John Follis
John Follis (born June 23, 1954) is an award winning adman, marketing expert and entrepreneur. Selected one of New York’s “12 Best" by The New York Ad Club, Follis’s work is described as "simple and effective" ADWEEK and “in your face” TIME. He runs Follis Advertising, LLC and is creator and host of The Marketing Show with John Follis.
Background
A Syracuse University ’76 grad, Follis began his career working for major ad agencies such as FCB/Chicago and DDB Worldwide. In the mid-80’s his entrepreneurial career began with freelance for such top New York shops as Chiat/Day, Della Femina and Kirshenbaum & Bond. His work on the Kenneth Cole account resulted in awards and national press. In ‘88, Follis co-founded Follis&Verdi, with clients such as The American Stock Exchange, No Excuses Jeans, Solgar Vitamins and Sorrell Ridge . In ‘93, Follis/DeVito/Verdi won 9 ADDY Awards making it the third most awarded agency in New York. That same year, Follis formed Follis Inc to include a focus on non-traditional and online marketing. Follis continued winning awards such as the Golden Web Award (three times) for his agency’s website1 In ‘03, to address the growing needs of smaller clients, Follis created Marketing TherapyTM. And in ‘06 Follis created The Follis Marketing Report blog and The Marketing Show with John Follis podcast which currently lists on iTunes.
Published works
Follis has been a featured columnist in ADWEEK Ad Age and the New York Enterprise Report. His MAD AVE column2 has been a popular feature on Talent Zoo for several years. His original essay; MAD AVE, appears in Mirror On America a pop culture anthology including essays from [...] Clark, Stephen King, Dave Barry and MTV’s Kurt Loder. Follis’s campaign for the Marble Collegiate Church is featured in the college text, Principles of Marketing . His early ad work on the Kenneth Cole account is featured in Cole’s, Footnotes (Simon & Schuster, 2003). And, in 2006, Follis published How to Attract and Excite Your Prospects: A Guide for Getting the Best Marketing Results John's most recent published article in ADWEEK he coined the term G-Cred referring to online credibility.
Awards and honors
Follis and his agencies have won multiple ad awards such as Clio Awards, ANDY’S, Addy Awards, One Show, New York Festival, Obie, Athena, Creativity, and Golden Web Awards. John also received a United Nations Public Service Award and a special White House invitation for his agency’s highly effective work for The National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse.
Teaching and speaking
John has been an adjunct professor of advertising and marketing at the Parsons School of Design, the School of Visual Arts, and the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. Follis is also a nationally requested speaker having spoken at such venues as The American Management Association, The World Business Academy and The NYU Entrepreneurship Conference.
Non-profit work
Follis, and his agencies, have worked with such orgizations as Unicef, The League of Women Voters, CancerCare, The Olympic Games, The Foundation for AIDS Research, The Marble Collegiate Church, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, SmokeFree, Scholastic’s Stay in School Program, and The National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse,. His work for the NCPCA resulted in being honored at The White House. An interview about John’s non-profit involvement can be heard on Goodnewsbroadcast.com.