Today we’d like to introduce you to Erik Radle.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
After graduating Baylor University, I was determined to head off to law school, but needed to put some money away to fund that portion of my education. Quite by accident (and maybe a little hard work) I ran into a series of sales and marketing positions as well as incredible mentors that prepared me for the challenging and rewarding seat I occupy today. Along the way I think I probably endured a dozen or so trials by fire that have certainly shaped my leadership style.
My decade in retail sales operations taught me the people side of any business. Customers want to know you care before they care what you know, and employees want to be led not managed. Most people will work hard at something they love, but do just enough to get by if they do not. You should hire slowly and fire quickly, and respect that everyone has a life outside of how they pay the bills. One of my many mentors along this path would often ask of us, “Does the world need (insert the name of our company)?” That question guided what I do daily with every company or division I have led.
My subsequent decade and a half in marketing is a journey that gets more Socratic every day. I try to help both our employees and clients open as many doors as possible, explore as many variables as possible, and see the world through the eyes of the modern consumer. Another great mentor once told me, in the context of a performance review that, “If you are always a hammer, you will see every problem as a nail.” This mantra has served to have me seek flexibility and innovation in all we do, so as not get stale, complacent or myopic in our approach to solving the myriad of problems in marketing and life in general.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?The toughest kind of struggles you face (in my opinion) are the ones that include some element that is completely beyond your control. For some time, a key pillar of our business was in helping groups or cooperatives accomplish their marketing goals. We achieved and exceeded expectations at every milestone, and yet those groups were dissolved by the parent entity. When 40% of your business is in a basket that one day simply vanishes, it gets REAL and real quick.
So, you reinvent, you right size the staff, you grind and you grind. Marketing is a ship, I have found, that doesn’t turn quickly, at least not what we do. Our efforts and client life cycles have a long runway. A crappy road stays that way for many miles. But when it turns, it pays you back in the same way…with what feels like a tailwind when it’s just a product of having put in the effort for an extended period of time.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Miller Ad Agency – what should we know?
We’re a full-service ad agency that specializes in what I call, “Swinging the Doors.” While we can do fine branding, clever slogans, pretty commercials (that have been seen in the Super Bowl), where we really excel is in communicating the right message, at the right time, to the exact right consumer to cause that consumer to take action. That’s it.
We are known for our professionalism, our high level of engagement with clients around the metrics that matter and most of all as a thought leader in the industry. We are asked to keynote and panel speak dozens of times per year across the US, Canada and Europe because we are so rabid about being in the know, and ahead as a result when it comes to execution.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Undeniably, it is optimism that is rooted in self-confidence, and confidence in my entire team. I always feel like good things are going to happen within our business. I don’t think it’s a blind optimism at all, or Pollyanna-ish but just a good historical lens. Things have worked out for me. I feel like I can exert an unfair influence on the outcome of most situations…a fierce internal locus of control.
Contact Info:
- Address: 2711 Valley View Lane
101
Dallas, TX 75234 - Website: milleradagency.com
- Phone: 9722432211
- Email: eradle@milleradagency.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/milleradagency
- Facebook: facebook.com/MillerAdAgency
- Twitter: @milleragency
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