Peter Allen’s live version of “Everything Old is New Again” can be heard on the soundtrack to Bob Fosse’s 1979 critically acclaimed film All That Jazz. And in a sense that tune could serve as a continuing anthem for 2012 as technology has breathed new life into media for which premature obituaries had been written. It’s little wonder that the Consumer Electronics Show has seen agency and client attendance spike, rivaling industry turnout for Cannes and the like.
Looking back in the not-so-distant rear-view mirror, consider that the iPad has done wonders for print advertising. Similarly the web and the word-of-mouth-fueled viral dynamic have sparked viewers to actually seek out those worthwhile commercials they might have inadvertently zapped with their TV set remotes. Consider that last year’s Super Bowl spot, “The Force” for the Volkswagen Passat out of Deutsch LA reached not only a mega Big Game telecast audience but has also generated more than 48 million hits online–and counting. That charming commercial was directed by Lance Acord of Park Pictures and helped earn him this month his second career Directors Guild of America (DGA) Award nomination for Best Commercial Director of the Year. (See separate story in this issue on the DGA spot nominees for 2011.)
Indeed storytelling in all its forms remains relevant no matter if the delivery means is traditional or still taking shape. And that theme–a blending of the old and the new, with the new infusing the old with new found energy and engagement–was evident in much of the feedback SHOOT received from a wide cross-section of advertising agency artisans.
While predictions of what’s in store for a new year are often inaccurate, and resolutions in January often don’t last past February, a number of brave creative and strategic souls from ad shops consented to share both their prognostications and goals for 2012.
There’s a broad range of catalysts for discussion–3D, new tools and technologies, point-of-purchase venues and communications, advertiser and/or agency-created content spanning broadcast and the web, experiential initiatives, Facebook, online privacy issues, interactive TV, Apple’s rumored pending foray into television, an ever evolving digital arena, brand-centric platforms, more client-direct initiatives, media convergence, mobile.
The latter, for instance, is in many eyes fast becoming a pivotal place where people can interact with brands in creative and practical ways, spanning such practices as price comparison shopping, learning about new products and services, seeking out information that empowers folks to feel better equipped to make a buying decision, or for that matter transacting that purchase on a mobile device while at home or even in a store.
Advertising agencies are staffing up accordingly with professionals providing needed expertise yet mobile won’t be truly integrated into creative and strategic thinking until mobile specialists are regarded as marketing specialists–some shops are getting there.
However, television–in its old and new incarnations–remains a marketing force and will have a place in the contemporary media landscape, according to a vocal number of agency execs and creatives.
And of course, particularly given what the global economy has gone through over the past few years, any predictions or aspirations for 2012 are tempered by fiscal concerns ranging from recession to high unemployment, the ongoing European debt crisis, and dysfunctional government which can’t seem to meaningfully address issues or reach needed compromise even when in the throes of economic crisis,
Thankfully successful, forward-thinking advertisers, marketers and strategists are not stricken by such paralysis. Instead they are often quite nimble and have much to say on a far reaching range of business, creative and technological topics. They are constantly learning, growing and assessing the state of the business to keep up with a marketplace in flux.
And all the while they are keeping a watchful eye on or diving right into opportunities for collaboration, connecting and partnering with others, of discovering, grooming and nurturing new talent, of breaking down barriers for a more free-ranging creative and media-agnostic landscape–all in the face of serious budgetary constraints and challenges which figure to persist, if not increase significantly.
So in the spirit of big-picture perspectives, discovery, hopes and aspirations for the new year, SHOOT posed the following pair of multi-pronged questions to a field of advertising agency professionals.
1) Gazing into your crystal ball, what do you envision for the industry, creatively speaking and/or from a business standpoint for 2012?
2) What’s your New Year’s resolution creatively speaking and/or from a business standpoint for your own company – OR- tell us briefly about an exciting current project you are working on?
Respondents answered one or both queries, hitting upon various touchpoints along the way. Here’s a sampling of the feedback we received:
 Sergio Alcocer, president, LatinWorks, Austin, Texas 1) As an industry obsessed with generating big ideas, I’m looking forward to the triumph of multiple small ideas that are beautifully executed and that together will be more impactful and profitable. It’s time to dare to experiment again and again, try new things and keep what’s working, scratch what’s not. The pursuit of the “ONE” idea is a gigantic waste of time. 2) This is a great time to be in multicultural marketing. It’s no longer about ethnicity: it’s about youth, energy, future. LatinWorks will become the thought leader in our space, we will help shape the rules of multicultural marketing in the next few years. |
 Craig Allen, director of integrated production, Venables Bell & Partners, San Francisco 1) Content, content, content. The demand for non-broadcast content will continue to be insatiable. The need to produce it quicker and cheaper will not abate. The number of non-traditional content providers willing to provide solutions to deliver it all faster and cheaper will continue to grow. The good news is that as producers we will continue to have more choices than ever to develop innovative partnerships with so many non-traditonal suppliers. Last year, our agency was involved in an urban design project on behalf of our client Audi and an interactive storefront window experience for our eBay client, both of which were very non-traditional experiential projects. I see many more such projects in our future. Hashtags, tweets, QR codes–it’s all good. Bring it on. And, amidst all this, I believe traditional broadcast will continue to thrive. Spot production seems to be as lively as ever; I know that at our agency we are in the midst of major efforts for practically all our clients. This could be the biggest year yet in terms of number of spots we produce. 2) My New Year’s resolution is to go to Cannes. I’ve never been and this year I’m going, dammit. |
 Joe Baratelli, executive VP/executive creative director, RPA, Santa Monica 1) Well, let’s see. The crystal ball is a little foggy, but it seems a convergence of small screen/mobile and big screens is in the future. Meaning more connectivity between your smart phone or iPad and your TV. It’s starting already with some of the distributors, DirecTV and cable providers. It’s also coming from the content producers like MLB’s At Bat and HBO GO. But all this will be early-adopter stuff until someone packages an easy-to-use interface. 2) I never make resolutions (try not to set myself up for failure). But what we are doing at RPA from a creative perspective is starting by coming up with strong platforms that communicate each client’s message across all media from the get- go. The challenge is being able to pull the different talents and skill sets together to form a team that can execute all the different assets in an efficient (and fun) way. It means the creative department is filled with different kinds of folks who all need to work together. Writers and art directors work with UX, design, tech and programming. And everyone needs to be aware of the media landscape-digital, search, experiential and more. We all need to keep in mind the power of the consumer in the social realm and foster two-way communications and leverage advocates word-of-mouth endorsements. I guess what all this means is we all need to be in constant communication with each other, to support and foster each other’s thoughts and ideas to make sure we are delivering attention-getting work no matter the consumer touch-point. The most exciting projects going on right now I can’t talk about. We’re working on two tent-pole Super Bowl spots for Honda and Acura. |
 Fabrice Brovelli, managing director BETC Euro RSCG, Paris/London 1) In 2012, the prospect of the crisis is going to come to its high point, compelling us to reinvent the industry one more time. The budgets of our clients are getting smaller and smaller, therefore creativity is going to play an important role. I have been waiting for years for a concrete turnaround in the media world and even though the Internet has changed a lot the last ten years in an industry that is 60, television is certainly not dead! This new situation is a source of inspiration for everybody. The advertising has multiple tools. It’s up to us to create others. Paradoxically during this ever-present crisis, we have kept our feet on the ground, and we are lucky to have had projects that have allowed BETC to become the second most creative agency in the world according to the Gunn Report 2011. This proves that creativity still continues to generate business. 2) My resolution for 2012 is to nurture our new department, BETC Music, which has a unique structure by bringing together an advertising agency and music specialists, BETC Music aims to get rid of musical ignorance. After our event for Air France Music with Charlotte Gainsbourg, our objective now is to make ourselves known as THE consultants for advertisers that love music. We are proud to work on the revival of the haute couture fashion house Courrèges and its implementation in the US and Asia as well as being able to produce such things as the last campaign for Air France with Benjamin Millepied that allowed us to show our poetic ambitions in this business. |
 Jefferson Burruss, executive producer, GSD&M, Austin, Texas 1) The need to really work collaboratively with lots of partners, especially technology and media partners, who will allow us to create the experiences, tell stories and sell products in an increasingly connected world. The whole idea of smarter apps and consumer control over their content consumption from the cloud, across so many different devices, presents lots of challenges for not just the communication — how do we get our message through in a relevant and compelling way — but at the same time, how do we manage budgets and resources required to develop and produce the advertising and communication assets we need? I think we will continue to hone our skills around deeper understanding of user experience, because at the end of the day what we are trying to get through requires us to really deliver value to the consumer. The complexity of it is really exciting and we’re looking forward to the challenge that this all brings. We’re doing so much more on so many different screens, and not just televisions, web and mobile devices, but in experiential and gaming as well. We have lots of really talented people and we’re really proud of the work that they do for our clients. 2) I just had the fortune of watching a CES keynote panel with the CEOs of Ford and Xerox and a president of Verizon, and I was really inspired by their insights and focus on innovation. It’s a big word, but they spoke very eloquently about focusing on customer needs, clarity of vision and the real need to be able to look five and ten years ahead to where our business, and our clients’ businesses are going to be. They are our customers, of course, and they have customers of their own. One of the topics they all agreed on is the need to work with lots of partners and work with entrepreneurs and start ups looking to bring new thinking and products. I’m looking forward to working with my teams across the agency to figure out how we can deliver better creative and production solutions that will really drive value for our clients. John Stratton of Verizon introduced his idea of “constructive dissent” and looking deep in your teams for innovative ideas. They also all agreed that innovation isn’t just about technology; equally crucial is the ability to innovate business process and the skills of our talent. The people who walk in the office doors every day to give it their best–and aren’t afraid to make mistakes in their effort to drive improvement–are always going to be the key to our way forward. |
 Sebastian Castañeda, general creative director, McCann Erickson Argentina 1) We realize that everything that we went through during 2012 will be deepened. From the creative point of view, the challenge is fixed on turning over our ways to surprise the consumers. Offering more brand experiences, on even newer places. To generate ideas were the consumer is the core, and not merely a spectator. I am truly a lover of TV as a medium, but today it really excites me to be able to bring along ideas to the digital world, to the shopper, to all those places were the people are, so we can connect them with the brands. 2) Our challenge is to prepare the agency structure to be able to offer the right tools and effectively accomplish this way of communication. In the world, McCann has a clear focus and it is our job to go with it. About the work, I choose Fundación Argentina de Diabetes last campaign. Simply because to me, it fulfills a sacred premise; it transcends the advertising world and goes through the popular culture. |
 Renata Florio, chief creative officer, Wing, New York 1 & 2) Although it is not trendy, digital is still a trend. Let me explain: Working for the Hispanic and Latino market, we have realized that there’s a way to talk to our audience that goes straight to them, and they’re very receptive to it. They are missing content made for them. They want stories made for them. They want to be looked into their eyes. What is it? It’s digital communication. Take a look at the general market audience. Notwithstanding the hundreds of traditional channels used to deliver messages to them, they are going full speed into the digital direction. So, what to say of an audience that repeatedly gets the same from the general market and knows there can be more out there?” I don’t know about you, but I am going Hispanic-digital in 2012. |
 Geoff Edwards, founder/executive creative director, DOJO, San Francisco 2) Like thousands of people, we will probably make New Years resolutions. And like thousands of people, we most likely won’t keep them, despite our good intentions. So I didn’t make a resolution for DOJO this year, instead I’m making a promise. And that promise is to remember why we left the comfy confines of our ‘Big agency’ jobs: find a client with courage, and do something meaningful! Sound easy? Nope. But it’s critical to DOJO’s success. Living up to that promise will be the single most important thing we do this year. And like any promise, creating the roadmap for its success is as important as making the promise itself. It has to be clear and understood by all, including those who we choose to partner with. So unlike most resolutions, this won’t be frivolous at all. This will be our North Star. And we will achieve it. As a two-year old company, we’re at that critical point of no longer being viewed as a ‘Start up.’ Meaning all of the hopes, dreams, and possibilities have to be reinforced to exhaustion. We can’t seep into the gutter of ‘just another agency.’ Our DNA has always been fight. And we’re proud to say that it’s paying off. But growth has it’s own challenges, like complacency. So for this promise to be realized we have to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. And we’re comfortable with that. So, we started this company to rattle the cage. Not to be ‘Ordinary.’ We walked away from comfy jobs to do something meaningful with smart and courageous people. And that’s a promise that we’ll keep. You can hold us to our word and our feet to the fire on that….Check back with us in a year. |
 Jeremy D. Holden, chief strategy officer, Publicis New York 1) 2012 will be the year when the industry masters social strategy. “New Era Campaigns” are built around compelling content that generate customizable responses and WOM, while also delivering rigorous intelligence and key insights for the brand marketer. We’ll see these types of programs become the norm, beyond the usual brand suspects. Heightened consumer intelligence will offer more pointed ways to “gamify” the way brands showcase their product and service features, providing more emotive ways to create, engage, share and become advocates. Overall the union of brand and consumer generated content will reach a new level of synthesis in 2012. 2) In this environment of continuous change, the essential objective is to help our clients lead the change, rather than being led by it. Creating an emotional connection that drives social media engagement is certainly key to making that objective a reality. An important resolution, or better yet, commitment, at Publicis Worldwide in the USA, is to create powerful, emotional “social contracts” between brands and consumers. Social contracts are underpinned by an emotional desire for change, and in order to “Lead the Change” for our clients, we need to have a more intimate understanding of the societal forces that underpin consumers desire for change. It’s this understanding that is the catalyst for the type of creative idea that can change a brand’s trajectory. |
 Gaston Legorburu, chief creative officer, SapientNitro 1) I predict we will see more change in our industry in the next three years than we have in the past three. In 2012, we will continue to see conflict between disciplines come to a head (advertising, digital, design, etc.). These disciplines will morph into collaboration or, even better yet, true convergence, which is what clients need and are asking for. Expect a high level of agency reviews as clients continue to re-invent themselves. 2) Creatively speaking and sticking with the theme of convergence, I want to continue to shift our focus away from simply delivering “the BIG Idea”, to creating powerful “Organizing Ideas”. What’s the difference? Well, we think traditionally “the big idea” has been a communication solution. An “Organizing Idea” looks more like a solution ecosystem that can surely include communications tactics, but also commerce, evolved strategies, a new product, even a new breakthrough business model that creates great outcomes for the client. I personally want to produce more great film (yes, TV commercials) to show that we are not only a digital powerhouse, but we can tell stories like the best of them. |
 Alasdair Lloyd-Jones, COO, Big Spaceship, Brooklyn, NY 1) 2012 will be a year filled with distractions with both the Olympics and the elections being torture tests for all forms of communication and connections. The problem will be a continued fragmentation in the work. Sparks of brilliance, but without much connective tissue or planned longevity. 2012 will also see an increasing frustration among CMOs with their digital work. Their challenge will be their inability to identify where their frustrations stem from. I expect we’ll see digital accounts under review as clients look for answers, but as we know, using the pitch process to find answers invariably doesn’t solve the problem. Clients need help in understanding and implementing their digital activities. Some smart ones have created digital advisory councils but as “advisory” implies, this doesn’t mean accountability. Clients need to find partners who are accountable for all the digital work, whether they lead as strategic partners or makers, or ideally both. 2) To continue pushing boundaries in everything we do. When we’re satisfied with our work, we’ll challenge it, break it apart and make it even better. Using experimentation, prototyping and weighing client and team goals equally at the outset–front and center–results in a consistent delivery of work that exceeds everyone’s expectations. We will also continue to push our understanding of our clients’ businesses through well informed questioning and by connecting with a larger crowd than just our immediate clients. This way, we’re able to identify new opportunities. Too many agencies work off skin-deep interrogation, followed by glitzy presentations that try to sell a one-off business changing advertising idea, and this model should not be supported any longer. The rigor behind digital thinking, development and implementation lends itself to a smarter and more sustaining solution in my opinion. |
 Chuck McBride, founder/executive creative director, Cutwater, San Francisco 1) Ideas and brand story will trump execution. Even digitally. The emergence of digital media and new media technology caught the advertising industry, like many others, sleeping. The music industry feared death. Publishers thought the same. Many found it hard to shift their mindset and model to a more conversant, less controllable, universe. Banner nation and blogger nation were born. And some newly formed digital agencies took the opportunity to put their boot into the industry predicting the traditional folks, and the talent within, would perish. Evolution is sometimes hard to predict. A decade later the songwriters and musicians are still at their craft. The music industry, growing again albeit with a different distribution model, has enjoyed a new system. Writers and journalist via Tablet and the like, have found new channels to distribute and manage, even sell their content. And in advertising there’s a renaissance of brand centric platforms that give reason for digital tactics as opposed to the other way around. Digital agencies now want to be agency of record. Traditional firms do web work like it was old hat. I’m glad the divisive claims are over now. I don’t think it was a game anyone could win, especially clients who look to partner with agencies to figure their business out and find a way to better communicate with customers in a relevant way. We are back to brand ideas and platforms. Ones so large all touch points must fit within. We are back to finding ideas and unveiling stories. We are back to the game where the best talent wins. 2) Our goal this year is to demonstrate our brand platform and brand story telling abilities in all media and grow our clients business as well as our own. |
 Mike McKay, partner/chief creative officer, Eleven, San Francisco 1) I suspect the economy will continue to go sideways until the banking, housing, and political climates settle down a bit. As far as advertising goes, our industry tends to rise and fall with the overall economy–so I don’t see much growth in our industry for at least two more years. However, the recession has made us all leaner and stronger. Creatively, I predict interesting work will begin to spring up from different agencies. I don’t think the best creative will continue to come from the same dominant few. Accounts and creatives seem to be moving around more than they used to. Things are changing out there. Which is great. 2) Creatively, I’m searching for shareable ideas. Of course, we’ll be pushing for interesting work in the usual channels, but those social media ideas that take on a life of their own can be very exciting to watch. They become part of our culture. And when that happens, it tends to make our clients (and creatives) very, very happy. We have a few ideas we’re working on now, and we’ll be pushing them out fairly soon. Fingers crossed. Hopefully, someone will forward the link to you. |
 Rob Rasmussen, chief creative officer, Tribal DDB U.S. 1) The rise of the viral commercial. I believe this will be the year of the viral commercial. Not only proliferating made-for-air spots on the web, but also creating content people feel an impetus to share. We’ve witnessed Nike, Google and many spots for digital savvy targets but catered online commercials are on the precipice of reaching mass audiences online. Effectively carried out digital campaigns will succeed in driving budgets for web content closer to the standard for proper brand consistency and quality. Return of the buzzword. Initially, we all espoused the “integrated” and “multi-channel” as desirable and effective ways to communicate campaigns. This year we will see a return to these but with a twist. There will no longer be a single campaign idea expressed over multiple channels. Instead, there will be a brand — consumer interaction that occurs when and where the advertiser dictates. Interactive experiences will seamlessly exist across desktop computers, on the run using portable tablets, on the street tapping into mobile, via online gaming or in brick and mortar stores. 2) Only present truly great ideas. If your concepts are not ones you are truly proud of, you are not done working. Do not reconcile yourself to “this is an idea they will buy” as a standard for success. Reorganize the agency structure to prevent against silo departments. From teams of creatives to visual design to user experience to strategy to production to tech, we have world-class talent. We do our clients and ourselves a disservice when we don’t put our brains together and collaborate. Therefore, integrated brainstorms and department integration is our mission in 2012 to maintain the utmost quality of work and inspire creativity. |
 Richard Schatzberger, chief technology experience officer, Co Collective, New York 2) My New Year’s resolution for Co Collective is to keep it weird and make it weirder. We started the company just over a year ago with a set of founders who wouldn’t normally be in business together and have grown our network of co:conspirators consciously to engage different perspectives and skills in creating innovative business solutions for clients. The past year showed us even more than we expected that the future truly is a team sport — that to help brands and businesses today re-invent themselves (and a few startups invent themselves) requires collaboration between groups of specialist experts from very different backgrounds and points of view. It also exponentially makes Co a more fun, vibrant, and dynamic place to be part of for everyone involved. So 2012 for us will be about working with an even wider and weirder set of Co-conspirators to challenge perceptions and ways of working. I like to think of it as business and problem solving alchemy, trying new combinations of minds and skills to help companies innovate. It’s human nature to huddle with people like you, so that will be our challenge, to continue to surround ourselves with people who are different from us — material scientists, physicists, doctors, soldiers, horticulturalists, athletes, builders, logistics experts, politicians, chefs, educators, my dream list goes on and on (maybe a clown troop and a mixologist for good measure). Every one of them bringing new ingredients to help us make golden experiences for people and hopefully a little more gold for our clients. |
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Fernando Vega-Olmos, 