It was a year when most of the Super Bowl commercials were seen online prior to the Big Game. Yet Wieden+Kennedy decided not to tip its hand and the surprise factor of Chrysler’s “It’s Halftime in America” made perhaps the biggest impact on Super Sunday, leading to water cooler conversation, far-reaching media coverage and web play and debate which transcended the online ad foreplay of most other Super Bowl sponsors.
“It’s Halftime in America” also earned a primetime commercial Emmy nomination.
Still, some marketers felt that the online debut of Super Bowl spots or teasers provided significant added value. Certainly Deutsch LA scored with its online sensation “The Bark Side,” a teaser Volkswagen spot designed to generate audience anticipation for the Big Game telecast commercial “The Dog Strikes Back.” “The Bark Side” featured dogs barking in chorus, crooning a canine rendition of “The Imperial March,” otherwise known as “Darth Vader’s Theme.” Both “The Bark Side” and “The Dog Strikes Back” garnered Emmy nominations as well.
Having both a Super Bowl broadcast spot and a teaser/promo, which played primarily online, gain Emmy noms, was quite telling, noted Matt Ian, a Deutsch LA group creative director who worked on both spots. Ian told SHOOT shortly after the Emmy noms were announced, “It underscores how the Super Bowl is evolving. What used to be a huge one-day media event is extending, growing and getting better. You can tell a story leading up to the Super Bowl and even after it. We could one day see an entire series of content that runs over an extended period with the Super Bowl being a centerpiece. I don’t know if we are ever going to be judging a single commercial on its own merits for the Super Bowl again.”
From Chrysler’s “It’s Halftime in America” to VW’s Super Bowl fare, both conventional and newfangled media strategies were on display and successful during what’s been referred to as advertising biggest event, underscoring the growing number of options available when it comes to connecting with an audience.
Another major ad/marketing event, the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, saw the emergence of several notable integrated campaigns, arguably the best being Procter & Gamble’s “Moms” campaign as embodied in such elements as the spots “Best Job” (the year’s primetime commercial Emmy Award winner) and “Kids,” the “Thank You Mom” app, and a series of digital on-line “mom-u-mentaries” sharing moving stories on maternal wisdom and sacrifice in the raising of Olympic athletes.
And continuing our trend of lauded content gaining exposure across varied platforms, consider Chipotle’s “Back to the Start” from Creative Artists Agency. Seth Bain, president of strategy/branding/interactive/mobile & device shop Sequence, which has Chipotle as a client, noted that “Back to the Start” was “first created as a web video that went viral, airing at their Cultivate food festival and eventually finding its way into movie theaters, and ultimately as a two-minute TV spot aired during the Grammys.”
Bain said that Chipotle’s multi-faceted venue play reflects an important lesson that came to the fore in 2012. “When it comes to content, channels matter less than ever,” he affirmed. “It’s a trend that started with the rise of Facebook and social sharing and will end with the complete re-thinking of how people discover, consume and proliferate content. 2012 was the year where we saw more and more “Free-range” content–modular, stand-alone and channel-agnostic content that goes where the audience is, rather than waiting for them to show up.”
Bain’s observations were made in his responses to a SHOOT year-end survey of a cross-section of the industry. We posed the two following questions:
1) What do you regard as being the most important industry lesson or lessons learned by your company this past year? (If applicable, feel free to cite a specific piece of work from which lessons were learned–or which show how lessons were applied.)
2) What industry trends, developments or themes were most significant in 2012?
Here’s a sampling of the feedback we received, which helps to put 2012 into perspective on assorted fronts:
 Seth Bain, president, Sequence1) Free-Range Content: One of the big things we learned this year is that when it comes to content, channels matter less than ever. It’s a trend that started with the rise of Facebook and social sharing and will end with the complete re-thinking of how people discover, consume and proliferate content. 2012 was the year where we saw more and more companies creating “Free-range” content – modular, stand-alone and channel-agnostic content that goes where the audience is, rather than waiting for them to show up. Our client Chipotle’s “Back to the Start” video [from Creative Artists Agency] was first created as a Web video that went viral, airing at their Cultivate food festival and eventually finding it’s way into movie theaters, and ultimately as a two-minute TV spot aired during the Grammys. We designed a new website for our client Lytro that got thousands of visitors, but the video we produced for them broke free on YouTube and was seen there by more than a million people. So now we’re helping Peet’s Coffee & Tea create series of modular “content morsels” (from short videos and slide shows to text-based “POVs”) that will start on their website but are designed to “jump the fence” and migrate across the digital ecosystem through social sharing and some clever promotion. As consumer choices continue to proliferate, only content that is truly “free-range” will prosper and multiply.2) The rise of the Second-Screen: Among the most significant trends we saw this year was the rise of media companies thinking about the “second-screen” experience – what we do and watch on our mobile devices while we’re also watching TV (or playing video games). We’ve been thinking about this for a while, and in 2012 more and more of our clients have been ready and willing to explore what this means for them. And it’s high time too. We weren’t surprised when we went into the field to do some research and found that, in most homes, there is almost always a smart phone or tablet in use while people sit on the couch to watch TV. Forward-thinking media brands are exploring how they can create better, more immersive and more engaging experiences by giving viewers a parallel small-screen experience that enhances their primary big-screen experience. As with any new technology, the possibilities are wide open and no one has really nailed it yet, but there are lots of innovative companies who have pretty impressive plans in the works. |
 Jay Benjamin, chief creative officer, Leo Burnett New York1) Create create create. The more we create, the better we are. In the case of New York Writes Itself, we could have continued planning for years before bringing the idea to market, instead we just got it out there. It’s been really valuable for us to allow people to help shape the idea rather than just constantly mulling it over inside the agency. People’s connection to a brand or an initiative such as NYWI, is so much stronger when they have a hand in shaping the idea.Ownership is king. The things we create these days have real value, sometimes for many years to come. In fact, we like to think our best ideas have no endpoint. Retaining ownership and equity in those ideas is vital to our future in this business. 2) Without a doubt I would say the most positive trend I’ve noticed is an industry-wide increased understanding of the notion: advertising needs to move as people move. At the pace of life. And, I don’t just mean speed and use of social media. It’s more about understanding culture and creating content that is relevant and timely. Technology has allowed us to build platforms that can be refreshed and stimulated regularly, with the ability to grow and evolve as our culture evolves. The best way to have a relationship with people is for a brand to act like one itself. |
 Matt Bonin, chief production officer, Ogilvy & Mather New York1) Interconnected thinking is our role for our clients even if not part of our agency-of-record status. It’s our role even if not our job. There’s seldom a creative presentation we share with our clients that doesn’t look at every consumer touchpoint and try to answer the question of how we are engaging with people at every one of those touchpoints, or how we might need to engage with people. This means production has to be ready to respond to “can that happen” or “how would we do that?” across more types of ideas than ever before. How much does an interactive graphic novel cost? Can we prototype this pneumatic controlled liquid machine in-house? Can we be in southern NJ filming in 3 hours? As an agency, we want to be indispensable to our clients creatively and production-wise.2) Content needs have never been greater. Brands of all sorts are becoming content creating engines, and agencies are looking to all available resources to respond to those needs. Things are only getting more complicated on the digital front, and truly engaging and creative mobile marketing will continue to be a tough nut to crack. Also on the digital front with 300,000+ apps in the Itunes store, the era of Apps made specially for marketing campaigns is coming to a close in the same way microsites did earlier. The positive is this opens the door for more meaningful and useful Apps that might cost more but become ‘digital as product’ for consumers—providing a helpful, useful or addictively whimsical creative opportunity for the agency. This continues to be one of the most exciting and opportunity-filled times in the advertising business. |
 David Brixton, managing partner/editor, the Whitehouse1) With the global economy still highly uncertain, this year we moved ahead with opening a Whitehouse Post office in Amsterdam, and Carbon Visual Effects and Cap Gun Collective offices in Los Angeles. This month, Gentleman Scholar is moving into new studios at Blackwelder in Culver City. Early next year, our alliance with The Mill comes to fruition with the opening of their full service studio in our recently expanded Chicago space.After implementing all the above and sweating bullets while doing so, we are having a banner year for business. So I suppose the lesson learned is that whatever the vicissitudes of our industry or the economy, what has proved most important is staying true to our commitment to provide the very best creative services to our clients, while being tuned into and keeping pace with the challenges they face in their own businesses. Whitehouse Post was founded over 20 years ago in London – I have been in this industry long enough to witness an extraordinary technological revolution in the delivery of creative services – but what has never changed is the dynamic of people working together to output the best creative product. 2) The complexity of projects and the challenges in producing them properly continue to be a concern and issue for our clients. More than ever, it is important we engage early on to provide the most efficacious creative solutions that work within budgets and timelines. This has been the driving force behind the dramatic expansion of our services beyond creative editorial to include live action, design, visual effects and finishing. We have structured our business so that we offer an array of services that can be scaled and applied appropriately for any project. An example is the Windows 8 launch campaign for Crispin, Porter + Bogusky, with live action by 1st Avenue Machine, and editorial, visual effects and finishing by Whitehouse Post and Carbon VFX. Another is the Discover Card 5% campaign for The Martin Agency, in which Gentleman Scholar did the live action and design, while Whitehouse Post and Carbon VFX provided the editorial and finishing. |
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 Michelle Burke, U.S. managing director, Cut+Run
2) It goes without saying that we are an industry of innovators, but also of trend chasers. It’s the high art of looking to the new and next, while worrying about the now. Trends may come and go, but what stays constant is quality. Producing good work, and creating an environment that fosters creativity and collaboration – these have staying power. At a time of great sea change, sometimes focus and dedication to creative culture and community can translate into a far greater result than trend hunting.That’s not to imply that trends should be ignored. Rather, it is about defining what you are, observing and recognizing shifts in business approaches, and being nimble enough to change as needed or, more importantly, desired. There are many things we take for granted in our lives that would have seemed impossible or at least surprising a few years ago. Remember Thomas Guides? ๏ฟฝ tapes? Life before Facebook? Nah, I don’t either. Our role as an editing company has certainly expanded and changed, even over the last year. The projects change too. But the heart and soul of what we do — the talent for knowing how to shape images and moments into narrative — is the through line that informs each step. Be it Foxtrot or Gangnam style or something original in between. |
 Michael Chaney, CEO, Piston1) Clients want consistency of message, across disparate and very different media channels. While this might bring groans of, “Of course they do – it’s been that way for decades,” we are finally seeing this put into practice at all levels.A lot of clients and agencies talk about it, but when you have clients spread too thin; specialized, tactic-specific agencies (broadcast, search, rich media, social, mobile, etc.) developing and executing against sometimes conflicting and fuzzy goals; and production companies trying to cover all the bases with shoots for broadcast, rich media, viral videos, and industrials for the same client, it can quickly get out of hand. We’ve all seen campaigns where the individual elements are great, but as a whole they don’t work together. Fragmentation of the media landscape hasn’t helped. That’s why the pendulum seems to be shifting back to what used to be called the “full service agency” – a term that, with advent of the web, used to mean an old fashioned, offline shop that struggled to implement new interactive technologies. Not anymore. Which leads me to Question number 2: 2) The death throes of the digital agency. For the past decade thousands of headlines have screamed about the death of the traditional agency — usually in media that focused on new media technologies. Here at Piston, we believe that the difference between “digital” and “traditional” media is a dated concept, especially when everything is digital. We shoot digital. We edit digital. We create print ads digitally. We develop online advertising using digital tools. With the exception of a few holdouts, print, billboards, Point-of-Purchase — things that used to go from idea creator to printer to consumer – now go to screens instead. Big, little, personal, mobile, shared. Screens are screens. |
 Larry Chernoff, CEO, MTI Film2) This year reaffirmed the familiar axiom that in postproduction nothing is static. In production, the trend toward runaway production has increased several fold. Virtually nothing in episodic television, and very little in features, is being shot in Los Angeles. Tax incentives offered by New York, Louisiana, Vancouver and other cities have drawn production away from California. Postproduction incentives in New York and elsewhere have also begun to incentivize producers to finish their work in those markets.For Los Angeles-based companies that is an alarming trend. Los Angeles companies therefore need to form alliances with companies throughout North America and beyond in order to facilitate the movement of post-production work and assets from remote locations to Los Angeles. California-based organizations, similarly, need to redouble their efforts to exert political pressure on state and local governments to make it easier and more economical for producers to do their production and post-production work in-state. It is a tall order, but essential. Hundreds of millions of dollars are leaving the state and, as a result, people are leaving to work elsewhere. In keeping with that trend, we have experienced growing demand to support editorial in remote locations. That includes facilitating dailies and the transmission of production media back to Los Angeles. We are providing such services for the show Dallas. The production team transmits production media via the Internet to our facility in Hollywood on a daily basis. We return dailies the following morning. We have made this process practical and efficient, in part, through the unique way we use proxies. In order to remain competitive, California facilities are going to have to be more creative in their use of pipelines and other technologies to efficiently facilitate productions working in remote locations. |
 Michael Cioni, CEO, Light Iron1) The most important industry lesson Light Iron learned this year was that while the crucial decade-long transition from analog to digital is finally complete, we are entering another long transition period of people learning to fully leverage digital cinema technology in ways they currently don’t comprehend. Just because people are embracing digital cinema forever doesn’t mean they are at all proficient. 2012 showed me that some of the industry’s best and brightest realize they are in “d-cinema grammar school” and need to familiarize themselves with the techniques of modern production. Education is the key to those who will become or remain masters of the craft in the coming years.2) The most significant industry development in 2012 was the continuing ripple effect of Hollywood’s digital transition. Like a stone thrown into the center of a pond, it took a while for the wake of the d-cinema impact to reach around the world. Hollywood’s d-cinema development is now being widely adopted on a worldwide scale. Every week, we hear from filmmakers around the world that are new to the latest technology, but are remarkably hungry for it and making appropriate preparations for change – with less resistance than US stakeholders had. Europe, South America, and Asia will likely catch up to the US d-cinema infrastructure in just a few years. |
 SueEllen Clair, executive producer/in charge of production, Anonymous Content1) I didn’t think it was possible, but jobs are moving even more quickly between award and shoot. As a result, it’s critical to be clear about expectations and intentions – to the agency and internally to the director and production team. When time is limited, efficiency and experience are critical. We need be sure to carve out the most time possible for director and agency “R&D”. That discovery time can so often be lost in these fast schedules and that’s where the magic is. We were invited to produce a :90 in which there were originally something like 20 vignettes of a celeb going thru his day. We knew his time would be limited and schedule TBD — and the job awarded startup five days before shooting. We had to be clear with the agency about what could be done within a finite period of time. There had to be honesty as opposed to just saying anything to book the job. As a result, it sparked great collaboration about priorities. We anticipated all possibilities for coverage and shot a variety of options but in the end, the director wisely built in time for “play”. Once the location was prepped & lit, why not let the talent play out the scene? As a result, the agency got something like nine spots instead of one. And, they’re charming- very organic and measured.2) Legal, legal, legal. There are a lot of NDA and third party rights issues appearing. You really need to have your eye on that ball to protect your own company as well as the agency and client. We do a lot of high profile and very confidential projects. Each needs its own marching orders about what to keep confidential and how. We had a very high profile job for which even the client was confidential. All of these details are extremely important. |
 Jon Collins, president of Integrated Advertising, Framestore1) The lesson that we have been learning at Framestore is that the future will belong to those who can not only think differently but can apply those ideas to real challenges in order to provide authentic solutions. Framestore is about creating experiences for people which have a positive impact on their lives. When I think about the issues that brands are facing they are obviously not jettisoning the use of the TV commercial to create the world of the brand. In fact, we commissioned some research earlier this year to make use of new neuro-scientific developments in order to better understand how the brain responds to visual imagery. One of the findings was that if you can get the viewer to buy into the world you are creating – ie suspend their disbelief – that they will feel a stronger affinity to the brand and a longer retention of that experience. But brands are also aware of the development of technology and are looking for other ways of engaging with their customers. I think there is a genuine desire from a brand standpoint to build relationships that are authentic to the brand values and that provide experiences that will enrich or improve the lives of their customers.2) A significant development from an industry point of view is the move away from the idea of advertising as persuasion towards advertising as recommendation. The rise of the online testimonial of users of a particular product or service is changing the way that we, as consumers, are making decisions about what we buy. Another trend that I’ve noticed is a shift from large VFX spots to more documentary style spots. Not surprisingly, this often happens in economically challenging times. |
 Rob Feakins, chief creative officer/president, Publicis Kaplan Thaler1) Social media has become the ultimate test of a brand. There are real hits and misses here. Is your brand believable as a “friend”? And what kind of friend are you? Are you someone others want to follow? Are you funny, insightful, authentic, sincere? Are you a compelling addition to your fan’s news feed and wall. Nothing makes a brand get off its high horse and sit down across the coffee table of their customers like social media. And I think that’s been good for all of our brands. For the Olympics, Citi gave away 50 million thank you points for fans to donate to their favorite athletes causes. As a result, people really got to support and follow their athletes in a meaningful way. We had 14 million earned impressions, and had the highest engagement of any U.S. brand. Citi enabled their customers to be advocates for their personal-pick athletes, resulting in a highly individual, very un-banking like, program.2) I think screens are defining many things we do. I think we all are in the midst of the dawning realization that the tablet, smartphone and computer overlap less and less. Each continue to be defined by the actions people use them for. People are no longer trying to download apps to read novels on their smartphones. Mobile is a place of instant utility and instant gratification. The tablet, a place of interests, entertainment and social tools. We are all learning how best to use them. I also think clients are really looking at where the best ideas come from regardless of “expertise” and media. Particularly who has the best interactive model. Some clients are asking: “My traditional agency’s digital ideas are better than my interactive agency’s. But can I trust them to produce it flawlessly?” And still many traditional agencies continue to run as fast as they can to have the right technical skills in place. |
 Clint Goldman, executive producer, Bodega1) Though we proudly stand by all of the projects that we take part in, we find the most passion and creative collaboration going into projects that truly make an impact and work to solve real problems. As a production partner with Goodby, Silverstein & Partners on the Hacking Autism initiative and our short documentary “I Want to Say,” we were not only able to create a beautiful, affecting story, but also directly see how the progress we were making was affecting the everyday lives the very subjects of our film. Nothing could have been more rewarding then to see the genuine smile on a mother’s face after actually speaking to her child for the first time.Seeing Autism Speaks adopt the campaign as their own following the release of the documentary really made us realize how companies in the industry can come together and help others—a truly positive community effort. |
 Chris Graves, chief creative officer, Team One1) We participated in quite a few significant global projects in 2012, creating work for Lexus, The Ritz-Carlton,and H๏ฟฝagen-Dazs, to name a few. All which needed to be ultimately used by multiple regions around the world. Given the global ambitions of many brands, this concept has become more and more common. We love the task of creating ideas for the global stage, but with that comes obvious challenges; including cultural nuances, regional approval layers, multiple translations, etc. In the end, what becomes glaringly obvious is that the ideas with the simplest and most universal human truths always seem to translate best. Through this important industry lesson, we have started applying our global knowledge to all of our work, including domestic campaigns. With our current digital world, there is no such thing as a truly domestic campaign.2) We saw two consistent trends over the course of 2012. The first being content. 2012 truly reinforced the idea that everything we produce potentially might be accessible across multiple channels. We are increasingly partnering with our clients as content publishers — covering a broad spectrum of potential communications channels, from immediate (social media) to long-term (broadcast) messaging. The constant dialogue and conversation between audience and brand informs the way we view and produce content. In the social media space, we’re working in more nimble ways, producing content more quickly and keeping pace with the ongoing dialogue. The objective is to continually optimize our messaging based on what we hear back from our audience. The second significant theme we saw in 2012 was with production. We now explore and develop, in advance, any and all ways we can expand partnerships with artists and creative partners in creating and distributing content. We actually factor those plans into pre-production. The notion is to pre-purpose content, rather than re-purpose it. It’s never been more critical to increase messaging effectiveness, as well as response speed and production efficiency, and one can accomplish this through better pre-planning. |
 David Lubars, chairman/chief creative officer, BBDO North America1) The lesson for me is that brilliant and authentic storytelling is more important than ever. Humanity is crazy right now, things are moving fast, it’s hard for people to process everything. Jean Luc Godard said it well: “Sometimes reality is too complex; stories give it form.” |
 Chuck McBride, founder/chief creative officer, Cutwater1) The Brand story is still the most sought after and hard to articulate asset there is in the communication ecosphere. So many cool ideas, so many interesting tactics occur when trying to triangulate the brief, the medium and the creative output that often times, without something already in place, we spend way too much time wandering the periphery of the story we need to tell. Only perspective and experience allows us the will to nail down the Brand story first. When that is done, it becomes the foundation of everything else we do. And suddenly we are in the branches of a now solid tree that can only grow taller with light and water. I want to never unlearn this. For every time I try to shortcut the process, I’m left with a lot of work that is still in need of an starting point. Now that we are working with more start ups and younger companies, the lesson of no shortcuts has proven itself time and time again.2) Crowd sourcing creative was vogue but is hopefully dead. Not because hundreds of copywriters and art directors don’t already do it by using YouTube and Vimeo for inspiration just as they did a generation ago by watching MTV videos prior to the internet. But to simply use someone else’s idea in replacement of having the insights and idea to craft your own feels a bit lazy right now. Doritos did it on the Superbowl for crying out loud. And people liked it. Shame on us. Move on. |
 Mike McKay, chief creative officer/partner, Eleven Inc.1) When you need to create high-end digital and video work with one production company, finding the partner is crucial. Last year we had a couple of fairly complex integrated projects come through the door. Both projects had a very specific tone and sensibility. Fortunately, Tool of North America was able to beautifully execute a video-based experience site for or Virgin America client. And B-Reel crafted a very funny digital experience for another one of our clients — Union Bank. Both projects came off without a hitch and our clients were very happy with the results. Working with people who share the same level of craft is really important in any medium.2) Target’s TV series that allows viewers to shop while watching the show, is a very interesting idea. I’m curious to see how well it does. If viewers like the idea or are put off by the amount of sell going on there. |
 Kevin McKeon, partner/chief creative officer, StrawberryFrog1) Make it happen, one way or another. We’ve always operated this way, but it was pretty much the theme of the year for us at StrawberryFrog. The future belongs to agencies that are fast, flexible, and able to adapt, regardless of size. 2012 was a year of successful improvisation for us. We picked up new clients in Singapore and Seoul, launched a global ad campaign for Emirates out of Dubai, conceived and branded a TV station in Georgia (the country), opened an office in Mumbai, and have been working in partnership with other independent shops in Sidney, Hamburg, Singapore. When an opportunity arises, where there’s a will, there’s always a way. And business as usual? No such thing.2) One thing I have noticed this year in particular, is the continued breakdown of the rigid :30/:60 broadcast format. Taking full advantage of the Internet, we’re seeing more and more longer format stuff – sometimes “commercials” running 4 and 5 minutes. Chipotle, K-Swiss, Coke, Playstation, Nike, P&G… Now that we’re not confined to the rigid requirements of television, the storytelling possibilities are really opening up. Ads, mini-documentaries, reality stuff, sponsored entertainment, it’s all blending together. While judging the broadcast work at this year’s AICP Show, we were actually commenting on how the :30 work was at a distinct disadvantage, confined to such a tight box, and going up against a 5:00 censor-free ad for, say, K-Swiss. Obviously this trend is only going to continue, as more and more people get their broadcast entertainment from a wider and wider range of channels. As a creative, you gotta love that. |
 Tor Myhren, president/chief creative officer, Grey New York1) Millennials are wholly different than Gen X. They’re optimistic, not ironic. They believe in the group, not the individual. They live with full transparency in their digitally driven lives, and demand the same of their brands. Too many marketers continue to cater to the self-obsessed Boomers and the pessimistic X-ers. If you want to talk to the youth, you gotta help them make the world a better place. And that’s a team sport.2) The most significant trend this year was the rise and fall and rise (and fall?) of social media. We’re probably no closer to knowing how much a Facebook ‘Like’ is worth than we were a year ago, but it’s fair to say it’s worth less than we thought. Twitter became a legitimate force for marketers. Foursquare fell off while Instagram took off. Pinterest became a hit with women and Google+ fizzled. Watch this space. |
 Manjula Nadkarni, director of interactive production, Venables, Bell & Partners, San Francisco1) Agencies now have to think like entertainment companies when it comes to content creation and syndication. No matter how many more media or social channels are introduced, the one thing that never changes is the importance of content. Emotional, compelling, brave content is what drives YouTube views, site engagement and PR. Felix Baumgartner hurtling towards the earth for Red Bull pushed this inventiveness to a new high.This puts the onus on storytelling more than ever before. Once the story is developed, agencies need inventive, lean, multifaceted teams that can co-create to evolve a strategic, creative platform. They need to be able to dream up ideas that no one else ever has and then work with their clients to rapidly prototype them. 2) Technology as a Conduit for a Great Story What moves us as human beings has not changed. We love listening to and retelling great stories. We identify with the soul of a brand when we feel a visceral, emotional connection to it. We are inspired by Apple’s elegant simplicity and Nike’s rallying cry to “Just do it.” Technology has only made that connection more immediate and complex. It has made brands more introspective, more thoughtful about who they are, what they say and how they interact with people. It isn’t a speech anymore – it is a valuable, compelling conversation. Instead of interrupting what people want to experience, you become what people want to experience. Advertising was once inspired by pop culture. Now it defines it. Lady Gaga has ingeniously woven together content, gaming and social media channels to broaden her reach, distribute her content and create a personal connection with her “Little Monsters.” Embrace Innovation and Thrive on Change: Brands that embrace product innovation and disruption as a part of their advertising are the ones that will succeed. Nike’s FuelBand created a connected, personalized ecosystem and redefined the way we look at being active. We have to be brave and thrive on experimentation, and accept that you can’t control everything. Google’s Web Lab connects the digital world with the physical via its experiments featuring HTML5, JavaScript and WebGL technologies. Social Good: Brands have a unique opportunity to use their power as a change agent for good. We’ve done this at VB&P with our Audi urban design project, “Progress on Powell Street,” where we partnered with renowned landscape designer Walter Hood to give the road back to pedestrians on two of the most storied blocks in San Francisco, and for eBay with the “Give-A-Toy Store,” where people could donate to Toys for Tots via their smartphone. Expedia is doing an amazing job with this in their recent “Find Yours” campaign, and I’ve long admired efforts for Dove “Real Beauty” and Google “It Gets Better.” Use Data To Craft Personalized, Curated Experiences: With consumers experiencing and sharing content across devices, we need to think about curating content differently. Brands need to be able to use non-personal data to personalize and contextualize brand experiences without being intrusive. Small startups like Strava here in San Francisco are inspiring, with their design-driven, user-centric approach to their product. They have developed a “social fitness” app that pulls in athlete data to allow them to share, train and compete anywhere, anytime. |
 David Perry, head of broadcast production, Saatchi & Saatchi New York1) I am fascinated by the potential of Mobile. Cannes finally gave Mobile a category, and along with Film, that’s where the best work was.It has been the Year of Mobile for the past several years. But 2012 was finally, really it. Maybe it is wishful thinking but I sense that Mobile has brought peace to the binary screen world of TV and computers because Mobile can do most of what they can do, and then some. Each screen’s strength is that it is part of a larger ecosystem. You can’t just produce for one or two any more. Each screen has a unique utility, and a unique relationship with its owner. They are all screens, they are all family. But we have to crack how to approach people on each one. Running 15 second TV cutdowns as pre-rolls on YouTube is lazy enough. Running them on an iPhone is unforgivable. Demonstrating to clients the uniqueness of each screen, and the synergy amongst all of them, is our assignment for 2013. 2) Increasingly I find myself in the position of jumping out of a plane without a parachute and hoping I invent one on the way down. I say yes to everything because that needs to be the answer. |
 Steve Red, president/chief creative officer, Red Tettemer + Partners 1) When you turn the keys of the Brand over to the audience, amazing and inspiring things happen. Over the last year we’ve helped build several thriving communities that have proven that notion in unforgettable ways. Now, while we’ve turned over the keys, we haven’t gotten out of the car. First we’ve given the communities a provocative idea to rally around and then…and this is the most important part…we’ve made sure the Brand is continually right in it with the participants, endorsing, cheering and celebrating their stories and accomplishments. And when folks in Consumerland notice the brand noticing them, they dive in even deeper. They evangelize even stronger. They invite more people in even faster. And they find ways to express the Brand that we could never find, because the expressions come straight from their hearts and a pure admiration of what the Brand stands for in their world. One great example is the “What’s Beautiful” Community we helped Under Armour Women’s create. We challenged women to help us redefine the female athlete. Prove that accomplishment, not skinniness equals beauty. And to do that we invited them to set a personal goal and document their story toward achieving it. Tens of thousands heeded the call, uploading some of the most inspiring content we’d ever seen. And in the process, helped define what sets the Under Armour Women’s Brand apart. You can see it…or join it here, whatsbeautiful.ua.com. 2) More seeing social as a delivery platform, not as an idea. |
 Jim Riche, exec producer, Ntropic2) Diversification: in media, in types of technical and creative executions, and in client base. The needs of our clients have greatly expanded, as has the type of client we work with. We no longer do only a commercial. We have been creating interactive, print elements, YouTube pieces, experiential design, video game trailers. All of these tie back to the branding of the client, but are spread over a much wider media marketplace. The approach we take to any project has to be on a much broader canvas. Each project needs to have a concise, cost-effective yet very creative approach that allows assets to be used in various media presentations and formats. This requires us to stay ahead of the game technically. We have an incredibly diverse tool-set at our disposal over a network that includes offices in LA, SF and NY. The client base has also grown considerably this year. We no longer work just for ad agencies. Although the agencies have also added many levels of service, such as digital media, interactive, etc, they still all relate to the client brand. We’ve also seen a great growth in work coming directly from brands. We see work from the same advertiser coming to us from the big agencies; small boutique shops handling individual products, interactive design shops, and directly from the marketing divisions of the advertisers. It all needs to work together and one of our strengths is being able to stay ahead of technology, and do it with a strong creative point of view. Things are constantly changing but one thing we try to do is know who we are and what we can bring to the clients project and find the best path there. If you can accomplish that and be able to provide production services across a broad scope of deliverables, you will ultimately be a great provider for your client. That is what we feel 2012 proved to us. |
 Frank Scherma, president @radical.media2) We’ve been talking about this for probably the past decade, but I think this has been the year where major brands really shifted their focus and their dollars from ‘saying’ to ‘doing’. You’ve got innovative-but-mainstream brands like Nike and Red Bull putting their dollars against products (FuelBand) and events (Stratos) that infect culture and lifestyle. It used to be that you’d pick one thing to say and you’d say it again and again in the same voice across some different broadcast and digital spaces. Now, brands – good ones – are seeing their marketing efforts as multi-channel, multi-purpose, multi-message ecosystems that have to both communicate and prove their claimsWhat that’s meant for us as an industry is that agencies and clients are looking for companies that can support much more interesting and complex briefs. They’re looking to find a single company that is going to be able to address and produce that entire ecosystem. So we’ve learned that the team we put against it has to be multi-disciplinary right from the kick-off. In order to address some of these requests we need to complement our directors and producers with technologists and designers …and creative strategists and UX. Because inevitably, when we sit down to discuss the problem, the shape the solution takes… goes in multiple, unexpected directions. And every one of those guys is going to be crucial to identifying the answers and then making them real. So I think that’s what we’ve learned and adapted for – providing a pool of talent that’s going to make your ad, but is also going to build your physical installation and design your app and connect you with the right artist and guide you to a meaningful sponsorship. People have talked about ‘360 thinking’ forever but this is 360 doing, expanding from ads into entertainment and technology and events, really pushing ourselves to innovate with ideas that bridge them all. |
 Kelly Shoeffel, strategy director, 72andSunny1) Industry lesson learned: need for speedIt’s always been important that the stories we tell be disruptive and resonate in culture – but culture is moving faster than ever before. Good luck keeping pace, let alone getting a step ahead. This year it became evident that speed is the new creative superpower. And you need to develop an honest and unabashed love for it, as it fundamentally changes the way we work. Careful planning and consumer testing must move aside and make room for more instinctual and responsive approaches to communication, and to culture. Production cycles are also shrinking, even for traditional mediums like film. For one of our most successful campaigns of the year, the Samsung Galaxy, each spot was concepted, produced and on-air inside of a matter of weeks – an experience not for the faint of heart. Craziness aside, it did serve to ensure that if we did our job right, our message would strike a nerve in culture and create a meaningful and additive conversation at the right moment. 2) A trend: ecosystems 2012 was all about the “campaign ecosystem” – and while no one quite knew what this meant, everyone had to have one. An ecosystem is a strategic tool that helps marketers make sense of the many messages and interactions their brand is putting out in the world, and how people are meant to experience them. When used poorly, this exercise creates a big messy map that tries to make a brand’s behavior feel linear and purposeful when really, it’s not. But when used thoughtfully, it’s an important way to hone the role a brand should play in people’s lives, and often reveals massive amounts of over-connectivity. For years now, marketers have been operating under the assumption they need to “be” everywhere – in digital, in social, in mobile. But you know what? Not every brand should be everywhere. After a lot of misplaced effort, the art of the ecosystem helps reveal bloat and puts more rigor into channel planning, forcing a conversation about why brands live where they do and ideally, how we can make less but say more. |
 Jeff Suhy, president, Modus Operandi2) It’s been said every year since 2007 or so…but when you look at this question from an objective data-trend perspective there’s little doubt that “mobile” began a true domination of consumers’ attention in 2012. What is most interesting to note for anyone reading this impending rant is that the opportunity for the ad business lies within the disconnect between the consumer’s increasing reliance on their mobile devices and the nascent state of competency within the advertising business to leverage mobile for their clients. The explosion of “mobile” is happening much faster and bigger than the equivalent early-phase ascension of “digital.” That phase began when the confluence of desktop processor power and ubiquity of high-speed connections in homes and offices enabled rich content consumption over IP. That foundation was laid 10+ years ago. Consumers were way ahead of the advertising biz’s ability to figure out how to leverage this new medium and bring their clients along. The capabilities to develop and manage “digital” campaigns remain inconsistent throughout the business in 2012.Now we are at the tipping point for the next disruption wave in the biz…Mobile. The landscape within which agencies need to wrangle mobile is even more dysfunctional than at the beginning of “digital.” If you are diving in you will discover all the messy non-standardized services, device idiosyncrasies including screen resolutions and aspect ratios as well as a media distribution ecosystem in a highly fragmented state. No matter…the time to get enlightened around Mobile is now. If there’s any doubt, take a look at consumer mobile adoption and consumption metrics over the past 9 months! Add to that the proliferation of tablets, the increasing power and screen resolutions for all these mobile devices and the faster network LTE bandwidth capacity. Bottom line is that you are just like everyone else out there in that your mobile device is the first thing you fondle in the morning and the last thing you touch before you go to bed (roll into the laugh track…but you know it’s true!). |
David Bryant, chief creative officer, 