We were lucky to catch up with Jay Roth recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jay thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. It’s easy to look at a business or industry as an outsider and assume it’s super profitable – but we’ve seen over and over again in our conversation with folks that most industries have factors that make profitability a challenge. What’s biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?

In the advertising industry, artificial intelligence treats creatives like punching bags. Its speed and ease makes it very alluring to startup companies unable to afford higher quality services, and seasoned companies with marketing directors who have price topping off their priority lists. As a copywriter and conceptual person, I feel like the trick is to create something AI simply cannot duplicate. Something that feels smarter, thought-provoking and human.

Our talents are our currency, and as long as brands place high value on ideas, we will rise above the floodwaters. Ironically, those art directors and writers looking to make a fast buck as well versus investing in themselves will likely be the first vicitimized by AI, if they are not already. I think we should all fight for something more compelling, every chance we get. Invest in your ideas. Invest in yourself.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

So I’m a senior-level copywriter here in Denver, Colorado. After spending half of my career penning campaigns with national and regional brands at prominent Denver agencies (Integer and Karsh Hagan), I’m now the proprietor of my own one-man band, Jay Roth Creative, where under this boring name I create unboring ideas and unboring headlines, copy, and content for about twenty different agencies and companies each year. BTW, I’m in year 13 of freelancing.

Anyone in the world of freelance knows projects change daily. This week for example, I’m working with Denver International Airport, Noodles & Company, a bank focused on financing rural America, a state lottery, and promoting pursuing MBAs at a business school. I love and appreciate the flexibility of swinging back and forth between all the different flavors of clients out there. Super grateful to all my clients who pick up the bat phone to call me in a pinch.

The wildest swing I ever had was working on an ice cream brand one morning for an agency, and then switching off to a mortuary in the afternoon. With all of these brands, you have to morph quickly into their brand’s voice. It’s like being an actor. You have to be in the character to bring out the best. It’s not accepting vanilla answers and pushing to finding something with more zing. You have to read the room to know when and how far you can push the boundaries. It’s important to build trust above all. They know their interests are your interests. If you go money first, it’s game over. But if you’re willing to invest and get to understand what makes the brands and the people behind those brands tick, it’ll be fruitful for years to come.

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

Last year, I had the great privilege of developing a holiday campaign for a toffee company here in Colorado. Historically, this more conservative toffee company released campaigns with more sentimental messaging to recapture the magic of the season. The creative director of the in-house group and her design team wanted to shake things up by connecting to a younger crowd. We developed multiple ideas, several that did follow the standard formula of heartfelt warmth.

Then we came up with this one idea where during the holidays, when you think about it, we often celebrate with some bizarre icons and traditions. We celebrate a flying reindeer with a nose infection.. We hang a dead plant upside down in hopes of landing a kiss. We make people-shaped men out of ginger and shove them into a 400 degree oven. Things like that. I didn’t think we could sell that idea in, even though we felt it was spot on. The CD did her thing and the campaign was selected. It took off gaining strong sales and new audiences. It just shows to keep the faith and push for greater ideas.

One special caveat to this campaign. The creative director happened to be from my alma mater, where I was an early mentor to her. And now, she was the one who contacted me and I’m reporting to her. Isn’t that awesome? I love that. And she was brave, determined, and focused. I was extremely happy to work with her and her team, and equally happy about the campaign we produced. It now sits in the pole position of all the work on my portfolio.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

I think this is a two-part answer.

Part one: I think the human factor weighs in heavily in a business built with strong social tendencies.

While at Integer, I made it a point to avoid phone calls and instead seeing people face to face. I found it was a greater way to cultivate relationships, particularly with account people where we pingpong ideas around strategies, campaigns and feedback. Very few found this to be a nuisance. They were more in the camp of being solve problems.

Obviously the pandemic changed the rules. Instead of visiting 20 places a month, I’m lucky to visit now 10 places a year. The Zoom culture made remote a more viable and effective force. But one thing I try to do in all instances is keep my camera on, even if I’m the only one. Most don’t see me on a regular basis so it’s important to see the face and smile behind the work. It makes it more real. It reinforces the trust I’m working hard to build.

And speaking of trust, that’s the end all be all. Meet those deadlines. Know your objectives. Do what makes sense for your clients. Keep it positive. Freelancers should always be the calm of whatever storm an agency or client is going through. People talk and move around.

Part two: plan ahead. Waaaaaay ahead.

So early in my career, I found I had a choice between two jobs. The first job was with Integer, a large national firm with Coors, Coca-Cola, P&G, Royal Caribbean, a whole smattering of household name clients, where I’d be a junior writer. The second job was with a smaller firm where I’d be the “man”, the “go-to”, the lifeblood of the agency. It was seven people big with their lead account being a small Mexican chain called Z-Teca that today everyone knows as Qdoba. The latter was attractive. The one problem, I only had 18 months of experience under my belt.

So I went with Integer. And over the years, I’ve worked with people by the hundreds and that allowed me to get to know them, and for them to get to know me. Fourteen years later, my network was thick with professionals now spread all around Colorado, and the nation for that matter, who moved onto greener pastures. Once I became a free agent, it was easy to start clicking with agencies where these pros called them their work home. I invested in myself way before entering the inevitable realm of freelance we as copywriters and art directors venture into. That domino effect continues to pay off and I’m lucky to have hit the jackpot in this regard.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://cargocollective.com/jayroth
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jay-roth-354a6421/

Image Credits

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