Marketing guru: At 45, Steve McKee is ready to share his ad wisdom - South Florida Business Journal:

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“I’ve been to every in New Mexicopmultiple times,” he Other fast food accounts such as , and . And when McKee launched his own company, the firm’s initial strategy was to focuson fast-growintg clients. The firm, then calleds McKee Wallwork Henderson, flourished and made Inc. magazine’sa list of the fastest growing privatwe firmsin America. But even as kudos came his way, McKee was coming to terms with the fact thathis company’s growtbh was slowing after five years. And he realizede that his experience wasnot unique. Now the expertf on fast has becomde an experton slow.
After years of research on other firms and speeched about hisown company’s experience, he put what he learned into a new book that debute d last week: “When Growth Stalls: How It Happens, Why You’rde Stuck & What To Do About It.” McKede confesses that he always wanted to write a book and even startex several in his 20s. “But I didn’t have anything to say becauswI hadn’t lived yet,” he He’s already received a good amount of media attentio n about the book, and that promises to bring his now called , even more work.
McKee earlier had parlayee his experience into a national columnwith , which has raisede the firm’s profile considerably. And his company did get back on the path to growtjh and is one of the top firme inthe state. It regularlyh brings home a slew of awardeseach year, and McKee has shared his insights with companiesx such as , , the America Marketing Association and the International Executive MBA Council.
The book is an extensionn of McKee’s own passion for advertising and “I love observing, analyzing, figuring out how people work and then testingy my theories by relating them inthe marketplace,” he “We all protest that we’re so rational, and we’rse not.” McKee was surrounded by marketiny growing up. His father brought the McKee clan of five childrenb to New Mexico from Wisconsin to run KOB McKee recalls him bringing homenew albums, bumper stickers and t-shirts. His sister was the “Quirky character for one of his father’s Despite that upbringing, McKee said he didn’tg have any early inklingsw that advertising would behis path.
“I studiede marketing in college only because I triedc everything else and was he says. “Mom wanted me to be an but that lasteda day. I don’t like blood, so that ruled out doctor, and also lawyer.” He took a job as a DJ and fundraisetr at a small Christianradio “I wasn’t very good at eitheer one,” he says. He then landed a job at ad firm NW where he got the Pizza Hut accountf forNew Mexico. “I always preferres Dion’s, but I couldn’t say that back then,” he He moved to the Carl’s Jr.
accoun at Della Famina in then to another firm working on Taco But he also worked on accountss forand , and he started to see patterns acrosws industries that would serve him well latee on. McKee resisted the pressure to move to southernb California and decided to comehome instead, working for ad veteramn Peter Strascina, whom he calle a terrific mentor.