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Jeff Hyams can talk for England. My strict "40 minutes max" allocated by

Zed's busy managing director is becoming a one-and-three-quarter-hour

chatathon.

He mentions his family (two daughters), the new office air-conditioning

(temperamental), his love of football (Spurs), his pets (one dog, four

cats) and his music (see below).

But mostly it is his passion for Zed - and its offering of "complete

communication" - that dominates the conversation. (Note: never utter the

words "direct marketing" in the presence of Hyams.)

"It's more than direct marketing - it's all about watching what people

do and analysing why they do it," enthuses Hyams, who is an avid

people-watcher - a sort of Desmond Morris without the comb-over.

"If you look at a brand a consumer chooses, you can discover a lot about

the person who bought it," states Hyams, who is sporting a Tag Heuer

watch and a Ralph Lauren shirt.

Zed was formed in February 1999. It employed five people and boasted

billings of £12m. "There was a gap in the market for an integrated

agency.

Some shops claimed to be integrated but there were few that were," he

says.

The agency has been a success by any standards. It now employs 30 people

and £50m of business passes through its books.

Hyams worked hard to build a list-broking department and, by the end of

Zed's second year, the agency had won the prestigious Best List Broking

Award. The MD has also just completed the 18-month process of setting up

a data-planning unit.

He has been aided by the fact Zed is majority owned by Zenith, which

uses its clout to buy broadcast media for Zed and made the original

investment in the agency. But Hyams' personality has been the major

driver.

His interest in com-munications was sparked in the 70s when he took a

summer job at Lintas.

The idea of "total communication" excited him, and Hyams was ahead of

his time in terms of wanting to push forward understanding of the

communication process in an era when creative was still king.

Hyams is keen to pass this passion on to his staff. "We are only getting

people from media backgrounds. Rather than media being about just

getting the best responses or media prices, the question we should ask

ourselves is why we do what we do," he says.

And at a time when there is caution in the industry, Hyams is bullish

about the future. "Zed stands for accountability. Marketing directors

will spend if they can get something back. We can offer the right mix

between qualitative and quantitative effectiveness," he says.

Outside of work, Hyams displays an equally evangelical zeal for music,

with a collection of 12,500 records in his loft. These have been

lovingly catalogued and recorded onto cassettes so that "DJ Jazzy Jeff"

(as he is fondly called by his colleagues) can supply tapes for any age

group and any occasion.

A little-known fact about Hyams is that he has had a couple of DJ

residencies - including a stint at a hospital, when he ignored

consumers' desires and, rather than playing Carly Simon, selected more

risque music interspersed with dodgy (and undoubtedly lengthy) jokes

about death. Hyams was asked to leave.

THE JEFF HYAMS FILE

1999: Zed, managing director.

1997: Zebra, managing director.

1995: Leagas Shafron Davis, media director.

1981: Ayer Baker, media manager, rising to deputy media director.

1980: Bates, planner/buyer.

1978: ABH, head of TV.

1976: Lintas, TV buyer.