Pros
Great People who do their best to create good work within the culture of mediocrity. New offices a much needed upgrade the previous cramped quarters.
Cons
Zimmerman has a well earned reputation for turning out a huge amount of lackluster work in a short amount of time. At least I do not work on auto ads with copy full of terrible grammar and a Billy Mays shouting style. These clients come and go as often as the employees at the agency. How terribly inefficient is it to train newbies who leave as soon as they get some experience and realize the culture in which they work is based on often extremely unrewarding and mediocre. The agency claims that they care more about results than advertising awards, This is a phony excuse which sounds like sour grapes for their lack of creativity and respect in the industry. Stop railing against the community of which you are a part and embrace an ethic which exudes some class. Jordan Zimmerman holds contests, the winner of which gets to have lunch with him. This is extremely embarrassing to those who work for him and I am quite sure to current and prospective clients as well. What client feels comfortable with such narcissism? As a long time creative employee, it shows a lack of respect for those of us who have to make excuses for such a lack of class. We recently had a all employee rallying meeting led by new CEO Michael Goldberg. He had previously been a huge asset to the company and left to pursue a PR career in NY. I do have hope that his return will attract new clients, in part by buffering the egotism that fuels the agency. The meeting was ironically a client presentation to it's own employees. When you have to sell yourself to your own company, something is terribly out of whack. They have a new internal(?) logo of a raised clench fist.. It simply seems anarchistic and classless. "No more excuses" was a phrased used. A company should not have to feel that excuses would ever have to be made to the advertising community and its employees if they were proud of their work and corporate ethics. The recent scandal of its management team should not have come as a surprise as it simply reflects the culture of .. let's just say not the highest corporate morality. The notion that we are a company who builds other businesses and one who "just happens to do advertising" is disingenuous. Why not change the name from Zimmerman Advertising to Zimmerman Business Consultants? All agencies care about the performance of their clients or they would not last in such a competitive environment. Zimmerman should build its own corporate reputation by embracing the value of its employees and it own work. I often work at the production facility which in my opinion houses some very talented people. Unfortunately it is dingy and there is someone there who cackles like a hyena and is louder than I can possibly describe. What on earth is that about? Does the management not realize that this is extremely unprofessional and is a huge distraction for those of use working with the editors? I have worked here for almost eight years having come to the agency as a creative with solid advertising experience. The creative output leaves so much to be desired but all in all I do my job and do not worry about my personal situation. I write this for two reasons: Firstly, we were asked by Michael Goldberg to post honest reviews here. I do so in an effort to express what the state of affairs is. To his great credit, he says that what has been the policy in the past cannot be changed, so secondly to point out what is demoralizing the Zimmerman staff and to stop the bleeding in terms of the loss of so many clients
