When it comes to our industry, new TCC Board member Lindsey Evans, co-founder and CEO of Special Group Australia, says that it’s the power of great creativity that sets advertising apart.
TCC: What do you love most about being part of the ad industry?
Lindsey: Everything that’s good about this industry can be traced back to one thing: the beauty of difference. Each of us brings something to the table and it’s only when perspectives and ideas combine that we create impact. It makes for the wonderfully unpredictable – a place where great creative is born and culture is made.
TCC: What would you say are the three biggest challenges facing our industry in 2020?
Lindsey: As we enter a new decade, conversations need to become reality. That’s the biggest challenge we face. Advertising has always been good at talking about stuff. We’ve mastered the art of story telling. But when it comes to our work, telling is simply not good enough. Advertising is doing too. Here are the three things we must do if 2020 is going to be a good year:
Be agile. Silos still exist. Invisible lines between disciplines still prevail. Clients are cut out of the creative process and we remain servants to a step-by-step approach to creative. Agility is still the exception, not the rule. We can flip this by collaborating and being brave (see below) when it comes to tearing down the legacy structures and ways of working that have held many of us back.
Be creative at our core. Agencies and clients must be focussed on the creative product. This should sit at the centre of what we do and everyone – from those at the beginning of their career to board-level Director – must be able to trace their role to that final creative output.
Be brave. There is no substitute for bravery. It is the difference between that profit-spinning, award-winning creative work finding its home on the august shelves of the Effie Awards’ Hall of Fame – or the archive folder of the agency’s offshore computer back-up server.
TCC: As an incoming Board member of The Communications Council, are there any specific priorities for the coming year you would like to address?
Lindsey: We must do everything we can to show people the power of creativity. We saw some magnificent work leave agencies in 2019 but they stood out against a backdrop of work that was mostly wallpaper. The Communications Council is built on the correct belief that creativity is the most important weapon in our armoury. Deployed properly, it brings endless possibilities and serves as the ultimate multiplier of effectiveness.
We must inspire others of that – clients, consultants, agency colleagues and the most important audience of all: a new generation of talented people who should belong in our industry. As a proud Board member this will always remain my priority.