Today is Thanksgiving in the US, and as millions tuck into their turkey dinners, The Drum decided to catch up with those in the industry to ask what they'll be giving thanks for this year.
Stacy Janicki, director of account management, Senior Partner, Carmychel Lynch I'm thankful for the visual revolution that is driving content creation and allows for story-telling to be told in its most simple form. I'm thankful for social media that has started to drive real-life behavioural changes. I'm thankful for the youth that is so prominent in our industry, and in spite of their millennial ways, have infused energy, new perspective and native digital intelligence into our culture and thinking.
Jon Jackson, executive creative director, HugeI am thankful for all of the people in Huge's creative department that do amazing work that I get to take credit for.
Dave Martin, SVP, Media IgnitedI’m thankful for something that hasn’t been on everyone’s mind in years past, but is finally getting the attention it deserves: YouTube. Yes, everyone has heard of YouTube. And yes, most brands have probably done some marketing on the platform. But what no one realized as they raced to buy ads on Facebook, was that YouTube already had everything a marketer could ever want. What we’re finally seeing is an increased focus on what is already a ubiquitous consumer content platform with incredibly powerful, native ad products and social integration. I, for one, am thankful that YouTube finally started getting the attention it deserved in 2013. And I hope we’re all smart enough to take YouTube even further in the years to come.
Kevin Purcer, SVP, director of digital strategy, Erwin PenlandI am thankful for several things this year, but mostly that I think the word “viral” is finally nearing its death - at least, referring to it as a marketing tactic that is. The only times I can remember it talked about this year were in an appropriate way - describing a piece of content dissemination. No longer are we asking “Should we produce content?” but “Why? For whom? And how will we measure our success?” This may not seem like a lot to be thankful for, but the less time we spend chasing our tails, the more time we can spend actually creating success.
Chris Roan, strategist, Mother NY. This might not be what you’d expect from someone at a creative agency, but I’m personally really thankful for how digital publishing has evolved this year. I’m especially thankful for how willing brands have been to embrace some new models of digital media. I believe creative and media are intertwined (or at least they should be), so the more that publishers feel they have room to innovate, the better the overall campaign and creative opportunity. In 2013 we saw new avenues for how brands express themselves in digital going forward. Very exciting stuff. I’m thankful.
Matt Ian, executive creative director, TBWA\Chiat\Day New York Vine debuted earlier this year. Which seems strange to me considering how ubiquitous it has become in creative presentations. We're already seeing hints of Vine's potential for brands like Home Depot. But I think we're only just beginning to grasp all we can do with it. Many questions remain. Outside of little stop motion films, what more can we make with the app? How does the strict time constraint become a creative advantage? How do we push our short brand stories out into the world on our brands' terms, in unique and own-able ways? I'll fire all my Thanksgiving thanks at Vine for showing us something legitimately new and loaded with potential. But now it's up to us to unlock that potential.
Harvey Kipnis, co-CEO, Geometry Global One thing I'm thankful for this year is client optimism. It is a subtle thing, but when it is in evidence clients are more willing to embrace powerful ideas, new channels, incremental investments that have a good chance of driving their businesses forward and riskier creative. The result is better work and in turn, better results. Optimistic clients are also more fun to work for. They view client-agency relationships as partnerships – they are more appreciative when things go well, and tend to be more understanding of failures, so long as some learning is involved. Just a few years ago precious few clients were in this camp. The aftershocks of the economic downturn seemed to have a lagging effect. Cards were held close to the vest. During 2013, the shift was slow but palpable. It made this year in the advertising business more fun than most in quite some time and I'm optimistic that shift will continue into 2014. Given that the best agencies are deeply entwined with their best clients, this swelling of optimism is something well worth being thankful for.
Ryan Wofford, director of digital strategy, BFG Communications I am thankful for the continued rise of highly visual platforms in social media. Mobile-driven apps like Instagram, Tumblr and Vine continue to grow their user bases and are dominating engagement time. Many users, Millennials included, are spending more time on these platforms and less time checking their Facebook and Twitter feeds. This short form of content delivery is forcing content creators and marketers to be much more creative in order to cut through the clutter and tell their stories, ultimately leading to some of the really interesting and visually compelling content that we see out there these days!
Jeremy Sigel, client director mobile, EssenceI’m thankful for the continued evolution of mobile advertising – in particular the ability to measure success. In 2013 the promise of Apple’s IDFA (Identifier for Advertisers) became a reality for mobile advertisers offering reliable tracking, targeting, and attribution. Similarly, Google’s 2013 announcement of Android ID will open the doors for advertisers and publishers to work more easily together and develop better campaigns for both mobile ecosystems. The importance of mobile advertising will continue to grow in 2014, and the challenge of evolving with it is something we look forward to and something I’m thankful for.
Mollie Spilman, EVP, global sales and operations, Millennial MediaI’m thankful for the steps the mobile ad industry is making toward standards and measurement. While mobile ad budgets continue to grow, there is still a discrepancy between time spent on mobile devices and ad spend. Standards and measurement will help bridge that gap. Advertisers are faced with a growing and diverse mobile ad ecosystem. With the introduction of new, industry-wide standards on privacy, measurement, and creative, advertisers will feel more confident spending in mobile.
Andrew Speyer, managing director, WingWhen I think of all the other kinds of jobs I have had and could have had, I am really thankful, even after 15 years in the business, to have stumbled into advertising. It’s a challenging business, where margins are always shrinking and it seems like the next big thing is always the thing that will kill the industry. I enjoy dealing with those challenges because of the people that I get to work with in this business. It’s kind of like we’re on an island for misfit toys. Most of us might not fit in or be so successful other places. This is an industry for smart, curious, creative thinkers who don't want to conform and accept that things should always be done the same way. We invent, create, challenge and question and I am thankful to be surrounded by people who thrive on doing so. They make me smarter and make me optimistic about whatever may come next. So thanks to all of you.
Marshall Ball, director of interactive strategy, Wieden+Kennedy New York. I’m most thankful for the many examples of marketing integrating with product, distribution and point of sale to positively affect a client’s business. ESPN’s Fantasy Football Commissioner Toolkit, Ikea’s Second Hand campaign and Starbucks’ Tweet-A-Coffee promotion are three examples from the past year that demonstrated new ways for companies to play meaningful roles in the lives of their customers that reinforce their brand values. As we look to the year ahead, we must remember that a relationship between a company and its customers doesn’t stop at saying hello. The volume and variety of work in 2013 showed us that every touch point is an opportunity to evolve the business and include someone in the brand’s story.
Shane Diver, executive creative director, JUXTThe economy seems to be turning in our favour. We work on the fringes of the industry. We create things that might, in some cases, be considered experimental. In a down economy companies are more likely to buckle down and rely on what they think are the tried and true (read: safe) practices of the past. There is less of an appetite to explore something new. As confidence and budgets increase, investment in unconventional approaches does as well. I'm thankful for that.
Max Lenderman, principal, SchoolThis year, I’m thankful for the rise in purpose-based advertising and marketing. More and more agencies and brands are looking at awards like the Cannes Grand Prix for Good and the GoodWorks Effie as on par, if not more important, that the more traditional Cyber or Film awards. Massive brands are pouring budgets into work that makes the world a better place. Whether it’s the Coca-Cola Happiness Project, American Express Small Business Saturday, Toyota’s Ideas for Good or Dove’s Real Beauty Sketches, we are seeing purpose as the idea driver for effective communication.
Freddie Young, community director, 1000headsFrom an agency perspective, we are thankful that the rise of visual platforms and the development of social media measurement has brought about a gradual change. Brands are taking social communications more seriously, resourcing appropriately and not outsourcing everything. Agencies are increasingly relied upon for things like strategic planning, content production and campaign activation – not just day-to-day management. This is as it should be, in our view.
Daz McColl, global chief strategy officer, SapientNitro There is a lot I am thankful for in 2013 as it has been good to SapientNitro and myself. I am thankful for the opportunities and challenges that are available as creativity and technology come together. The fusing of creative expression and stories with the enablement and engagement of experiences is exciting. Today we are not just yelling messages at audiences or fixing usability problems, but building worlds or engagement where brands become part of consumer’s stories. I am thankful for that, both in the application and the exciting frontier it represents for marketers and agencies alike. Finally, I am thankful for the support I get for my global role from my loved ones, my friends and colleagues. Each day, they make me better, smarter and more appreciative of the always-on world we live in.
Nancy Hill, president-CEO, the 4A’sI’m thankful for all the hard work that our agencies put into pro bono work, both nationally with the AdCouncil and locally in their communities. Since 1942, AdCouncil campaigns have "Inspired change and improved lives.” It's hard to put an estimate on the dollars that pro bono work represents, but a conservative estimate is that agencies give anywhere between 10 and 20 per cent of their time to helping these worthy causes.
Yony Arad, integrated marketing strategy director, Spike DDBI'm thankful that the conversation over online privacy is not dead – it has even taken an interesting turn. A blog post about Google Glass, by Mark Hurst, brought attention to new privacy issues. According to Hurst, users with Google Glass in public results in people being filmed without their knowledge, which is actually the status quo these days. As Google is a company with the capability of storing captured videos, developing face-recognition and voice-to text-technology the company has the potential of becoming a massive source of private moments available for online searches. While I don’t believe Google has ill intentions, it is interesting to note that according to Vint Cerf, Google's chief internet evangelist, "privacy may actually be an anomaly." You'd think young audiences and digital natives would not even care much about privacy, yet the huge user base of Snapchat shows otherwise. While Google and Facebook are not known to delete much from their servers, both are interested in purchasing it. I use Google products everyday. But I am thankful that the discussion is evolving and that developers are forced to keep privacy top-of-mind when creating new products.
