Mediaboss Marketing

CLEVELAND, Ohio - It takes bravery to make history. And according to Jeff Charney, the chief marketing officer behind characters like Flo, the Aflac Duck and Dr. Rick, its sorely needed for good advertising too.

Thats why MKHSTRY, his new marketing collective, makes potential customers take a 75-question test as a bravery barometer before theyre invited to hire his new company.

I want to work with the bravest gamechangers possible, Charney said.

Charney, 62, has been working in the advertising industry since he was 17. Hes been the chief marketing officer at QVC, Aflac and most recently Progressive in suburban Mayfield, where he worked for 11 years before retiring from Progressive.

Over his career he won more than 100 awards for advertising that was disruptive and made brands stand out.

Even though he was named Ad Ages BRAND CMO of the Year in 2021, Charney said he wanted to walk away from the corporate world on top to launch his own marketing collective based in the Cleveland area.

MKHSTRY isnt an advertising agency or a normal consulting firm, Charney said. The collective is built around accelerating ideas and getting brands and agencies to do things in new ways.

Charney announced the new company in late March, and since then hundreds of companies have already reached out to try to become clients, he said.

He only wants to work on ideas that crack the code with innovative ways to advertise. Charney also wants people that have courage to make decisions, which is why customers have to be invited to hire the collective.

Charney said the best campaigns he worked on, whether it was a motorcycle riding insurance saleswoman or a loud duck, worked because they were unusual for the time, and because he and his team didnt treat them like traditional ad campaigns.

Actress and comedian Stephanie Courtney, who plays the television character "Flo" in commercials for Progressive, throws out a ceremonial pitch before a a Cleveland Indians game in 2009. Mark Duncan, AP

He said the best characters were the ones they treated like a Saturday Night Live cast member.

Flo was a character he inherited a year after her creation, but Charney said Progressive kept her relevant and made her a household name because they leaned on comedian Stephanie Courtneys improv skills.

Charney said she told him she was funnier than what the writers were coming up with. So they bet on those skills and surrounded her with other improv actors. When Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield started doing commercials, Charney said they made sure he got improv training too.

The Aflac Duck, another character he inherited but worked with for many years, was created because the CEO didnt care if he needed to scream Aflac at the top of his lungs. Hed do anything that worked.

So when the copywriters who created the character came across a loud, obnoxious duck at lunchtime they went with it. Even choosing the bird over actor Ray Romano, who was doing ad campaigns at the time.

One of Progressives newest characters, Dr. Rick, is probably better known as the life coach that tries to stop people from turning into their parents. He doesnt sell insurance directly, but he does try to keep people from hoarding lawn gnomes, clapping at the end of movies or giving unsolicited grilling advice at barbecues.

Charney said characters like that become memorable because theyre authentic and relatable. The Progressive ads about parentamorphosis were partly inspired by Charneys own experiences, like when he ran after a speeding driver doing 60 mph in the 30-mph zone near his home.

I was doing the same thing my dad did 30 years earlier, Charney said.

MKHSTRYs aim is to help both companies modernize, or to help them get an idea off the ground. MKHSTRY isnt designed to be a brands longtime consultant.

When presented with an idea that could be game-changing, Charney said the collective will help companies will be a team with experts tailored to that industry or task. The aim is to help get that idea off the ground and to teach the company how to fly on its own.

MKHSTRY will also work with advertising agencies and train them to do things differently and in a modern way. The collective will also be a lifestyle brand, selling clothing and other items.

The traditional advertising model is for brands to buy space, whether it be in print, TV, radio or digital. Its also slow and often companies play it safe, he said, saying advertising has used the same model for 150 years.

Charney said technologies like blockchain and Web3 are removing the gatekeepers and opening more avenues and less rules around advertising. Its a great time for someone who wants to be bold and idea-first, but they have to be willing to act fast and do things out of their comfort zone.

Right now the collective has six main partners outside of Charney, who are all working remotely, he said. The company will continue to have no offices, walls or bureaucracy as it builds out, he said. But as they start to bring in clients, hell build out individual teams for each company or project.

He believes its the roaring 20s of marketing and that the industry is ready for disruption. As the name implies, Charney said he wants to work on ideas that accomplish one main thing, making history and changing the game for advertising.

Im not doing it to spite the industry, Charney said. Im doing it because I love the industry.

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Progressives former top marketing executive, behind many Flo, Baker Mayfield and Aflac Duck ads, starts his - cleveland.com