As simple as that

"We want to shift the culture from being polite, conservative and slow into a flat, faster, and more fun place to be."

This statement serves as the rationale behind the revolution inside one of the pioneers of the advertising agency.

New name, new logo, new colors. These are only a few of the things that JWT, formerly J. Walter Thompson, decided to change in the agency. To make things official, it recently invited its clients and the press to a fun-filled gathering at the Westin Philippine Plaza’s Sunset Pavilion. A presentation, detailing the principles behind the agency’s transformation, was the main agenda, along with an introduction of JWT’s 10-point scale, which it now uses to rate output.

In this scale, a rating of one would mean that your work is damaging, and is "worse than a waste of time." A rating of two would be wasteful; three, boring; four, predictable; five is competent work; six means rewarding and has a lingering impact. A score of seven is equal to innovative work, while an eight is market leading. Nine is world class, and a rare 10 is world beating, meaning, you have set a new standard.

Aside from all these developments, a new vice chairman will also be heading JWT Philippines. His face reminds you of a more mature Kiefer Sutherland (of 24 fame), while his laid-back demeanor and dry wit instantly bring to mind David Brent (Ricky Gervais) from the hit British TV show The Office. Matthew Seddon, former CEO of Saatchi and Saatchi in Malaysia, is now one of the new faces in the JWT office.

His very first encounter with advertising was when he was five years old: "I was in a TV ad. I was quite a good-looking baby, I’m not sure what went wrong," he mentions wittily. After that, for him, it was advertising or nothing. After taking a business degree in London, advertising seminars made him decide to pursue advertising. He applied for a job in London and got his first agency job in the mid-’80s. He’s been in the business for 20 years now, and has led Saatchi and Saatchi Malaysia into winning Agency of the Year in 2003, just three years after he took the helm. "To turn that company around was great, it was fantastic," he recalls with a proud smile.

And now, this tiger has decided to lend his magic touch to JWT Philippines. It didn’t take him long to decide to make the switch. "We (his family) love Malaysia. The kids were happy there, and work was going very well. But it was more of like, ‘What’s next?’ I’m still relatively young, and I just felt it was a chance to get out there, (face a) totally different challenge and move on from that regard."

He’s actually been looking for a chance to work here in the Philippines, a country that’s quite dear to him, as his wife hails from Tarlac. "Got married here. My kids were all born here. It’s a great place, (with) very friendly people, very crazy people," he says with a laugh.

Even with his light, laid-back take on life, Seddon takes his work pretty seriously. "I think it’s great when you create or (are) involved in the creation of ideas which have an effect on your client’s business." He also has pretty high standards when it comes to advertisements: "To be honest, all over the world, most ads that you see are boring and wasteful – one, two, or three on our scale. If ads don’t immediately stop people, and don’t get people to think about specific products or services, it’s a waste of time doing it. There are some great ads, but to be honest, not enough of them."

This perfectionist has a management style that will surely please most JWT employees working under him. "I’m a fairly open and an approachable boss," he says reassuringly. And true enough, throughout the relaunch, fellow JWT employees didn’t call him "Boss" or "Sir" but simply addressed him as "Matt." "It’s about being on the same side, being on the same team, focused on the same things. And you know, as they say, drive people forward by inspiration rather than fear. It’s about getting everyone passionate and motivated to do the best job they can," he says simply. With his passion for his work and his respect for his people, it won’t be surprising if JWT rises to the top in the next few months.

Besides being passionate about work, Seddon is also a romantic at heart. When asked about his wife, Lisa, and how they met, he responds, "Actually, it’s a work of fate. I moved out to Hong Kong, and my wife was visiting her sister who’s working in Hong Kong at the time. So, it’s my first day, and it’s her first day. I just bumped into her, I saw her, and I thought, ‘I gotta talk to her!’ "

They’ve been married for 10 years, and now have two children. And when he’s not busy working up a storm in JWT, Matt makes sure that he spends time with them. "I’m not there a lot to be honest. Advertising is the sort of job which doesn’t work on the traditional nine-to-five hours. That’s one thing I do feel like, as a parent, I should do, to really focus on trying to spend more time with them." He likes playing sports with his children, such as swimming and football. He also plans short vacations and out-of-town trips with his family. He also plays a little bit of golf, and likes to party and drink a few beers. "I’m a big fan of Red Horse," he says, while laughing.

How he managed to stay on top of his game while keeping the family together is pretty hard to figure out, and not everyone can perform the same feat. But Seddon attributes his success to one thing: "You need to get the right team in. Get the right people around you – people who are inspirational, people who are talented, and people who are passionate. That’s the absolute key. Once you get the right people, better work will follow."

And if you’re one of the many who want to succeed in this industry, take the expert’s advice: "You can’t teach passion in any way whatsoever. You have to have that passion, because there are easier ways to make more money, to be honest, than advertising. But if you’re passionate, if you like seeing your work up in lights and you get a kick out of seeing the effect it has, those are the key things that I think any budding graduate should really have. It’s not something you can necessarily teach, it’s either you want to make a difference or you don’t. I’m afraid it’s as simple as that."