Campaign asked interns and recent graduates about how they see their role in the industry changing in the next five years
Position: Creative copywriter at Saatchi & Saatchi
Winston Churchill said: “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.” We’re lucky to work in an industry driven by change, and half of the excitement is predicting the type of change heading our way.
Change in advertising is happening right now in our region, slowly but surely. And it’s all about data and sales. The concrete stuff that gives our creative work the foundation needed to actually be made. That’s how things are going to evolve in the next five years.
We’re no longer going to be able to sell work to the client based on a gut feeling or perceptions alone. We’re going to need solid predictions, presented in numbers. Without the promise of making the client some money, our ideas won’t be invested in. Especially when there are hotter shops out there with that understanding, along with trendy values and the drive to attract clients by simply living in the now.
It’s no surprise that ‘traditional’ advertising agencies are becoming less and less significant to brands. There are so many digital shops, and even media agencies, that are way ahead of us in the ‘control’ of data and how we use it effectively with clients. But then again, things are going towards a faster, quintessentially digital universe that plays to every brand’s perception of what today’s world needs.
Agencies in the region are starting to shift and work towards keeping up with this change, but compared with the rest of the world we’re still a long way away. The good thing is, no matter how strong the wind blows, our traditional – or, rather, original – roles won’t change. Our core will always be in demand. Creatives will always be creatives, planners will always be planners and account managers will always manage accounts. What will change is the way in which we work, and that’s to truly and effectively work together.
By Churchill’s measure, we’re not perfect yet. But we’re definitely improving.