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The 21 Most Intriguing: The Instigator: Scott Donaton
— Courtney Barnes

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Scott Donaton, associate publisher and editorial director of the Ad Age Group, is every bit an instigator, nothing short of a fire-starter, a little bit rogue. Donaton’s creative make-up is the driving force behind the brand’s forward momentum in turbulent times.

As the media landscape responds to increased fragmentation and new technologies, Donaton acts as a catalyst for conversations on ways to anticipate change, promote healthy growth and combat threats to traditional media and advertising vehicles. For Donaton, who is still on the light side of 45, the art of this business is all about anticipation: the next big story, the next big idea, the next big trend. His accelerated rise through the ranks of Ad Age, where he has spent an entire career, is a testament to this omniscient gene. The climb began in 1987, when Donaton joined Ad Age as a part-time employee while still in college, and it only briefly paused when both curiosity and an affinity for technology prompted him to take a short-lived position as editor of TV Guide online.

Donaton has the uncanny ability to anticipate the next thing that will catapult the industry to another level. In the early ’90s, it was putting Ad Age online when the Internet was an embryo. Ten years later, his foresight tapped into the growing power of brand extensions, which have served him and his media group well to date.

"There are a lot of people throwing the word [brand] around and not really meaning it," Donaton says. "It all boils down to the impact of technology and the consumer empowerment that goes along with it. Brands either have to do things differently or die."

Donaton has built a career on analyzing and challenging the state of branding, as well as emerging media technologies and advertising vehicles. And for this media junkie whose writing career began with composing limericks as a third grader, developed into an idolization of former Newsday columnist Jimmy Breslin, and later matured with a degree in journalism from St. John’s University, a foray into book writing was only natural.

His first book, Madison & Vine (McGraw-Hill, 2004), which pays homage to the intersection of New York’s advertising haven, Madison Avenue, and Los Angeles’ Vine Street, cracked open a major media trend: the convergence of advertising and entertainment as a function of survival. True to his philosophy of fostering brand extensions, Donaton pushed Ad Age’s tentacles into conferences, e-newsletters and branded columns.

In his weekly column (nostalgically dubbed "Madison & Vine") Donaton comments on industry issues, often raising eyebrows. One recent piece, which called for more magazines to fold so stronger ones could thrive, sparked a satirical rejoinder from online magazine MediaPost’s commentator George Simpson. Tongue firmly in cheek, Simpson fictionalized a response supposedly from Rance Crain, Ad Age’s publisher: "You know, I think Scott is one of the smartest guys in the business...I read his thoughts last week, and it all started sounding kind of familiar. We had a family picnic and agreed that it really was vanity that kept us publishing Ad Age, so why not follow our own advice and shut the whole thing down?"

This satire is typical of the responses Donaton generates, but a rough-and-tumble only fuels the fire for this thick-skinned innovator and father of three. (Although, he admits, "There are days when I could crawl under a rock.") It all comes down to his goal of "taking the bias out of the business model," which means treating each element of a brand – magazine, Web site, conference program – as equally important. As a perfect example, the printed product of Advertising Age just achieved its diamond anniversary, but newer, more integrated platforms are quickly catching up and need attention.

Donaton holds that a true brand cannot exist with biases and legacy models built into its business structure. According to this Davy Crockett of branding’s Wild West, "It’s one thing to say you’re a brand. It’s another thing to act like it."

It’s also one thing to say you’re a consumer, a lover, a creator of media, and another thing to act like it. But Donaton does. He devours magazines – The New Yorker, Best Life ("the first magazine that treats men like grownups"), Newsweek, Esquire and even the occasional Glamour – and enjoys reading two books at once. In fact, his love of the written word is challenged only by his affinity for scuba diving – he was certified about a year ago.

As Donaton’s personal brand continues to develop, he will no doubt explore a wealth of new trends, and perhaps a plot for a Donaton-branded novel – but all in due time. "I don’t have a story that needs to be told yet," he says. "The novel is going to have to burn itself out of me, and I hope it does."

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