Jack Felsheim
Marketing Director

What got you started in technology and computers?

Plain and simple, I find technology extremely interesting.

Who was a big influence in your career?

I’m most impressed with people that move easily within an organization and wear a lot of hats. I see them as valuable assets to a company and that’s something that I strive for.

What was your most embarrassing moment?

My oldest daughter threw up on me at the Olive Garden. Soup, salad and breadsticks has never been the same.

Is there a great client story you’d care to share?

I’d have to say it was the development of MasterMind - our database for our clients - that allows clients near seamless access to all of their “stuff” such as images, photography, artwork, merchandise information, copy, virtually anything and everything used in the creative process of advertising. We developed MasterMind because you could sense the frustration from our clients and our associates of not having one central location to access all this information. Now, we’ve taken people from being really frustrated with the ability to connect to information, to a level of complete satisfaction and comfort. It’s all about the sense of satisfaction you get from moving people to a higher understanding and comfort zone.

What attracted you to Ovation?

Close to my house. No, all kidding aside, Ovation is a leader in its field and is a successful company and growing company. I wanted to bloom where I was planted and Ovation provided that fertile ground.

How do you come up with ideas and solutions for clients?

I try and talk to everyone involved in the problem. Take a 360-degree approach and put myself in their shoes…customers, clients, us. I try and figure out what everyone wants and needs and see if there is a common solution or see where the compromises can be made.

What makes a great brand?

Gotta work, gotta last.

What driving career goals do you still have?

Fill the need where necessary…make life better for everyone by understanding their needs. How do you know how to help solve a problem without first knowing the situation; what moves people; and then figure out a way to move them? To be an effective geek you have to understand everything through the user’s eyes…it’s a lot like advertising.

What’s your biggest pet peeve?

Missing opportunities. Time-wasted. When you see the opportunity take it, when you miss it, it’s gone forever. Also, when people don’t take me seriously.

What’s the most important thing you’ve learned about the advertising?

To be effective about advertising you need to know the customer inside and out and then be able to effectively communicate the intended message to the consumer.

What talent do you wish you had?

I wish I could answer these questions without having to think so hard. I wish I could fly an airplane.

If you had to live on a desert island, what would you miss most?

My laptop and my Internet connection.

What can’t you live without?

The support of my family.

What are your plans for after advertising?

I play it as it goes. I couldn’t see myself saying, “that’s it, I’m retired and from now on, I’m going to…” I want to be able to do a lot of things and those things are changing constantly. Whatever I’ll be doing though, I’ll be doing it with my wife, Joyce, and experiencing it together.

Is there any food that helps you think more creatively?

I’m more creative on an empty stomach - I wake up in the morning with a head full of ideas.

If you could spend a day with any person, living or dead, who would it be and what would you do?

How could you pick just one? I’d love to take the next 50 years and spend each day with different people. There are so many people to experience. I’d love to walk in thousands of people’s shoes and experience their lives through their eyes.

What’s your point of view about politics?

Less propaganda, more action. Is that possible?

Do you have any pets?

No.

What do you do for a good time when you’re not working?

Go home and hang out with our children.

Do you have any kids?

See the answer above. We have four great kids: Elizabeth, 10; Emily, 8; Mary, 6; and John, 2.

What catalogs do you most admire?

There’s a catalog called Extreme Geek…It has every geeky thing you could think of. Like a CD ROM drive that’s actually a coffee warmer. A toaster that cooks hot dogs. It has all the stereotypical geek stuff. Stuff that you would never think of and then you see it and you say “Oh yeah…that’s pretty cool.”

What are your favorite Internet sites?

Even though it’s not a “site” I’d have to say Google just because it gets me to so much other stuff.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?

I would go everywhere so I could experience everything…I just have an unquenchable appetite for experience.