5 Minutes with… Norm Hagarty

Norm Hagarty is the CEO and managing partner at international, full-funnel media agency, DAC. Having previously worked for the likes of Pepsi Cola, J. Walter Thompson, and Scott’s Hospitality across North America, Norm joined DAC in 1996 as president of DAC Canada.

Adopting his current roles by the turn of the century, he helped reposition the agency for the digital age, spearheading DAC’s investment in technology and turning them into a full-service digital performance agency. Now with 12 offices across Canada, the US, and Europe, DAC is 600-strong and supercharging its enterprise-to-local approach by harnessing the new power of machine learning with an AI-powered operating system, IRIS.

Norm is a strong believer that the people are what sets DAC apart, advocating for team members who marry their enthusiasm, excellent execution, courage and curiosity with a passion for marketing science and analytics.

Speaking to LBB, Norm discusses DAC’s evolution, the importance of leading from the front, and his dedication to coaching talent.

LBB> You’ve seen DAC evolve over time. How has the company changed from its roots as a print agency to become a full funnel media agency today?

Norm> The agency has changed quite significantly in terms of what we do, the people we hire, and the role technology plays. We must always keep up with change to meet client expectations, help drive their businesses and meet the commitments we make. But what hasn't changed is our values and how we deal with situations, with people, and how we look for opportunities to deliver not only for our clients but also for our staff.

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?

Norm> Well, there isn't just one piece of advice; over the years people have imparted a lot of knowledge and wisdom to me. One of the things I learned very early on is that people are amazing. So, let them amaze you – let them fulfill their dreams and they'll bring you along for a wonderful ride.

A national creative director once said to me, ‘If it doesn't scare you, it's not worth doing’. That's important. I mean, we all worry about little things but if we want to drive significant business outcomes for clients, we are going to make big recommendations. There should be a little bit of fear in that, a little bit of, ‘Wow, is this going to work? This could be risky’. But you don't get ahead by being safe – and what got you here doesn't keep you here.

You also have to learn how to lead from the front, where your team can see you. They should be able to know where you're going and share your vision. If they can't see you, it doesn't necessarily mean they're going slow; you may be going too fast!

LBB> As CEO, what does your day-to-day look like? And how do you coordinate across all your offices to ensure you’re driving business outcomes for all your clients?

Norm> It’s fair to say I'm quite busy! I must not only keep a pulse on the business from a client perspective but also ensure that key internal projects are moving forward. Are we fulfilling our operating plan? Are we hiring the right talent? That's significant because it's the people in the company that end up driving things forward. That’s why I love to coach people, helping them continually learn, advance and deal with challenges.

LBB> What’s your favourite part of what you do, and what’s the most challenging aspect for you personally?

Norm> My favourite part of what I do is coaching. If I couldn't coach, I would wither! So, how do I help people so they can help their teams and our clients? I share what I've learned, and we discuss. Some of the most frequent topics will revolve around, ‘How do I get people to look at situations differently or positively?’, ‘How do we advance careers?’, and ‘How do we share a new process or new information within the organisation so everyone can benefit from it?’.

The most challenging aspect of my job is alignment. I might have my teams going in the same direction but the road must be broad enough so we can share opinions, exchange ideas and have healthy debates. I call that ‘positive friction’. Without friction, you can't move. Positive friction propels you forward and helps you progress. On the other hand, negative friction splinters organisations and will send teams on entirely separate roads – so it’s all about alignment.

LBB> DAC is evidently proud of its proprietary digital tech. Can you tell us a bit about that?

Norm> Well, we've always invested in tech. When I joined in 1996, we had an old NASA mainframe in our building, and on that we built our own operating systems to connect to the telco system. We built our own online order processing system. We built extranets before anyone else could. So, when Yellow Pages began to shrink, building the next generation of tech was already in our DNA.

Of course, we failed a few times. We tried to build a search platform that didn't work. Later we built PAGEtorrent, which was a landing page technology that really got us into the digital business. It matched landing pages to keywords at the local level, nurturing DAC’s 'Enterprise-to-Local' positioning, but eventually Google’s algorithm grew more sophisticated.

We deprecated PAGEtorrent and focused instead on TransparenSEE, which has since become the foundational platform of our local search approach. And of course we've invested heavily in technology for our media offering. We’ve recently launched IRIS, a solution built to accelerate our clients’ media impact through what we call ​Generative Marketing Intelligence, powering media programs with​ remarkable insights and strategic decision support.

We're a leading company because we do things differently: our technology is powerful, but it’s our experts who make it exceptional. We talk to our clients about how our processes drive their leads, conversions and revenue. In short, we are dedicated to driving business outcomes for our clients and our technology is a big part of the solution, but true innovation will only happen with the expertise of our team.

LBB> Who or what in the industry inspires you today?

Norm> No single company inspires me, nor an individual, but watching how various organisations adapt to change and bring services together is critical. It’s more inspiration along the lines of, ‘What do we have to do to maintain our leadership position in the industry?’.

LBB> How do you keep yourself fresh and abreast of developments in your field?

Norm> I read a lot, I forward articles, I go to conferences. We have outside people come in and share their learnings, and a lot of people in the company go to a lot of different events. We learn from that. We watch our competitors, so there's lots of ways to get that kind of insight – but listening to your team is very important.

LBB> Outside of work, what do you do to decompress or stay fresh? What do you think it is that drives you, personally?

Norm> I do lots of things! I play golf, I do a lot of reading, I have a great family that I love spending time with. All that keeps me refreshed. But, at my core, I was born with a fire in my belly and a great fear of failure. I always wanted to succeed. However, the most important thing for me was to succeed within a team environment, not as an individual. The desire to see your team succeed overtakes everything else.