Gretel Maltabarow.
The AdNews end of year Perspectives, looking back at 2024 and forward to next year.
Gretel Maltabarow, Managing Director, Houston Group
2024 was a wild ride. The world has been in a constant flux between extremes; Chaos and comfort. War and peace. Boom and bust.
I’m oversimplifying here, but to name a few…war, floods, fires and famine. I’m not religious but it does feel slightly biblical in its cautionary tale.
Global markets have taken twists and turns. Inflation has been bubbling to eye-watering levels. Interest rates haven’t dropped (really). Redundancies have been rife.
The world is feeling pressure. Discomfort. Unrest.
But it’s not all doom and gloom. Where there’s unease or tension, there’s opportunity.
Where there’s ruin, there’s a time to rebuild.
What the industry needs right now is confidence. Confidence through choosing good partners. Finding reasons to “do things” versus standing still or choosing to simply, “not”. We get better when we try something different, move forward, and take action.
It’s with this feeling of uncertainty that makes it hard to see leadership. And in our industry, that indecision costs us all money.
With green shoots emerging in the economy, for Australia at least, there is hope for a brighter year ahead.
I think 2025 will be a year of extremes. Extreme creativity or complete conservatism.
Bold and inspiring brand plays, or limp attempts of derivative creative. Unification/conglomeration of “agency villages” or deep specialisms respected for their craft.
For a while now, it’s felt as if everyone has been running to “the middle”, whatever that may be. A sense of homogeneity- driven by global trends and connectivity, social-media, and a desire to ‘fit in’.
I’m hoping 2025 is the year to ‘stand out’. To pull away from the pack. To do something different. To be confident. To say what you really mean, and for brands (and clients) to put their beliefs into action.
This isn’t about bigger budgets per say. Although that would be nice. It’s about being more efficient, more effective with what we have. Using the right agency for the right job. Not re-inventing the wheel every time. And not doubling up or double handling.
We must be more resourceful, considered and focussed on the customer need AND the societal impact.
2025 is a year to think deeply, but move quickly. To be confident, but considered. And to bring a level of creativity that truly inspires. That digs deep to find truth and meaning, which moves us all forward.
And not the kind of ‘Truth’ platform Donald Trump is pledging.
Let’s use 2025 to be bold. To be brave. To be human. And to put the ‘create’ back in ‘creativity’.
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