Tools of the Trade: Evan Schultz from Le Truc

Tools of the Trade is an AgencySpy feature to help highlight the many tools that help make advertising and marketing folks successful. The tools can be anything that helps people perform at their top form, from a favorite drafting table to the best software program to a lucky pen, a vintage typewriter or a pair of headphones. Next up is Evan Schultz, svp executive creative director at Publicis Groupe creative arm Le Truc. What is one tool you use all the time at work, and how does it inspire your work? We creative types like to have a way to block out the noise when it’s time to dial in, and my tool of choice for this purpose is actually a Walkman-style tape player (“wannabe hipster” jokes incoming). I think it’s another example we’re seeing in culture of people embracing the nostalgia factor—flip phones or mp3 players that don’t connect to the internet. I love how the Walkman helps me stay in the creative flow state without the distractions of notifications, texts, emails, and all of the other siren songs of the smartphone. Why is it your favorite? Analog audio has a certain focused, tactile quality to it that I appreciate. The Walkman specifically has no screen whatsoever and removes the capabilities that you’ll find on mp3 and CD players. It plays music in its simplest and most pure form, in the order that the artist intended. Unless, of course, I’m listening to one of my own mixtapes—but more on that later.I’m always plugged into my Walkman when I’m at my desk at Le Truc. Any time I’m not in meetings, you can find me in the corner, headphones on, banging out scripts or nudging pixels around. Lately it’s been my Best Of Eddie Money tape. Definitely how I create my best work (thanks, Eddie).I listen to music constantly outside of the office too, but when I’m not working, I embrace digital. Different mediums are engineered for different purposes. For me, Spotify is preferred for cooking, cleaning, commuting; but when it’s time to be creative, I need that old-school focus. How did you acquire your tool or hear about it for the first time? My current Walkman is actually brand new. Thanks to the resurgence of analog music (looking at you, Gen Z, and your record collections), cassette players are—incredibly—surprisingly easy to come by these days.I got my first Walkman when I was a kid, and 10-15 years ago I started buying refurbished ones off eBay, but they tend to break pretty quickly because they’re made of 30-year-old plastic, so I’ve accumulated quite the collection. How does it help you be successful? Besides the benefit of tuning out noise, I can also make my own mixtapes, which is almost a state of meta-focus, because I have to anticipate the following day’s tasks and the mood I’ll need to be in for the type of work I have to do. I’ll pick music from different eras if I need to get in touch with a certain audience, or compile songs in a particular genre that matches the brand I’m working with on any given day. It makes a huge difference in shifting my mindset and activating new ways of thinking. Does it have sentimental value? Using my Walkman brings me back to my childhood, when my dad let me borrow his Walkman on one of our family road trips, it signified the first time that I ever got to choose the music I listened to. That was a core memory for sure. When I look back on my life, everything is defined by what came before that moment, or what came after. It also reminds me of a time when life was simpler and creativity seemed boundless. I wasn’t burdened with insecurities or mistakes, or any of those other things that begin to eat at your confidence as you grow older. When you were young and drawing or writing purely for fun, the world was singularly perfect. When I put those headphones on and press play on a tape, I’m transported back to that time, if even for a brief moment. Do you think your tool could go TikTok viral? Why or why not? Is this a good time to share that I’ve already experienced virality talking about cassette tapes on TikTok? So I suppose…yes! I have a page (@badinkstudios) where I post videos about all kinds of nerdy things—cassette culture, comics I make—even some of my own music. Which I actually don’t put on my mixtapes because I’m so sick of hearing my music by the time I finally master and export it. But I have dubbed batches of tapes with my albums on them and then posted videos to promote the release, and actually sold a decent amount. So clearly I’m not alone in this odd obsession. We want to know what tools you use to make you successful. If you’d like to contribute or know someone who would want to be featured in Tools of the Trade, contact kyle.obrien@adweek.com and fill out our survey.

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Tools of the Trade: Evan Schultz from Le Truc

Schultz uses his Walkman tape player to help stay in the creative flow

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