Create buzz, get outside and trust your team: Tony King of King & Partners on being a great creative
What Does It Take To Be A Great Creative? is a video series that highlights the thinking of global creative leaders on specific actions that can build a successful creative career in the industry. See what other creative leaders had to say in past episodes.
Tony King set up his design and digital agency, King & Partners in New York eight years ago, but before that he helped pioneer e-commerce in the luxury space. As Gucci Group’s e-business director, he launched the first digital flagships for Gucci, Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney, Yves Saint Laurent, and Bottega Veneta. In 2010 King started King & Partners and has evolved it from a digital boutique into a full-fledged agency with a wide range of offerings for clients that include fashion brands Carolina Herrera and hospitality brands like Edition Hotels and the Mark Hotel.
King’s approach to creative is to make something fun for a brand, something that creates buzz and lets them get closer to that brand. For that, one must be open to ideas and understand what the brand wants to do but also needing to read between the lines and knowing what they need.
For him, not all ideas come from staying in the office in front of a computer. Sometimes, a brilliant idea snaps to him when walking outside or in the shower. Venturing outside the realm of advertising and marketing can also be a better inspiration than staying in the lines of the industry – he promotes going for a walk in the countryside or by the ocean, going to see a film or reading a book.
As a creative leader, he trusts his team and knows he needs to step out of their way to let them create magic. His job is to spark conversations and get the team thinking, sometimes beyond the scope of the project and not being afraid to go beyond the ask.
See King's full interview above, and don't miss the previous What Does it Take to be a Great Creative? with Doner global chief creative officer Eric Weisberg.