Kevin Roberts
Encyclopedia
Kevin John Roberts has been the Chief Executive Officer
Worldwide of the advertising agency
Saatchi & Saatchi
since 1997. In September 2006, Saatchi & Saatchi won a US$430 million JC Penney contract because of the idea of lovemarks, which was invented and promoted by Roberts.
in the industrial northwest of England. He was educated at Lancaster Royal Grammar School
in the 1960s. He was expelled from the school at the age of 16 for getting the Head Girl of Lancaster Girls Grammar School pregnant and became an assistant brand manager for Mary Quant Cosmetics in 1969. Roberts was later promoted to a brand manager.
From 1969 to 1986, Roberts worked as International New Products Manager at Gillette to Group Marketing Manager at Procter & Gamble
(P&G) to Regional Vice President at Pepsi Cola, Middle East
in 1982.
. While at Pepsi Canada, Roberts notably executed a publicity stunt after a keynote speech to a group of Pepsi Canada employees, bottlers, and the media. Roberts had a Coke vending machine rolled onto the stage while he was speaking. As he finished his speech, he reached down, picked up a machine gun, and blasted the Coke machine. "[Roberts] meticulously planned the spectacle, borrowing a gun from a squad of police officers and rigging the vending machine so that he had to fire only one blank to set off a dazzling rat-a-tat-tat."
From 1989 to 1997, Roberts became Director and Chief Operating Officer of Lion Nathan
.
In September 2006, Saatchi & Saatchi won a US$430 million JC Penney contract because of the idea of lovemarks, invented and promoted by Roberts.
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
Worldwide of the advertising agency
Advertising agency
An advertising agency or ad agency is a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients. An ad agency is independent from the client and provides an outside point of view to the effort of selling the client's products or services...
Saatchi & Saatchi
Saatchi & Saatchi
Saatchi & Saatchi is a global advertising agency network with 140 offices in 80 countries and over 6,500 staff. It was founded in London in 1970 but now headquartered in New York. The parent company of the agency group was known as Saatchi & Saatchi PLC from 1976 to 1994, was listed on the London...
since 1997. In September 2006, Saatchi & Saatchi won a US$430 million JC Penney contract because of the idea of lovemarks, which was invented and promoted by Roberts.
Early life and career (1949-86)
Roberts was born and raised in LancasterLancaster, Lancashire
Lancaster is the county town of Lancashire, England. It is situated on the River Lune and has a population of 45,952. Lancaster is a constituent settlement of the wider City of Lancaster, local government district which has a population of 133,914 and encompasses several outlying towns, including...
in the industrial northwest of England. He was educated at Lancaster Royal Grammar School
Lancaster Royal Grammar School
Lancaster Royal Grammar School is a voluntary aided, selective grammar school for boys in Lancaster, England. The school has been awarded specialist Technology College and Language College status. Old boys belong to The Old Lancastrians...
in the 1960s. He was expelled from the school at the age of 16 for getting the Head Girl of Lancaster Girls Grammar School pregnant and became an assistant brand manager for Mary Quant Cosmetics in 1969. Roberts was later promoted to a brand manager.
From 1969 to 1986, Roberts worked as International New Products Manager at Gillette to Group Marketing Manager at Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactures a wide range of consumer goods....
(P&G) to Regional Vice President at Pepsi Cola, Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
in 1982.
Executive career (1987-96)
In 1987, Roberts was appointed to the first "Chief" role in his career, as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Pepsi Cola, CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. While at Pepsi Canada, Roberts notably executed a publicity stunt after a keynote speech to a group of Pepsi Canada employees, bottlers, and the media. Roberts had a Coke vending machine rolled onto the stage while he was speaking. As he finished his speech, he reached down, picked up a machine gun, and blasted the Coke machine. "[Roberts] meticulously planned the spectacle, borrowing a gun from a squad of police officers and rigging the vending machine so that he had to fire only one blank to set off a dazzling rat-a-tat-tat."
From 1989 to 1997, Roberts became Director and Chief Operating Officer of Lion Nathan
Lion Nathan
Lion Nathan National Foods is the parent company created in October 2009, into which Lion Nathan and National Foods were merged. It is fully owned by Kirin Holdings Company, Limited...
.
Current Role (1997-)
In 1997, Roberts was appointed the role of Chief Executive Officer Worldwide of Saatchi & Saatchi. In 1997, Saatchi & Saatchi was in "deep trouble, with morale at an all-time low." Roberts was advised to restructure the business drastically by bringing Roberts's own people in and moving current people around. Instead, Roberts brought in and moved nobody for two years. Against all odds, Roberts was able to get things in Saatchi & Saatchi moving again in one year. Roberts then started the process to make Saatchi & Saatchi into one of the best advertising agencies around the world.In September 2006, Saatchi & Saatchi won a US$430 million JC Penney contract because of the idea of lovemarks, invented and promoted by Roberts.
Books written by Roberts
- Peak Performing Organisations - Lessons for Business from the World's Leading Sports Organisations, 2000, by Clive Gilson, Mike Pratt, Kevin Roberts, and Ed Weymes (ISBN 1-58799-150-0)
- Lovemarks: The Future Beyond BrandsLovemarkLovemarks is a marketing concept that is intended to replace the idea of brands. The idea was first widely publicized in a book of the same name written by Kevin Roberts, CEO of the advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi. In the book Roberts claims, "Brands are running out of juice". He considers...
, 2004 - Sisomo: The Future on Screen, 2005 (ISBN 1-57687-268-8)
- Lovemarks: The Future Beyond Brands (Expanded Edition), 2006, (ISBN 1-57687-270-X)
- The Lovemarks Effect: Winning in the Consumer Revolution, (expected published date: 2006 Nov), (ISBN 1-57687-267-X)
External links
- Official website of Kevin Roberts
- Official blog of Kevin Roberts
- Official website of Lovemarks
- Official website of Sisomo
- Kevin Roberts speaker biography and session description on the World Business ForumWorld Business ForumThe World Business Forum is an annual global business summit held in New York City. A 2008 Burson-Marsteller survey ranks the World Business Forum among the world's top five most influential venues for CEO's and C-Suite executives...
website where Roberts is a featured speaker for the 2009 event. - Interview with Kevin Roberts on design and emotion
Videos
- Authors@Google: Kevin Roberts October 30, 2006 talk at Google's NYC Campus.
- Kevin Roberts at Zeitgeist Europe 2007 Video added onto YouTube on May 25, 2007
- Video interview by online business TV channel yourBusinessChannel Kevin Roberts on sustainability
- Kevin Roberts - "The Consumer is boss"
- Kevin Roberts - Why research is monkey business
- Kevin Roberts - Lovemarks explain the US election