What’s the most relevant business and/or creative lesson you learned in 2023 and how will you apply it to 2024?
2023 has confirmed that there are still big opportunities for evolution and growth. We’re evolving in the technical space with the impact AI is having on the business, good or bad. AI is forcing us to rethink how we make content and it’s challenging the tools required to make impactful content. 2024 will be the year we start approaching advertising with the “anything is really possible” attitude.
While gazing into the crystal ball is a tricky proposition, we nonetheless ask you for any forecast you have relative to content creation and/or the creative and/or business climate for 2024?
2024 will be a year of dynamic impact! At VML we’ll use our robust collective of capabilities to corner the market in all ways, using AI to foster an accelerated pace of thinking, making, producing, and delivering for our clients in a way that they have never seen before.
Does your company have plans for any major diversification and/or expansion/investment in technology and talent in 2024 and if so, what? How will this investment or diversification add value to what you can offer to clients? If instead you have already realized any actual expansion, made such an investment and/or diversified significantly recently and brought on new talent and expertise, share those developments with us along with what they mean to your staff and clients.
Since we’re in the midst of a merger this is still TBD.
Are you involved in virtual production or experimenting with AI, AR or other emerging disciplines or new technologies? Have you engaged in any real-world projects on these fronts? If so, relative to experimental and/or actual projects, briefly tell us about the work and what you’ve taken away from the experience. If the work is complete and you’d like to share a link to it, please include.
I’ve used AI for a few voice cloning projects. AI for sure saves us time and money. But, I respect the community at large who doesn’t want their name, likeness, or voices to be taken for granted. I don’t think AI should be used without the proper permissions and usage plans for talent payments in place when necessary.
Gender pay disparity, sexual misconduct and the need for diversity & inclusion are issues that have started to be dealt with meaningfully. While the industry has made strides to address these issues, there’s still a long way to go. What policies do you have in place or plan to implement or step up in order to make progress on any or all of these fronts?
I agree that we still have a long way to go... But, part of my responsibility in this role is to make sure we’re always on! On in the way that we represent a diverse collection of people and voices in all that we do in the work place, when we search for production partners and talent, and in building the Teams and Crews who help us make the work.
What was the biggest challenge posed to you by a recent project? Or share insights to a recent project you deem notable. Briefly describe the project, why it was particularly noteworthy or what valuable lesson(s) you learned from it. If the work is complete and you’d like to share a link to it, please include.
It’s a good problem to have but I would say it was a huge challenge producing work for one Brand with two Clients; North America & Global. Our Shell Clients had two very different strategy and executional plans and the campaigns were sizable, to say the least. But, we did it and both Client were ultimately happy.