MANILA, PHILIPPINES — “Bravery, Being Underestimated, and Belief”. DDB Worldwide Global CEO Wendy Clark gave three very important points at the the Digicon LEAP 2019 stage, the largest gathering of digital marketing practitioners in the Philippines organized by the Internet and Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines (IMMAP), as she flew all the way from North America to inspire the crowd.
Wendy Clark opened her presentation by comparing advertising agencies to an oak tree, urging the industry to move towards a bamboo tree model — the latter pertaining to agencies’ sturdy, reliable, and “right where you expect it to be” nature; and the former being an aspirational destination for agencies to be more resilient, flexible, and quick on their feet.
She believes that this is the key for agencies to survive the digital transformation happening all over the world, giving three vital values for agencies and its leaders to follow that even individuals can apply in their personal careers: bravery, being underestimated, and belief.
Bravery
Urging creatives to take risks and embrace change, whether it be in tackling briefs or leading teams. She said that it’s important for creative professionals to keep looking for answers to “why” a campaign has to be done and whether or not it is disrupting the status up, citing the #FreePeriod campaign by DDB Mudra for Johnson & Johnson.
Being Underestimated
Being belittled and put into a box is a situation no one wants to be in, and Clark shares this is something that she has gone through several times throughout her career. As DDB’s first female Global CEO, Clark says there is enjoyment in showing what one is capable of despite the labels placed on her. As she put it, “Use the underestimation as fuel in your tank — embrace it, and crush it.” It’s very important for creatives to always push themselves to think outside the box when handling briefs and not look at any project as “too small” no matter how simple it seems to be. This was perfectly executed in DDB Australia’s “Unfail” campaign for Volkswagen Australia where the simple task of highlighting the car’s break and safety technology was taken to a whole new level.
Belief
In order for ad agencies to create impactful and out-of-the-box campaigns, creatives have to believe in the messages they’re sending first. May it be hilarious executions, heartfelt stories or important issues that need to be brought to light, it’s integral for the teams behind its creative communications to trust what it stands for. Clark presented DDB North America’s “The Flip” movement for McDonald’s on Women’s Day, flipping its iconic logo to celebrate the hundreds of McDonald’s stores managed by women across the country.
On the topic of psychological safety or the level of comfortability individuals have to share their inputs and ideas, she emphasized the importance of healthy discussion and tension when creating new campaigns within ad agencies. Ads is an uninvited guest to audiences, she said, pertaining to the disruptive nature the business has which is often times avoided by the very people it’s trying to target. This demands agencies to think of cleverer ways to attract attention and engage target markets, so it’s important to note that its business really comes from the uniqueness of its ideas:
“We want our associates to bring their whole selves to work. That embraces everything that they are, and sort of reflects my talk this morning, that they have that self-belief and that they know that whatever they are and however they can best put their ideas into the world, that will be embraced at DDB. We want all of that.
“It actually does our business a disservice when people come to work and largely just agree. Great advertising comes from tension. The creators of stories, the creators of advertising, have to have that friction and that difference on opinion, and build on each other’s ideas and thoughts, and that comes from diversity of perspective and if people feel like they can have diverse points of view.”
Diversity is a very valuable concept for Wendy Clark, especially as a woman in her position. Her mantra, “Lift as you climb,” speaks of her belief that everyone, especially women, should be uplifting each other as they make their respective ways to the top. This goes for women in all industries, and not just in the advertising community.
To create content that resonates with people, ad agencies must be brave, confident, and challenge popular ways of thinking. It is the ability to talk about the taboo in the most unconventional ways that break boundaries and shake society. At the end of the day, Wendy emphasized that “Failure is a bruise, and not a tattoo.”
Photos by Mohd Sarajan
