What industry trends, developments or issues were most significant in 2022?
From my perspective, the most impactful industry evolution of 2022 came in the form of consumer ready, generative AI. These tools took the building blocks of generative AI systems, ones we have seen in experiments and marketing stunts over the years with GANS, NLP, and deep learning, and operationalized them through computing power, speed, and quality that feels more like magic than technology. This spectrum of growth saw product after product, born out of two motherships in OpenAI and Stability AI, flood the market. The interfaces on Discord evolved into web experiences and then transferred to apps like Lensai. We moved from static to motion to an iteration of a chatbot (ChatGPT) that conquered the shortcomings of its predecessors.
These developments impact creativity because they fundamentally change how the imagination materializes. No other aspect – from the shift of NFTs to Digital Collectibles to the boom of Metaverse properties to the massive changes in the social media landscape, to any of the market contraction – compares.
What is the most relevant business and/or creative lesson you learned in 2022 and how will you apply it to 2023?
To truly thrive as a creative, you need to feel empowered, which means having the platform and support you need to shine. Vulnerability plays a key role in the creative process and, when it gets met with empowerment, more possibilities for genuine creativity emerge. Anomaly embodies these values, and, going into 2023, I want to ensure I pay that ethos forward from an emerging experience and technology standpoint. The subject matter of emerging technology is inherently difficult to understand, making it all the more important to lead, ideate, and strategize from a place of vulnerability and humanity – and encourage others to do the same.
How have any societal issues–such as the pandemic, the Supreme court decision on abortion, calls for equity, inclusion, diversity, racial and social justice–impacted the way you do business, company policies and/or selection of projects/creative content?
Anomaly is built on the belief that diverse thinking leads to better outcomes. It’s part of our DNA. So, the events of this year didn’t greatly impact how we engaged in the sociopolitical landscape. We know that diversity, equity, and inclusion make our company more powerful, both creatively and commercially. Sometimes, this mentality manifests through a meaningful collaboration, like partnering with Afropunk founders Matthew Morgan and Jocelyn Cooper to co-create the forthcoming LETS GET FR.EE music festival. Other times,a powerful idea that calls out societal tension exemplifies it; for instance, this year, a group of creatives out of our LA office came together to create Abortion Bus, a spin on Desert Bus, infamously known as the worst video game ever, to highlight the extraordinary lengths pregnant Texans have to travel for an abortion and drive donations for Fund Texas Choice. But we know there’s always room for continued growth and education, and that’s why we’re in the process of formalizing a new diversity review panel to stem the spread of stereotypes and bias in our creative work and content.
From a company policy perspective, we introduced a wage assessment to ensure women, Black talent, and all People of Color get paid equitably in 2021. That year also marked the introduction of new, Global KPIs that extend beyond talent diversification to include measuring inclusion, retention, and elevation by gender and amongst underrepresented groups. We’ve consistently increased diversity in race and gender each year, but we still have a ways to go and will continue to find opportunities to drive representation across all disciplines and, most importantly, our leadership team. These examples are just a few of the many efforts that Anomaly has in place to continue supporting diverse talent and increasing representation.
What are your goals or New Year’s resolution, creatively speaking or from a business standpoint, for your agency, company or department in 2023?
My goals and ambitions for the coming year center on the emerging experience and technological areas of Anomaly, which I oversee on a Global level. In the broadest sense, I look to indoctrinate our team with a depth of knowledge and care to help navigate our brands through nascent spaces like Web3, generative AI, and the Metaverse.
Generative AI can help us quickly materialize our imaginations, and I plan to tap into and demonstrate that reality in the coming year. Just this past month, we launched the first generative music video for Ally bank with artist Charlie Curtis-Beard called Music on Me, using the DreamStudio animation API. Looking ahead to 2023, my team will continue establishing our clients as leaders in the nascent spaces of emerging technology by engaging consumers in new, strategic ways that drive impact.
Above all, I want to push creative storytelling within these emerging spaces without relying on just being first, convoluting the tech and the idea itself in the process. Tech is not an idea. Mode of media is not an idea. An idea needs strength and purpose to exist, and boundaries within these new spaces allow us freedom to craft and create on top of that foundation. I intend to push those boundaries.
Gazing into your crystal ball, what do you envision for the advertising and/or entertainment industry–creatively speaking or from a business standpoint–in 2023?
We have an interesting table set for the year ahead. If rises and falls represent 2022, finding footing will come to the forefront in 2023. Collaboration across spectrums of technology should help standardize use, elevating disparate systems as a result. Both Web3 and generative AI have a lot of gray areas that need color; with clarity comes less volatility.
Much like the bear market marked a reset of Web3, a moment of intense tension around use, ownership, and royalties will shape generative AI in the year ahead. Brands want to play with these tools, and creators have embraced them already. But a gap in use, as well as tension around infringement, looms. As for Web3, builders will keep building and holders will keep holding, but, without regulation, we simply can’t find the floor and create the momentum for the bull run of 2024.
Beyond regulation and stability, generative AI itself will progress. We look at stable diffusion 2 on the near horizon and GTP4 soon to follow. These developments will fuel quicker outputs; moving pictures; and generative gaming, interaction, and AR, which could become environmental and potentially shared. We still need curation and human intervention from an input and prompt standpoint, as well as on the back end to manipulate and harness what comes out.
An expansion of Metaverse properties and use cases will come to define Web3 in the coming year. As these 3D worlds establish themselves, they still need big and bold brand experiences and interoperability with worlds like Roblox and Fortnite to gain users and scale. We will see an expansion of Metaverse commerce and fashion, along with pop culture events like concerts and festivals. Simply put, the Metaverse needs to become a must-be place for brands and users instead of one you dip a toe in and then pull out. It needs architects, creators, and game developers to all come together and create worthwhile, compelling cultural collisions. Once those worlds manifest and scale, the table is set for expansion of media and creators, leading to the stabilization and growth of a Metaverse economy.
We will see continued expansion of NFT Original IP. Properties like Cool Cats, BAYC, Doodles, RTFKT, and Moonbirds have become multi million-dollar rocket ships that will continue to expand as NFT worlds. New drops will happen, but NFT success will largely come in the form of Digital Collectibles with minimized or invisible Web3 wallets and custody. Look at Polygon as the premiere solution for brands to develop and scale their Web3 offerings, not through rewards programs and free drops instead of for-sale NFTs. This approach gives superfans and casual users alike access to new, exciting ventures within these brand ecosystems.
In the world of gaming, fueled by some advancements in Unreal Engine, we will see bespoke Metaverse experiences play out given the existence of Pixel Streaming, a technology that delivers high fidelity and real-time gaming across browser-based experiences. Single or shared user experiences can drive this cloud-driven game engine rendering, as we’ve seen in things like Ozone Universe or OnCyber – but with a level of fidelity that we have come to admire with Epic’s Unreal Engine 5.
How did your company, agency, studio or department adjust/adapt to the marketplace in 2022 (new strategies, technology, health/safety expertise) and what of all that bodes well for 2023?
Anomaly is great about investing in new areas to drive business growth and transformation for our clients. This year, I joined the agency in a global capacity to help shepherd our agency and brands into the nascent spaces of emerging technology. I focus largely on Web3, but, coming in, we knew this year would mark growth for generative AI, though not to the extent it ended up scaling. Our adaptive personality is not about optics or awards; it stems from an intention to truly change the way things get done and the benefit it can have on systems.
Having spent 2022 installing developing processes, pipelines, and products, we have several tools that will help us navigate these nascent tech spaces together. One incubator called Classify aims at forging a strategic North Star for brands looking to govern their existence in Web3. Ideas, partnerships, and frameworks branch out from that North Star, guiding a crawl, walk, run process of creation.
Uncertainty and volatility marked 2022. So, more than ever, we need to build a foundation to govern what comes next, welcome processes and regulation, articulate determinations of risk, and align ourselves with the right builders and technologies. A lot of Anomaly’s moves in this past year set the table for progression, imbuing us with the confidence and expertise we need to guide the unknowns ahead.
