Hacker, Maker, Teacher, Thief: Advertising's Next Generation

by Creative Social

in this time of abundance and so much stuff we are feeling Stuffocation, the answer is what I call “experientialism”. Now, feeling Stuffocation, people are finding happiness, status, identity, and meaning in experiences.

Creatives and clients need to question more than the creative idea when evaluating branded advertising; they need to look at the symbols used in the message and ask: does the ad demean a person or group to make a brand appear superior?” If the answer is yes, then they need to go back to the drawing board and start again.

As creatives we need to realize what we do not put in an advertising message can have as much power as what we do put in.

In this Internet connected, multicultural world, we should think twice before using a racial stereotype to sell a brand. We should recognize that the whole world has the potential to see any digital communication. As creators of advertising, we need to realize that when we create messages we are also re-enforcing standards and attitudes that we (and society) perceive to be correct.

Advertising broadcast in any media, communicates more than just the client’s strategy. It also sends out covert messages about societies norms: class structure; race; politics; sexual attitudes; what is permitted and what isn’t.

As makers of advertising communication we should exercise social responsibility. We need to realize that, when creating messages, we also reinforce standards and attitudes that we (and contemporary society) perceive to be correct. In the future, some of these messages will be judged as demeaning or simply wrong.

In every village, the most important asset is its people. This is why it is so important to develop the skills, knowledge and general wellbeing of people. When villagers flourish, so too does the village.

Companies benefit when their employees spend time mentoring at the school because they return energised and proud to work in their industry, and because they become better at developing talent within their workplace.

Companies also benefit because their employees take on an unofficial role of talent scout.

In my wildest dreams, the model of learning that we have developed at the School of Communication Arts will become the standard for vocational learning.

For this to happen, an industry needs to come together and recognise that it is a village. When this happens, it will quickly discover that it is home to plenty of torches. These torches simply need a place to light new fires and a framework to make sure those new fires don’t run dangerously wild.

Once you teach someone, you are their teacher for life.

we’d like to propose that creativity is something precious we lose over time because of the systems that constrain us.

Oliver just does what he loves, and he loves lots of things. His parents give him the freedom to be creative, try new things within a safe environment and keep expanding his knowledge and interests, for the mind of a child isn’t yet bound by silos and systems, and nor should ours be.

adaptability, curiosity, empathy and fearlessness.

As we finally come to the logical conclusion that we should design things for people, the ability to understand what people think, feel, need and want is a critical skill to have.

businesses must create environments where people learn by doing, share knowledge, have personal freedom to challenge norms, and fundamentally, learn to learn. In this context it becomes possible for people to develop as adaptable, curious, empathetic and creative human beings.

a good talent recruitment policy isn’t enough, it is a learning culture that is needed.

The set-up invariably created the feeling on each side that they were largely ignored by those in power and that the other side was getting all the serious attention.

some kind of quick-fix that didn’t disturb regular business and required minimal involvement from the very busy leadership.

the increasing use of technology causes more change and complexity, creating a world where one person can’t have most of the answers and where there are no absolute truths, leading to a greater need for constant exploration and true collaboration between diverse people, requiring skills to successfully build strong group dynamics and communication, demanding that we both as individuals and organisations build stronger self-awareness of our strengths and challenges, to repeatedly be able to drive transformation.

support. Any transformational journey gets easier with the help of an external partner who is both challenging you and helping you discover what it is that holds you back, as well as pointing towards what can lead your forward.

Nobody likes change; we just like the kind of change that we ourselves prescribe.

In a fast-changing world, relaxing into conscious competence immediately makes us unconsciously incompetent.

Finding out how you like to learn new things, and applying this consciously to your challenges, is the only way you can pull it off. It’s also the only way that any company can succeed – brand or agency.

Start with what you feel familiar with, expand from there and venture over to areas where you experience a need or an interest. Like the magazine store, browsing is free and there are plenty of people around to give you good advice.

It’s based on the belief that talent and creativity is a limited natural resource, there to be tapped, often fragile and perishable. You mine the quarry till it’s empty, then you find a new hole to dig.

The view of the career timeline shared by most leaders in the advertising industry – that you should change jobs every three years or so, to show that you’re on the move – adds another problem. If you know you’re leaving soon, you build a place that you won’t mind leaving.

the mind-space available for innovative, structural solutions to disruptive challenges can be fit into a matchbox.

you lead by example. They won’t do what you say; they will do what you do. If you listen, really listen, they will begin to do the same. If you show that you’re both brave and vulnerable, well, you get the drift.

The pitch habit perverts the relationship between agency and client.

Esto es lo que dice e impulsa Rul Cardós, bendito él.

Agencies that want to work constructively with disruption, transformation and change must do it together with others; and first of all with their clients.

When I ask an agency employee to explain why their favourite account is the favourite, it always boils down to the quality of the trust and the openness of the collaboration.

brands have access to a skilled and professional unit to both develop, and drive, strategic transformation within the organisation – not because it’s a nice thing to do, but because it pays off. (Research from Center For American Progress shows that the full cost of replacing a senior employee in an advanced position can be as much as two annual salaries.)

For a brand, the business HAS clients. For an agency, the business IS clients.

client is important, but the focus is on building the right business to get there. When the business IS the client – as is the case with most agencies – this perspective gets lost.

The agency, with all its energy directed towards pleasing the next client, has the mindset of the, well, you get where I’m going.

Sabía que no podía ser la única que usa el chiste “¡como las putas!” al respecto del trabajo en agencia.

Our only answer to the challenge of speed and change is improved collaboration.

Collaboration requires trust. Trust is built on honesty. And with honesty, someone has to start, take the leap.

wish you would believe that you can use all that amazing talent to be a transformative force who truly builds solid growth, both for yourself and for your clients. Don’t get distracted by the calls for instant gratification (be it that of your ego or your client’s). Persistence is the only fix that works.

Be generous when you share insight and problems with your partners.

Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.*

not automatic in the sense that I’ll do it without thinking, but more in the sense that it becomes the clear way forward. It’s

Flow is more achievable if we’re doing something we enjoy.

when we’d be sitting around talented people who are quite like-minded it was very easy to move stuff forward because you’d have the right people around to help your train of thought.

An environment isn’t about where I am, it’s who I’m with.

Working in the same old environment leads to the same old approaches.

the best places to work are coffee shops, pubs, airport departure lounges, trains and museums. These places seem to have the right balance of uninterrupted me-time and inspiring distractions.

I also separate my inspiration time from my idea-generation time. I believe that combining them leads to derivative work.

having the right instruments gets my mind in the right place.