1) What industry trends or developments were most significant in 2017?

2) How did your company adjust/adapt to the marketplace in 2017? (diversification, new resources/talent/technology, new strategies, etc.) You are welcome to cite specific piece of work which shows how lessons learned in 2017 were applied.

3) What work in 2017 are you most proud of? (Please cite any unique challenges encountered)

4) Gazing into your crystal ball, what do you envision for the industry—creatively speaking and/or from a business standpoint—in 2018? (can focus on advertising, entertainment, production or post)

5) What’s your New Year’s resolution, creatively speaking and/or from a business standpoint, for your company, agency or division? Do you have a personal New Year’s resolution that you can you share? And if you like, tell us briefly about a project you’ll be working on in early 2018?

Dan Kelleher
Partner, chief creative officer
Deutsch NY

1) I think AI has been the most exciting area of growth and development in 2017. It makes us think differently about creative briefs and expands what we are capable of accomplishing for our clients. I love everything that’s happening in this space right now, and in April Deutsch launched Great Machine, an AI division tasked with adding creativity, soul, personality, and a voice to the AI landscape. It’s a huge opportunity for brands to connect with consumers, but we believe that without a personality, AI is still just a bunch of numbers and code. As AI becomes more mainstream, the agencies that are working with it now will be the ones that are ahead. We’re excited to see where it takes us.

2) When we were brainstorming work for DraftKings, we knew their fan base is different than our other clients. As a fantasy sports company, DraftKings needs to maintain constant communication with their fans, especially during the season. So, we set up the tools to keep them up and running with new communication within 24 hours of things happening. Our campaign “Play” content was created around the idea that people don’t just want to watch, they want to play. And they want to do so at what we call the “Speed of Sports.” Deutsch created a powerful, but easily adaptable campaign that allowed them to convert fantasy bracket-busting headlines into real reasons to play DraftKings. After weekend games, our writers created new scripts that were approved overnight by DraftKings, and by Tuesday were locked and loaded to go on air.

3) In 2017, Deutsch launched the first marketing blitz for DraftKings that featured a doctor character, named Dr. Aftkings. Deutsch saw that DraftKings was having a perception problem. Their campaigns were founded on how much you could win. We were able to rebrand DraftKings to tap into the truth of the consumers: It’s not just about money, it’s about wanting to be closer to the game. That’s why we launched Dr. Aftkings, a new brand ambassador that would cure fans’ season-long frustrations and ailments, such as Draftitis, Loseonic Plague and Winnerhea. With the guidance of director Wayne McClammy, the voice of Dr. Aftkings became a new comedic voice that resonated with fans. This year was DraftKings biggest, most winning year yet, improving brand perception, increasing consideration, and exceeding acquisition goals.

5) Great work breeds great work. I recognize that to keep your engine running, you need that satisfaction of producing work you’re proud of. My resolutions are to keep that energy going for Deutsch and ensure that everyone is creating and making.

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