Jane Stiller, Chief Marketing Officer at ITV, has urged agencies to push back on marketers in order to create braver briefs, which in turn inspire brave work with authentic understanding of the consumer or viewer at the heart.

Speaking at Creative Equals’ RISE conference today, Stiller shared the challenges facing marketers and the role for agencies in pushing for better briefs. She explained: “It is our responsibility as marketers to write really good briefs but the reality is we get pulled in a million different directions.” She went on to advise agencies: “If the brief is crap, don’t accept it.”

In a wide-ranging panel discussion chaired by Richard Robinson, Managing Director of Xeim, Econsultancy, the panel discussed the need for brands and agencies to shift beyond transactional relationships to become true collaborators; particularly when it comes to diversity and inclusion.

Nathalie Lam, Head of Sponsorship and Lead Inclusion and Diversity Marketing Transformation at Philips, shared how the company is making progress through working with Creative Equals to make diversity a transformative business KPI.

Lam shared Stiller’s desire to work more collaboratively with agencies. She explained:  “I feel we work too conservatively too much of  the time as clients and agencies. I prefer to speak with creatives directly, when I do a briefing I would rather just sit at a table and work collaboratively. For me the process needs to change. It’s really old school.”

Authentic representation

Pauline Wilson, Vice President of Product and Operations at Virgin Atlantic, pointed to the importance of authentic and diverse representation in marketing; taking inspiration from the Maya Angelou quote: “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”

Wilson explained: “It is so important we reflect the society we live in. There is still a lot more to do.” Adding that she is ‘hugely proud’ of the level of consciousness coming through the next generation.

Lam shared Wilson’s drive for truly authentic representation, pointing to the role of focus groups and diverse creative teams to ensure diversity is not a ‘tick box exercise.’

Creativity is a competitive advantage

The panel discussed the importance of creativity to their brands, business and bottom line. With ITV’s Stiller declaring that creativity is a ‘competitive advantage’.

Jerry Daykin, EMEA Senior Media Director at GSK, noted that the industry has a way to go when it comes to fusing data with creativity. He explained: “All too often we lose creativity when the creative execution is about personalisation.” He explained that agencies need to be asking themselves: “What is a brilliant powerful creative idea that is made better by personalisation?” Adding that there is a lot more to be done in this space.

For Wilson, creative cut through will be paramount as the travel industry looks to build back better after the Coronavirus crisis. 

She explained:  “Creativity absolutely will be critical to Virgin Atlantic and also the travel industry. Clearly in terms of the impact that the pandemic has had, our customers are desperate as we all are to go on holiday. And there is a lot of pent-up demand and clearly there will be a lot of tour operators and airlines trying to attract customers so it's really important that we do stand out.”

Pressure on marketing spend

The panel discussed the multiple challenges facing marketers, with Stiller noting the juggling of internal stakeholders and in-house creative teams. While Wilson pointed to the scrutiny on marketing budgets.

She explained: “The vision has to be clear for everyone in the business. We always have a massive amount of ideas but when we work with creative agencies, there is so much pressure on spending money. If we are going to spend, it has to be compelling and command us to invest our precious resources.” 

In the wake of the Coronavirus crisis, the marketing leaders are also adapting to remote working. 

As Wilson explains: “we know we can’t ever go back.” A fresh approach which brings with it renewed optimism and hope to the industry after a bruising year. Prior to the crisis, Wilson shared that she spent the best part of  four hours a day commuting to Crawley. “So many things we thought weren’t possible have become possible,” she adds. An inflection point which means the key question for marketing leaders remains: “How can we get better, not just commercially but culturally?”