The Hindu Business Line : ‘Ideas are fragile, shy things’

Creative people are born to rejection from the word go. But this helps toughen and sharpen an idea.
“The best advertising traditionally has always been engaging advertising that allows consumers to feel part of the communication. What is happening on the Web is exactly that. One now needs to go the next step, in longer formats.”

Robyn Putter, Creative Head, WPP

Swetha Kannan

He is the “creative conscience” of the WPP group. As the group’s Creative Head, Robyn Putter lives and breathes creativity. ‘Ideas’ are obviously close to his heart … one could make out this as Putter spent a goodpart of the interview with BrandLine elaborating on the essence of ideas and how and when they work.

Putter is on an earnest mission to try and raise the level of creativity throughout the WPP group. And the best way to achieve that, he says, is by having creative people at the helm of management affairs. Says Putter: “I am trying to get more companies in the group to buy into our idea of having creative leaders as part of the management team. Wherever we have that, we find that not only is the work better but the profitability of the company also increases. Piyush Pandey being both creative head and CEO of the Indian operations is a very good indicator of this. I did that job when I was in South Africa. David Ogilvy himself did that.”

He continues: “Wherever there is spiritual leadership by a creative head, they tend to wake up with different mindsets, thinking about how to use ideas to solve problems, whereas traditional CEOS and Managing Directors wake up thinking of numbers and profits.”

Creativity is the driving force and the differentiator in the advertising industry. “What we do that many other companies cannot is: having ideas that solve problems. Clients can do the numeric part of the business; what they don’t have is the environment in which creative people can thrive. Creative people in Ogilvy seem to have a stronger voice than the other organisations. What I am trying to do is to get creative people in other organisations to have a creative voice.”

Describing ideas as “fragile, shy things,” Putter, Chairman of the Worldwide Creative Council, and part of the Ogilvy Executive Committee, believes they do not thrive in an environment “where there is lots of fear and anxiety.” There is a need to create an environment where creative people are comfortable for ideas to flourish.

The whole business of creativity has seen several changes from the days when clients where afraid to “enter the playroom in terms of using creativity.” Today they understand that intuition is a powerful tool that “can differentiate and add value to the brand through the creative spirit. Traditional multinational clients such as Unilever and P&G are demanding much better work from their agencies. This year at the Cannes festival, Unilever won three Grand Prix and P&G won one. This proves that clients are changing and agencies need to change and become more creative. This is ultimately what they come to us for – ideas,” says Putter.

However, it is not as though ideas have it easy in the ad world. Creative people are born to rejection from the word go. But this helps toughen and sharpen an idea. Explains Putter: “You have an idea and I say ‘That’s interesting, but what about this one.’ In effect, what I have done is rejected your idea. Then you reject mine. The ideas thus get sharpened. Well, you only get a spark when the flint and stone move in opposite directions!”

The media scene is fast changing. With new media growing fast, consumers too have a voice today. Thanks to YouTube and blogs, there is heightened awareness and knowledge. And with the convergence of traditional and new media, marketers today have the perfect “creative opportunity to surprise and delight consumers.”

But the more complex technology gets, the more you need simple ideas to drive the brand thinking. And the more interactive the idea is, the better it is in reaching out to consumers. “The best advertising traditionally has always been engaging advertising that allows consumers to feel part of the communication. What is happening on the Web is exactly that. One now needs to go the next step, in longer formats,” says Putter.

In the cluttered world of advertising, it pays to be yourself, he says. Be Indian and communicate in your true Indian way. “A lot of advertising that works really well for India is about the people of India, not some sort of Westernised advertising. The loveliness and humour of India can travel anywhere. Ideas are universal and tend to work anyway. This region is a hot creative region.”