As Asia grows in economic importance, the opportunities for the creative industries within the region are greater than ever.
However, despite growing levels of autonomy, the regional advertising and marketing industries face a struggle to ensure that a more systematic approach to harnessing local creative talent can be developed. At Spikes Asia, the goal of the
However, despite growing levels of autonomy, the regional advertising and marketing industries face a struggle to ensure that a more systematic approach to harnessing local creative talent can be developed. At Spikes Asia, the goal of the
Young Spikes and the Spikes Academy initiatives was to help nurture that talent.
Calvin Soh, vice-chairman and chief creative officer for Publicis across Asia, believes strongly that the 21st century will belong to Asia, and that there is an enormous talent base in the region that has yet to be fully tapped.
“There is a palpable sense of confidence and optimism across the region right now,” says Soh. “That spirit is infusing everyone with a renewed sense of energy, opportunity and dynamism. But the advertising industry has procrastinated to such an extent that it is in danger of being swept aside by that energy, rather than responding positively to the continually evolving society in which we now exist.”
These days, of course, creative talent needs to have digital experience, including the ability to engage with consumers on a one-to-one level, rather than controlling ideas and owning the nature in which they spread.
“As an industry, we need to develop mechanisms to harness the participative generation in an era of open-source creativity and understand how the traditional nature of specialised creative craftsmanship has fundamentally changed as a result of social and technological progression,” Soh comments.
For David Guerrero, chairman and chief creative officer of BBDO Guerrero/Proximity Philippines, although creativity is evolving and technology is progressing, the industry is hampered by a basic lack of creative foundations.
“We are not giving Asian talent the greatest possible chance to become employable because there are no world-class art schools, or any structured industry-wide training programmes in the region,” he says. “Anyone who wants to break in has to get an apprenticeship at an agency, or travel abroad in order to get the necessary skills and qualifications.”
The inability to develop mechanisms to recognise and train creative talent is something that needs to be addressed now.
“This lack of opportunity means that we are not casting our net wide enough as an industry to bring the best talent in,” adds Guerrero. “It’s an issue that has been discussed widely over the last decade, and certain individual agencies are making positive changes, but nothing has happened to create a system through which talent can flourish.”
One example is Saatchi & Saatchi in Beijing, which has introduced an Apprentice-style competition to win two internships at the agency. A campaign involving viral videos and posters on university campuses invited potential creatives to ‘make better use of their heads’ and asked them to explain in a creative way why they should be given a chance to work at Saatchis. The best submissions are invited to take part in a four-week training programme, with two candidates at the end taking the posts.
But these efforts remain few and far between. Guerrero argues that, almost by default, awards festivals have become a form of training for young creative talent. “Initiatives like the Young Spikes Creative Competition and Spikes Academy have emerged around awards festivals as ways in which undiscovered talent can be recognised and brought through. There’s no doubt that these are positive initiatives, but are we really doing enough to bring talent on board and educate that talent to be successful?”
Got a view?
Email Feedback@media.asia
This article was originally published in 24 September 2009 issue of Media.
Calvin Soh, vice-chairman and chief creative officer for Publicis across Asia, believes strongly that the 21st century will belong to Asia, and that there is an enormous talent base in the region that has yet to be fully tapped.
“There is a palpable sense of confidence and optimism across the region right now,” says Soh. “That spirit is infusing everyone with a renewed sense of energy, opportunity and dynamism. But the advertising industry has procrastinated to such an extent that it is in danger of being swept aside by that energy, rather than responding positively to the continually evolving society in which we now exist.”
These days, of course, creative talent needs to have digital experience, including the ability to engage with consumers on a one-to-one level, rather than controlling ideas and owning the nature in which they spread.
“As an industry, we need to develop mechanisms to harness the participative generation in an era of open-source creativity and understand how the traditional nature of specialised creative craftsmanship has fundamentally changed as a result of social and technological progression,” Soh comments.
For David Guerrero, chairman and chief creative officer of BBDO Guerrero/Proximity Philippines, although creativity is evolving and technology is progressing, the industry is hampered by a basic lack of creative foundations.
“We are not giving Asian talent the greatest possible chance to become employable because there are no world-class art schools, or any structured industry-wide training programmes in the region,” he says. “Anyone who wants to break in has to get an apprenticeship at an agency, or travel abroad in order to get the necessary skills and qualifications.”
The inability to develop mechanisms to recognise and train creative talent is something that needs to be addressed now.
“This lack of opportunity means that we are not casting our net wide enough as an industry to bring the best talent in,” adds Guerrero. “It’s an issue that has been discussed widely over the last decade, and certain individual agencies are making positive changes, but nothing has happened to create a system through which talent can flourish.”
One example is Saatchi & Saatchi in Beijing, which has introduced an Apprentice-style competition to win two internships at the agency. A campaign involving viral videos and posters on university campuses invited potential creatives to ‘make better use of their heads’ and asked them to explain in a creative way why they should be given a chance to work at Saatchis. The best submissions are invited to take part in a four-week training programme, with two candidates at the end taking the posts.
But these efforts remain few and far between. Guerrero argues that, almost by default, awards festivals have become a form of training for young creative talent. “Initiatives like the Young Spikes Creative Competition and Spikes Academy have emerged around awards festivals as ways in which undiscovered talent can be recognised and brought through. There’s no doubt that these are positive initiatives, but are we really doing enough to bring talent on board and educate that talent to be successful?”
Got a view?
Email Feedback@media.asia
This article was originally published in 24 September 2009 issue of Media.