Anne Holland

Meet MarketingSherpa's New Editorial Director, Tad Clarke

May 22nd, 2006

For the past six years, I’ve worn two hats: both President and Editorial Director of MarketingSherpa.

But, as we’ve grown (35 staffers, four annual summits, nine annual research reports, eight weekly newsletters, four Webinars a month, etc.) it’s become too much for me to do both jobs well. 

So this January I started looking for someone senior to come in to head our editorial team. I’d still be in the background, brainstorming research projects and conducting the most fascinating Case Study interviews myself. But, there’d be someone else to lead daily editorial operations.

I thought the search wouldn’t be that difficult. I was completely wrong.

First, we placed ads on major online classifieds along with specialist sites such as JournalismJobs.com, MediaBistro, SNAPonline.org and Editor & Publisher. Then I expanded the search by contacting personal connections such as Sam Whitmore of the excellent MediaSurvey.com, editorial members of NEPA (newsletters.org), and the Internet OldTimers group at SoFlow.com. 

Result? After reviewing dozens of candidates, including flying the top three to Rhode Island for day-long interviews with the whole Sherpa team, we wound up asking Tad Clarke to come on board.

Biggest surprise? He’s from a marketing publication background. Tad spent the past eight years as Editor-in-Chief of ‘DM News.’ (Before that he edited and reported features, business and news for newspapers — the third generation of his family to do so.)

I’d actually not limited our search to marketing editors, nor expected to hire one. I just wanted to hire a darn good editorial director.

 

Here’s the funny thing — most of the editors outside of a marketing journalist background made it pretty clear they expected marketing to be a bit like basket weaving. It’s that gut course you take for an easy A. 

Actually, having taken basket weaving for precisely that reason my senior year in high school I can tell you it’s much harder than you’d think. And so is research and reporting on what works in marketing. 

Once I explained to our top candidates from outside the marketing journalism world what Sherpa’s editorial really entailed — all of the data analysis, advanced tactics, and ever-changing technology — most *backed down*. In fact, one of the senior folks from ‘MIT Technology Review’ told me, “That job’s too hard.”

That’s right. Editing articles on nanotechnology is easy stuff compared to editing Case Studies on marketing. Which gave me a kick, and I thought it would give you one, too.

Anyway, from now on if you have input, news, feedback or questions for our research and editorial team, contact Tad directly at TadC(at)MarketingSherpa(dot)com. 

He is very much looking forward to hearing from you!

 

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