_Bill Sweetman, “a One Degree Contributor”:http://www.onedegree.ca/contributors/bill_sweetman “recently became”:http://www.onedegree.ca/2006/01/12/bill-sweetman-to-join-maclaren-mccann Vice President of Internet Strategy at “MacLaren McCann Direct & Interactive.”:http://www.maclaren.com/. Bill is one of the interactive marketing industry’s most respected authorities, and his innovative work over the last 15+ years has been recognized by numerous awards, including the prestigious Internet World Impact Award for Communications. Bill has overseen Internet marketing campaigns for companies such as Alliance Atlantis Communications, CBC, Dupont, Enbridge Gas Distribution, Harlequin Enterprises, Hewlett-Packard, Pfizer Canada, and RBC Royal Bank._
*One Degree: Congratulations on the new role at MacLaren McCann Direct & Interactive! What made you move to a large agency after so many years of working on your own or in very small shops?*
There were many contributing factors to my decision, however the biggest one was that by joining MMDI I would have the opportunity to do way more of what I’m best at and enjoy, which is acting as a coach, resource, and devil’s advocate to lots of colleagues and clients. Although the role wasn’t created specifically for me, it sure felt that way, and that is why I leapt at the opportunity.
Over the years I had also come to realize that I missed the daily interaction with a group of people I would consider peers, and I had also grown tired of not having the client budgets or internal resources to act on the recommendations I would make to clients. There’s an amazing team at MacLaren McCann that can do just about anything, and it’s so wonderful to have that kind of engine at your fingertips.
*One Degree: Big agencies talk a lot about integrating strategies across channels but often struggle when it’s time to execute. How does MacLaren McCann approach this challenge?*
Category: Video
*One Degree: OK, let’s cover the basics first so people know what the heck “One Red Paperclip”:http://www.oneredpaperclip.com is. Who are you, what is One Red Paper Clip and how did this all get started?*
Kyle MacDonald. 26. From Vancouver. Live in Montreal. one red paperclip is my quest to make a series of up trades from one red paperclip for a house. I started with one red paperclip on July 12th last year after I realized I didn’t have enough cash for a down payment on a house. I saw the red paperclip on my desk and decided to see if I could trade it for something bigger or better. I traded it for a pen shaped like a fish. Then I traded that for a doorknob. Then the doorknob for a coleman stove. After nine trades, I’m up to a recording contract at MetalWorks studios in Toronto.
*One Degree: You’ve done an amazing job of integrating Web 2.0 tools into One Red Paperclip. I see “del.icio.us”:http://del.icio.us, “MySpace”:http://www.myspace.com, “Flickr”:http://www.flickr.com, “YouTube”:http://www.youtube.com, “Feedburner”:http://www.feedburner.com, “Odeo”:http://www.odeo.com, “Gmail”:http://mail.google.com, and “Google AdSense”:http://adsense.google.com. How has the availability of these tools impacted what you are doing with One Red Paperclip?*