VIDEO: Saatchi & Saatchi chairman Bob Seelert on marketing and Mad Men

Having started his career with General Foods Corporation, Seelert spoke about his extensive experience on both the client and agency sides while expounding on what are some of the most common mistakes made by marketers today.

“Marketing should always be about meeting consumers’ needs,” he says. “And it’s in the interest of the consumer that you should be acting at all times.”

Seelert, who has published a book called ‘Start with the answer’, billed as a success recipe for young aspiring business professionals and leaders, also had words of wisdom for marketing and advertising professionals who want to stay ahead.

“One of the pieces of advice is in the title of the book – ‘Start with the answer’,” says Seelert. “When you go into a situation, before you spend a lot of time or spend a lot of money, you ought to step back and reflect – where would you really like to see this come out?”

He also wrote an interesting article about the ‘Mad Men’ series and how things have changed since he started out in a similar environment 40 years ago. Based on that, Seelert spoke about the differences then and now.

“I did start my career on the client side way back in the Mad Men era and there are some things about this drama that are extremely well done and in truth, reflective of the way it was,” says Seelert.

On the differences now and where advertising and agencies are heading toward, Seelert notes: “But in today’s world, we no longer intrude into people’s homes and people’s lives. We really try to connect with consumers. We try to get invited into their homes or have them come seek us out. That’s one of the big changes that’s going on.”