Erik Hauser, the interviewer, is VP/Executive Creative Director of EURO RSCG and the Founder of the Experiential Marketing Forum It is with great pride that I introduce the newest section of The Experiential Marketing Forum: EMF Profiles in Leadership.  The idea for it arose after I began connecting recently with a bunch of EMF community members who wanted to chat about the economic changes and what was going on with the industry.  Everyone seemed to be asking like-minded questions re: what was going to happen next and how we would all be affected.  By now, everyone kind of knows my style :) - In typical Erik fashion I spent many hours on the phone just talking to people.  The most important part of the conversations wasn’t the part when I was talking - it was the part when I was listening to what the community had to say. It occurred to me that we could create a new tool on the EMF that would offer the community keen insights about our industry and other relevant subject matter from the best minds working with, and around, us all.   In reality the idea flows back to what my mom told me when I was a kid.  She said,” If you find things in life that you like then associate yourself with them - if you can’t find these things - create them.”  This forum is built on the vision of those words  -- and  I still hear her in my head each day.  From a personal perspective, at the time I created the EMF I was looking to create order in the chaos I felt during one of my initial phases of my career.   I needed an outlet where people spoke the same language and understood that a rising tide lifts all ships. The goal was to build a place where people would come to learn - a place where there would be interactions and give and take  -  even among competitors - for the greater good of the industry.   This new section is just another branch growing off of that logic tree.  It’s called EMF Profiles In Leadership because it involves forward thinking practitioners and theorists. I figured that I’d throw out some questions to industry heavyweights and it could be a great learning tool for everyone to see what others are doing to make it through these tough times.  Most importantly, I thought in addition to my own conversations, it would start to help answer some of the questions that the community was posing to me, and in general.   I really look forward to having some distinguished people answer some simple questions that can help the community grow their businesses, perform better at their current jobs or even help someone decide which major to select in college.  Having said all of that - away we go! Click here to visit the Experiential Marketing Forum Profiles In Leadership Archives Would you like to have your profile featured? Click here to contact Erik Hauser.
Craig Peters Founder and President at CKPcreative Co-Founder, BuxMont digital
		Education BA from Colgate University Books Reading: I seem to buy them faster than I can read them, so the pile keeps growing and I'm always reading several simultaneously. My current favorites: "Love Is the Killer App: How To Win Business and Influence Friends" by Tim Sanders,  "New Rules of Marketing and PR" by David Meerman Scott, and Neil Gaiman's 10-volume Sandman series, which I actually just finished but need to read all over again. Favorite Quote: Marcus Aurelius: "Never let the future disturb you. You will face it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present." It was my high school yearbook quote. There's something vaguely disturbing about that.		Inspirational Figures: My father (who passed 17 years ago after building several successful businesses despite some significant personal issues) and my sister (who spends her life helping the lives of others through two drug and alcohol treatment facilities named after our father). Relationship Status: married (for 25 years this May) with a son in high school and a daughter in college I dare to ask age ...: 51 (chronologically) and 27, give or take a few (mentally)

Short bio of career path:
15 years on the editorial and marketing side of magazine publishing followed by nine years of digital content and marketing program development for Feld Entertainment followed by the creation of my own agency, CKPcreative, in mid-2004, and the co-founding of a second agency, BuxMont digital, in late-2009.

Define your leadership style and the feel of the agency:
No smoke. No mirrors. No buzzwords. No kidding.

Toughest challenge overcome in your career?
That leap of faith from working for someone else to working for one's self. At first, it feels like you're on a high wire without a net – till you realize that there's never really been a net, anyway, and your only real job security in this life is your willingness to work as hard as you need to in order to get the job done the very best you can.

What was your defining moment at your agency?
Every new day is a defining moment because every day moves you in a particular direction – ideally forward and toward a specific goal – that continues to define who and what you are, as an agency and as a person.

Favorite assignment completed to date?
Bringing the first version of Ringling.com online. (We got an A+ from Entertainment Weekly back when they were grading that sort of thing.) There was nothing like going to the top digital agencies at the height of the Internet bubble in the '90s and saying, "We're The Greatest Show On Earth and we want to build a Web site; got any ideas?" It was like getting an MBA in Web development.

Your vision of where we will all be in 10 years (non-apocalyptic):
I think Moore's Law will continue to hold true and we'll all have exponentially more access to information and computing power than we do today. The implications to global human society, from business to politics, are mind-boggling. Here's one tiny example: Do a bit of Googling on the subject of "3-D printers" and rapid prototyping. Imagine what happens when manufacturing on demand in your home office becomes as common as printing a Word document.

Best describe your agency:
Digital content, pr and online marketing since 1996. Traditional editorial, marketing and media relations since 1981.

Why do clients choose your agency and how have you been able to maintain such long relationships?
Can I pass on this question? I think that's something better asked of my clients, not of me.

Advice for those entering into the space from college?
By necessity this is an industry undergoing massive transition. Nurture a genuinely positive attitude: the importance of a 'Can Do' mind set and willingness to learn is immense - core skills can be taught and trained to appropriate functional levels - yet a positive attitude is far harder to nurture. Find the passion within... it's attractive beyond reason. (Oh, and talk to clients and colleagues in words they understand - and be kind to your mum).

Advice to the smaller agency owners in this tough economic climate?
Well, seeing as I'm one of them, I think maintaining a positive energy and attitude is crucial. People want to do business with people who are positive and optimistic about themselves, their chosen fields and their clients' success.

How do you use and define experiential methodology?
As Erik Hauser and Max Lenderman wrote in AdWeek in September 2008: "Businesses will live or die not by the attributes they promise but by the brand experiences and value they offer customers at every touch point." That notion of "every touch point" is crucial, because in developing marketing materials, a social media plan, a piece of advertising, a Web site or any other type of communications, digital or otherwise, you need to relentlessly keep the customer front and center. So I'm always asking myself questions like, "What will the customer think about this?" and "How will the customer react to this?" and "How can this make it easier for the customer?" I always strive to create the best customer experience possible … at every touch point.