Debbie Scoppechio is a native of Nutley, New Jersey and grew up in Wappinger Falls New York. She received bachelor's degrees in psychology and sociology from Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. After working as a social worker in her first professional position, she became the vice president of Faller, Klenk and Quinlan advertising agency located in Buffalo, New York and held that position from 1973-1984. From 1984-1985, Ms. Scoppechio was employed by Dulancy Advertising in Louisville and from 1985-1987 with K. Shaver, also based in Louisville. In 1987, she founded Creative Alliance, Inc., the largest advertising agency in the Commonwealth in terms of number of employees, gross income and gross billings. Creative Alliance's notable clients include Alliant Health System (now known as Norton Healthcare), Brown-Forman Beverages Worldwide, Greater Louisville, Inc., Hilliard Lyons, Jefferson County Public Schools, KFC Corporation, LG&E Energy Corporation, Meijer, PepsiCo., Tricon Global Restaurants and UniDial Communications.

You founded Creative Alliance in 1987 after 15 years of experience working for other advertising agencies. Creative Alliance is now Kentucky's largest agency with 1998 estimated capitalized billing in excess of $100 million. What enabled your firm to be so successful?

Hard work, more hard work and surrounding myself with all the top talent I can find. I don't have any creative or media talent, but the people I recruit are the best, and I try to keep them. By hiring the brightest talent, you can get the best clients out there.

Six or eight clients started with Creative Alliance and they actually paid media costs up front. So the firm immediately had a cash flow, which was very helpful.

Then I would just say determination. I never give up and I never say no. In the beginning, we did a lot of project work for KFC. They used to call us "all night advertising." If KFC's New York agency, Y & R (Young and Rubicam), couldn't get it done, then they would just call us at 9 p.m., we'd be there, and we'd get it done. That, of course, led us to getting their national contract two years later for all print and point of sale.

I had a lot of relationships. I was the rainmaker. But the only way to deliver the rain was to build a team of great people.

In addition to your headquarters in Louisville, where else does Creative Alliance operate?

Creative Alliance has a full service office in Nashville, Tennessee. There are approximately 24 people there. Sager-Bell, which we acquired two years ago, is my east-end office. That is what I call it. It is in Louisville, but they are moving downtown this month. Creative Alliance also has account services offices in Orlando and Baltimore.

What exactly does Sager-Bell do?

Our largest client at Sager-Bell is Brown Foreman. We provide a number of marketing services for their brands -- point of sale, advertising, merchandising and PR. We travel across the world to work with them on of their wines and other brands. Sager-Bell has about 17 people on staff.

How many persons does your firm employ and how much growth do you expect during the next 12 months?

The firm has about 145 in total right now. I say about because I wake up some days and find someone here I've never seen before. We'll add another five to help staff the new business we received at the end of 1998.

Who are your firm's two largest accounts and how long have they been clients?

The largest client is KFC, which has been around since 1989, and we just signed a brand new, spanking clean contract with them. So they will be around a little longer. And the second largest would probably be Robards, a furniture, appliance and bedding retailer out of Dayton, Ohio. Robards is one of two new clients that engaged us at the end of the year. In reality, Robards will probably be a little bigger than KFC once we take on the print, which is our next step.

Who were your initial clients when Creative Alliance launched in 1987?

One was Whitman's, a dental materials manufacturer, who will be with us 'til we die, I hope. They are a small account when you look at billing for the agency, but they are a big account in the way we handle them. Another original client was Mercy Hospital in Owensboro, which we had forever until they got bought out by a big general hospital. Carefree Lawns and Glennmore Distilleries both were wonderful first clients. And again, these initial clients really respected what we were doing and really helped us.

What are the two most important services an advertising agency can provide and how does your firm excel in these areas?

Strategic planning is number one. Creative Alliance is one of the few Kentucky agencies that really does have a full service, fully staffed strategic planning group. In today's competitive world, I don't think you can implement an effective ad campaign without a comprehensive plan. Creative and media services would be tied for No. 2. Ten years ago, I would have said account service. We still provide the same great service, but we've greatly grown in creative and media services. We place spot TV all over, and multi-unit capabilities is also an important service we offer. Because of KFC, our agency does not represent other food service clients, so we look for shoe, furniture and other retail chains.

Have you had any problems in recruiting talent from metropolitan areas like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, etc. to Kentucky?

I'd say that is my biggest challenge. To get regional clients, we have to recruit national or regional talent to service the account. That is tough talent to recruit and there isn't a pool of specialized talent in Louisville.

Recruiting new business to Kentucky has been a top priority of state and local government. How well are these agencies succeeding in this economic development and how can we improve?

Greater Louisville, Inc. and the Chamber have done a hell of a job, especially in the past year, a great job. I was very involved with Tricon and worked with state and local economic development personnel. They pulled out all stops and got the job done. How can we improve? We need to remember how good it is in Kentucky and the great things we have to offer.

In marketing a product, service or a community, there is reality and what the public perceives to be reality. What do you think is the public's perception of the following:

Kentucky as a place to locate your business

The initial perception is that Kentucky is not a place to locate your business. In reality, Kentucky is a damn good place to do business.

Educational opportunities in Kentucky

I came from New York. Never in a million years would I have thought of going to any Kentucky institution for a college degree. Inside Kentucky, there is too much emphasis on sports and not enough focus on educational aspects. What Kentucky has done in the past decade with education has been phenomenal. It is only going to get better.

Louisville

The external perception is that Louisville is somewhat mediocre. I base that on what people say when I am recruiting them. Actually Louisville is a wonderful city and I don't think too many people realize it.

Lexington

I love Lexington and Louisville and if we were all working together, I think economic development for the state could be greatly improved.

Eastern Kentucky

Creative Alliance promotes state tourism. In every part of Kentucky, I find something great from a tourism standpoint.

Northern Kentucky

Northern Kentucky, Louisville and Indiana should collectively do more things together in order to boost economic development.

Governor Patton

I think the world of him and he is the most honest politician that I have ever met. He's down to earth. He says what he means. If he thinks it should be done, it gets done. His stand on education is phenomenal. I just cannot say enough good about him.

From a marketing perspective, what is Kentucky's greatest asset?

The people in Kentucky -- they are unlike the people in many other states. Secondly, Kentucky has a long way to go and that is good. If we were No. 1, then we would have nowhere to go and then we'd get lax. Our zeal to get there is a great asset.

What recommendation would you make to Governor Patton regarding taxation in Kentucky?

Don't give me any! The reality is that Kentucky has a lot of room to grow in the eyes of the world. I don't think that growth can happen without the state and local tax money that is now being invested by Kentuckians.

Over the past 15 years, how has the computer aided the growth and profitability of your business?

Don't ask me about computers. They are the bane of my existence. But the truth is that Creative Alliance can't exist without them. Not just creatively but accounting -- everything.

Do you anticipate that the Y2K problem will have any serious implications to either the U.S. or world economies?

I am concerned, but I think everyone is a little over-concerned. We're all set; all of our vendors are set. I have to believe that other companies are in the same situation.

What advice would you give a recent college graduate in marketing or communications about getting into the advertising business?

I would say you'll either love it or not. It is the kind of business you have a passion for. It's very exciting and it is not very easy to get into these days. Students should do an internship, without a doubt, if they want to get into this business. No matter what the challenge - there is always a solution.

How significant will the World Wide Web be in marketing products in the future?

If you had asked me a few years ago, I would have never believed that it would be as significant as it appears to becoming. I have a feeling that the web will soon be able to do anything. It never ceases to amaze me.

Media have become more targeted to specific audiences/readerships; and advertisers have more research available to define their best actual and potential customers. Do you see a continuing trend for media buys to be carefully designed to match client-specific demographics?

Absolutely. We're there now. I don't know if the computer caused this, but you couldn't demographically target media buys without them [or] specify what kind of data you want and order your computer to complete it. That is definitely where it's at. In a way, it is mind-boggling.

How much do you enjoy your work?

I love it and I live it. It is definitely the passion of my life. I get all the headaches that you have when you own a business, but I also get all the great things. I love our team here and I love most of our clients. I like all of them. But it is my whole life. My weekends, my everything are the clients and the people I work with at Creative Alliance.

How do you see the future?

We are looking at a wonderful 1999. I hope that we can go into the year 2000 and the new millennium and keep this strong economy rolling. Creative Alliance is looking forward to going out regionally and getting new business. Our team is passionate about great advertising and looking forward to continued growth and success.

Ed G. Lane is chief executive of Lane Communications, Inc. and publisher of The Lane Report.