Creativity builds better connections
Ashley Friedlein is right to ask if creativity has got lost in the quest for bigger data. Creativity comes from empathy and understanding. The public service ad ‘Dumb Ways to Die’ was praised because its starting point was understanding that young people don’t respond to a wagging finger.
Emotive insight can help advertisers and ecommerce businesses look deeper than big data and demographics to understand their audience. Through understanding our industry can refocus on what it does best: great creative that connects with people on a human level.
Ian Woolley, chief commercial officer, VisualDNA
Mentoring for the modern age
The IPA has long recognised the value of mentoring relationships (Postgraduate Guide, MW 27 June) and has recently invested in an online programme to connect members to find answers to simple work day issues.
Interestingly, we find that many people are looking for a mentor to solve an immediate work-related problem rather than for long-term career development. Also, senior agency staff, although keen to help the next generation, are increasingly time-starved. Our One2One scheme aims to fill the gap by connecting within the IPA’s membership senior players with mentees for short term problem solving relationships.
We have a bank of senior agency figures who represent pretty much every discipline in marketing communications (creative, media, digital, experiential, direct marketing, search etc), all of whom have had training on being a mentor.
When deadlines are squeezed or disciplines converged and there is constant pressure for proof of success, our online scheme is an effective template for mentoring in the industry.
Patrick Mills, director of professional development, IPA
