How did your agency adjust/adapt to the marketplace in 2021 (new strategies, resources, technology, health/safety expertise) and what is the most relevant business and/or creative lesson you learned in 2021 and how will you apply it to 2022?
As a group, it was vital for us to emphasize the importance of mental health in 2021. We prioritized collaboration, mindfulness, and self-care for the agency. We wanted to make sure the runways were open for creativity to flourish. That’s why we have implemented many measures from no meeting Fridays to creating “Zoom Watercoolers” that cultivate random digital cross-department encounters to expanding our health & wellness offering as a company. We will continue making mental health a point of emphasis in 2022.
How are the events of 2021–from the pandemic to the call for diversity, equity and inclusion–impacting the content you create and/or the way you work?
It amplified our existing commitments as a company and opened our eyes to what we can do better and more.
Alongside our client partner Blue Shield of California, we created the campaign “Hear Me” featuring Venus Williams spotlighting gender discrimination in healthcare. In the US, 1 in 2 women’s health concerns go unheard. Their pain ignored, concerns disregarded and symptoms dismissed. This leads to years of no-diagnosis, misdiagnosis, or an unexpected diagnosis that could have been avoided altogether. We wanted to shed light on this issue and raise awareness of this problem in healthcare which affects half the population.
What are your goals or New Year’s resolution, creatively speaking or from a business standpoint, for your agency or department in 2022?
In 2022, our goal is with each project to do something new. We will explore new concepts, executions, mediums. No matter how big or small they can be.
Gazing into your crystal ball, what do you envision for the advertising and/or entertainment industry–creatively speaking or from a business standpoint–in 2022?
In 2022, creativity will manifest itself in ways that we haven’t envisioned before. With the emergence of new technologies and trends shifting at such a rapid pace. I think we will see storytelling in places that we have not fully grasped yet, like Metaverse and VR. Given the prominence of ad-free streaming services, I predict long-form storytelling in branded entertainment to be front and center as well. Finally, we have yet see the peak of brand collaborations, especially brands that sit on different spectrums–such as the latest Witcher x Old Spice partnership.
Tell us about one current commercial or branded entertainment project you are working on for early 2022.
We have an exciting music-driven project in the pipeline with our friends at ESPN, which will be released in Q1. We can’t wait.
