KAY-COMM ADVERTISING

The year was 1969 when Morrie Kayanan left home to work at DZBM, the leading Top 40, rock 'n roll radio station in Manila, Philippines. Soon he ran one of the highest rated shows on air. That year he also began writing radio commercials and launched his career as an advertising copywriter. Morrie worked his way through school, attending the University of the Philippines, at Diliman, Quezon City, where he received his Bachelors of Arts in Communications.

Returning to the city of his birth, Washington, D.C., he continued writing ad copy for local agencies. As Creative Director for respected firms such as The E. James White Company and Morgan-Burchette Associates, he honed his skills with national clients like General Electric, MCI, Amtrak, Williams & Sonoma, Northern Telecom, Time-Life, CIGNA, United Way, and Matin-Marrietta. Morrie moved to Baltimore in the mid-1980's and opened the ad agency, Allen, Kayanan & McClain. Later, he merged with another agency, Intermarket, and the firm was renamed Seidel-Kayanan Advertising, located near Baltimore's Inner Harbor. Returning to Washington on his own, Morrie worked for Bozell Worldwide. When Doug Laughlin, Dave Marinaccio & Ron Owens left Bozell to form their own agency, LM&O, they asked Morrie to come with them. Morrie was with LM&O for 12 years, working on The Army & Air National Guard, Bell Atlantic, Virginia Railway Express, BrandInformatics, Big Brothers & Big Sisters, and Chevy Chase Bank accounts, to name but a few. Morrie witnessed LM&O grow to become one of the largest and most respected advertising agencies in the D.C. metro area.

In August of 2007, Morrie left LM&O to launch Kayanan Communication, Incorporated. As President and Chief Creative Officer of Kay-Comm, Morrie brings the same energy, verve, passion, insight and creativity to his advertising agency as he did to his nightly radio show. And he has as much fun doing it today as he ever did in 1969.

Our six years at Howard University.

In 1998, Howard University, the premier African- American institute of higher learning in the United States, if not the world, asked Morrie if he would teach a course in basic advertising creativity. In addition, he was charged with the task of entering his students' ads in competition. The first year, Morries’ students took home a DC ADDY Award for creativity. The second year: two ADDY's. The third year, three. And during Morrie's six years teaching at HU, his students won a total of nine awards for creative excellence. An advertising professional who is totally dedicated towards helping minorities launch careers in advertising, Morrie feels that the greatest achievement in his advertising career to date, is to have helped young minorities get ahead.

"After all," Morrie says, "At one time or another, we were all minorities and immigrants here in this country of ours...its one of the things that makes America so unique and great in the world." Using humor to make a point, Morrie states, " In addition, I feel that anyone who wants to come to this country should be able to immigrate as long as he or she can speak our native tongue: Lakota, Dakota, Blackfoot, Sioux, Crow, and the like."

The son of a career US Army officer of Filipino descent, Morrie believes that diversity in origins, beliefs and cultures is at the roots of our nation's great  strength.

Our Advertising Philosophy

At Kay-Comm, we believe that it takes great advertising to make a brand truly stand out, emotionally connect with their customers and build brand loyalty. To do that you can't run boring ads or play it safe, you have got to take risks. We believe that an ad agency has the responsibility to make its client's brand unique within its own niche. We subscribe to the school of advertising that states, "Great advertising has two main elements: one is that it is relevant, and two, that it is unexpected." First it delivers the right message to the right audience, via the right media, at the right time. Second,  you are surprised because you didn't expect that particular delivery—be it humor, or point of view, or a unique situation. The bottom line is that you remember it and you act on it.

At Kay-Comm, we feel that the benefit of originality is sincerity. If an ad comes at you from a totally unexpected place, you are more open to give it your full attention and belief. This is our philosophy when it comes to producing advertising, that it is relevant and unexpected, that it builds brands that emotionally connect with their customers, that it generates customer loyalty and eventual market dominance.

Today, the businesses that are succeeding are the ones that are partnering with their ad agencies to create great advertising and great brands—that are taking risks, breaking through, connecting with your customers and winning.

Kay-Comm exists to pursue this philosophy and help its clients move their customers, their bottom lines and their brands. Let us show you what we can do for your business. Call us today.