Sage U Fireside Chat: David Gorodetski

Sage is an organization filled with outstanding communications professionals who bring a diverse background of experience and expertise. We leverage this depth of knowledge through our Sage U program, an all-learn, all-teach model, to assist our team’s continued growth.

Our latest Sage U Fireside Chat Q&A series features David Gorodetski, Co-Founder and CEO at Sage Communications, who discusses the creative desire that led him to Sage and the lessons he’s learned along his journey.

Q&A highlights:

What inspired you to enter the field of marketing/communications, and what are some of the key milestones that led you to Sage?

I was looking for the next closest thing to being really creative and using my natural talents. I fell naturally into the graphic side of things. That led to more marketing and advertising. I ended up with Sage because I felt I could do something on my own after working for a large publicly traded PR agency; it was a challenging position. There were long days and teams from different parts of the world. And I really had enough, and it felt there was more to life than “working for the man.”

What would you say is the most creative project you've seen or have been a part of, and is there any particular brand you think does a good job with the creative element in branding?

I will talk about my creative thinking, how I think of ideas and how I bring them to life. My weakness is my language. I grew up not speaking English. My English will never be as good as I want it to be and Hebrew, which I used to know well. I had to compensate for that, and the way I think and interpret things was sharpened, so I simplified complex things to get to the core of what they are. I pay attention to personas to recognize what are the things that make people connect with an idea.

One of the most creative things I did was work with a large brand. We worked with Coca-Cola, where they donated the entire library of commercial, historical commercials, to the Library of Congress. We did the first-ever live stream from the floor of the Library of Congress with a historical commercial for Coca-Cola. We brought it to life and pitched it to major publications to cover it.

What is the biggest difference between marketing now and the way we did it five or ten years ago?

We used to tell our audience when we represented brands, what we felt was the right thing, timing, and pace. We had very limited feedback from the audience themselves. It was a one-way road. There was some measurement to see how effective it was, but where we are now, we constantly know about our audience. We know what triggers them; we know what engages them, we know what finality they expect. We know when they expect it. It is a huge challenge for marketers to develop content that meets all of the target audiences and provide real-time feedback on what works and doesn't work.

Where do you see things going from here? If you had to guess in the next five years or so, what are some of the bigger trends that you think are going to develop?

We are gifted storytellers, and we’re gifted at taking ideas and simplifying them to their core. I think we’re gifted at delivering channels through content; I'm sure the channels where we will deliver the content will change. Our ability to tell those stories on behalf of our clients will never go away, and they’ll always rely on us to do it effectively. No matter what happens in technology, we’ll always be there to monitor and be aware of new trends.

We have a lot of rising stars here at Sage. What advice do you have for them as they're starting off their career? What do you wish you knew when you first entered the field?

I wish I had started my career with the knowledge I have now. I think knowing how to say "no" is the secret sauce. When you're able to say no to your supervisor or peers, you have to justify why you are saying "no." "No" means stop, so why are we stopping? We’re stopping because you need help, you don't know, or you have a concern. You know how to set expectations for whom you report to. Regardless of what situation you are in, owning the "no" is the beginning to develop the confidence to build a career that is transparent, vulnerable, honest, and you become a magnet for people to rely on you to be there for them.

What did you learn from navigating Sage through the COVID pandemic?

I learned how important it is to be honest with the team and to overcommunicate. I was in Philadelphia when COVID started, and we tested remote work, then never came back. There was so much misinformation out there, and I promised myself we would start our All-Hands meetings, and I would be as honest as I could be. We became stronger out of that. We closed some gaps we had before. Right now, we’re missing the interaction between each other, which is sad. But on the other hand, we gain a lot of other values. What I take from COVID is our resilience as human beings, as a community, as family members, and the value of transparency and trust.

David is Co-Founder and CEO of Sage Communications.