We need less advertising, and better stories. That’s what Jan Teulingkx, former Global Creative Director and member of Saatchi&Saatchi Worldwide Creative Board at Publicis Groupe, believes.
Recently, Jan responded to Publicis Romania’s invitation to conduct several inspirational sessions for their client, VISA. His point was that stories are at a stone's throw away, meaning that creatives need to look at the raw data, instead of the data going to the engineers. That’s because the data comprises the new insights and the new narratives.
"The people we talk to deserve a lot more than targeted advertising. So much more is possible."
We spoke with Jan about why the burnout issue needs more than a silly campaign, about the outdated working models and about how the world is changed by the ones who sit on the other side of the bus.
Trends in 2020
The gap between 'the brands that get it & the ones that doubt' will grow faster than ever. If you still don't have a purpose, a reason WHY consumers should engage with you, it will be more and more difficult to know WHAT to do. 2020 trends are not about AI, AR & VR. It will be about eye-to-eye conversations between brands and consumers.
The year 2020 will be ...
It will be the key moment that the advertising business needs to decide what they sell: data dashboards or culturally relevant stories. Do you really need any further arguments on that?
The most annoying trend of 2019
Trump.
Eco, gender equality, GDPR, global warming
Ideally it does not bring us anything new, as these problems remain unsolved. I feel ashamed that I still need to discuss gender equality with my children in 2020. WTF have we done all these years? Off course the creatives love all these issues as they guarantee a good tension in the work. But more social responsible work will rise. As long as governments do not fill the holes, brands will need to step in.
The burnout
Oh man... the working models today are so outdated. We are all in our cars at the same moment to arrive at offices where we stare at our screen, wearing a headset most of the day. The guy sitting on the left makes 40% more than the woman on the right. We are expected to work till 18h but the schools are out at 16h... I can go on and on. If any brand starts taking on burnout I hope they do it by leading the path. Not by making a silly campaign.
Influencers, data
When we are smart we start using data to write new stories. Not to sell messages. The people we talk to deserve a lot more than targeted advertising. So much more is possible. I completely agree that we need to find the best data analysts. But place as many of them in the creative departments. Not just with media people.
I am not a big fan of influencers. I like to be 'advised', 'inspired' or 'taught'. Not influenced. The fight for attention requires a lot of new tools. But the fight for authenticity is a lot more rewarding.
Civil media
A 15 year old girl with asperger syndrom sits outside a parliament. Since then supermarkets stop using plastics, Coca Cola's main campaign is about recycling, Burger King promotes whoppers without artificial preservatives. The biggest stories always came out of the smallest corners. The world is made by those that chose to sit on the other side of the bus.
Gen Z
If we are smart enough to be the first working generation that stops judging the next one... change will be tremendous. The first fully connected generation that has a higher purpose is ready to enter our world. My doors are wide open. I hope that the communication sector -with all its stress & financial pressure- finds the time and space to allow Gen Z to change us. They are very sensitive and very good at pointing out what we do wrong. Let's give them the opportunities they deserve. If you find them too young and unfit, you are probably too old to get it.
