or radio is bad, because it's not—it's still an incredibly strong medium, [but] you just have to be a little smarter about it and who it is that you are expected to reach, and you want to maintain that visibility even more hypersensitively among very specific and segmented targets. If you can make ads that are a little bit more memorable and a little bit more interesting to the viewer and you're really having a conversation and you're talking with the viewers, [it] is much, much more interesting."
Roeser encourages those who are interested in pursuing advertising as a career to be prepared to pay their dues and to understand why they are getting into that career. He says that people must be willing to learn and grow in their field and be willing to understand what it takes to succeed.
"Understand why it is you're going into this" he said. "If you're going into it because you think you are going to make a lot of money, that's simply not true. You can make a lot of money along the way, but you've got to be willing to pay your dues. Understand that no matter how talented you are, there are a million other people out there who are better than you. Your talent alone isn't what's going to make you stand apart, isn't what's going to make you amazing."
On the net:
Eisen Management Group
www.eisenmanagementgroup.com/main/index.php
Holy Chicken Encounter
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGFBTS0c8m0
Kent State University
www.kent.edu
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"My job is to help other businesses grow and make more money and be more profitable. We try to have a little fun doing it," Roeser said. |
Now, almost six years later, the economy has regained its footing and Eisen is a thriving company whose clients include White Castle, NASCAR, and the real estate agency ERA. Despite Roeser's success, many people may wonder why he would leave a life of stability during a very uncertain and unstable time.
"It really came out of a desire to do it a little better, to do it a little smarter, and to grow in a direction that I was more comfortable [with] and that I really wanted to grow in," he said.
Roeser, who has a degree in journalism from Kent State University in Ohio, first began his advertising career as a young man promoting his rock band in the mid-to-late 80s. As the lead singer and head of Turning Force, it was his responsibility to promote the band. He organized publicity stunts and put press kits together in order to get their name out to the public. While he still performs as a member of Turning Force, he now focuses most of his attention on his clients.
"My job is to help other businesses grow and make more money and be more profitable. We try to have a little fun doing it," Roeser said.
Eisen helped create the "Holy Chicken Encounter," a popular ad campaign that promoted White Castle's chicken rings. The viral video answers the question "What is a chicken ring?" It is reminiscent of Loch Ness Monster and Big Foot videos, featuring a seemingly paranoid man who is describing the unusual chickens he has encountered—chickens that smell like Tabasco sauce and Hidden Valley Ranch and have "holes right through their middle." The ad was wildly popular and is now featured on video-hosting sites such as YouTube and Google Video.
In addition to working with major clients such as White Castle and NASCAR, Eisen works with smaller business-to-business companies such as the Cadence Network, Inc., (an energy management company) and Essential Care (an insurance provider for part-time and hourly employees). Eisen provides these companies with PR, marketing, and advertising strategies.
With the advent of TiVo and DVR, which give people the option of ignoring and fast-forwarding through commercials, advertising agencies have had to change their tactics. According to Roeser, his company attempts to create interesting and memorable ads that people will want to watch. He also believes that advertisers will take cues from the Golden Age of Television and use sponsorships, in which television shows are brought to audiences courtesy of certain companies or products.
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"Mass media is dead; there's just no way around it," Roeser said. "People like you and I are tuning out commercials, fast-forwarding through commercials, so you really want to find new and more creative and more innovative ways to reach out to your target audience. Not that using TV or radio is bad, because it's not—it's still an incredibly strong medium, [but] you just have to be a little smarter about it and who it is that you are expected to reach, and you want to maintain that visibility even more hypersensitively among very specific and segmented targets. If you can make ads that are a little bit more memorable and a little bit more interesting to the viewer and you're really having a conversation and you're talking with the viewers, [it] is much, much more interesting."
Roeser encourages those who are interested in pursuing advertising as a career to be prepared to pay their dues and to understand why they are getting into that career. He says that people must be willing to learn and grow in their field and be willing to understand what it takes to succeed.
"Understand why it is you're going into this" he said. "If you're going into it because you think you are going to make a lot of money, that's simply not true. You can make a lot of money along the way, but you've got to be willing to pay your dues. Understand that no matter how talented you are, there are a million other people out there who are better than you. Your talent alone isn't what's going to make you stand apart, isn't what's going to make you amazing."
On the net:
Eisen Management Group
www.eisenmanagementgroup.com/main/index.php
Holy Chicken Encounter
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGFBTS0c8m0
Kent State University
www.kent.edu
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