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Jim Ficco
Year of induction: 1998
Bio:
Jim Ficco grew up in Greensburg, where he was exposed to advertising even earlier than most of us – his father, also Jim Ficco, was the “F” in DDF&M.
Jim first joined Ketchum in 1976 soon after graduating from Dickinson College. He started as an account assistant, a title he said was “so far down on the totem pole they had to make it up.” After less than a year, Jim left the agency to earn an M.A. in Political Philosophy at the University of Toronto. In 1979 Jim returned to Pittsburgh and to advertising when he joined WPEZ radio as sales manager. Bob Bernardini soon lured him back to Ketchum to work on the Pittsburgh National Bank account. He never left again.
Once back at Ketchum, Jim’s rise through the ranks seemed destined. His bulldog tenacity became legendary as he worked on highly effective campaigns for nearly all of Ketchum’s clients. In recognition of his skill at cutting through complex issues to develop tightly focused, insightful marketing strategies, Jim was named VP in 1984, Senior VP in 1988, and Executive VP/COO in 1991.
Jim’s strategic talents were perhaps best displayed during the ten years he helped to shape the marketing programs of Digital Equipment Corporation, Ketchum’s largest account and one of the largest pieces of business in Pittsburgh at the time. Jim was directly involved with eight separate business units of Digital, and guided its high-profile corporate branding program. His work on programs like “The Infinite Voyage,” the global launch of Digital’s PCs and the introduction of its super-fast Alpha AXP microprocessor moved Digital into the forefront of technology marketers.
In 1994, at age 39, Jim became President of Ketchum Advertising/Pittsburgh. For the next three years he ably led an agency in transition. Jim championed Ketchum’s expansion overseas and into the new dimensions of marketing emerging from the internet and corporate databases. And he participated in Ketchum’s decision to join forces with Omnicom, the world’s largest agency holding company.
Diagnosed with leukemia in May, 1996, Jim withdrew from the agency to focus his energy on fighting the disease. He died in April, 1998. His spirit and legacy live on today in the love of his wife, Anne Marie, and his daughters, Natalie and Grace. As well as in the hearts of his many friends and colleagues across Pittsburgh and throughout the United States. Jim’s own words offer the best perspective on the man admired by so many: “Having leukemia has changed my life. I’ve traded something off. The length of my life is far less certain. But the meaning of my life is far more clear.”
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