What trends, developments or issues would you point to thus far in 2022 as being most significant, perhaps carrying implications for the rest of this year and beyond?
We’ve certainly seen a trend back toward more in-person collaboration with our clients. While we have not returned to what pre-pandemic levels of in-person sessions were, we’ve seen more and more of our clients wanting to be in the room and collaborating with us as the year has moved along. Perhaps this trend continues, but it may never return to where it used to be. The agency world has changed so much with how and where they work, it’s hard to imagine it’ll ever be back to where it used to be, but time will tell.
How have any societal issues--such as the pandemic, the Supreme court decision on abortion, calls for equity, inclusion, diversity, racial and social justice--impacted the way you do business, company policies and/or selection of projects/creative content?
Social changes and social awakenings are almost always overdue. Sometimes it just takes the tidal wave of societal pressure to get us there. Our industry is taking a hard look at ourselves in the mirror and realizing that we all need to be more diverse and inclusive throughout the entire process of creating great content. And not for a quota, but because diversity brings more opinions, thoughts, and visions that makes our content stronger and us generally better people. We’re excited to help foster this and be a part of this incredible change.
What work (advertising, entertainment, documentary) -- your own or others--struck a responsive chord with you this year and why?
One documentary that struck a chord with me this year was HBO’s Tony Hawk documentary. Perhaps my love of this is driven by nostalgia, but being a child who skateboarded in the 80’s, Tony Hawk was larger than life. Learning about the personality traits and upbringing that made Hawk the best skateboarder on the planet really took me back to a special time in my life, skateboarding with my brother on a homemade halfpipe in small town Connecticut. It’s a great peek into the soul of one of my childhood heroes.