All Star Direct
& Personal
By Billy Sharma
Peter Mosley
Moves to the beat of a different drummer
It is hard to characterize what Peter Mosley has really done for a living
until now. He has played so many roles that it is hard to pigeonhole him.
He has been a teacher at a number of Universities and Colleges in Canada, a stage
actor, and a publisher.
He has held senior management posts with a number of multi-national advertising
agencies. He has worked on the client-side as President and CEO and sat as a
member of the Board of Directors of a Canadian public corporation.
Most recently, he was partner, creative director responsible for the brand-building
firm USWeb/CKS, but now he runs his own company.
As he explained
to me, “I have, for the most part, been a contractor/freelancer and most, if
not all, of my jobs have been with great folks. I have been fortunate to have
been involved in many different areas. As a creative director I worked with some
of the largest and best known brands including, Toyota, Labatt and the Royal
Bank. And on
the business side I have put together some very successful mergers and acquisitions
in the advertising and media arena including, Peterson Electronics, A C Nielsen
and Arbatron.”
Peter is also very active with a number of associations including the CMA and
the DMAT. At DMAT, he is not only a Board member but also looks after their website
and helps with marketing and communications.
“I also am the MC for many of their events and that I find very rewarding,” he
said with a big grin. While Peter may have been jack-of-all trades, today he is a master of one – The
Internet and web strategies.
The Internet changed
my life. It is where my focus is now and has been for a number of years. It started
with the help of a good friend who worked at Apple and in 1985 introduced me
to my first Mac. Soon I discovered the online world through Bulletin Boards.
Then in 1992 while I was a founding member of MAGIC (Macintosh Awareness Group
in Canada) this thing called the web appeared and our group was right there at
the leading edge. I had a web page called Ad Rap. MAGIC had a community online
in 1992. I understand that it was the 6,000th webpage ever built. It was also
the very first advertising related webpage according to AdAge and the University
of Texas.
“As the Net grew, so did I. I have been fortunate to work with a couple of amazing internet companies, Mackerel Interactive and USWeb/CKS, two of the leaders and innovators in the field. I have a few ‘firsts’ under my belt and that’s cool, but the most important thing to me is that I was able to use every single bit of DM learning online.”
As he spoke his eyes lit up, he leaned forward and started talking softly
as if revealing a fantastic secret to me. I was all ears.
After a long pause
he said, “The big moment was in the mid’90s when I discovered the Cluetrain.
The Cluetrain Manifesto: The End of Business as Usual, is a book written by Christopher
Locke, Rick Levine, Doc Searls and David Weinberger. It is available on; www.cluetrain.com/ or
on my website: www.themose.ca.
I signed their manifesto, I was one of the early sign-ups and in subsequent
years, I have built a strong relationship with the authors. So much so, that
they have even granted me the permission to use the Cluetrain materials for my
courses.
“This is fundamental to my philosophy because it is all a matter of understanding
the end USER! That is what the Net is all about – the person at the other end.
“It is not about having jumping bunnies and spinning globes on your site, it’s
about true one-to-one and one-to-few communications. It is a conversation, period.”
Then he really got all fired up about the topic of communication. Effective persuasion
he told me is communicating like a real person with emotion and narration. It
is about telling a story and emotionally connecting with your audience
As I listened attentively to him, I asked him to tell me a bit more about his
background.
“Oh, I grew up
as a little black girl in Montreal… sorry couldn’t resist,” he said with a hearty
chuckle. Peter can be just as funny as he is serious, I soon learned.
Yes, I did find out a bit more about his past.
After a school
career change from Sociology & Criminology, Peter went to
Ryerson College to study Advertising and Marketing. When he graduated and hit
the job market in 1980 it was smack dab in the middle of a recession. Marketing
jobs were tough to find but he did manage to land a job at a small magazine.
“It was the perfect place for me. I learned a great deal about direct marketing
and advertising in general and I fell in love with the idea of creating emotional
ads.
“My first exposure to direct was while working for that magazine. With a staff
of just three, I learned every aspect of the biz. That included using our own
database software, subscriptions, running trade shows (pre-registration, etc)
and of course ad sales, writing and publishing.”
I also learned that Peter has three other passions. They are music, golf and
reading.
“On the music front I have been a professional drummer for almost 40 years. I
play, write and record regularly with a number of ensembles. I also teach a number
of youth groups and marching bands primarily helping kids 10 to 18 years old.”
He enjoys all kids of music, from jazz to hip-hop. He has played drums and percussion professionally and has toured and performed all over the world. When I asked him to elaborate on music, he simply said, “Still love it!”
“Golf
is a hobby I have enjoyed since I was very young. It’s an amazing game where
you get to meet people. I have worked on my game for years. I love to practice
and I’m never surprised at what you can learn about yourself, and what you can
learn about others! That’s Part of the game.” He said with a grin.
“I am also a voracious reader. My diet is at least a book or two a week .I love
to read mysteries.”
What else did I learn about Peter?
That there have been two people that he credits as his mentors; the first is
his Uncle Lorne, a simple man who worked for the TTC.
“He taught me never to procrastinate, to work hard and to be true to my instincts.
I learned self-confidence from him. As far as personal growth goes, he instilled
curiosity and spontaneity in me. I became one of those kids who loved to take
stuff apart and see how it worked.
“He would often get in the car and ask me and his wife to hop in. When we inquired as to where we were going, he would just say, ‘Let go north.’ So, with no fixed destination in mind, we would land in Montreal or somewhere when he felt like finally stopping. He was a great guy and my first true friend.
“Then there was Wayne Hartford during the time when Peter Zarry, David Foley,
Wayne and I were partners. Wayne had the greatest effect on me. He was an amazing
example of under-promising and over-delivering to clients. Now, it is my mantra.
Peter Zarry’s once said to me “It ain’t what ya don’t know that will get ya –
it’s what ya know that ain’t so.”
Peter as you may have guessed by now is very outspoken, and if he feels strongly
about something, he will not hesitate to tell you so.
Here are two things that make him feel sad.
“First, when it comes to business we are experiencing ‘Death by PowerPoint’.
I am a trainer and lecturer in creative development, effective communications,
and effective persuasion and presentation skills, among others. Yet most, if
not all, the presentations I see, and I see literally hundreds a year, are truly
horrible. They are remedial reading sessions.
“I believe our dependency on PowerPoint has hurt our ability to tell compelling
stories, find emotional context with our audiences and to be human.
“It is laughable, and because people predominately use this presentation tool
to communicate with – it is getting worse.
“I understand there are 125 million PowerPoint decks built every 15 minutes in
North America. Well, we have simply lost our minds on this one.”
He also feels badly about the next generation.
“The thing that makes me increasingly sad is the powerful effect TV is having
on kids. What concerns me most is that their self-images are out-of-whack. I
see 10-year-old girls who want to go on diets. I see kids more interested in
dreams about being discovered on Canadian Idol than wanting to be better, smarter
and more evolved people – that is just downright wrong. Their value systems are
out of line. Sometimes TV is an open sewer in our living rooms and we allow our
youngest and most precious amongst us to sit in front of it for hours.
“Teach them to talk, to converse, to ask questions. Or simply read a book!”
Finally, here are his views about what makes him happy.
“I have always believed that the definition of success is measured by the
opportunities you afford others. And, it has been in the small measure of help
I have given other folks where I have found my true joy and satisfaction.
“I love my work, but, seeing a bright youngster who you helped, end up as a VP
at a huge company or president of an agency – well that is what I remember most.
“Yeah – I would definitely be happiest helping folks get what they want. Happiness
is having told the truth and having lived the truth. Years ago, I made a pact
that I will never do three things: Lie, Play Politics or Gossip.
“Besides, with a horrible a memory like mine, you simply cannot lie; you have to tell the truth because I can never remember what I said!” He roared with laughter.
Before, I met Peter Mosley I emailed him and asked him where he would like
to meet. He emailed me back suggested a small restaurant on King Street run by
a friend of his and since it was convenient for both of us, we decided to meet
there..
I got to the restaurant a bit early and as I walked into the restaurant, I first
mentioned to the waitress that I was meeting Peter Mosley, knowing that since
this restaurant belonged to his friend, the staff working there would know him
quite well.
“Is he here?” I asked.
“No,” she replied, “but believe me, when he does arrive you will know. He is
larger then life.”
Now, after having met Peter, I certainly agree with her.
Billy Sharma is President and Creative Director of Designers Inc., Toronto