1) What stands out most to me is the impact brand ambassadors can have—not just on a brand, but also on a brand’s bottom line. While most brands continue to spread their message through traditional and social media, it is also being shared just as much through one of the newest, most powerful platforms this industry has ever seen: real people. Every day, countless brand loyalists and influencers do the work of what used to be reserved to hundreds of network television stations. They provide brands with millions of dollars’ worth of media for almost nothing. Give them a half-off coupon and you just bought yourself a couple thousand gross impressions.
The proliferation of screens and the availability of numerous platforms to consume and broadcast information have turned the entire population into an army of creative content providers. We’ve been exposed to “user generated content” before. But never like this. And for me, it’s incredibly exciting and actually very liberating, to know that if you put great content out there, people will come. And like. And share.
2) I wouldn’t say we’ve really had to adjust. Our bench of smart, independent thinkers has always been pretty deep. Our size has allowed us to recruit and hire people who aren’t siloed in terms of their experience and how they think. We just needed the opportunity to flex those muscles. Which I’m proud to say that with collaborative partners like Kia and Jack in the Box, just to name a couple, we’ve been able to leverage those opportunities and venture into untested waters. Telling our clients’ stories in ways that are completely new, exciting and engaging. And that, at times, make us a bit nervous. That’s what keeps this business so interesting.
3) Of course I love our work for last year’s Super Bowl with Christopher Walken. Who doesn’t love Christopher Walken. But one campaign that I’m particularly fond of is the work for the Kia Forte. It drafts off the insight that humans have an average attention span of about eight seconds. Wait, what was I talking about? We leveraged that insight as a proof point as to why Kia’s advanced active safety technology is such a huge innovation. I’m a sucker for simple, smart executions based on a very real human truth and that campaign nails that. I also love the Jack in the Box Brewhouse Burger spot. Again, a simple, clean execution of what makes this burger unique. It’s classic
Jack portrayed in a contemporary way that leans into pop culture. Plus, you gotta admit, seeing Jack with a mustache the size of a 3-year-old is pretty damn funny.
4) Virtual reality. Pure and simple. Although I’d suggest a co-op with Dramamine.
