Brett McKenzie
Chief Writer, SBN2
ihaveanidea

If there’s one thing that’s constant in the advertising world, it’s change. We were just putting our final touches on our Agency Profile of Deutsch New York when the merger between Deutsch and Lowe was announced to the world. “Wow,” we thought here at ihaveanidea, “that’s pretty big news.” But our Profiles have always been about agency culture for the grunts in the trenches, not about the machinations of silver haired shareholders and their chess-like gambits. So we thought it would be cool to show a look at the company for the little guys.

Besides, they’re keepin’ the name.

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“Hello… hello… hello…”

“Echo… echo… echo…”

One of the first things you notice when stepping off the elevator and into the reception area of Deutsch’s Chelsea offices is the hallway. Yes, I know, hallways aren’t some architectural structure unique to Deutsch, but few are like this one, especially in a densely packed city like New York. The reception is on 8th Ave. and hallway, extra tall and wide and lit by many south facing windows, stretches a full city block, over 800 feet, right up to 9th Ave. Some agencies have corridors; Deutsch has its own street.

Although Deutsch has been well known among Big Apple ad agencies for the past twenty years or so, its roots stretch back much further, back to the Mad Men era of the 1960s. This is when David Deutsch broke free from the ranks of the Ogilvys and McCanns, eventually opening up shop for himself in 1969 as David Deutsch Associates. We don’t know if Mr. Deutsch was one of those types who didn’t want their children following down the same career paths as they did, but if he was, he didn’t do a good job of it. In 1983, David’s son Donny came on board, eventually taking over in 1989.

Over the next twenty years, Donny made Deutsch one of the most talked about shops in the US. Some say that the agency has been carried by the strength of Donny’s gregarious, showman personality — how many ad people are charismatic enough to have hosted their own TV show? — while others say there’s much more to Deutsch Inc. than the man himself. In any case, the shop has managed to continuously stay on the radar for many years, quite a feat in the New York market.

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“Leaner, meaner, faster, smarter” is the motto of Deutsch, and all four elements of that philosophy are evident as I toured the creative department, guided by Abby Grozenski, the agency’s Creative Services Manager. First of all, ‘leaner’: Deutsch is relatively small for a big name New York shop, compared with the multinationals. It hums along with a staff of about 270, including a tight knit group of about 30 creatives. This means there is a lot of work on everybody’s plate, more than you’d find at other places. It also means that avoids the hierarchy that larger agencies tend to need; there aren’t four or five layers between the most junior copywriter and the Chief Creative Officer. At Deutsch, there are only a few CDs, which allows everybody to get great feedback and to champion their own work and have a little more control over its direction.

Another side effect of having a small creative department with a large client list is that nobody is “stuck” working on certain accounts. Everybody has the opportunity to work on every brand on the roster, whether you’re a mid-level AD or a senior interactive designer. And that AD and designer could very well be working on a project together, as there is no set team structure within the agency. Writers and art directors aren’t joined at the hip, and one Deutsch writer says she has teamed with five different ADs on various assignments.

In most agencies ihaveanidea has visited, the day seems to be structured as such: the suits arrive bright and early and leave at decent hours, while the creatives wander in bleary eyed at 11 AM or so and burn the midnight oil. At Deutsch, the creatives are often the first to arrive… and still burn the midnight oil anyway. This isn’t decreed from on high. “The CDs don’t worry if they walk by at 9:45 AM and don’t see you at your desk,” says Abby. “If the job is being done, coming in late isn’t a huge issue.” Instead, a level of trust amongst the entire department dictates the hours. Everybody knows there’s a lot of work to be done, and everybody is confident that their colleagues are working just as hard as they are.

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Because of the size of Deutsch’s creative department and its need to crucial need to work as a unit, there is a lot of camaraderie that spills out into “after hours” life. Where some agencies have various groups who hang out together, the gang at Deutsch loves to hit the town en masse, whether it’s to celebrate a recent win or commiserate over a lost pitch. This is certainly a well-lubed machine… even if it is lubed by pints and shot glasses.

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One of the big highlights of the Deutsch calendar year is the annual agency talent show, where everybody gets to show of their skills for cash prizes. It is during these shows that you learn some amazing things about your co-workers. For instance, one of the managers at Deutsch is also a master puppeteer on the side, and a finance guy must spend his evenings moonlighting as Eddie Van Halen.

Of course not every day is a party at Deutsch, and for the other 264 days, the agency has a kick-ass patio running along the south side of the building. This and the agency’s huge windows offer everyone an incredible view of New York — so you know the city is there, living, breathing and moving, even while you work above the swirling masses. Deutsch also allows you to bring some of your home life into the office; dogs aren’t common at most larger New York agencies, but are welcomed here, and apparently so are kids, as I see one whizzing by on a scooter (either that or they have really short couriers in this part of town)

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And what about Mr. Deutsch himself? I mean, does he actually exist at the office, or is he some Big Brother meets Max Headroom made-for-TV construct that nobody ever sees? Yes, Donny is real, he still serves as chairman, and he still has his office here (and was in it, working away when we visited) One of the creatives jokes that the weirdest moment he’s had at the agency is running into him in the mega-hallway for the first time and not knowing what to say.

Ah yes, back Deutsch’s super-hallway. It’s a source of amusement for many of the creatives here, as it completely changes the rules of corridor etiquette. “What do you do when you pass somebody in the hall, but prior to that, you’ve been staring at each other for 45 minutes in the approach?” questions one writer. “You can think out your entire strategy about how you’re gonna acknowledge the person. I like to do a Cinderella twirl when I pass.”

Unless it’s Donny. I think he’d appreciate a simple head nod.

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