Tara McKenty, chief innovation officer and co-executive creative director at BMF Australia, thinks her disregard for convention and rules stems from her childhood.
However, her professional start in advertising also had a big impact. McKenty spoke to Nine CMO Liana Dubois on Talking Creativity, a special edition of Nine's podcast series exploring creative minds at the Advertising Council Australia's This Way Up Festival.
“I was incredibly fortunate,” she said. “I started my career in the halls of TBWA, where disruption was the network's ethos where they chose to be the pirates and not the sailors or the Navy.
“So from day one entering the industry my training wheels were on a mini pirate ship. There’s a place for rules and process and a place for disruption.
“Dangerous ideas can be disruptive, they can change behaviours, they can innovate and change the way people consume media or experience brands.”
McKenty thinks the place for disruption is once the idea is solved - because any dangerous idea needs an advocate.
“Once you have that idea, and you know it's the idea. I think for me and other creatives you can't sleep at night until that's made.
“I think you could replace the word disruption with hustle. What do you do next as an advocate, the mother or the parent of that idea to get it out into the world?
“That's where I think there's no place for rules.”
A good idea will stand by itself, no matter the standing of the person who has that idea.
“Once you have an idea that can change so many things, or change people's lives, a big, chunky idea, that is enough to get anyone excited, no matter who they are, no matter what level they are, no matter how good they are at their craft, no matter how intimidating they are because of what they've done previously,” she said.
“That is a power of a good idea, and as you as a creative that idea is like, do everything humanly possible to get off the ground.”
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