25 Years' Creativity: DDB's Craig Lonnee on creative talent in Asia

In the past quarter century, we have watched China grow to become the second largest economy behind the US. We have witnessed the change of sovereignty in Hong Kong. We lived the recession caused by the Asian Tigers and we survived, not one, but two, deadly flu viruses. Along the way Asia has become the strongest and most robust region in the world.

What does this mean for creativity?

From a talent perspective, there is so much untapped potential in Asia and I honestly don’t think much has been done with this in the past. But this is changing dramatically, and in fact, I believe more money is being invested in Asian talent than in Europe or even North America. Asia is thriving. Companies are setting up head quarters, and with half the population of the entire world living here, there is a great opportunity to develop a strong creative industry.

But with great opportunity comes great challenges.

I believe talent, like compelling ideas, can come from anywhere – just because you’ve got ‘Creative Director’ on your business card doesn’t mean you have the sole ability to be creative. However, countries and cultures have a major impact on the development of creativity in the Asia.

Southeast Asia is home to countries that have grown very rich craft cultures – and they’ve grown that way for a very long time. They’re very hands on, they’re resourceful and they’re innovative. Singapore and its ongoing pursuit of excellence is evidence of this.

In contrast, countries like Japan and Korea in North Asia have perpetuated a very hierarchal culture – and it’s very hard to nurture talent in this environment.

And then there’s China – a very directed and controlled country –perhaps a combination of North and Southeast Asia.

But no matter what culture you come from, great creative people in our industry are in search of and explore for a breathtaking insight. They are looking for an interesting and compelling observation. It is the responsibility of the agencies to ensure we allow our people to thrive. To have the freedom and support to ‘just create’.

To grow and educate this market, we definitely need people who can inspire, outline a vision and show their peers the way. Asia’s success at Cannes Lions is evidence of the creative movement that is happening on this side of the world. China won its first Gold two years ago. It won its first Grand Prix this year. India has had significant presence and Singapore continues to be the shining light in the region.

One of the major struggles for our industry is the lack of people that want to be communicators. Believe it or not, many people don’t necessarily find our industry interesting or glamourous.  Having said this, we are also seeing neuroscientists, anthropologists, journalists, business analysts, psychologists and behavioural scientists seeking employment with agencies. 

Essentially, creativity can come from anywhere. It’s having the confidence to believe in your ideas and communicate them that makes all the difference.

And retaining these people is difficult – they are highly gifted and they need to be kept engaged by authentic leadership.

Teaching and leading will keep this top talent. We need to communicate compulsively – our people need constant recognition – not just when it comes around to performance evaluation time. We need to stop looking at people as costs on a balance sheet and start seeing them as assets, to nurture and grow them.

Generating creative talent should not solely lie with the agencies either. Our clients also need to have the desire to create and demand communication solutions that will sell more brands and products. To appreciate and respond to creative, emotional work that engages consumers and ideally changes behaviour. We don’t have enough brave clients in Asia and this is definitely an ongoing issue, which needs addressing. It won’t change overnight, but let’s hope it doesn’t take 25 years.