Article: “Archivists at Coke, Wells Fargo, McDonald’s Advocate for Marketers — and Themselves”

The author of the article met with members of the Business Archives Section of the Society of American Archivists (SAA) during the recent annual meeting.
From AdAge:

With their vast knowledge, they are a marketer’s dream, yet this little-known group needs to market itself. Mondelez has an archival operation spanning four countries and 10 people, but it is the anomaly; most members in this group represent departments of one. The group, shaken by the sudden departure of Target’s two well-regarded archivists last fall, dedicated the meeting to the topic of advocacy. (A spokesman for Target said the retailer remains committed to its archives and has integrated the work into its marketing team.)
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“I need to stay very nimble and familiar with the priorities of the business and the culture that supports those priorities,” said Elizabeth Spatz, librarian and archivist for Disney Consumer Products. “I need to anticipate [Disney executives’] needs and always be thinking about what would invigorate and engage that community.”
Mike Bullington, the first professionally trained archivist hired by McDonald’s nearly 10 years ago, didn’t mince words when he met with executives during the interview process. “I said, if you want a closet of curiosities, you will hire anyone else, but if you want the archives to support the business, the owner-operators, you will hire me,” he recalled.

Read the Complete Article (820 Words)
See Also: Directory of Corporate Archives in the United States and Canada
See Also: Business Archives in North America: Invest in Your Future, Understand Your Past (by the Business Archives Section, SAA)

Filed under: Archives and Special Collections, Interviews, News, Profiles