Chief Creative Officer, U.S.
mcgarrybowen
1) Technology is king. Pairing creativity with tech and data seems to be where the business has moved and is moving right now. Clients and agencies are also pushing to get out into the world and live the brand. We are doing this across all our brands now. A combination of traditional air cover is still needed for many brands. Even with TV, which, contrary to popular opinion, is not dead.
2) We had two things going on this year for Oscar Mayer that straddle the line between marketing and entertainment. One was “Bacoin”. We created an actual crypto currency that was backed by bacon. It was a “joke” for entertainment but did very well for the brand and thousands of people actually rode the market.
Another effort that got a lot of attention was the “Weiner Drone.” Oscar Mayer changed all their hot dogs by removing all the nitrates and such. It was a big deal for the brand and they went on a mission to “get a hot dog in every hand.” We took the idea to a whole other level, and even built new vehicles to get the dogs out to the world. Scooters. Minis, and the Drone. Jimmy Fallon even picked it up, as did many other entertainment outlets. The is a great example of entertainment with a smart marketing purpose. Not just for the sake of entertainment.
3) The content that clients will push out will continue to improve in quality while the TV market declines.
Brand actions in the world will only continue to rise. The biggest thing we will continue to see is from big behemoth companies who realize they cannot continue to compete in a world without a POV. They need to make their purpose clear and put a huge social engagement behind it. The new consumer demands it or they will leave.
It’s what we have been preaching to clients for years. “If you know what you believe you know how to behave.” You’d be surprised at how many clients don’t know what they believe.
4) They tell us that the era of doing “commercials” is over. Sure. There is still attention on craft but it has all mostly moved to brands doing things in the world in the name of their brand. A lot of it is work that leads to a connecting with a social cause. If a brand is just out there trying to creatively market, and not tied to a social cause, they can be overlooked.
Brand actions and creativity paired with new tech and media is where the trend is heading.
5) We’re looking into building and acquiring more content production. Studios. Creators. Social listening systems. The works.
6) We are wrestling with that. It’s one thing to sign pledges and make speeches. I’m seeing a lot of that. But it’s another thing to implement change in your company. We’re doing that as we speak. We are a very female led agency with about 67% of our workforce being female. Two of our U.S. presidents are female, our CSO and US CSO in NY and SF are female, and top strategic leadership in Chicago is also female. We still need to work on better female leadership in creative but we are getting closer to the right balance.
On the director and production side we are well above the industry average which is about 11%. Last year about 30% of our jobs were produced by women. Let alone just “Bid.” We will continue that push.
A huge push for us is also ethnic diversity. We need to do better searching for and attracting people of all color, especially African American.
But we feel very strongly about doing what’s right for our company and culture. Not just doing what’s popular in the Industry.
We made a decision to just do it and not just talk about it.
Object & Animal Signs Director Alana O’Herlihy To Its Global Roster
Object & Animal has added multidisciplinary artist, photographer and director Alana O’Herlihy to its roster for exclusive worldwide representation spanning commercials, branded content and music videos. This marks the first production house representation for O’Herlihy. Her portfolio encompasses a wide range of visual artistry, from directing films and music videos to creating photographic stills. Known for a unique blend of analog and digital mediums, O’Herlihy’s work includes leading brands and top-tier magazines, where her vision consistently sparks conversation and brings heightened visibility to her subjects. Her glamorous, campy style pushes the boundaries of conventional artistry. Among her notable directorial credits is the Miley Cyrus music video “Prisoner” featuring Dua Lipa. “Alana’s ability to seamlessly merge old mediums with cutting-edge processes is a testament to her boundless creativity,” said Emi Stewart, executive producer at Object & Animal. “Her work challenges conventions while celebrating the visual grandeur of both past and present.” Object & Animal maintains offices in London, Los Angeles and New York. Read More