The creative community can lead a new kind of globalization – in fact, it already is

But when applied through the lens of creative thinking, it should be looked at with warm, fuzzy eyes.

We’re all sick of talking about it, but it’s hard to ignore the fact that it took a global pandemic to create the realization that, actually, the internet really can let us all work from anywhere.

Cut to the present day, though, and the majority of us have fallen back into the same old grooves when it comes to the making of ideas. Those grooves have their benefits, sure. But they come with pre-conceived restrictions we’ve set on ourselves about how to create and produce creative work.

Us and us

Now more than ever, with an increasing global division occurring whether through war, beliefs, or geo-politics, our industry should be looking to embrace the global ‘us’ and seek creative collaboration outside of the usual and familiar realms.

Putting aside the paperwork that comes with international suppliers (apologies to the producers reading this), if the rise of globalization has taught us anything, it’s that in every corner of the world there's unique talent, niches and skills to be tapped into.

As an industry that lives and breathes creative ideas, we should feel personally responsible for seeking out this talent, bringing them into the forefront of any project, and embracing their unique points of view.

There’s an appetite for it too, with recent research from The Female Quotient showing that gen Z have one of the biggest appetites for discovery we’ve ever seen, declaring that 'discovery is play, discovery is visual, discovery is connection'. This applies to everything, from branded entertainment to experiences.

We're here

One of the communities embracing this best is web3. We’re seeing countless projects that are a unique mix of people and skill sets from so much further afield than those in Silicon Valley and the other usual suspects.

We’re New Here is a great example: a feature-length international documentary telling the story about the digital asset revolution, tapping into the global movement of crypto art and the community behind it by featuring digital avatars as lead characters in the film. The entire community got behind it with a non-fungible token (NFT) collection enabling holders anywhere in the world to help shape the production of the film and contribute art.

Meanwhile, the NFT art movement has given artists from all over the world a new way to come together virtually and build entire worlds around art concepts.

New Rubles

The Rubles for Ukraine project, which I had the pleasure of being a co-founder of, saw 40 artists from all over the world - big and small - come together to deface Russian Rubles and turn them into unique 1-of-1 art. Each physical piece is being tokenized as an NFT and going up for auction later in the year, with all proceeds going toward aid for Ukraine.

The process of pulling that project together spanned three continents, tapping into artists from the likes of Ukraine, Australia, Sweden, and beyond. It involved sourcing a somewhat-banned currency from workers on offshore oil rigs, delivered in person by one of the founders of Angry Birds at Helsinki airport (but that’s a story for another day). We discovered an artist in Kyiv, Alexey Romanowsky, whose amazing 3D work and visual style is something we could tap into for future agency projects as a 3D designer.

Unleash the beast

In the content space, we’re seeing creators tackling globalization head-on. YouTuber MrBeast - who, since January of this year, has created separate channels for his content that run the same videos in six different languages - is leading the charge. As he does, he took it one step further by hiring some of the most famous dubbing voice-actors in those nations, including the Spanish Spiderman.

Since launching this for himself, he’s created an entire business around the process, helping other YouTubers and content creators implement the same strategy that he has honed for himself. Word is that it’s his highest-revenue earner in his arsenal of money making projects.

While globalization comes with preconceived notions creatively, there are opportunities for both brands and agencies to approach it with positivity and a fresh naivety. Even with a world that’s more fragmented than ever, we the creative community should remember how we can still all be connected by the passion to bring exciting content and experiences to the masses.