The Modern Creative Director (Survey Results, Part 1 - Is the work more or less complex?)

Back in late April I decided to create a survey to understand and define "the modern advertising creative director." After all, why not? I wonder, how should that role be described—and more to the point, how do current advertising professionals feel about what creative directors do in the digital age?

Here we are, five years after the birth of YouTube. Just this week it's been rumored the venerable Ogilvy & Mather will anoint a creative raised through the digital ranks, Lars Bastholm, to be its newest Chief Creative Officer. Heavens! 

Based on AdAge's article, it's clear the advertising industry is still wrestling with itself and its definitions, its politics, its culture in the face of historic change. I think the results of this survey dramatize the current conflict of Traditional creative leadership versus Digital creative leadership. As an industry, we are far from being at peace.

(Now, I will admit to not being a professional pollster. Only 72 individuals responded to my survey in roughly 72 hours. I used email and Twitter to connect with current CDs, ECDs, CCOs, media planners, account executives, art directors, designers—and even a few client marketers. The process was anonymous, via Survey Monkey. So, perhaps these results are merely the result of 72 monkeys. I can't say for sure.)

On with it.

I asked only seven questions total. I'll roll out each question in its own post, since many responses contain lots of intriguing comments.

QUESTION #1:  Is the work facing today’s Creative Director more or less complex and chaotic than it was 15 years ago?

61% agreed today's work is "lots more" complex, versus 30% stating it's just "a little more" complex. Seven percent believe Creative Director's workload is as complex today as it was 15 years ago. A few people believe it's actually easier today. At the very least, this question and its result hints at what might cause our differing opinions of a Creative Director's role—there's simply more responsibility. How CD's react to that challenge affects our definitions. Here's a graph of the results, with responders' comments to follow the image.

COMMENTS:

Anonymous comments from respondents to the question, "Is the work facing today’s Creative Director more or less complex and chaotic than it was 15 years ago?" (Respondents were not required to submit a comment to this question.)

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1."Everything is digital. Digital has lots of moving parts. Most traditionally trained CDs have too narrow a perspective of what constitutes and idea."

2."Without a doubt. We constantly have to challenge ourselves to bring innovative, effective solutions (which isn't new by any means), BUT (and here's where I think it's far more challenging), on tighter budgets and timelines. Traditional advertising is becoming white noise to the consumer, and even non-traditional is becoming traditional. We have to find the next great way for our clients to reach their consumers...cheaply, quickly, and of course, effectively. That is however, what makes this job so fun! We're lucky to get paid to think $hit up all day!"

3."I think it's similar to that "Work expands to fill time alotted" thing. I think everyone thinks their life is complicated, and a CD's life is necessarily fragmented and stressful and always has been. Of course, now there's so much happening--it's tempting to compare it to the advent of TV into the print-oriented ad world, but it's so much more than that. It's like three-level chess."

4."More media. More and changing technologies. More strategies. Faster timelines. Less money."

5."If you hire the proper GCD's, and empower them to act as your specialists across the mediums - then what is most important is still the ability to see and support the best ideas and possibilities. You must hire people who are as good or better than you in areas, and then create a structure and system where they can flourish while you manage and support them. Being a manager is alot diff than being a "creative". You need taste, which is consistent across both - but it takes a special skillset to be a true Creative Director."

6."I think the ability to predict the success of a campaign/initiative is a lot more difficult now, and Creative Directors have to spend a lot more time thinking through whether an idea will really "work" in real life."

7."Technologies are ever changing. And as a creative leader today, you need to be on the forefront of what's relevant for your clients. Your management responsibilities extend way beyond just your creatives these days. Today's role includes programmers, media and social strategy players that you need to collaborate with to form a point of view on what channel will best serve your clients needs."

8."It's just not about tv, print and radio - and the clients view agencies more as vendors now."

9."Compression. Fewer people to perform the same amount of work. Some CDs aren't capable of adapting, nor do they know how to perform in the digital age."

10."A lot to learn regarding interactive technologies."

11."Things must be way more complex than 15 years ago. Let's face it, it's still about the idea but now we have hundreds more options available to think and sell in. Also, the pace if very fast, and the politics are still tough. Also, clients can switch agencies at the drop of a hat--much more pressure, alot less loyalty these days."

12."Media explosion has splintered the industry, such that numbers and kinds of executions require new fluencies, but big ideas are big ideas. Advertising will always have drama and complication independent of a particular job's requirements."

13."see above. Technology and consumer digestion and lifestyle trends are changing so quickly now, that you really need to keep your eye on the ball. The foundations are still the same... Great ideas, great execution... but from that point on, the skys the limit. There are so many options, filtering down to what's sustainable and viable and gives you the biggest ROI is daunting."

14."A lot more avenues. Less money. Higher expectations than ever."

15."Collaboration is chaotic by nature but that's what makes it fun. I'd say being a CD requires far less ego and far more flexibility than before. Depending on who you are this is either a good or a bad thing."

16."It's more because of the downsizing that has happen in the advertising industry. It has put me in the position of being on the boards instead of leading a team. Less time to be smart about what should be done too. And the pace at which the web has changed makes it difficult to keep up."

17."Overall the job is similar — juggling resources, opinions, and moods of temperamental teams and clients. Playing cheerleader, executioner and diplomat amongst clients, account teams, planners, etc. The increasing diversity in the media mix makes it more interesting but also harder to manage. A "campaign" now goes far beyond the "TV, print, outdoor and radio" of the old days. With that comes more opportunity for greatness but also more opportunity for mediocrity. There are a lot of "viral" and "engagement" campaigns that just seem like navel-gazing. But then, is that any different than before?"

18."The choices of media are broader. We have to be smarter. Media planning is part of a necessary skill set."

19."I wasn't a CD 15 years ago, so can't draw an apples/apples comparison. My impression is that there are just many more choices and skillsets to have a grasp on today then there were before."

20."digital has changed everything, and a job that was chaotic enough as it was just went to crazytown with all the new stuff to stay on top of."

21."Media fragmentation is not only more complex, but provides a much broader ability to communicate the true nature of a brand."

22."We need to know more as tech and consumer focus evolves. Yet, teach, mentor, strategize within and without organization. Keeping up with UX, Design, Social and Trends = way busier. Yet, the interwebs makes it easier to set-up info feeds and check in with groups- in essence, I feel much richer for the collaborations."

23."Yes. You have to be able to see how ideas can work across multiple platforms. Christ, that's hard. Ideas have to be almost 3 dimensional now. You can play with them and experience them and share them in whole new ways. And while that tends to make the end product way more exciting, it also makes evaluating and creating a billion times harder. And that's why the job is more complex and chaotic."

24."Same shit. Different conduits and interfaces."

25."It's all relative. what was complex yesterday is not so much today and same will be said tomorrow."

26."Because the mediums and output have expanded, a CD needs to be knowledgeable across the entire spectrum and have a team with the ability to deliver across these various skillsets. That means staying on top of technology, of competitive campaigns and various media companies and buys. Our clients are also more global in nature. Compare that with specific national/regional/local work for a handful of print and tv buys 15 years ago. 15 years is a funny time to choose. 1995 is when Netscape came out across various universities. When the internet meant AOL, Compuserve and Prodigy, dial-up walled-gardens. The most affordable computer was $2500 and new media meant digital projections. Thanks for the nostalgia."

27."i object to your use of the word "lots" here, lots are where you build houses :-p"

28."There's always been a creative problem to solve, but toss in new found media and the internet consumption/passing of information. If that doesn't make things complex, I'm not sure what would."

29."We are in a state of flux in technology and in relationship status with clients. Clients are not sure how to fit everything (traditional and digital) together and look to agencies for guidance. There are digital agencies vying for traditional business and vice versa. This muddies the water for advertisers even more. Meeting advertisers' needs is still not being fully met by either group. Many advertisers seem to be selecting one or the other. The better a CD understands the roles of each and how to coordinate them will insure his clients are getting what they need, the way they need it."

30."People whine more today which will make most people say it's crazy complicated and chaotic. the only crazy part is the multitasking, but the demands of talent are still the same."

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I'll post the remaining five questions over the next few days. 

Cheers.