1) Cognitive. Creatives are getting a handle on data and what they can do with it creatively. Data went from a research tool to becoming a creative tool. Although we are just scratching the surface, this is the year when the awesome possibilities made me fall in love with cognitive.
2) We created N8tive, a Havas incubator that puts brilliant graduates in charge. We are dismantling the traditional agency hierarchies that has young talent starting at the bottom. Instead we are putting them at the top of the pyramid. They report right into the CCO, work across all clients, and unlike traditional creatives, they are hybrids–markers, coders, experience designers, photographers and problem solvers.
3) #AdiosAmigo, our real time social goodbye to Dos Equis’ Most Interesting Man. We got 2 billion impressions in 24 hours before TV ever launched and the highest sales numbers the brand has ever seen. We took a traditionally TV driven brand and transitioned it into a social first brand.
“Bob Dylan – StudioA Revisited” was another project I was proud of. We made a legend relevant to a young generation that couldn’t care less. At the end, an audience in their 20s started interacting with Dylan in his 20s, fifty years after the actual recordings. The jury in Cannes sent three Lions our way, but more importantly: we created everything, top to bottom, at Havas New York.
4) Real time social content is going to be big. Executions that happen in a matter of hours that result in millions of views, with minimal dollar investment is the next art form that will separate agencies from the pack. Brands are trying to understand how to get it right and become part of the conversation. A lot of agencies will talk a big game but only a few will actually deliver and lead.
