25 Years in the Biz, 25 Years at DNA: Dave’s Story & Lessons

The path from sauté chef to agency vet —and the soundtrack that guided the journey.

My advertising career began in the most humble way possible. I had just quit my job as the day lead sauté cook at Fuller’s Restaurant at the Seattle Sheraton. That decision left me unemployed, with a soundtrack filled with classic Seattle grunge bands like Screaming Trees, Love Battery, Nirvana, and, of course, KCMU 90.3 FM (which wouldn’t become KEXP until 2001).

Herring/Newman asked if I’d be interested in an Account Coordinator role they were hiring for. Let me do the math: 40 hours a week, paid holidays off, instead of working 12-hour shifts on Mother’s Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Eve—and health benefits? I’d love to be your Account Coordinator.

The Agency’s Production Director eventually approached me to consider a move from Account Services into Production. This move made a lot of sense, given my hospitality background—it was essentially a shift from the “front of the house,” (clients and customers), to the “back of the house,” where I became more directly involved in the creation of the work, much like my years as a cook.

Fast forward to the year 2000. Alan Brown and Dan Gross left to form their own agency, DNA Brand Mechanics. I also left and was working at McCallum Envelope and Printing (now DCG One). That summer, I received a call from DNA asking if I’d be interested in returning to agency life as their Production Manager. You could say I was catching the sun.

Working for a printer, the goal was to get work in and out as quickly and efficiently as possible—there was never time to fall in love with and grow a project, to make it better or more than what people thought it could be. I came to realize how much I missed being involved in the creative and production processes of a project or campaign from inception to fruition, and was excited to be back in the Advertising mix, becoming employee number six at DNA. 

Fast forward again to 2024. My current soundtrack is now influenced by my colleagues’ Spotify playlists and DNA Music League, as well as my continuing relationship with KEXP 90.3 FM / streaming. 

I could talk about all the changes the industry has undergone over the last 25 years, but you’ve seen and read endless LinkedIn posts about technological advancements, consumer behavior shifts, the rise of new platforms, shoppable ads, and the generational shift to ethical and socially responsible brands, all of which were accelerated by the pandemic.

Within this ever-changing landscape, some core truths have served DNA (and me) well over time. Our industry is about uncovering insights that resonate with consumers and drive them to take action. Whether you call that brand loyalty, brand fanaticism, cause marketing, or social media influencing, and however you deliver it—be it a direct mail piece in your mailbox, a 30-second TV spot during your team’s football game, an online 8-bit video game, a beer-branded hotel room in a Midwestern summer resort town, or intercepting tweets in an effort to stop sex trafficking—it all comes down to the same thing: uncovering a basic human insight that leads to real emotion, connection, and action.

One question you are all probably asking is: “Why have I been at DNA for 24 years?” The short answer is because of the ownership and the lived Agency values, that align with my own, while also pushing me to always question, evolve and consider new approaches in both my beliefs and work.

One of my heroes is Kurt Vonnegut, and I’ve always felt this quote applied well to the advertising world. “We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.”

DNA has never pretended to be anything other than what we are–a dedicated group of individuals, from very different backgrounds, who champion authenticity over pretense and come together to solve problems differently. 

That, coupled with a relentless competitive spirit and desire to win, has proven to be a fulfilling way to spend a career.