5 Minutes with... Matt McDermott

Matt McDermott is a creative strategist by trade - although he’s worn his fair share of different hats; fishmonger, dogwalker, high school teacher, roller derby referee… the list goes on. But during his 20-plus years in advertising and marketing, he’s helped build and lead multi-disciplinary teams at numerous small agencies and created award-winning work. 

In 2021, he was the CCO at The Harvey Agency, a firm founded in 1986 that was known for its work with CoverGirl, DeWalt, Flying Dog Brewery and others, when the company’s biggest client (worth 80% of their revenue) moved elsewhere. Facing closure, Matt bought the agency - now known as Humble & Wallop -  and well… the rest of that story is still being written today.

Speaking to LBB’s Ben Conway, Matt discusses the rollercoaster ride since that decision, his current experimental strategy for the rebrand that goes far beyond a name change, and why a ‘Knight Rider’ future might not be so far away.  

LBB> What creative content inspired or interested you most when you were growing up? 

Matt> ‘Knight Rider’, the ‘80s series with David Hasselhoff as vigilante Michael Knight. He drove around in a talking Pontiac Firebird named KITT, outfitted with all kinds of crime-fighting technology. Jesus, I’m realising what a nerd I sound like.

KITT and the ‘Hoff engaged in witty action-buddy-banter as they mowed down creeps and weirdos. At eight years old, I saw KITT as the pinnacle of innovation, culture and human achievement. A car that could drive itself, eject the driver through its T-top, and deliver one-liners with impeccable timing. I was enchanted, even into my teens. I’d spend every weekend searching the classifieds for a black Pontiac Firebird. The best I could do was an old white Camaro with a broken heater that left a trail of oil from my house to wherever I got before it stalled. I never got my KITT. But I still get excited when I think of it – especially now, in a world crackling with the potential of self-driving cars, human-machine learning, and David Hasselhoff’s next project. 

LBB> Where and how did you develop your creative strategy skills? What are the people and projects that shaped and propelled your career? 

Matt> It’s shocking how little I know about anything. But I’m curious as hell. I’ve been told that I  interrogate people. I’ve been known to corner poor souls at parties and pepper them with questions about careers and philosophies. ‘What’s the most dangerous thing you’ve done with a forklift?’, ‘Have you ever found money in a recycling bin?’, ‘How do you keep someone’s eyes closed once you’ve embalmed them?’.

And that’s how I developed my staple creative strategy. Ask questions. Find the fascinating insights in the answers. Challenge, dramatise or connect those insights. I suppose that means the people willing to answer my questions are the ones who have propelled the careers and roles I’ve pursued, regardless of how different they were; student, fishmonger, dogwalker, high school teacher, husband, roller derby referee, creative director, dad. 

LBB> What were the catalysts that led you to buying The Harvey Agency in 2021? How have you gone about shaping the culture and direction of the company - now as Humble & Wallop - so far? 

Matt> It was equal parts optimism, hubris and impulsiveness. A day after I joined the agency as chief creative officer, our biggest client broke the news that they were moving the account to a global partner at the end of 2021. The account was over 80% of our revenue. The agency had gotten comfortable and complacent. It hadn’t invested in developing new service lines or positioning itself to win new clients. The options were for the owner to close it, lay everyone off, and liquidate. Or for me to buy it, keep the staff, and fix it.

So, I bought it. 

I thought with the right vision I could take a 35-year-old agency on the ropes and reimagine it. I saw a place that would bring in top talent, swing big, build new competencies, piss-off  competitors and give people a voice. For a minute, I thought it would work. We brought on national brands and interesting startups, earned press, attracted and kept great people. 

And then we ran out of cash.

We couldn’t grow fast enough to cover the legacy costs. The original vision I had wasn’t sustainable  – because it was never clear enough to begin with. About 18 months after the sale, I had to lay off the staff and file Chapter 11. It was gutting. I was ashamed because I let the staff down. I was embarrassed to fail publicly and in front of our competitors. And I was angry at myself for not having the answers. We lost most of our clients. I lost friends. And I was buried in debt. But some clients stayed. And some staff stayed on as freelancers to work with those clients.

LBB> What’s the most important lesson/piece of advice you received early on in your career? How does it influence you and your work today? 

Matt> My dad taught me the difference between years in a career and years of experience.  

He knew people who’d worked at the same company for decades. As the economy changed, companies began to cut pensions, benefits and people. Many of those senior people were let go  or were forced to take early retirement. ‘They didn’t have enough experience,’ my dad said. I  was confused; these folks had been there for years and years. ‘But they never changed,’ he said. 

They worked in the same role, doing the same work the same way for 30 years. They didn’t have 30 years of experience. They had one year of experience 30 times over. In an industry where the average agency staff member is in their 20s, you can’t stand still. Be unrelenting and curious, embrace change, and be open to reinvention every now and then. It’s good advice for work - essential advice for life.

[Above: 'Motivational Griller' campaign for Schmidt's Old Tyme]

LBB> What have been some of the early goals for Humble & Wallop? Have some of these been achieved already? 

Matt> Our biggest goal has been to prove that our ideas for how an agency should run actually do work. Our rebrand was more than a name. It was an experiment: Could we ignore some of the rules that we traditionally followed at other agencies and be successful? Like choosing not to have an account person be the single point of contact for clients and instead giving them direct access to the people working on their account. Or inviting clients to see work before it’s finished. Or insisting that the only ideas that matter are the ones that can be executed.

So far, clients love it. And they’ve shown us that they love it by bringing more and more work to us. As I see it, one of the most important measurements of success is the percentage of clients who come back to you.  

LBB> Who or what in the industry inspires you? 

Matt> I’ve been a fan of Mischief @ No Fixed Address since they started. The work they do is bold and unexpected, but also strategically disciplined. They are guided by the brand’s value, the audience’s point of view, and the business challenge. They are one of the best at hyper-extending a big idea beyond the traditional ad or execution. Through great public relations, word of mouth and opportunity-spotting, they regularly create work that is more than advertising - it’s cultural conversation.

LBB> What’s a recent project or business development that you’re particularly proud of?

Matt> Leading the launch of a political podcast for George Washington University. In just a few weeks, we were able to rebrand a podcast that had been mothballed, produce and edit the episodes, develop a creative campaign, and activate a PR strategy that generated millions of impressions, drove more streams in a few days than the original podcast had registered in the last six months, with the added bonus of generating interest from high-profile names in politics requesting to be guests on the podcast. All within a budget that would make many agency CFOs nauseous.

LBB> Mentorship is a big part of your life - previously being a teacher yourself. How does Humble & Wallop focus on bringing through young/new talent?

Matt> Honestly, we haven’t reached the level of success we need to be at to bring in and mentor young talent the way they deserve. We’re still in our infancy, and that means relying on experienced staff to keep us nimble, to do more with less, and to get to solutions faster. Teaching young professionals is an honour. H&W hasn’t earned it yet.  

That said, I still make time to respond to every student, young professional, or new talent who  reaches out to me. That might mean a quick review of a portfolio, connecting them to someone I  know in the industry, or a half-hour Zoom call dedicated to answering career questions. I have to be OK with that for now: It’s the best I can do until I’m in a place to do the best I can do.

LBB> Outside of work, what do you do to decompress or stay fresh? What do you think it is that drives and motivates you in work and in your life? 

Matt> This will come off incredibly sad, because it is: I have to work really hard to not let work be my hobby. Especially now that I’m running an agency, chasing new business, and continuing to  contribute to the work. Too often I find myself chasing extracurriculars that I hope will make me  better at work - not better at life. My family helps keep me a little balanced. Spending time with  them, even just useless TV time, helps to get me out of my head and off of my phone. Reading has always been a welcome distraction. I typically have a novel, a non-fiction book, and an issue of The Atlantic by the bed at all times. 

My biggest motivator is simple: I want yesterday’s me to envy today’s me.