By James R. Hagerty
After earning an M.B.A. degree at Columbia Business School in
1958, Philip H. Geier Jr. felt ready to launch his own business.
His early ideas included a toothbrush with toothpaste stowed in the
handle, hotel soap with a logo that would remain visible even as
the bar shrank, and suntan lotion containing insect repellent.
None of these notions got off the ground. So Mr. Geier tried
advertising, a field where his flair quickly became apparent. As a
junior ad executive at McCann-Erickson in the early 1960s, he began
making powerful friends at Coca-Cola Co. and other giant
advertisers that would last for decades.
When McCann sent him to London in 1968 to help run its European
operations, he knew he would have to show an ability to bring in
British clients. One of his first targets was Britain's Milk
Marketing Board. Mr. Geier buttered up the chairman of the milk
board by inviting the chairman's wife to curate an art exhibit,
with cocktails, at McCann's London office. Soon McCann was creating
ads for the milk board.
It was the "Mad Men" era in London as well as Manhattan. In his
2009 memoir, "Survive to Thrive," Mr. Geier recalled marathon
drinking sessions with clients and his decision to hire "a
glamorous young lady...wearing a figure-hugging T-shirt and bright
red hot pants" to greet visitors to McCann's London office. For
himself, he favored brightly colored dress shirts with white
collars.
Mr. Geier, who died June 19 at the age of 84, was known for
catering to the global communication needs of giant advertisers
including Coca-Cola, Nestlé SA and Unilever. That talent propelled
him into the top ranks of Interpublic Group, the parent company for
McCann and other ad agencies. He served as Interpublic's chairman
and CEO from 1980 to 2000.
During that period, he oversaw more than 200 acquisitions,
including the Lintas and Lowe agencies. Interpublic's head count
grew to 50,000 world-wide from 8,000 and its market value to $12
billion from $500 million.
In 2006, three weeks before his 71st birthday, he had a heart
attack on a tennis court in Midtown Manhattan. A cardiac surgeon,
who happened to be nearby, saved him. Months later Mr. Geier
received a heart transplant that allowed him to return to the
tennis court and tend to his philanthropic interests, including
Autism Speaks and Save the Children.
Philip Henry Geier Jr. was born Feb. 22, 1935, the first of six
sons, and grew up in Hunting Valley, a suburb of Cleveland. His
father ran a vacuum-cleaner company and later sold insurance. His
mother, he wrote, was the family leader, "a great skier, tennis
player, dancer and flirt."
He chose Colgate University because a girlfriend was studying
nearby. He earned an economics degree there in 1957. He also earned
the nickname "Deals" at Colgate for setting up businesses,
including sales of sandwiches to fraternity boys and a car service
to New York. He dated Joan Bennett, who later married Ted Kennedy,
and bartered bottles of Scotch whisky for tutoring in
statistics.
When he became a trainee at McCann in Cleveland, he expected to
stay in advertising only for a few years to explore career
alternatives, but he soon was promoted to the New York office and
found he was in his element working on accounts including Nabisco
cookies and Philip Morris cigarettes.
Arriving at the London office in 1968, he was shocked to find
all the desks empty at 9:15 a.m. on a Monday. Managers "sauntered
in around 10," he wrote, and creative people turned up even
later.
"Cocktails in the agency started at five, after which the
creatives invariably headed to the nearest pub, and the account
guys took clients out for dinners that usually stretched past 11
p.m.," he recalled.
One potential client, a fitness buff, challenged him to a
12-mile race, offering to give him a three-mile head start. Mr.
Geier had less than two weeks to train and was passed by his rival
30 yards from the finish line. Even so, the client was sufficiently
impressed with Mr. Geier's effort to award business to McCann.
In 1979, Interpublic announced Mr. Geier would become CEO the
next year. Soon afterward, two colleagues defected to form the
rival agency Backer & Spielvogel. The new firm promptly poached
the Miller beer account, which had accounted for the bulk of
profits in McCann's New York office.
Noting McCann's wounds, other big clients said they might bolt.
Profit fell 9% during Mr. Geier's first year as CEO but he managed
to appease major clients and win new business.
In 1985, he worked with Coca-Cola Co. on its introduction of New
Coke, a sweeter version of the soft drink. After it bombed,
Coca-Cola pivoted three months later by reintroducing Coke Classic.
Sales rapidly recovered. Mr. Geier said the lesson was clear: When
customers are "mad at you, act fast to appease them."
Influenced by his wife, the former Faith Power, Mr. Geier
collected contemporary art. In the 1980s, he adorned Interpublic's
Manhattan offices with works including a Bruce Nauman neon
sculpture and a mural by Sol LeWitt. Some Interpublic directors
questioned the expense. He hired an appraiser, who reported that
Interpublic was making a good return on the investment.
Faith Geier died in 2009. In 2013, he married Julie Ann
Weindling. Along with her, his survivors include two daughters and
four grandchildren.
Write to James R. Hagerty at bob.hagerty@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 27, 2019 05:44 ET (09:44 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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