Insiders' Guide: Mike Colling & Co

Who is the team leader?
The clue is in the name on the door. Mike is definitely a visionary, but he's also happy to spread the wealth and let others run with the ball - and this isn't Mike speaking.

What's in your in-box?
There's an animal theme this week: promotions for Petplan, an emergency appeal for the RSPCA and a workshop on behavioural targeting.

Where do you get inspiration from?
Consumer behaviour. Everything we do creates an immediate response for clients, so we get to see consumers at first hand. You would be amazed what those consumers can do.

Medium we can't live without
Google - it is democratising knowledge.

What are the team's preferred lunching venues?
London has so much to offer in the way of eateries - smart restaurants to impress clients, small family run restaurants for more private or intimate meetings, and cheap and quick eats for fast and furious bites. The venue wholly depends on the audience. But for a "one size fits all", The Salt Yard in Goodge Street is a great place - smart enough for clients, fun enough for more informal gatherings, good food, an interesting wine list and, most importantly these days, it is not too harsh on the wallet.

Most memorable night out
A Christmas party in New York, when we lost one of our directors along the way and found him sleeping in a gutter in Lower Manhattan.

Are you recruiting?
Yes. Our digital team is expanding.

Advice to graduates starting out in media
Straight from the horse's mouth: take the opportunity to go on as many training courses as you can - they're a good way to get a broader view of media, and also offer a great way to meet new people.

If we ruled the world...
Every media schedule would come with a detailed prediction of the value it will create for the client paying the bill. Just like
ours do.

This article was first published on mediaweek.co.uk