If you had a member of your target group over for the evening, would you be able to keep a conversation going throughout dinner? Or would you encounter an awkward silence by the time, say, you were finishing up your salads?

This is what we call the power of "you" - that "you" being the most critical element in the communication equation: the person who's hearing it. So yes, as ad people, we want to know all about you as an advertiser, but what's most essential is how we make the connection between your business and the "you"? who needs to buy your product or service.

This is the heart of advertising as a conversation. It means not just talking about ourselves. It means engaging people. And ultimately, it means helping them feel like you're talking to them, not at them.