D&AD Blog

Go Digital Or Die?

As D&AD and Hyper Island announce our partnership bringing the Hyper Island Master Class to the UK, we investigate the skills gaps that the digital revolution has precipitated.

Most people feel a bit behind when it comes to that thing termed ‘digital’. Even hardened professionals admit that keeping up with the pace of change can be impossible. So how can agencies ensure they leverage the opportunities that digital media offer them?

There is a widely acknowledged dearth of graduates with the right skill sets and competition to recruit is fierce. A fact demonstrated by the high placement success rate of educational institutions like Hyper Island, who specialise in this area. So training existing staff is key as well.

Harry Fowler at Cogs Agency recruits talent with a strong digital bias to creative agencies. He thinks that training is essential if the industry is to avoid the same small number of skilled people being headhunted around the industry. The talent pipeline needs to be kept active and one way to do that is to retrain existing staff. ‘A crossover of skills is needed between traditional and digital agencies’, says Harry, ‘Digital agencies need the strong brand understanding and conceptual approach of traditional creatives. Traditional agencies need people who understand the process-led production of digital work.’

One agency that has taken the bull by the horns is Wieden & Kennedy London. The whole agency participated in the Hyper Island Master Class. ‘Whether we like it or not, we are all ‘digital’ now’, says Sam Brookes, Managing Director of Platform, W&K’s innovation unit. ‘We all live in that world, and we all need to be able to navigate it to a certain degree’. A sentiment echoed by Harry who points out that ‘The rules have changed and so have consumers, those that fail to skill themselves up will be redundant.’

Sounds scary, but many see it as an opportunity. Sam Brookes says, ‘One of the important things about the Master Class was that it didn’t make us feel inadequate. In fact the training affirmed that we were already fantastic storytellers and it simply gave us opportunities to do more of that, more of what we do best.’ The pay-off has been visible across the whole organisation. ‘We now have a much better idea how to act as an agency in this new landscape’ says Sam.

Here at D&AD we were keen to work with Hyper Island given their track record; they have placed graduates in almost every large agency in London and delivered their Master Classes to professionals around the world. Their learning philosophy has great resonance with our own approach to training, using experience-based learning as a foundation. ‘It is fantastic that D&AD are working with Hyper Island to bring this training to the UK’ says Harry, ‘Everyone should want and need this’. If you are interested in the Hyper Island Master Classes read further or email workout@dandad.co.uk.

New Blood 2010

As part of the Free Range season, this year's New Blood exhibition is being held between Thursday 24 June and Monday 28 June at the Truman Brewery. We are programming a festival of fringe events around its location in Shoreditch and the theme of these events will centre on networking.

Exhibitors and guests at New Blood 2009

If you would like to exhibit at New Blood this year, your course needs to register as a member of D&AD's University Network and then apply for stands. Please contact either laura.woodroffe@dandad.co.uk or rhiannon.james@dandad.co.uk for more information and an application form. All stands need to be booked by the end of this month.

If you would like to get more of a feel for the event, please have a look at this Video of New Blood

One of last year's graduates wrote about their experience exhibiting at New Blood. Please see below link for tips and things they wish they'd known before!

http://aspire2enquire.typepad.com/aspire_to_enquire/2009/07/dad-new-blood-2009.html

See you at ADFEST

We're working with ADFEST to host the 2010 ADFEST+D&AD Academy in Thailand next month. The partnership will give creatives (aged under 30) in the Asia Pacific region the unprecedented opportunity to start working on their career 'toolkit'.  

Participants can explore some of the issues behind developing their own creative career, encouraged by inspirational talks from three advertising greats, Sir John Hegarty, Worldwide Creative Director at BBH and Past D&AD President, Paul Brazier, D&AD President and ECD at AMV.BBDO and Akira Kagami, Executive Officer & Global ECD, Dentsu, Inc.  The session will also include a series of practical exercises to help participants start building their own path to career development.

A maximum of 30 delegates can attend each session. Enrollment is open on a first-come-first-served basis to all registered delegates who are aged under 30. The enrollment fee is 1,000 Baht per person.

We plan to stay busy while out there, so Tim and Paul will each present a Seminar as well:

 

'Keeping a 250-year-old brand alive'

Friday, 19 March, 14.40-15.15

Arguably Ireland's most famous liquid export, Guinness is even more famous for its iconic advertising.  Paul - a veteran of almost 2 decades at AMV.BBDO - will tell the story of the brand's ongoing creative evolution.  From its poster campaigns of the 1940s, its television commercials of the 90s and naughties to its digital reinvention last year with the launch of 'Bring it to Life'.

 

'It's the End of the World as we know it... and I feel fine'
Saturday, 20 March, 14:30-15:15

There’s never been a better time to think about what exactly we’re going to rebuild. The same thing we had before, only bigger, or an agency model that is fresher, more sustainable and lot more fun?

Tim will argue for breathtaking - even alarming - changes in our technological future, offer some speculations about the consequences for marketers, and talk about the characteristics of the agencies we should now be building to service them.

D&AD Chairman made Commander of the British Empire

We came back from Christmas Holidays and were delighted to learn that D&AD Chairman Anthony Simonds-Gooding has been made CBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours.

“This honour is a testament to Anthony's long and distinguished career in the creative industries where he has proven an exceptional leader with ability to gain the trust and respect of highly creative people,’ said D&AD President Paul Brazier.   

“We are very proud that Anthony has been recognised for his enduring hard work, energy, wisdom and wit across his many commitments.  As D&AD Chairman for the past 19 years, Anthony has strategically refocused the organisation globally to inspire creative excellence and to attract and nurture the best in creative talent whilst delivering an effective business operation.” 

Anthony has had an extensive career on the agency and client side.  The famous “Heineken Refreshes the Parts” and Stella Artois “Reassuringly Expensive” campaigns were born under his management at Whitbread.  He’s also well known for his time at Saatchi and Saatchi, British Sky Broadcasting, Lintas, and his work with The Macmillian Trust. Anthony currently also serves as Chairman of The DBA, The Rose Theatre, and OMG PLC. 

“I’m absolutely delighted by the news,’ says Simonds-Gooding.  “Apart from the personal sense of honour, it’s wonderful to see D&AD’s tireless work for the creative industries formally recognised.  This is valuable endorsement of the role of the creative industries generally – a significant contributor to the UK’s economic well-being.”

 

What's it like inside an agency?

We were really interested to read that the theme of the November issue of Creative Review is based on creative workplaces - what they look like and what people do there. http://creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2009/october/cr-november-issue.

This is something we have also been developing as part of the online resource available for tutors in our University Network and more will be available from a range of creative practitioners in the coming months. This information is great because it brings together a diverse set of experiences which can help graduates - and those more mature professionals - to decide what kind of organisation suits their individual skill set.

A new D&AD Chief Executive

We're very happy to announce that Tim O’Kennedy, brand and communications consultant and former MD of Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam, is our new Chief Executive.

Tim's career began at Saatchi & Saatchi London in the early 1980s, following which he was hired by Jay Chiat as ‘one of the first Account Planners in the US advertising industry’.  After 2 years at Wieden + Kennedy Portland steering the original ‘Just Do It’ campaign, he became International Marketing Director at Nike.  Tim returned to Europe with Nike in 1994 and later joined The Lowe Group Europe as Chief Operating Officer.  He was a founding partner of marketing agency Circus in 1998 and subsequently became Managing Director at Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam, where he remained until the end of 2007.  Tim currently serves as a non-executive director of digital creative agency Perfect Fools in Stockholm, and of communications agency Indie in Amsterdam.  He also serves as an advisor to DIESEL Industries in Molvena.

Tim says:

“I feel honoured to take the reins at this amazing organisation, which has always lived in my mind as the absolute reference for creativity in the communication arts. D&AD’s multi-disciplinary purview is a big part of the appeal for me: I grew up in the worlds of advertising and design, and have a deep-seated appreciation for both, as I do for the possibilities afforded by interactive media.

The world of communications is changing, and at an exponential rate - but it’s doing so in ways which can make D&AD more relevant than ever.  While I believe that the role of CEO is by definition multi-faceted, my most important job will be to reinforce this relevance, to further secure D&AD’s position as the standard-setter for creativity worldwide.”

While our Chairman, Anthony Simonds-Gooding says:

“Tim will bring an entrepreneurial mindset and fresh thinking to D&AD which will take the organisation into new territory.  His wealth of international experience will help cement the company’s position in an increasingly competitive global marketplace.  As a man who has circumnavigated the globe, I am sure that he will steer D&AD safely through the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead ensuring that D&AD continues to be the pre-eminent award for creatives in a world where the industry terrain is changing, where brands, products and services are becoming increasingly homogenised and where creativity remains the sole differentiator to ensure business success.”

Tim's first official duty will be to welcome guests to the New Blood Private View on Monday 29 June.