Gordon Hochhalter said that when he started out in the advertising industry more than 30 years ago, it was on accident. According to Hochhalter, when he was in college, he ''accidentally'' attended a presentation being held by the head of the advertising sequence, who showed work that had been done for Volkswagen, Avis, and American Airlines.

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	Gordon Hochhalter

"The DDB creative approach made a tremendous impression on me," Hochhalter said. "I saw that good writing, good art, good humor, and good design could be good commercial communications. There was actually a place for relevant creativity in advertising. It was exciting and mind-blowing."

Hochhalter attended Brigham Young University and majored in advertising, with minors in social psychology and marketing. He feels that "advertising and the huge paradigm shifts in how people gather and use information" have given him the chance to continually learn more about his chosen profession.

Currently, Hochhalter is "Partner, creativitystrategyconnectivity" of Mobium Creative Group, an integrated branding firm that deals with business-to-business companies, including Time Warner Cable Business Class, Pitney Bowes MapInfo, Moog Industrial, Intermac Technologies, Oce, Munich Re America HealthCare, and the University of Illinois Foundation.

"We're repositioning and reintroducing Time Warner Cable Business Class through 35 different regional divisions with extensive print, radio, TV, direct, interactive campaigns," Hochhalter said. "We're introducing a new category called 'location intelligence' for Pitney Bowes MapInfo. For Munich Re America HealthCare, we're creating a new category called 'risk performance.' These are all multimedia programs. In addition, we're helping University of Illinois Foundation raise $2.25 billion in the next four years by taking a new approach to fundraising communications."

Since most of Mobium's clients are BtoB, the ads the company creates are not nationally recognized but are often known amongst those in the industries they cater to, and he is very proud of some of them.

"If you're a waste-water engineer, you will undoubtedly remember the 'Effluvia Happens' campaign, which included an ad picturing a flushing toilet with the headline 'Where some see an end, we see a beginning.' But I'm probably most proud of work we've done for Mobium about the tremendous changes in business communications under the theme 'Buddy, Can You Paradigm?'"

Q. What do you do for fun? A. I make sojourns to the Museum of Modern Art, Art Institute of Chicago, Museum of Contemporary Art, Wrigley Field, Millennium Park for concerts, Broadway (as in NYC), The Billy Goat for double cheese (the best), Second City, and Amazon. I also run. Mostly from creditors. Q. What CD is in your CD player right now? A. I don't have a CD player anymore. But my iPod has 1,407 songs on it which I will be happy to list for you based on their favorites rating or 25 most played. I'm currently listening to a jazz/blues classic by Mose Allison called "Your Mind is on Vacation, but Your Mouth is Workin' Overtime." Q. What is the last magazine you read? A. Metropolis. Q. What is your favorite TV show? A. The West Wing. Sorry, but I can't find anything current that is as well written and directed, so I just watch West Wing DVDs over and over again. Q. Who is your role model? A. Professionally, Bill Bernbach.

According to Hochhalter, the advertising paradigm is shifting, with customers and prospects now controlling the information, communication, and buying processes.

"This paradigm shift means that advertising as we know it is not just dead; Woody Harrelson is smoking its ashes in his lucky skull bong. It requires us to rethink virtually everything we do... from creative to media to interactivity to time shifting. Everything is being rethought and reframed. Everything is in flux. It is probably the most exciting time ever to be in the communications industry," Hochhalter said.

When giving advice to those interested in the advertising field, Hochhalter quotes legendary advertiser Bill Bernbach, who said, "The future, as always, belongs to the brave," and dares people to be brave.

"Advertising is not what it used to be," Hochhalter said. "And it will never be the same again. If you want to define the new communications and make a real difference in the business world, check out the new, unconventional stuff. It's fast and confusing right now, but if you're brave, you can make your own unique contribution to its future."

On the net:

Mobium Creative Group
www.mobium.com/homes/home18.asp

Brigham Young University
www.byu.edu

Bill Bernbach
www.ciadvertising.org/studies/student/98_fall/theory/weirtz/william.htm

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