Change: the overriding theme of 2021 was perhaps long overdue. From the Great Resignation to the urgency of taking action on the climate crisis, industry leaders were faced with the reality of leading in an era where the only constant was uncertainty. Yet it was a challenge that leaders stepped up to. As we look to reset, renew and repair ahead of a new year of fresh possibilities, we share the best insight from our Gamechangers interview series in partnership with global talent consultancy for the creative industries The Blueprint. 

For if 2021 has taught us anything, it's that active listening is perhaps the most under-rated skill in business; the greatest leaders are always learning and listening. 

“Brands are evolving faster than advertising agencies"

Rod Sobral, Global Chief Creative Officer at Oliver, lifted the lid on the evolution of the in-house model, the danger of hiding behind the myth of the ‘big creative idea’ and the importance of hybrid thinking.

Successfully cutting a swathe through the myth that in-house agencies are built for efficiency, not creativity; he noted that creativity and cost efficiency do not have to be mutually exclusive pursuits.  

“I do believe that in-housing or being as close to the brand as possible is definitely not a trend anymore. It is something that is constantly evolving,” he says. Noting: “When you look at where the industry is going, brands now are evolving faster than advertising agencies.”

“If you feel like you are being held back, get out”

Fura Jóhannesdóttir, Chief Design Officer at Huge delivered straight talking insights into  taking risks, breaking down the barriers between physical and digital and the power of challenging the status quo.

Her ethos that the bigger risk is not to take a risk at all; will resonate with the vast amount of industry talent choosing change in the wake of the pandemic. 

By choosing to sit still and not speak up, creative talent risks choosing what she describes as “a slow death”.

In place of trying to please everyone, the straight-talking and clear-sighted Jóhannesdóttir urges creative talent to speak up. “It doesn't matter what level you are, speak up and express your thinking and your ideas,” she says. 

For creative talent who feel they don’t have the room to grow or to be heard, Jóhannesdóttir has a simple piece of advice: leave. She explains: “People need to jump more often, that's how you make your career and your life, by taking a risk.”

“Stop waiting, start creating”

Scott Morrison, Founder and bringer of The Boom, issued a burst of positivity to the industry, eloquently describing why the coronavirus crisis is the creative industry’s “Netflix moment”.

“For those people who think they have a new model for creativity and delivering it, this is your Netflix moment.” Scott Morrison shared why “stop waiting and start creating” is the creative approach for the coronavirus era.

For Morrison, the risk of not doing something is far greater than the action of trying something new or different. As he says: “If you’ve got a model you think will work, now is the time to do it. There is little risk because the whole world is in some state of change.”

“Define people by more than just a job title”

Danni Mohammed, Global Strategy and Transformation Consultant, delivered a masterclass on why people, not platforms, are the future for the creative industries.

“I hate job titles. As soon as you have a job title and a department, you get put into a box.” Mohammed shared why the creative industries needs to focus on its people reaching their full potential in order to build back better.

“Ultimately we are all only human and there is so much potential to be unlocked, so when I approach things I purposefully remove and blur those boundaries,” she explains. Whether a job title, corporate hierarchy, brief or agency process, Mohammed believes you need to be questioning and developing along the way in order to drive real innovation.

She believes that the future of the industry lies not in a new agency model or trend but in its ability to enable talent to reach their full potential. She explains: “To succeed we need to take the boundaries away and allow people to be defined by more than just their job title.”

“The creative industries need to understand how under threat we are.”

Elle McCarthy, Vice President of Brand at Electronic Arts showed the power of bringing your whole self to work with a deep dive into redefining creativity, getting comfortable with imposter syndrome and building diverse teams.

McCarthy delivered a stark warning to the industry currently in the grips of the ‘great resignation’. As she noted: “I don't think they necessarily want our yellow pencils and our Cannes Lions and our systematic oppression.”

Sharing her own lived experience in advertising, she said: “I’ve left jobs with nowhere to go because I was being asked to pick up the phones because I was a woman despite being hired as a strategist. I’ve left jobs because I’ve been sexually harassed by the CEO.”

Her message to the next generation was a nuanced one, as in the wake of a global pandemic, the notion that any woman facing bias, discrimination or harassment can simply leave is an intrinsically privileged position to be in. Yet, her message remains fundamentally one of hope, as she explained: “For those people out there who don't feel like the choice is available to them, which is obviously much worse for people of colour, particularly women of colour. You can overcome those circumstances and get to a place where you are making more choices and more decisions.” 

“We need to stop creating for people who aren’t represented in the room.”

Grace Francis, Chief Experience Officer at Karmarama showed the power of radical inclusivity, hiring on attitude and the significance of lived experience.

“If you have met one disabled person; you have met one disabled person. If you have met one trans person; they are just one trans person.” she explained, sharing the ‘biggest leap’ that the industry is facing; a leap which demands the industry wakes up to the pivotal role of lived experience in all aspects of the work. As they explain: “We need to stop appealing to and creating for people who aren’t represented in the room.”

Francis believes that the industry is starting to realise how significant the lived experience is when it comes to representation, but there is still more to be done. They explain: “If you intend to create products or services, or any type of output for a group of people; that person or people need to be represented in the room.”

As she explained that the industry has a tendency to fall into muscle memory. I think some organisations start with good intent saying, ‘let's find a diverse workforce’. Then if they don’t find that hire immediately they fall back into what looks good on a piece of paper; skill sets rather than holistic human beings.

Holistic human beings, which as the Gamechangers interview series underlines, are succeeding in lighting a fire of change, creativity and collaborative thinking under the industry.