What’s the impact of the pandemic on you, your company, your approach to doing business in the future? What practices emerged that you will continue even as restrictions are loosening?
Last year was a shock to the system. We were collectively pushed out of our comfort zones personally, professionally and culturally. And whatever game we thought we were playing, we were presented with an entirely new playing field. We had always talked about the need for radical change as an industry, and suddenly the decision was taken out of our hands. Like everyone, we learned to adapt on all fronts, and proved that the traditional ways of working that we tended to cling to, weren’t actually that sacred. Earth shaking, once-in-a-lifetime events also have a vivid way of forcing us to rethink what’s important, and finding more meaning and purpose, and that will change the way we market for a long time. For example, in our messaging, less bombast, more empathy and authenticity. In the end, last year reinforced that our people are our greatest asset, and the situation gave us an even greater appreciation for them. We can never underestimate the value of an incredible team that gathered themselves and found a way to deliver from a hundred different Zoom boxes. And we owe it to them to figure out the most inspiring and productive ways to work going forward.
How has the call for equity, racial and social justice affected, honed or influenced your sense of responsibility as a company in terms of the content you create and/or your commitment to opening up opportunities for filmmaking talent from underrepresented backgrounds?
The industry had a stark wake-up call to say the very least. We all looked in the mirror and realized that we had a lot of work to do. Our team realized there were a couple areas we have the most control over. Internally, we’re focused on increasing the diversity and representation of our team. Externally, we’re taking a hard look at the actual messaging our brands put out into the world. We speak to an incredibly diverse market, and the focus on diversity is no longer simply a casting question. We’ve built it into our process to specifically review work to ensure under-represented communities are not just well represented, but in a positive and culturally relevant way. And to do that well we need to build a team with diverse backgrounds and experiences, including the talent we have behind the camera and across the production community. Modern consumers are looking to do business with brands that actively promote diversity and inclusion, and they connect with brands they can identify with. If our work is going to have an impact in culture, we need to find additional levels of cultural understanding that we may have been missing. In the end, the goal for us is to make our work more impactful in the real world. Not just blindly mirroring society, but remembering we are part of shaping it.
What’s the biggest takeaway or lessons learned from work (please identify the project) you were involved in that was or is in the running for current awards season consideration (i.e., Emmys, Cannes Lions, etc.)?
Creative agility and flexibility will be our superpowers moving forward. Given how difficult it’s become to reach our customers, ideas that can travel across multiple platforms are essential. Or even inventing the occasional new one if needed. Our recent Lexus IS launch included brand partnerships, stunts, a music collaboration, social-influencer content, gaming integration, product development, a feature film partnership, not to mention all the more traditional elements. And we need the people who have the talents to execute in all of them. Not just specialists, but omnivorous creative thinkers. We’re focused on elevating our brands out of advertising and into culture. So, we need to go where they are. Using technology and digital thinking to connect our brands to their customers opens up a lot of new avenues for us to apply our creativity. It’s literally never the same assignment twice. Ever designed a drive-in movie experience? No time like now to learn! It’s definitely the most intimidating part and the most exciting part at the same time.
While gazing into the crystal ball is a tricky proposition, we nonetheless ask you for any forecast you have relative to content creation and/or the creative and/or business climate for the second half of 2021 and beyond.
After last year I know better than to try and predict the future. More billionaires in space perhaps? One easy and significant one is that the yearning for human touch and experiences will continue to be overwhelming. As you can imagine, our travel and hospitality brands are seeing an incredible pent-up thirst to get the hell out into the world and feel things, go places and hug the nearest human. Experiential marketing will boom accordingly. Along with the temptation to splurge and spend to make up for last year.
What are your goals, creatively speaking and/or from a business standpoint, for your company, division, studio or network in 2021?
Not to let the proliferation of technology and platforms distract us from the fact that engaging with the human at the other end of them will always be our most important job. Follow the human and their needs and interests, and no matter what new platforms arise you still need to find a way to connect on a human level. Also practically speaking, to find a solution for the next chapter of the working experience that generates the most productive outcomes. Now that we’re coming out of the worst of the pandemic (fingers crossed) we’ll be grappling with how that return takes shape. Can we take advantage of this moment in time to redesign the work experience for both high fulfillment and high creativity? We’re all focused on solving what the next “business as usual” looks like.
What trends, developments or issues would you point to thus far in 2021 as being most significant, perhaps carrying implications for the rest of the year and beyond?
For brands, finding and securing a strong mission or purpose and sticking with it. Last year it was clear that the brands who knew their purpose and why they came to work every day, managed better in times of crisis. Their behavior was dictated by their values. In uncertain times you benefit from having a sound compass to make decisions in the short term as well as the long term. It became slightly awkward for the many who had to figure it out in real time with the public watching.
What work (advertising, entertainment)–your own or others–struck a responsive chord with you and/or was the most effective creatively and/or strategically so far this year? Does any work stand out to you in terms of meshing advertising and entertainment?
The Beats work has been consistently catching my attention. Their amazing campaign celebrating black culture (“You love me”) was a year ago and I still think about it. I recently saw the new work with track star Sha’Carri Richardson, which continues to carve out a strong space for them. They’ve become so interwoven into the world of sports and music that they easily rise above the category of mere audio equipment and into a true culturally influential player. I love that they don’t do things halfway. Not afraid of controversy and taking on tough subjects. Taking some cues from Nike, it’s a powerful use of athletes and musicians and culture to engage a highly desirable and influential target.
