Advertising, which builds campaigns based on insights and then tailors them around topics that are true to a certain demographic, is a form of celebration and acknowledgment. We bring things to light, often by offering a different perspective — all with the aim of positioning the client or product as the vehicle for behavioural change.
Storytelling isn’t all about joy, it’s about learning and sharing. The ability to tell effective stories requires an understanding that allows us to borrow from that world after observing and understanding it, to the point where you can slip seamlessly into the conversation because you’re a part of it. The ability to do that requires a responsible approach and, when it works, it serves as a celebration.
Bringing together a base of diverse people can be intentional, but it can also happen by luck. Someone on the team may connect perfectly with a brief because they were brought up in the culture of the people we’re asked to converse with. That’s where the link to challenges comes in. It’s only when you work with people who have faced certain challenges that they are able to offer them as the very insights that make great, authentic work. .
There are countless examples of agencies that have failed to engage correctly with the market, or been forced away from the path they know is right, because of a misalignment between the agency and the client. This is where things tend to go horribly wrong for the brand. In almost every instance, the common denominator is a lack of understanding of the needs, wants and context of the market; this does far more damage than good to the brands.