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PyperPaul+ Kenney, Incorporated has only been in business for six years, yet they have finished just under the top shops in the national ADDYs for two years now. How is it that a Tampa shop can give the big boys a run for their money? I've been trying for years to pinpoint the source of their je ne sais quois. Furthermore, I've been trying to understand why I have a career-crush on them. Is it their maverick attitude? Their ego-aware culture? Their talented leadership?
Let me rewind.
About five years ago, I had the chance to shadow with PP+K staffers for an afternoon. Normally, academic-induced internships are worse than regular ones simply because they don't want or need your help. As I struggled to find parking on Twiggs street for my Chrysler-made boat, I thought of all the horrible hours of tedium and coffee-runs before me.
That didn't happen.
I trudged through the solid-wood doors like a prison inmate and ran smack dab into laughter. Laughter. At work. Not the kind of mocking, snickering laughter I was expecting to get, either. The we-are-hot-shit-for-thinking-of-this kind of victory guffaw.
Queue piqued interest.
Instantly, I am snatched up in a whirlwind of introductions as the creative director ushers me around like a circus ringmaster. Names fly in one ear and out the other as I'm struggling to take it all in. They have couches strewn around like a Manhattan bachelor pad, stainless steel office furniture cluttered with yesterday's big ideas and a boardroom that would make Donald Trump blush occupied by a lone job applicant nervously rifling through his portfolio.
Obvious drooling ensued.
The creative director; whose name I never retained because I was too busy staring at his suit (which I am still convinced was made out of silk and Angel hair), sat me down with one of their staffers to draft ideas for a Sweetbay billboard. In one day, we brainstormed and proofed this series of billboards. Not that I would ever get credit for it, but it is still nice to know that I had something to do with it.
Fast forward now.
A few years later, I was working on the Strategy and Presentation teams for the NSAC at USF. My instructor was Cliff Courtney from Zimmerman Advertising in Fort Lauderdale. We were grabbing lunch at the Fly Bar in Tampa, when the guys from PP+K walk in... There was a moment of recognition, and then; they swarmed Cliff like flies on a picnic.
I was depressed.
Well, only a little. Not that I expected them to remember me... They're the 'cool kids,' after all. A brief pause in my direction would have been nice. (Some sign of residual memory.) However, I don't think I would have been able to get us the grand tour of their new digs. Cliff could... and did.
Newer is better.
If I was impressed before; I was flabbergasted now. Gone was the understated trendiness and instead there was an in-your-face extravagance. No up-and-coming hot shop feel. This was WE HAVE ARRIVED watermarked on Italian leather furniture! Imagine the NBA and Mad Men conceiving a bastard child out of wedlock... That's PP+K.
We make money.
It was obvious. If their 'office' is a fraction of how much success they bring their clients, then you'd be a fool NOT to hire them. An idiot could put that together. It's not accidental. It's not a fluke. It is a brilliant marketing tool that seals the deal. Not only does PP+K woo top talent with Foosball tables and giant LCD TVs; they court bank-busting accounts with the office set design. Add in a dash of testosterone-infused swagger, and you've found the je ne sais quois.
Ambiance is everything.
It's not about being cocky. It's about putting on a show. Setting the mood. Romancing the client with the promise of profits. Proving your mettle through industry awards. Oozing sexy. That's what makes PyperPaul + Kenney so successful. And I wanted it.
Enter solo violin.
It worked. They had seduced me. Big time. I poured promises into an email and attached my resume with a kiss.... Silence. My advances fell on deaf ears while my equally-talented boyfriend got a callback. And a probationary job offer. What's a girl gotta do?
One lone tear.
Eh, well. I could always resort to sniffing my boyfriends company memos or lurking by the lamppost in a 1940's trench coat. Stalking their corporate blog and sending anonymous flowers on Valentine's Day. Isn't that what spurned lovers do? Or maybe I'll adopt and refine their own methods. I'm already ridiculously profitable at my current company. Take that $500k I earned for them last quarter and dress it up in a nice Italian suit... Spritz on some Allure de Profit perfume and watch the offers roll in. I'll have my own je ne sais quois.
Your move, boys.
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