1) Brands will continue to move back to evocative storytelling versus focusing on functional benefits. We need to win consumers’ hearts before their minds in order to build long-term relationships. Data will have a great role in helping guide, adjust and make the work stronger by understanding consumer responses.
The industry will continue to sharpen its focus on innovation. This year we will continue to see a lot about applying tech and infusing it into everything we do. Over the past few years there have been major advancements in things like wearables, AR, VR, voice, and beyond. The focus ahead will be on building these innovations into the work we create for our clients and the ways we engage with consumers.
We need to continue to play a significant role in our clients’ businesses, where we serve as more than just their creative agency, but as partners who help grow their brands and businesses through creativity, data and innovation. Product innovation is one specific place we can have an even greater impact this year.
2) 2016 was a great year for Energy—a year where we tripled our awards over the year before. This sets the creative bar higher than ever before. In the year ahead we will continue to see great storytelling coming out of our agency, with bigger, bolder creative for more brands, across more categories.
3) Unlock untapped potential. I started putting together new creative teams on different projects to push people outside of their comfort zones. Mixing things up forced people to step up to the plate and showed me what each person was made of while helping ignite passion within each of them to do great work.
4) To surround myself with great minds and to keep pushing to become a better, stronger, more energized agency.