Karen Sauder's Take on Marketing

In advertising, collaboration is the new black

Advertising is sexy. It’s funny, provocative and lucrative. It’s competitive – even cutthroat. It’s where big ideas meet big business. And it’s Karen Sauder’s turf. Since her first job out of college 20 years ago, a part-time temporary position with Anheuser-Busch, Karen’s been accumulating expertise in all aspects of the industry, from marketing to sales to account management, all the way to agency management. Now at 42, she’s youthful enough to be current and mature enough to know how to profit from it.

As executive vice president and managing director of DraftFCB Chicago, Karen heads an agency with a staff of over 1,300 – the largest concentration of advertising talent in Chicago. Under her leadership, the agency’s client roster has added Kmart, Miller Lite and Qwest, among other big names, while existing clients like Boeing, Taco Bell and Motorola have experienced unprecedented growth. And last year she was named Chicago’s 2009 Ad Woman of the Year.

Like DraftFCB’s clients, Karen’s priorities are managing her company’s brand and finding new ways to reach higher levels of success. She notes, “We’ve got really smart people and we’ve been very successful, but how do we keep growing? How do we improve? That’s my job – to look for those opportunities and to empower the people here.”

That means creating a work environment where all players are encouraged to participate. “A lot of agencies are known for somebody – the guy who started it, or the creative,” Karen explains. “But because we brought together two groups of people (DraftFCB was formed by the 2006 merger of Foote, Cone & Belding and Draft) we are a non-guru agency. A guru environment is so limiting; collaboration is the new black. We try really hard to make this a place where everyone has a voice.”

Leadership without ego? Interesting concept. But Karen learned to take her ego out of the equation as she came up the ranks in a notoriously male-dominated arena. “I’ve been harassed and discriminated against,” she admits “but you have to learn to deal with it. In this business some people respond better to a man than a woman; some respond better to a woman – that’s pitch strategy and it’s real so you shouldn’t be offended.“

Still, it’s no secret that women and advertising have had a longstanding dysfunctional relationship, not only behind the scenes but in the media as well. “At first women weren’t marketed to, or they were marketed down to,” Karen says. “Then they became a mass market – of women. Or moms. But marketers need to understand that we are not a homogenous group. They need to understand women on more of a niche basis and talk to them in the right timeframe for what the product is.”

Understanding a market is crucial; reaching that market is imperative. And it’s that aspect of the business that intrigues and inspires Karen. “I’ve always been fascinated by looking at different industries, connecting the dots and understanding consumer behavior.” She cites the Internet, social media and cell phones as new channels to impact an audience. “You used to send consumers one message, but now they get hundreds of messages all day long,” she says. “Now, if you want us to, we’ll know exactly where you are at all times and send you messages – if you’re shopping on Michigan Avenue you’ll know there’s a sale on your favorite shoes at Saks. It’s about understanding the science of consuming messages and making choices – and turning that into a creative idea.”

Even Karen’s private life has a tie to advertising – she met her husband Jack while the two of them were working at Anheuser-Busch. The couple married in 1997 and had two sons, but when their oldest son developed a rare form of liver cancer at age 3, they were forced to make some life-altering choices. Seeing their son through chemotherapy, radiation and two transplants (Karen donated part of her liver for the first attempt) meant that one of the parents would have to stay home with the children. “Jack happened to be between jobs at the time,” Karen recalls. Fast forward five years – their son is cancer-free and Jack is a seasoned stay-at-home father. But Karen says the ad man in her husband is alive and well. “He redesigned all of the spirit wear and the logo for (our children’s) school – he’s marketing for the school!”

When time permits, Karen can be found in the kitchen experimenting with new recipes. “I don’t have a signature dish because I like to try them all,” she says. She’s also an avid fly-fisher and golfer. And she keeps in shape with regular early morning sessions with a personal trainer.

No matter what she’s doing, Karen pairs a matter-of-fact attitude with a sense of fun. “Life is not a straight path, so pay attention to the journey and don’t be so focused on the end goal,” she says. “And have fun along the way. Life is short. If you’re not having fun, go do something else.”