Share
Decades of navigating brands’ creative challenges and business transformations have granted me the gift of hindsight, or some may say, a unique perspective that only comes with time. Like most of us, with each year we have a better understanding of what works and what doesn’t. Whether it’s anticipating trends, or managing the disruptions that the pace of change presents.
The speed of new trends seems to come thicker and faster than a decade ago, and across the industry, embracing new innovations is almost a daily ritual. It’s fantastic, exhilarating and it’s seeing us produce better work than we’ve ever seen before.
In my opinion, in order to be successful agency partners, one thing is non-negotiable: embrace the wonderful chaos of innovation and change, while also holding firm to the tried and tested, the traditional wisdom and known ways of working that can balance this chaos out. It’s a daunting balancing act, but when done correctly, we are able to craft our best creative work at a high volume while ensuring quality and efficiency to boot. There is a delicate yet strategic dance between the allure of new trends and time-tested traditions.
Innovation is essential for progress and we simply will not forge forward without it. Recent data from PwC indicated that almost half (45 percent) of CEOs are concerned about their business’s viability beyond the next decade without reinvention. As we – among pretty much every other sector – continue to innovate, the challenge is not only keeping up with the latest trends, but also integrating them into rock-solid foundations that often keep us steady, reliable and trustworthy.
Sustainable and steady AI and automaton adoption
Throughout my career, I’ve witnessed the shift from analog to digital, traditional broadcasting to the rise of digital platforms, and now the emergence of AI. Yet through it all, one thing remains constant: change. It’s not merely about predicting the changes but about embracing and integrating them effectively.
The pressure to adopt every new innovation can be overwhelming. Yet blindly jumping on the bandwagon without considering its implications can lead to unfavourable solutions that fail to address the needs of our clients. Instead, what is required is a tasteful mindset – one that evaluates each trend through the lens of experience, wisdom and experience. It’s about asking not just ‘what is trending?’, but ‘how can this trend serve our clients’ best interests?’
AI will continue to be a topic of conversation. Like many others, we have spent time examining whether it’s going to add value to our team and clients, and how. A 2023 Growth Report Study on AI, conducted by Twilio found that 88 percent of businesses are now using some form of AI in their organisation. As our industry continues to heavily integrate its use into our long-term business strategies, it begs the question: are we doing it for the right reasons?
How we are currently leveraging it is simple, yet addresses our current needs – allowing our team to spend more time being creative and focus on the delivery of projects. We have implemented key automation practices into our day-to-day practices, meaning that we are able to leverage new innovations, with our usual traditional practices to streamline our output.
Reframing approach to talent acquisition and training
According to Hays, 88 percent of employers are still experiencing a skills shortage. As we continue to search for new innovations to help ease the challenge of talent shortfalls, the sense of urgency continues to grow.
Like many others, we’ve had to adapt as a result of the pandemic and look at our existing talent and where we can tap into our team. To properly address this, we have used our existing experience of former tough talent market periods to adapt, while also embracing current trends, such as upskilling, to ride this talent shortage wave.
A perfect blend of new and old practices has allowed us to build a more experienced team without the urgency of looking for new staff. Simply redesigning our work model has ensured that there is room for our staff to learn, adapt and grow, resulting in an increase in productivity and acceleration in workflow.
When it comes to recruiting new employees, rather than being overly critical of their experience and searching for those who are at the top of their game, we look at their potential. The potential gives us the room to educate, teach and upskill in the areas that matter. Adapting our recruitment processes to be ‘skills-first’ opened up the landscape of employees that although may not fit the criteria on paper, were the perfect match for Producible.
From past experiences, we learnt the workforce is a testing and fickle place, so implementing upskilling and a ‘skills-first’ approach to adapt our recruitment practices from the start, allowed us to build a workforce of individuals that radiated enthusiasm as opposed to hard skills.
Ultimately, success lies amid the balance between these seemingly opposing forces – harnessing the power of innovation, while drawing strength from our existing tried and tested practices that keep us grounded. We can’t lose sight of the principles that have guided us this far.
Marc Collister is the managing director and partner at Producible – a club that invites visionaries, creatives and producers to make exceptional work. With a background in editing, Collister sees telling a story in 15 seconds as a thrilling challenge.
Also, delve into an extensive guide on the future of AI in marketing.
