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DRAFTFCBlog is a collaborative blog written by the employees of Draftfcb, one
of the world's largest ad agencies. It's a chance for us to share our thoughts,
insights and opinions on the state of the ad industry and business in general.
Because, let's face it, there's a lot to talk about. To learn more about DRAFTFCBlog, visit our
Terms of Use. |
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1/27/2012
Posted by Tom O'Keefe, Executive Creative Director, Draftfcb North America
On Wednesday night I presented Draftfcb’s creative philosophy of Simple Enough to its toughest audience to date – college students. Thankfully, they seemed to really embrace the principles behind great work that is Simple Enough and the filters that define it. More importantly, they understood that Simple Enough is actually hard as hell, especially at a young age where they’re just trying to find their voices as artists and creative thinkers. And if asking a lot of questions is any indication of an engaged audience, then this group was engaged, because they asked a lot of smart questions. “How do we know Simple Enough’s a timeless concept and not just a trend?” “Are ideas born as Simple Enough, or does Simple Enough have to be reduced from more complex thoughts?” But the question that struck me the most had little to do with Simple Enough – it was about the heavy issue of moral dilemma. A young student wanted to know what to do if he was ever asked to work on tobacco products, and if I myself would work on a tobacco product today. I sensed that this question was something he had thought a lot about, that the issue was truly conflicting him, and that my answer was going to help him decide whether or not advertising was the right career for him. Both the naivety and purity of his question impressed me immensely.
Which brings me to this point.
There’s something about speaking to students that’s unlike clients or peers – and we really must make sure we do everything we can to say the right thing. Unlike us jaded “professionals”, their creative souls are worth protecting and I, for one, don't want to be responsible for having a student’s beliefs in this business going off track or being disenfranchised by some insipid comment or demotivating presentation. I find the pressure even greater speaking to a group of students than it is talking to a boardroom full of our most esteemed clients.
On a lighter note.
Thursday, I joined our own super-recruiter Tammy Skuraton on a tour of the ever-growing SCAD campus. There many buildings frame the city and each is unique with its own sense of history and architectural power. One’s ideas would seem to automatically elevate an entire grade just because of the inspiring environment that gave birth to them. The highlight was the new SCAD Museum Art, which stands as a monument to Savannah heritage and breathtaking modern ambition.
Tonight: SCADDY Awards and our presentation of the first ever Draftfcb Best of Show Award. Stay tuned.
Posted by Rodrigo Burdman, Associate Creative Director
The best way to attract creatives is by being creative. That’s why a team from Draftfcb created a poster featuring Comic Sans, the font known as the most hated typeface in the world.
The team, which included writers Darren Moran and Frank Anselmo, crafted the recruitment ad for The Shillington School of Graphic Design in New York to prove a point. “It shows that no matter the size of the client or the agency, it is always creativity that matters most,” said Burdman, who illustrated the poster. “We wanted to show prospective students that everything can be improved with design, even the most despised font.”
Burdman added that creatives should think in all mediums, big and small, every day “because the idea always comes first.” Stand by to see what the next generation of talent that graduates from Shillington creates. 1/26/2012Posted by Tom O'Keefe, Executive Creative Director, Draftfcb North America
Hello - This is me blogging from the Savannah College of Advertising and Design in Savannah Georgia. I'm here with a group of Draftfcbers for the next three days to speak, be inspired by the students and their work, do some recruiting - and hand out the first ever Draftfcb award to the Best of Show at their annual “Scaddy” adwards on Friday night. I'm also using Siri on my iPhone for the first time, which I’ve got to admit is pretty cool.
If you haven’t been to Savannah, it’s an old, historical town that's filled with 300-year-old mansions and moss hanging low on trees. Very old South. The hotel lobby has two kinds of water, “water” and “sugar water”. There are statues and relics of the Civil war everywhere and there's a cross-cultural parade of people who just kind of go about their business easy-like, walking dogs, stopping to talk to each other on street corners, cafés and gas stations. Also a lot of students and a lot of professors milling about, and the vibe is Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird meets the members of REM in the early days.
But most of all, there’s an artistic haze that hangs over the entire town – history meets art and design. What used to be a haberdashery is now a gallery; what was a stable now houses espresso and free wifi. Everything and everybody has a sense of art, culture and design -- and it's inspiring to be a part of it.
Last night I gave a presentation to the students at SCAD, and the theme of my presentation was Simple Enough, which is and has been our creative philosophy for some time. I was looking forward to an opportunity to see how the students here reacted to this point of view, but I had a good feeling already – everything about Savannah is already Simple Enough. More later...
1/23/2012
Posted by Stephen Martincic, SVP – Corporate Communications Worldwide
Here we are with our 31st issue of matter(s) and the first for 2012.
matter(s) is our trendsetting magazine that showcases new ideas spotted across USA, Europe and the Middle East. It spans twelve different business categories from Telecommunications and Automotive to Luxury and Retail, and was born out of a need to help our marketers stay ahead and explore the issues that matter to them and most importantly, their consumers.
This month some of the big ideas spotted include:
• Neighbourhood swapping pop-up stores: a new and sustainable way to trade goods;
• Faceblood: using the social graph to connect blood types;
• And a new visibility tool used by Red Bull that interestingly benefits its direct competitors…
Check out more ideas that matter here. 1/18/2012
Posted by Adam Weiler, Media Research Director, Draftfcb Chicago's MC Media
Although these impressions are from last week, I’m sharing them with you now because the final day of the Consumer Electronics Show proved to be one of the most interesting. I walked the show floor one last time, with the IPG Media Lab folks. Guided by Andy Maskin of the New York Lab, we saw several new things of interest, including a focus on “Mommy Tech” — i.e., tools and technologies dedicated to help moms keep their kids healthy, safe and educated. This area showcased an astoundingly wide range of gear including ruggedized tablets, in utero learning systems, and pedometers linked to an online community that rewards kids for exercising. Clearly, moms are adapting to technology faster than other segments of the population.
Healthcare was a huge focus of the show, with insurer United Healthcare having a booth demonstrating the many new ways they can help consumers stay fit, illustrating everything from mobile phone applications to fitness games using Microsoft Kinect. There are devices designed to help people stay active and connected at the same time, including the “Fit,” device, a wireless pedometer that can be linked to a scale that will, if you wish, tweet or Facebook your weight! It comes with an online service that helps keep track of your calorie intake (via your mobile phone) and set goals about how much activity you need to reach or maintain your weight.
The last stop on the tour was Fulton Innovation. You may have seen, or even own a charging mat for portable devices (like a cell phone or mp3 player). Fulton is the company responsible for developing technology that allows electricity to flow wirelessly between devices. For example: parking an electric car in the right spot will charge it; placing a pot on the “heater” built into your countertop will boil water in seconds with no heat being transferred to the countertop. And in the most practical marketing demo of the day, magazines and packaged goods’ logos printed with electronic ink can light up, blink and change when they are placed on the right kind of bookshelf (see Harry Potter’s eyes and the Krups logo in the attached video to view this technology at work). In this new age of consumer electronics, it is important to remember that keeping these devices powered up is an often overlooked way to keep them useful and appealing to today’s consumers.
CES
And finally, speaking of keeping devices useful and appealing, one thing all marketers likely took away CES is that content will be one of the most sought after things by most consumers. As one panelist at the Digital Hollywood conference put it, all of these devices mean there are “many mouths to feed.” Marketers need to know that whether it be entertainment, music, applications or messaging, there has never been a better time to experiment with new ways to reach consumers. Marketers have a unique opportunity to support and even create content for consumers that will keep them coming back for more. |
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