Arnold Worldwide’s Post

"Why not do something that's going to bring people back to advertising and have consumers engage with what we're creating again? I think it starts with diversity. It starts with welcoming new, fresh, innovative ideas - that's the key. We can't just keep regurgitating the same thing and hoping for a different result.” I spoke with KUAMP INC.'s founder, EP and CCO, Antonio “Tronic” McDonald about his career journey so far, opening pathways for the next generation, and what the pinnacle of branded entertainment can be. Read the full interview below. LBBonline - Little Black Book

Tell me your secrets. Last week at HS Creative Operations I spilled all of my secrets on leading an award winning in-house creative team. I talked about: 🌟 Making the time to reflect on your values and making them easy to visualise. I have a folder on my desktop full of images that remind me why I do what I do.  ⚽️ Great teamwork comes from deep familiarity. Get to know your teams, (with the help of Alex Ferguson). Ask them how they are out of 10, dedicate the time for quarterly conversations. Listen and observe twice as much as your speak. 🎮 Levelling up and giving team members autonomy to go and try stuff and get better at it. 🎨 Custom made motivation: monthly inspiration days, thinking outside the bottle and the value of being bored. Find the stuff that ladders up to your vision and empower your teams to make it happen.  👹 The importance of setting a culture and making sure you’re the best example of it. If you were at creative ops on Friday I’d love to know what resonated and what you’ll be trying with your teams. Please spill your own secrets on leading creative teams below 👇

HELLO #creatives. Are you sparkling with inspiration from Cannes Lions or are you back to staring into your screen waiting for another kicker fix of creative genius? Worry not! We’ve got you. It’s taken us a hot minute (er, two weeks) to catch our breath, but Brands&Culture has launched its post-Cannes report, in partnership with We Are Social and WeTransfer. In our first report, we’ve deep-dived into the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity winners that listened to, responded to, made, shaped and created culture. This work met consumers where they wanted to be met, uninterruptedly entered their lives, added value and left more than a crumb of value. It made an impact. You’ll get to hear from some of the leaders behind the work, including, the brilliant: Youri Guerassimov & Gaëtan du Peloux, Joint CCO & CEOs,  Marcel Paris Susie Walker, Chief Creative Operations Officer, DDB Jamie George Cordwell, Global Executive Creative Director, Edelman  Marissa Eddings, Senior Director Of Brand, Advertising, Media, In-Store Marketing, and In-House Creative Agency, 7-Eleven Alex Nassour, Senior Creative & Art Director, Wieden+Kennedy  Luca Lorenzini and Luca Pannese, Co-Founders and Executive Creative Directors, SMALL and top quote from Leila Fataar Cultural relevance matters, for everyone: for individuals, for businesses and for society at large. There isn’t a “Culture” Lion yet (there is a cultural insights sub cat though), so we focused on Entertainment, Social and Influencer, PR and Creative Strategy Lions and kept an eye on the cultural pulse across all other categories too to unearth a few trends and natty stats. I really hope you find it useful/ valuable/ in some way insightful :) 🐶 P.s. Did you know that Cannes Lions winners prefer dogs to cats?  🎮 And that gaming and grub should be an entire new Lions category? Josephine Andrews, Vanessa Sawyerr, Michelle Graves, Mark St. Andrew #creativity #canneslions

WHAT’S GOOD IN LUXURY CONTENT - 6/28/24 This Balmain X The Walt Disney Company “The Lion King” film is well done. ➡️The narrative and the collection resonate w the brand’s values and the creative director’s vision and personal story ➡️The narrative holds true to the now archetypal story of Disney’s “The Lion King” ➡️As content, the film is good narrative marketing w a solid storytelling arc and a relatable value system Video storytelling can be a challenge for luxury brands because marketing has become so product-centric and celebrity-driven. Narrative purpose-setting is key to luxury content. Establishing a quick “why” hooks audiences and inspires them to listen. Luxury content should be about leaning into original stories, putting in place a strong operational foundation for content upon which teams can execute creatively, and building narratives that become greater than the brand itself and thus form part of the consumer imagination. Brand universe creation doesn’t have to be complicated. But it needs to feel authentic and visionary. If storytelling is the “what” of luxury content, content strategy is the “why” and the “how” that allows brands to tell the right stories to the right audiences in the right way. #luxury #fashion #storytelling #story #brandstorytelling #contentstrategy

How did you prepare for your first creative director role? ✏️ I focused on understanding the team's strengths, fostered creativity, and aligned projects with the overall vision. Effective communication and collaboration was key. 🚀

We had an interesting discussion internally & you must read through it I consistently emphasize to my team the importance of immediate action once a campaign is closed. There should be no room for delays. Recently, we faced a situation where a brand took an extended time to respond on various matters, including links for descriptions and vetting the video. My team humorously approached me, questioning why we are aligning everything so swiftly while receiving delayed responses. I responded by highlighting that our objective is to showcase our proficiency as swift and flawless executors. We can't afford to deviate from this approach unless the situation is genuinely unfavorable. Always prioritize swift execution to maintain a strong presence with the brands you collaborate with; it leaves a lasting impression. This commitment to rapid execution is one of our major USPs at Grath Entertainment #InfluencerMarketing #GrathEntertainment #Grath #Execution

Connection to culture matters more than ever. This means that you if you have a genuine connection to the culture of the people you are aiming to reach. In our case, we know them because we are them. When you’re deeply connected to culture, you can move much faster and more effectively than those who are not. We don’t need to spend six months immersing ourselves in a company to help them reach their goals. We fly in like a hit squad and get quantifiable results ASAP. Large ad agencies are feeling the pain, laying off hundreds while we’re steadily growing. Why? Aside from the fact that Oscar Pena and I are two charming mofongo-eating New Yorkers, we believe this is because of our relentless transparency and effectiveness. Our connection to culture is our superpower. “This is the best campaign we’ve ever had,” said by all of our clients. That means the money they spent on us turned into a hefty ROI for them, and that’s always our #1 goal. Talk to us at DOF Media Agency (Luis Guzman voice) Original image of freestyle, time-traveling Luis Guzman by us. #multicultural #multiculturalcreativeagency #multiculturalmarketing #DOFNYC

🦹♀️🦹♂️The real villiain in branding is... 🦸♂️ Captain Small. ⇨ Capitan Small stands for safety, caution, conformity, don't rock the boat, don't ruffle feathers, copy and paste, ⇨ Captain Small says: "No wit please we're in business." ⇨ He says: "Play small, follow the herd." 🚨 Yet Capitano Small is a fool Because playing it too safe can be a risk If you need to stand out... If you need more leads fast... If your brand is in the doldrums... If you're a founder who needs to level up your personal branding game... If you need a creative brain like no other... If you need someone who has worked with clients like Pernod Ricard, The Times, Waterstones & Warner Brothers... Then I can help.

All Creative Directors are different...that’s what makes them creative, but they all need certain skills if they want to succeed in the role. There are of course more than five important skills needed, but these ones are pretty important. #creativity #creativedirector #creativecareers #advertisingagency

Some wise words by Rodd Chant here. Creative directors are a diverse bunch, and it's precisely that diversity of thinking and approaches that fuels innovation. However, having a strong foundation of essential skills is vital for success in this role. It's like having a toolkit - the more versatile your skills, the better you can bring your creative visions to life. But the most important skill nobody talks about enough is leadership. And God knows being a good leader is hard. It may take a whole life to get there, as it is a constant work in progress. Creative leaders need to be able to inspire, empower, and enable their teams to create amazing work. And there's a challenge here, as, in a growing international setting, you deal with different cultures, generations, work ethics, and personalities. I think a great creative leader is humble and is the man in the corner for the team in the ring, fighting the fight for great work. At the end of the day, being a great creative with an amazing set of skills will take you to a certain point. But being a better person and a good leader will take you even further, not just at work but in life. #CreativeDirectors #Creativity #SkillsForSuccess #Innovation