In his own words: Flip Wright, brand strategy expert

Northern Nevada Business Weekly: Tell us a little about The Glenn Group.

Flip Wright: We are a full-service marketing communications agency with clients nationwide in a host of different categories... And we are really good. That's our brand position. The best part is, I totally believe it.

NNBW: What's your role in the agency?

Wright: I am involved heavily in finding the strategic insights that will allow our team to come up with the most effective solutions for our clients and the most interesting and meaningful conversations with everyone else.

NNBW: How do you go about developing a brand strategy for a client?

Wright: Sounds kind of like a textbook answer, but it really is about drilling down to the foundation of your brand. Why do you exist? Why are you different? Why are you better? Why would someone want to connect with your service or product? That platform really is the foundation for what you should be saying.

NNBW: How did you get into this?

Wright: It fascinates me. When I was in graduate school, I was originally studying to work in professional sports marketing. I was working on a project for NASCAR and it was all about brand avidity and the loyalty that fans brought to the sport. If your favorite driver is sponsored by Mountain Dew, you drink Mountain Dew. No question. It got me thinking about brands and the powerful connections that the successful ones have with their customers. The truly strategic brands see all the different ways that they can become a part of their customers' lives and that will ultimately drive that lifetime of goodwill.

NNBW: When you were a little kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Wright: Left-handed and a pitcher. Those two things seem to really compliment each other.

NNBW: How does this job compare to those childhood dreams?

Wright: I'm still not left-handed, but I guess I am pitching.

NNBW: What's fun about this job?

Wright: I love the people I work with, and I love the team effort it takes in the process of an idea becoming reality.

NNBW: What's a drag?

Wright: Sometimes the ideas that you are most proud of might not make it past the cutting room floor. There is the business reality of everything that we do. We always need to remember that we are working with a purpose and that some ideas, no matter how clever or strategic, just might not be the right thing for that time and place.

NNBW: How come you bring your dog to work with you?

Wright: Obviously you haven't met Casey. He's a 100-pound black lab with the kindest soul you can imagine. Why? Other than the therapeutic nature of having your best buddy hanging out with you all day, I am pretty sure I don't have a choice anymore. If I were to stop bringing him, some of my co-workers and our clients might politely take issue.

NNBW: What do you do when you're not working? Why?

Wright: Spending time with my family, listening to music, watching baseball, having a drink at The Chapel or Corrigan's. And I've vowed to be more diligent about fly-fishing this summer. So, basically all the important stuff.

NNBW: What's the best advice you ever heard?

Wright: Don't say Baa, Baa, if Baa is enough. Seriously, don't oversell. If the idea is solid, just share it, ask for the business and then start listening.

NNBW: Anything you'd like to add?

Wright: I like your questions. You really can get to the heart of brand when you ask the right questions.