How do you create lift at Fifteen Degrees?

Aside from powering the agency for takeoff in 2011, I’m always thinking, rarely compromising, working hard and enjoying what I do. I love to see young, talented professionals succeed. I love to see clients succeed even more.

How do you create lift outside of Fifteen Degrees?

By staying active. For the past several years I’ve coached youth softball and regularly play tennis and golf. I like grilling, spending time at the beach and, believe it or not, doing housework. I’m actively involved in raising awareness of heart disease in young women and provide consulting services to tire companies. A few years back, I successfully climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro.

What brands have you created lift for?

FedEx DVX, Hennessy Industries, Hankook Tire, Mobile Oil, HSBC, Purolator Filters, Hertz, Continental Tires, Hino Diesel Trucks (Toyota), Marvel Oil, The Heart Institute at Staten Island University Hospital, Sanwa Bank BGK, Oppenheimer & Co., Security Pacific National Bank, New York Community Bank, Apple Bank for Savings, Dime Bank, Bank Asiana, Flushing Bank, Catholic Charities, Dermot & Company

What’s the short story on your life in advertising?

I’m the son of George P. Clarke, of Clarke Advertising. From 1965, when he founded the company, until 1995, when he passed the reins to me, he cared about each client’s business as if it were his own. When I took over, I worked hard to follow his example, becoming so invested in my clients’ success that I felt a strong personal responsibility to each client and account. This kind of partnership is something I think about every day. It keeps me closely involved in every aspect of our current clients’ advertising – from strategic, to creative, to implementation and tracking.

I like to say that, as an agency, “we are the product of those we’ve helped succeed.” Over the course of my career, those successes have included creating lift for some of the world’s largest brands – helping transform Hankook Tire into one of the top tire companies nationwide is one example that comes to mind. Over the past thirty years I’m proud to have won numerous awards for direct marketing, broadcast and design for the financial, healthcare and automotive industries.

I have a B.S. from the State University of New York at Oswego and live in Weehawken, NJ with my wife, Nanci. I recently moved our daughter, Nicole, to Villanova for her freshman year.