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?
It showed us that we can be location agnostic. We don’t have to be in the office everyday to make it work. It also showed us that we can still enjoy our families and get a lot of things done. It opened up a whole new way to approach work.
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?
As a Black woman, and the first Black producer at Leo Burnett, I’ve always been keenly aware of and committed to racial and social justice. The events of 2020 opened everyone’s eyes and put it in your face in a way that is undeniable. It also made the industry aware that they not only have the responsibility but we also have the ability to change, to open doors and create opportunity. This is not a zero sum game.
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.)?
I just started at OKRP 5 months ago so nothing I’ve worked on is ready for awards yet. We have some stuff coming in the fall but it’s not yet been released.
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.
The future is social, so the balance is always high quality, high volume and low cost. We will need to develop relationships of trust with our clients so that we can move fast, which means less oversight and quicker approvals. It also means we can’t be as precious with the work. The big idea will always cut through but it’s nothing you can hang your hat on. We must always be creating.
What are your goals, creatively speaking and/or from a business standpoint, for your company, division, studio or network in 2021?
I’d like to see OKRP expand it’s capabilities so that we can live up to our ideal of being nimble. I’d like to continue to grow our team and talent, that’s where the fun is, working with good, talented people full of ideas.
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?
Performance marketing and analytics, it’s not sexy but it articulates value in a way that clients can understand. That and brands being bolder. Big bold ideas cut through the clutter. I would love to see clients take a few more chances on the bold move, now is the time to do that because attention spans are so short. If it doesn’t work quickly pivot and try something else. Content is identity and identity evolves over time. Embrace it.
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?
Google Search On – it strikes the right note at the right time. I think it actually brings us together to see that we’re all looking for the same things.
