When I moved to Winnipeg about 10 years ago, a colleague asked me what kind of hours people are expected to work in Toronto. I told him that as a senior ad agency team manager I typically worked 50-60 hours a week, but that for him to catch up to and lap his peers, 60-70 hours would likely be required.

“Fuck That!” was his uncharacteristically brief response.

Since then I’ve discovered that his response is not uncommon for millennials in Winnipeg + elsewhere. Both then + now.

This picture of a Huawei employee napping at his desk at lunch-time should be a galvanizing example of why those with a false sense of entitlement (the right to live well on a 35 hr. wage) will always loose to those who, like this kid, are hungrier than you are.

Whether they're around the corner or around the globe.

For years I looked for and hoped to find a mentor to smarten me up and help me find "my path". For years I thought my prayers were unanswered because I never met him or her . . . per se. One day I realized that the Universe had sent me a little black dog. 

Let this sign remind you that the sign you need or want may be right in front of you – but that it might not look like you thought it would.

P.S. Charlie’s on the other side now but you can see a picture of us together on my About page.

When I was a kid our family’s last name was the only “Wehrmann” in the Toronto phone book. Whenever we traveled I’d look for the Wehrmann name in the local phone book.

I never found any until I went to Germany.

Today I can jump on Linked in™ and Facebook™ and find lots of people with my last name as well as many with my first name too - which is a great way to think about both personal + corporate branding.

Each Frank Wehrmann that you’ll encounter in life will likely be a white Anglo-Saxon male who utilizes German + English as his primary + second languages + vice-versa. He comes in all sorts of shapes + sizes, along with blonde or brown hair . . . in his younger years.  

And that’s about where the common denominators end.

Because there is only one Frank Wehrmann with 40 years of international media buying + planning + account service + creative service advertising agency experience. There’s only one who works out of Toronto + who has worked with many of the world’s top ad agencies + brands.

The previous paragraph is the foundation for my professional USP. It allows me to set myself apart from all of the other Frank Wehrmann’s out there - as well as all other ad agency practitioners. 

Note that it’s not just one specific thing that sets me apart, but a combination of many applicable (advertising business related) attributes. I can draw on many other experiences to demonstrate interest in + knowledge about all sorts of (advertising) stuff to further differentiate myself from all of the other Franks and Wehrmanns of the world. 

Pulling a brand’s USP together + bringing it to life requires a similar foundation to build future brand propositions + messaging around. The greater + more dynamic the brand character’s depth + breadth, the better. 

For a brand to engage a person the unique qualities need to come to life in ways that are meaningful intellectually + emotionally. 

The practical side of the equation needs to satisfy the logical Head that asks questions like; “do I really need that?”, “does this represent good value?” or “does this help me get to where I want to go today, or in life?”

The emotional side needs to give the “Heart” permission to believe that this product or service will help to refine my identity + contribute to my story in an emotionally compelling way.

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