Do obsession and fear lead to a creative edge? That was the question posed to creative directors at the Media Summit in a session designed to explore how creativity fits into a world where media becomes more digital and fragmented.
It provoked a fair few contentions from the panelists as other elements came to the fore. Steve Coll, creative partner at With Collective, kicked off by claiming fear is not a motivator at all and that it is instead ambition, honesty and determination that allow true creative edge to be realised.
Cummins&Partners chief innovation officer, Kirsty Muddle, was of the opinion that fear and obsession lead to excellence, if agencies are obsessive about solving a problem.
Meat and Livestock Australia group marketing manager, Andrew Howie, the only client on the panel, offered that obsession and fear are both negative and just make him think about “bad Calvin Klein perfumes”.
The discussion turned to data and its role with Howie asserting that data is a plug-in, speaking out against “head marketing” and noting that gut feel and instinct are still needed in marketing.
“If we become too head-driven in our marketing initiatives and we’re too focused on data, we’re just going to create more shit that no one cares about,” he said.
“I think data is a plug-in, but it’s not the answer. You have to lead with your heart.”
Clemenger BBDO Sydney executive creative director, Paul Nagy, said the impact of data on the landscape has actually made the role of ‘art’ in advertising more important, not less.
He warned that sooner than the market expects, brands are going to be able to use data to target consumers based on increasingly granular information: what they like, why they like it and when they’re using it.
With that type of access becoming the norm, Nagy said the ability to be “thumb-stopping” on new media channels is going to be key.
“It doesn’t matter how good your data is and how shiny your tech is, if you don’t have an interesting story, they won’t stop [to look at it],” he said.
Muddle and Coll both spoke of the creative opportunity that tech brings, with Muddle noting that “if you can find the story behind the numbers, it’s often a human story”.
Coll noted that the future of creative departments will have data at the centre of their work, but that doesn’t mean tech will replace creativity.
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