Confessions of a Creative Director

I am thrilled to welcome my friend and former colleague, Creative and Brand Strategist Matt Jones. Matt and I met during his time at Jack Morton where he was Global SVP of Strategy and Creative… and to this day, he is hands down the best, most brilliant, most effective creative strategist I've ever worked with.

His career has taken him from the halls of Parliament to the C-Suites of some of the biggest brands in the world, to co-creating a highly successful brand of his own, about which he’s written a new book called “Lessons From Gin.”

On this episode, we’re speaking with Eric Segal, CCO of X&O, which stands for Experts and Officers, a unique creative and strategy company composed of a network of over 100 big thinkers, all formerly associated with top brands and powerhouse agencies.

They describe themselves as a CMO’s secret weapon, brought in to solve tough marketing challenges in record time. And the coolest part? They all operate anonymously, known to clients only by their colorful code names.

Eric will share some insider information on how they operate with near-surgical efficiency and precision, as well as some ways you could adopt their industry-disrupting practices.

On the latest episode of the show, we have Christian Lachel, Chief Creative Officer of BRC Imagination Arts, a unique design and production agency that specializes in Brand Homes and Flagships and Cultural Attractions and Museums.

If you’ve been to the Johnnie Walker Princes Street Venue in Scotland or the Raiders Stadium Tour in Las Vegas, you’ve likely experienced their work.

Christian is here today to talk about how brands can and should use their history to fuel their future.

I’m excited to have Colin Jeffery, CCO of Doner and Co-Founder and CCO of Wolfgang, on the show today for a very interesting and timely discussion. Colin has worked for top agencies all around the world, from his homeland of South Africa to Singapore to the US, so I think it’s fair he’s seen a thing or two.

And over the last several years, he’s spotted a distressing trend: advertising professionals falling out of love with advertising and the advertising world and I have to say, I don’t disagree with his assessment.

But fear not faithful listeners, because he’s here to share a few actionable things we can do to reignite our passion and love for what I still believe is one of the best gigs in the world.

On another international episode, Laura Stein, Chief Creative Officer of Bruce Mau Design in Toronto Canada, is here to share 5 things we as creatives can do right now in our work and in our lives to be more sustainable. This cause is near and dear to her heart and something she brings to every project. Spoiler Alert: If you’re a user of Post-It Notes, you might be in for a big surprise. Laura will also explain how her years spent playing in an indie rock outfit led to her career in design. It’s a really cool story and an important topic so don't miss it!

On today’s show we have Ly Nguyen, Head of Creative at Movement Strategy, the social media agency behind some of the best brand social channels on the inter webs.

Ly is here to share how her unique and versatile career path set her up perfectly to deliver on the agency’s social centric approach, as well as some misconceptions about executing effective social media campaigns.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lyunguyen/  

https://www.linkedin.com/company/movement-strategy/

https://twitter.com/mvmtstrategy

https://www.facebook.com/MovementStrategy/

https://www.instagram.com/movementstrategy/

All the way from Thailand, it's Creative Director and Creative Coach Rodd Chant!

Rodd and I are kindred spirits who share the same passion for finding the perfect black t -shirt and for helping bring up the next generation of creative directors. I've been following him on LinkedIn for some time and a recent post really caught my eye. Rodd believes that AI will kill all agencies, but it might destroy those that sacrifice senior creative talent in the name of innovation and efficiency.

Gordy Sang and Brian Siedband, Co-Chief Creative Officers and founders of Quality Meats Creative (recently named Ad Age Small Agency of the year!) share the story of their once-fledgling agency that is now exploding by forgoing conventional wisdom, trusting their instincts, maintaining a high standard of work, and fostering a collaborative environment where all disciplines are valued.

On today’s show we’re talking to the irrepressible Cameron Day, Creative Director and Copywriter extraordinaire and author of Spitting Chiclets, his second book in a trilogy about the triumphs and tragedies of the advertising business.

He’ll share his motivation for writing the books and some of the extraordinary lessons he learned from his father, legendary adman Guy Day, the Day in Chiat Day. Cameron has some great stories, including watching dailies for the most famous TV commercial of all time. Hint: it was in 1984!

We’ll also talk about lessons he had to learn on his own, the hard way through a storied career that has taking him to some of the biggest agencies and personalities in the advertising universe.

This is an amazing conversation and a history lesson featuring a who’s who of the business. You’re going to have Google at the ready to look up some of the names mentioned in the show if you don’t already know them.

It's the very first edition of Wash-A-Pig Wednesday! Wash-A-Pig is a

a unique card game that boosts your creative and advertising skills in a fun, engaging way. On this episode we play the game live with a few unsuspecting victims, er, panelists: Creative Director and creator of Stuff About Advertising Ashley Rutstein, Sell It Great's Pitch Guru Ben Levy and Wash-A-Pig inventor and Creative Director Todd Turner.