Michael Edelstein

President + Founding Partner

“Family legend has it that on my mother’s side we are related to the composer Borodin, and the inventor of Esperanto, L.L. Zamenhof, a linguist who had the inspired idea that one universally shared language would bring peace to the world. While these familial relations are open to question, such apocrypha, growing up, was not without influence. I received a BA in music theory and composition from Colorado College. Thereafter I entered the job market, and the world of advertising, with a bunch of jingles as my portfolio. My first job was under the flagship of Ogilvy & Mather in New York. As a Creative Manager working for nearly 20 plus years at top agencies for leading brands — from American Express to AT&T to Fidelity to Lucent to Microsoft and many more — I could not deny an idealist streak, perhaps imparted by the echoes of Zamenhof himself. So, from the start of my career, I have enjoyed using my communication skills to further humanitarian causes. Before starting Blue Pollen in 2005 with Stephen Larmer, I worked at MRM Worldwide/Princeton as Managing Partner/Creative Director. I would have to say one of the high points in my career was when His Holiness the 14th Dali Lama looked at a film Blue Pollen wrote and produced in 2006, titled “Compassion in Action,” and said, “I think this is very effective.” Zamenhof was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, too. But he never got it. That was 1910. Believe it or not, Esperanto is still spoken.”

Stephen Larmer

Creative Director + Founding Partner

“I need to journey back six centuries to uncover a curious influence in my life. Armor represented a high point in technology in the Middle Ages. It required expertise in metallurgy, forging, tooling, and design. Success was literally a matter of life and death. Your product needed to stop an assortment of sharp projectiles. Larmer, my family name, were makers of armor to knights of old. Graduating from Philadelphia’s Hussian School of Art with a degree in communications design — where my grandfather also studied art — I envisioned a similar challenge as my forbearers. Integrating art and technology so that whatever message being conveyed could win in the marketplace. I think a greater influence comes from my mother’s family, however. They are Italian. For me, that means knowing how to enjoy life. The simple things, like good food and family, are the most precious. Before joining forces with Michael in 2005 to start Blue Pollen, I ran my own design firm, Pixel+Pulp. I specialized in branding and high-end design for leading companies in fashion and technology. Prior to that, I helped launch many successful consumer programs for MCI and other telecom-related companies. Notwithstanding my professional obligations, my wife Kimm and our five children always find time to spend together. Our eldest is in his second year of college on a music scholarship. My kids laugh imagining me as a teenager draped in black listening to The Cure while admiring illuminated manuscripts. And then I explain how some of that is all in a name.”

We are

We listen to our clients, so we’re able to hear what they need, not just what they say they need. We listen to their customers and prospects, so we understand deeper and truer levels of motivation. We listen to the people we admire in fields like behavioral economics, many of whom years ago answered the questions marketers are struggling with now. And we listen to our own advisers and experts — psychologists, engineers, and neuroscientists — who are readily available to help us bring the best thinking to the work we do.

Michael@BluePollen.com       267.258.7253

The power of story

It sparks brands as well as lives

Steve@BluePollen.com       610.506.1935

Amidst the cacophonous roar that is
today’s marketplace, is anyone listening?