This week’s series Report Card series presents a look back–and a look ahead–at the state of the ad business in 2005, as well as the state of creativity. To that end, we asked agency creatives, producers, production and post execs the following questions: How would you assess the state of advertising, from both a creative and business standpoint? What are the creative highlights of the year so far? How do you think the creative and business landscape will look in the second half of 2005, particularly in terms of emerging ad forms? Below are the responses:
Stephanie Apt, President, Final Cut, bicoastal/international
There are more opportunities to consolidate your work–even for a company such as ours–and to create elements for TV and the Internet and in-store. This has become especially important with advertising budgets of today. I think that greater effort needs to be made to take an idea and parlay it into a number of different disciplines so people can have a fully integrated campaign. More and more, people will want to partner with agencies and clients to do a broad spectrum of advertising and marketing work that won’t be specific to one area.
Betsy Beale, Executive producer, Lost Planet, bicoastal
I think the advertising industry for 2005 has been generally good from both a creative and business standpoint. Looking at the ad favorites–and even new awards categories of this year–it’s apparent that the market is expanding in many ways. One trend that we’ve noticed is the increasing prevalence of Web or viral advertising. We recently worked on “Webisodes”” for clients Bounty and Axe, the latter which won a Bronze Lion at Cannes. Other trends include the elevated role of postproduction and music in the creative process as evidenced by commercials such as Hummer’s “Vertigo,” and American Express’ “Robert DeNiro.”
Arthur Bijur, President, Cliff Freeman and Partners, New York
The year is still young but there have been no creative grand slams so far. I think in the larger sense, we have adopted a whole new and much tougher measurement scale. While there are plenty of efforts that are smart, entertaining and probably working, my (and I believe everyone’s) rating system has changed.
Now, as our landscape evolves with small tremors and the occasional 8.0, we are all trying to meet the challenge of finding new, smart ways to use all the mediums at our disposal. So, the result is that when you look out there and see the same old, it seems ordinary and just, well, not bad. I think that both in the business community and the ad world there is a sense that we are all poised on top of a tsunami that runs unseen until it finally breaks. The industry is moving forward and adjusting. The business community reflects this desire to be there when new opportunities arise and to be part of it. No one is satisfied anymore with mere progress or success but always looking ahead to the next great opportunity.
John Boiler, Partner/creative director, 72andSunny, El Segundo, Calif.
From our perspective here in Los Angeles and as a startup, the future looks bright both on the business and creative fronts. There is clearly a need coming from large international and national businesses for fresh and clear thinking. Yes, creativity seems less hemmed in by the conventional ad media conventions and we find ourselves stretching further and with greater success than ever into new forms of communication. That doesn’t mean we’re making more of the ever-hyped “branded content” which has been around for a hundred years, but also that we are creating and guiding event and sponsorship strategies and activating them in fresh ways. It means creating new communication platforms that are clearly tied to our client’s brand goals–from retail venues, to events, to films and programming.
It seems that finally, creativity is starting with business and brand-building goals and growing outward, uninhibited by conventional communication channels. That’s the kind of creativity that excites us now. We’re looking forward to taking stock of some successful examples of this approach within the next six months.
There seems little in the way of emerging ad forms that is really new. Doing branded content, be it TV shows, Web movies, or events isn’t a new form of advertising. The newness seems to come more from renewed interest, scale and commitment of clients to these communication channels. … Although the channels for communication may change, grow, shift in importance and popularity, the quality of the content we fill them with will always define success for us and the brands we work with. We think there will be some hugely successful and culture-changing initiatives that use these unconventional communication channels in the next year. And we think we could be making them.
Andrew Chinich, EVP/director of broadcast, Foote, Cone & Belding, New York
It is difficult to speak of the state of advertising without first defining a point of reference, i.e., compared to what. The business of advertising in 2005 is a very different place from what it used to be: Mega-mergers have turned it from an arena for showcasing superior talent to an interagency game of one-upmanship.
Emerging advertising–the Internet is old news. But connectivity means that everything electronic is fair game. Much like the notion of surround-sound, people will be enveloped by advertising. Integration will go from being a business buzz word to a sensory experience so there is a real challenge to creativity–an opportunity to re-ignite creativity if you will.
As the world has become a more hostile environment both economically and politically, so has our industry. The guidelines are tighter, the parameters for success more narrow, the bottom-line a more prominent player in our daily lives. I think as we move forward into 2005, we need to remember that a brilliant idea is still the driving force behind what we do and the passion for great work why we do it.
Hyatt Choate, Executive producer, BBDO New York
For us (BBDO), it seems like we have not skipped a beat. We have been extremely busy on all fronts, hopefully creating compelling commercial content. Highlights of the first half-year include campaigns for Mountain Dew “Spy vs. Spy” (which won a Bronze Lion at Cannes), Aquafina Splash, and new work for GE (“Ecomagination”) and Mitsubishi (“Driven to Thrill”).
Although some clients are spending less, the number of commercials seems to be staying consistent. In addition, I have noticed that with technology like Telestream (used for editing and client presentations) and video conferencing (used for casting and pre pros), we are able to stay home for more of the production process (which is a great thing for me having two young twins). Some day we may never leave!
At BBDO, we see no let-up in the second half of the year. While we are expanding our creativity into other media, we are still doing a lot of television. Within this, a number of our clients are now asking about the cost for shooting and finishing in HD. With the cost of HD TVs coming down, the market for HD seems to be growing. In fact, I have been shooting a lot in the 16:9 aspect ratio lately.
Dave Cobben, Planning director, Wieden + Kennedy, Amsterdam
The power of the big advertising giants is still overpowering to an industry that is crying out for a radical change after the end of the millennium. We are five years past that milestone, yet it seems that few things have changed. It is my experience that it is the clients that are the ones that are prepared to force change upon the advertising industry rather than the other way around as so many of us claim. Admittedly, it is visionary clients like those at Nike and Honda that recognize that we aren’t in the business of advertising anymore. At W + K we create global marketing platforms rather than ads. These platforms form the basis of direct marketing, point-of-sale, Web pages, internal sales documents, etc–oh, and ads too, where appropriate. A global marketing platform has the benefit to the business of longevity. They allow integration and so are more efficient. They also provide true differentiation from the marketplace.
There is no doubt in my mind that non-traditional/experiential solutions will become a far greater part of the creative and business landscape. When Vodafone had to educate consumers about Live! 3G, it took 20 different ads–and still no one got it. Using a clever experiential idea, called The Tunnel Of Live! (which took the phones to consumers in moments of boredom), they overcame this problem at far less expense and with far more effective results.
Phillip Detchmendy, Managing director, Tool of North America, bicoastal
I think that advertising is in a state of flux, but no one is really sure of exactly how it will all play out. We do all know however that if you look at a pie chart showing how all advertising dollars are going to be spent five years from now, it’s going to be different than it is today.
On a creative level, I feel there are small bursts of great creative, surrounded by a lot of work that needs to do more “heavy lifting” for clients and brands. I think emerging ad forms and the ability to think and deliver ideas across a platform of mediums is the long-term story of where advertising is going. It’s happening all around us right now, and as time goes on it will continue to become more important.
Bonnie Goldfarb, Partner/executive producer, Harvest, Santa Monica
The state of advertising from a creative point of view has required an enormous amount of restraint, as we are having to search out decent creative in places we haven’t looked before. I suspect that the dwindling advertising revenues from our clients have created a marketplace which is functioning at half speed and that is resulting in less work and certainly less creative work. One only needs to read the Wall Street Journal to understand that the American corporation is not as strong as it once was–and let’s face it, those are the very institutions that we rely upon. We have worked more in the United Kingdom than ever before. The pound is extremely strong against the dollar and we’re seeing our U.K. agencies taking advantage of that exchange rate and shooting here in the U.S. The creative is strong and has contributed to our highlights of the year.
However, having said all of that, summer’s heating up and we’ve seen some of the best creative in the last week coming from our local agencies. We have also completed two virals, to run solely on the Internet. That has been an extremely creative endeavor in that the restrictions for the Web are not the restrictions of the networks. This form of reaching the masses is certainly yielding high creative content! Unfortunately, at these infant stages, the budgets for viral are just not present. Second half of the year looks promising.
Tony Granger, Chief creative officer, Saatchi & Saatchi, New York
There is definitely a huge improvement both in print and TV, and what’s really exciting for me, sort of halfway through the year, is that more and more and clients are going, ‘Television is not the only answer anymore.’ … The consumer media habits are changing–certainly with youth–they are spending more time gaming, on the Internet, texting, spending less time with television. [Despite that, TV] is still very, very important.
It’s really refreshing to see more and more marketers going, ‘are there other ways of touching consumers’–it’s almost like going back to the future. It’s a really exciting time for creative people.
Agencies will keep trying to find the solution to what an agency of the future is going to be. I think there’s going to be a lot of talk of bringing media back into the agencies. I think smaller, independent shops are going to be popping up more and more, which is encouraging because for a long time, no new shops seemed to be opening, so the fact that our industry is starting to spawn new agencies is a good sign. I think the next six months are going to be really, really busy, and there’ s going to be a lot of soul searching as to how agencies adapt and develop into this new entity that is not so TV-dominant. … You’re going to see a lot of new business activity, as marketers look for new solutions, as agencies reinvent themselves. It’s a very interesting, exciting time for the industry, and at the end of the day, the work is getting better.
Sylvia Kahn, Executive producer, V3, Culver City, Calif.
From a creative standpoint, there is no limit when looking through the integrated media window–with virals and rich Web content, wireless and VOD, we can all go so much further with a brand. From a traditional spot point-of-view, I’m finding that 85 percent of the work we’ve done over the past six months makes it on the director’s reels–not a bad story to tell!
From a business standpoint things couldn’t be better: I have a roster made up of a new breed of directors. They are fluent in traditional storytelling and filmmaking techniques and busy pushing the envelope creating content to reach consumers through integrated campaigns over emerging media channels.
Creative highlights have certainly been Crispin Porter + Bogusky’s “Subservient Chicken” and Goodby, Silverstein & Partners’ Hewlett-Packard campaign, and as always, TBWA/Chiat/Day’s adidas work continues to delight.
The evolution of the creative landscape will continue to engage consumers in alternative environments and more compelling ways. As the consumer’s attention continues to fragment and broaden, so must the tactic of getting the message delivered. The opportunity for our industry is HUGE, there is a sea-change occurring: our inventory–the director–can adopt an ever-widening role, which in the next six months will allow for more collaboration and therefore more creativity.
Clients are asking their agencies to bust out of the tried and true and agencies are, as a result, turning to directors for more input on more extensive integrated media campaigns. It’s truly win-win.
Gary Krieg, Director of broadcast production, Wieden + Kennedy, New York
Let’s pretend for a moment that what we do is a form of entertainment. Box office numbers are down, network ratings are sagging, and the record business is at an all-time low, so by comparison the state of advertising is looking pretty good. We have more opportunities than ever to put a message out, and hopefully this message can find ways to fill the vacuum created by traditional entertainment. That’s the upside. The downside is that clients, agencies, production companies, etc. are all being asked to accomplish more with less time and smaller budgets. This is not a new complaint, but I believe that we are reaching a critical mass. And it may be affecting the work, because I’m hard pressed to list anything particularly noteworthy from the first half of 2005.
Moving forward, all agencies will continue to dedicate more and more resources to new media opportunities. Most of these projects will be cannon fodder. But a few of them will succeed and inspire us enough to keep charging the hill.
Charles Rosen, Managing partner, Amalgamated, New York
2005 will be the year that marks a critical moment of change in our industry–from both a creative and business standpoint. New York, especially, has seen the emergence of small creative shops all representing interesting alternatives to the more staid, traditional agencies–alternatives that large clients find attractive. Agencies like Mother out of the U.K., Taxi out of Canada, and Strawberry Frog from Amsterdam opened New York outposts, and seem to be doing good work–especially if Mother New York’s campaign for 10 Cane Rum is any indication of things to come.
Although a lot of the work is less than breakthrough, it is still being done by new creative boutiques on behalf of big established brands. These agencies not only represent a new and better way of thinking about their respective client’s businesses, but they also represent a more efficient bottom line. The fact that these agencies have streamlined their operations is a tremendous help to clients who are trying to pull themselves out of the recession with limited budgets. Most of these new agencies have devised structures that allow senior talent to develop the strategic and creative work, and have dismissed the layered bureaucracies that have become the norm in our business. These efficiencies are going a long way to help us out of the economic slowdown we’ve experienced over the last few years.
Although there is an ever-increasing demand for “integrated” campaigns and “non-traditional” solutions from clients (and in new business RFPs), television advertising still rules. No other medium has a greater chance of breaking through creatively or affecting a client’s sales. Moreover, it is the most potent medium for crafting a brand’s story.
Having said this, the desire for “emerging ad forms” seems to be making a lot of clients restless with their existing agency relationships. There seems to be more of a willingness to abandon longstanding partnerships in the hopes of finding the answers elsewhere. This has led to an increase in new business reviews and we should expect to see even more as we head into the fourth quarter of 2005.
Nancy Shames, Executive producer, Crew Cuts, New York
As TV ad budgets continue to decrease, the post industry must look to take on a new method of workflow and media management. The present challenge is to create, manage and transfer media in and out of HD while having the ability to seamlessly convert and finish in any format. Surprisingly, advertisers have been slow to adapt to HD, an area of undeniable growth potential for our industry. We are more than ready for the transformation on the post side, as it will enable us to deliver for clients on all available options of content distribution.
Creatively speaking, the styles of traditional spot advertising and mixed media content are rapidly merging. As people become more accustomed to the look, feel and freedom of the Internet, television spots will look to explore different ways of brand building and storytelling. Therefore, post must also deliver content differently–shipping spots not only for television, but also for Internet, movies, phones, and personal entertainment devices. It will be interesting to watch these mediums come together and see how the overall creative process adapts to the pressure.
John Staffen, Executive creative director, Arnold Worldwide, New York
From both a business and creative point-of-view, advertising right now is like the wild west. Not a lot of rules, shooting from the hip, cattle-rustlers, snake-oil salesmen. I’d expect such chaos to create more fun than it fortunately has. I love what Converse is doing. That’s my favorite creative/business highlight from this past year. I think the Axe vs. Tag battle is fun to watch. Ipod work is transcendental. Above and beyond what it’s done for Apple and the way individuals listen to their music, I was just in the subway and it seemed like every other ad was for an iPod peripheral–Bose, JBL, etc. It’s an economy unto itself. I’m afraid it’s only a matter of time before we’re kinda “iPoded” out.
I expect this “wild west” scenario and landscape to continue. Perhaps for good. I can’t even begin to recall how many articles I’ve read about the “death of advertising.” Good organizations will ride the same waves that rock the bad ones. The emerging ad form is an amalgamation. Whoever can champion, balance and pull all the strings of all the opportunities at our disposal best will win. It’s goning be great fun!
Frank Stiefel, EVP, @radical.media, bicoastal/international
This is either a scary or exciting moment where every form of entertainment and communication that’s existed from the end of World War II is up for change. The music, movie, television, and radio industries will be decidedly different in five years–as will the advertising business that in one way or another is attached to those industries. For those who are willing to play, creativity isn’t going to be limited to the stuff that’s written in ads and commercials. Understanding that media and the way that consumers receive information is a brand new game where the rulebook is largely unwritten.
The creative highlight of the year wasn’t an ad–it was a front-page article in the Wall Street Journal that reported Procter & Gamble was pulling advertising money from network and cable buys to alternative forms of advertising. Suddenly, it wasn’t the most adventurous and progressive marketers who were stepping out–it was the most test-driven client in the industry.
In the coming months, I expect to see awkward product placements and strategically silly branded initiatives. Some of this will make the circa 1999-2000 dot-coms look smart–as the same impulse to not be left behind takes hold. The smart money is in recognizing that good advertising remains valuable, but to attract a different, more media savvy consumer, we’re going to have to blow out the conventional definition of an ad and make it a communication that the consumer chooses to see.
Rick Wagonheim Partner/managing director, Rhinofx, New York
Advertising lives and breathes. It’s alive and well. Business is vibrant. There is a sense of security, perhaps false security, but as Zero Mostel said in the original film version of The Producers, “When you got it, flaunt it baby.”
Cannes was a good barometer for this recent industry prosperity. Good hotel rooms were unavailable, bad hotel rooms were barely available, and attendance at the Gutter Bar overflowed more than the beer.
But–and a major but–the work from overseas is more inspiring with greater creative opportunities for all of our reels. The most salient creative is not coming from these shores, with the exception of those rare gems. Open any publication and the creative focus is overseas work! Ouch! The quality of the creative is more a reflection of the clients’ disposition than the talents of the people creating their advertising.
Business will be even busier in the second half of the year, but profit margins could diminish as the budgets get lower and lower, with aspirations for greatness remaining higher and higher. Achieving greatness does cost sometimes. Emerging and evolving forums for branding and so forth will see continued growth. You can never go backwards. Embrace change, or you are toast in this business.
Susan Willis, Executive producer, Cut + Run, New York
I think for now, and into 2006, the landscape of advertising will continue to present opportunity for cross-platform ads. It is not only about the :30 second spot, but also how film can be incorporated into different forms of media. Roles will continue to shift–and all of the entities involved in these areas will be part of the creative team. The idea of post, production and design being separate areas is outmoded. Today we need to be able to join the process earlier to help conceptualize how some projects will be delivered to multiple mediums and markets.