Today we’d like to introduce you to Jack McGoldrick.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Jack. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I spent 18 years in New York City working at big ad agencies on big clients like General Motors, Procter & Gamble, 3 Musketeers, The Partnership for a Drugfree America and a bunch of others. I worked my way up from junior copywriter to creative director. Along the way I’ve been lucky enough to win some awards… Clios, D&AD, London International and others.
When I wrote commercials and it was time to produce them, I always asked the directors if I could stand next to them and watch them work without getting in their way. They always said yes, so I watched and learned how to direct people and run productions from some of the best in the business.
Same thing with design and art direction. I used to sit with my art director partners and watch them work, until I realized that at times I was driving them crazy looking over their shoulders. But I took what I learned from some very talented people and practiced until I became good at it myself.
I also spent 4 years as cameraman at a live-performance rock & roll TV show where I filmed over 200 bands and learned how to work a video camera, frame shots properly, set up lights and equipment, and wear earplugs.
Now I take all those skills I’ve learned, combine them with being a nice person and interacting positively with clients, and I run my own business.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Ha! Anyone who has ever started a business knows this answer. It’s a lot of hard work. It takes persistence, a positive attitude, the ability to fall down and get back up, and a whole lot of other clichés that are actually true. Now try starting a business while raising a baby in a place where you don’t know anyone. Yikes!
When I moved from New York City to Medford, I didn’t know a soul. It was Halloween 2011 and my daughter had just been born. We came here so my wife could be near her family. She had recently gotten her PhD, so she started teaching while I offered to stay at home to take care of the baby and the newborn business.
But I also got out there and got involved with the community with organizations such as CACHE in Medford and the Medford Chamber of Commerce, working on projects and helping put on events… and in the process I met a lot of great people in Medford and the surrounding area… some of whom have become clients and some of whom have become friends. I also have clients in the greater Boston area who are happy with the work we’ve given them and have been coming back for more.
Now the baby and the business are each 5-1/2 years old, and both are blossoming beautifully.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about McGoldrick Marketing – what should we know?
McGoldrick Marketing is a full-service ad agency. We make TV commercials and company videos, print and digital ads, radio, social media, press releases, photography… the whole gamut of communication.
We start by getting to know each client, their story, their goals, who they’re trying to reach. Then we work with them to develop a strategy to accomplish those goals. That may mean making a TV commercial or a full multi-media campaign, but it could also be as simple as designing a brochure or a flyer.
One of our newest clients is Dogs For Days. They started as a dog walking service, and now they’re working on opening a full-service dog care facility. It’s something that’s really needed in Medford and a lot of people are excited about it.
Last year we created what I call a “non-corporate” video for an HVAC installation company in Middleton called Donovan Sheet Metal. They installed three huge HVAC units on the roof of a 13-acre building in Leominster using a 60-foot Sikorsky helicopter as a crane. We filmed the job with five cameras and made a “how it’s done” video for them as a company demo piece. That was a fun shoot.
We’ve worked with some other companies in the Boston area too, but locally we’ve done some important public service work for the Mystic Valley Public Health Coalition (dealing with opioid use), Medford High School and Medford Technical High School, and the Mystic Valley Chapter of the NAACP. The NAACP work made the news… NPR, CNN.com and The Boston Globe.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
When I opened shop, the Medford Transcript wrote a nice article. That led to two local superwomen, Susan Altman and Susan Fairchild, reaching out about creating a civic pride project which turned out to be “Medford Starts With Me.” Penny Funaiole at the Mystic Valley Public Health Coalition and Neil Osborne at the Mystic Valley Chapter of the NAACP have both been wonderful and supportive people work with. Janet Donnelly, Executive Director of the Medford Chamber of Commerce is fantastic. Laurel Siegel, May Marquebreuck, Charlotte Scuderi, Chery Pendenza, Laura Brereton, Allie Fiske and everyone at CACHE work hard to organize fantastic arts and music events in Medford and have been great to me. You know what? Pretty much everyone I’ve gotten to know in Medford has been incredible.
People I would call advertising mentors in New York City were Valerie Graves and the late, great Ed Hannibal… and in an entrepreneurial, find-a-way-to-get-it-done sense: Jamie Lamm. Other people who helped me out were Eric Knudsen, who let me stay at his place in New York for a week while I looked for my first job, which was offered to me by Rosemary Love.
And of course my mom and dad have always supportive, loving, caring, and raised me to be a lot like them. My dad passed away a few years ago, but my mom is still the best mom I could ever wish for. And my daughter Evie (The Bunny Queen) is the reason the sun shines.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.McGoldrickMarketing.com
- Phone: 781-874-9553
- Email: Jack@McGoldrickMarketing.com
- Other:
Image Credit:
Chris St. Jean, Miyka’el Wise, Shahjehan Khan (face not visible), Jack McGoldrick, photo by Neil Osborne
Man playing the guitar, Raleigh Green
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