How to sell to ... Mike Robinson: David Wood & Associates’ media director once stole a cow, says Lexie Goddard

It’s not often that you meet an agency director who has also been a

client, but Mike Robinson has been there and done that.

The North Yorkshireman (Redcar born and bred) spent nine years at Carat

International, heading its high-tech planning and buying unit, which put

together schedules for the likes of Computer Associates, Digital

Equipment and Seagate Technology.

One day, Robinson jumped the fence and joined Gateway, the US PC

manufacturer, as media manager for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

There he experienced how tough life is on the client side. Now he’s back

with an agency.

David Wood & Associates is no Carat - it is run by five staff from an

office in Blackheath, south London. But in just six weeks they are

moving to a spanking new office in Holborn, and managing director David

Wood is hiring planner/buyers and account managers like there’s no

tomorrow.

Robinson’s main clients are storage hardware company Brocade, e-commerce

software company Aspect, software outfit Danware and network solutions

provider Prime Business Solutions.

Last month, DWA added Informix - the world’s sixth largest software

company - to the client list, and Robinson has been jetting around

Europe haggling with Danish, German and French poster contractors to

squeeze the most out of his pounds 7 million media budget ever

since.

For those wishing to grab a piece of it, here are a few pointers. Don’t

call Robinson at the crack of dawn unless you want your head bitten off

or to hear a few monosyllabic grunts. This media director hates early

mornings.

Instead, take him to Stamford Bridge to see his beloved Chelsea, or turn

up with your clubs one afternoon and whisk him off to Blackheath’s golf

course.

If he still neglects to put you on the schedule, your secret weapon is

Guinness.

On an IDG ski trip three years ago he necked so much of the black stuff

that he woke up the next day to find himself in bed with a five-foot cow

he’d managed to pick up in the bar.

Apparently, the papier-mache bovine had the trademark black-and-white

markings used by Gateway, and Robinson took a fancy to it. So guard your

company mascots with vigilance.

LIKES

Guinness

Chelsea FC

Friesian cows

DISLIKES

Early mornings (very grumpy)

Computers, especially Powerpoint

Pushy sales people.

This article was first published on Campaign