Olly Taylor, Chief Strategy Officer, Havas Labs & Havas Creative Group Australia
If 2022 taught me anything it is that time is measured not in dates as much as things and events and looking back, two of these stand out.
The first is diversity, and its significance on the creative business we work in. I believe diversity has, and will be, the most creatively interesting thing to happen to our industry in decades. We are just at the beginning of a long journey but it’s exciting that the work we have done at Havas to ensure we are representative is already having such a positive impact in our culture and the creative work coming out of it.
The second is ‘How we work’. Should we ‘office or not’ has been a constant source of discussion over the past while, but what struck me is that the best way to get people to truly work together is to have some significant wins together. Positive intention unfortunately is not enough. Our successful Havas Village pitch win for Tourism Fiji has had transformational binding effect on a big multi- disciplinary team which I believe will be the foundation for further success across our Village.
Looking forward to in 2023.
As a consumer I’m not looking forward to next year one bit. Not at all. With continued global insecurity, rising inflation and looming recession it’s not looking pretty. But as a professional working in brand strategy and marketing, it is opportunity for disruption and competition. A changing context puts any brand’s strategy to the test. Either it proves you are on the right track, or you quickly need to find a new one. I believe this sense of urgency will be a catalyst for brands to provide real value to consumers, both at the ESG level at the top and indeed the shelf level at the bottom. So whilst it might be hard, it certainly won’t be the same hamster wheel.
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