From the whimsical magic of the classic television show ‘Bewitched’ to the creative alchemy of strategic branding, my remarkable 50-year marketing career was profoundly inspired by the enchanting world of Samantha Stephens and her spellbinding adventures. Truth be known, it was actually her husband Darrin who transformed my life.
From Jock Straps to Ad Agencies
Growing up the son of a Hall of Fame high school basketball coach in Texas, my entire existence was pretty much centered around competitive sports. At three years-old, my photo was in World Tennis Magazine as a promising young player. By six, I was leading my youth league basketball team to the championships every year until summer came calling for me to get back out on the youth tennis circuit playing tournaments across the state.
Give the Kid a Break!
When dad came home from work, we talked sports. When it was time for dinner, I had to go out on the driveway and make 20 free throws before I could sit down. On summer days he would drop me off at 7 a.m. at the public tennis center with a large bucket of tennis balls and an edict to serve at least 1,000 balls a day, plus play six sets with the best players I could find. He was also a former NAIA National Doubles Champion and teaching tennis pro, so when he picked me up in the afternoon, he would give me a one hour lesson.
Hard to believe I had fun, but it was a blast. I had a purpose and relentless focus. I was either going to be a professional tennis or basketball player, or maybe even a coach. I didn’t even know what the word “business” meant. It was never discussed at our table. It had no relevance. We would talk about man-to-man defenses or how to execute a fast break for the entire meal, but not business.
Traveling Texas with a Coach Father
From the age of 3, I traveled all over Texas with my father and his teams, attended practices, games, tournaments, locker room talks, media events, coaching conventions, speeches, and ceremonies. In fact, at one time in my life, I had been to most every high school gym in Texas, and most colleges. Yep, my life was set, so I thought. God had a different plan.
The Shift from Sports
God began showing me my infallible plan may have holes in it late in my high school years. While I could shoot the ball with dead accuracy literally anywhere once I crossed the half court mark, there were no three pointers then, plus I didn’t like playing defense. While I was quick and had tremendous hand-eye coordination, I was small and relatively slow so my opportunities at the college level were going to be a challenge.
Ah, but there’s tennis. I will go play in college, then turn pro. Problem was, back in the seventies, professional tennis still wasn’t paying very much unless you were Rod Laver or Jimmy Connors. Compared to today’s players, they didn’t make much money either. So I will go become a teaching pro or basketball coach, or maybe both, like my role model father.
This all began weighing on me once I left home for college, and despite being recruited, I ended up leaving my college tennis team during my freshman year, just before conference play was to begin. What should I do now? For the first time in my life, I was not involved with playing sports. It was a big league culture shock!
Finding My Inspiration in Television
Upon telling the coach I was leaving the team, I went to my dorm room feeling rather numb. Not knowing what I was going to do next in my life, I turned on the television to watch my three favorite shows; ‘Leave it to Beaver, the Beverly Hillbillies, and Bewitched.’ All three ran back-to-back during the same time slot and I had watched them for years.
The Bewitched Epiphany
On that particular day, the Bewitched episode featured Darrin Stephens, Samantha’s (a.k.a. The Witch) husband. He was working in an office for a man whose character on the show was Larry Tate. Darrin was always showing Mr. Tate ideas about companies on a large piece of white cardboard. He was usually talking about ideas called slogans and campaigns, neither of which resonated with me. However, for some reason, I thought I would be good at that kind of work. Not even knowing what Darrin’s job was called or what kind of company Mr. Tate ran, I was extremely intrigued and wanted to learn more about it. It looked like fun!
The next day I arrived at my freshman English class a little early and asked the professor if she ever watched Bewitched. She looked at me kind of funny and said, “That is one of my favorite shows. Why do you ask?”
“Can you tell me what Darrin Stephens does for a living?” I asked. “I can,” she replied. “He works for an advertising agency.”
The World of Advertising
At the time I was an undeclared major, and asked which of our colleges within the university system I would apply to get a degree to go to work for an advertising agency. She said historically advertising career seekers would get a degree in Journalism, but there was a more business oriented approach starting to get traction called Marketing. She suggested I go talk to both the Liberal Arts and Business deans to learn about the differences before making my decision.
After doing so, it was clear to me this “marketing” thing was supported by strong business training and, in fact, the dean told me he thought it was going to be a fast growing sector of the business world. So I decided to enroll in the College of Business Administration and get a degree in Marketing. Ironically, 20 years later I was hired to lead the rebranding initiative for that college into the Mays Business School it is today.
Athletic Discipline an Advantage in Business
Applying what I had learned in athletics; training, discipline, commitment, and dedication, I worked hard and got that degree. And thanks to one of my professors in the Marketing department, I graduated and went straight to work for a well-known regional advertising agency. After being there a year, one of my clients offered me the opportunity of a lifetime to start my own advertising agency, and with a twitch of the nose, my enchanting journey began. What bewitching moment will inspire you?
