Forecasting 2014 with... Sergio Gordilho

As co-president and chief creative officer at Africa Sao Paulo, Sergio Gordilho is heavily involved in agency affairs. With a business model to attend to a select few clients using exclusive teams and relying on direct involvement of executive partners throughout the entire process, the company works in a unique way out of offices in Brazil and New York.

Below, Gordilho tells us about the changing face of advertising, the home of football, travel and championing young creative talent.

What are your predictions for the industry in general in 2014?

As many other industries, the advertising industry has been challenged by technology. It has completely changed the relationship between brands and consumers. Brands need to be ready to have a dialogue with an audience that has ever-increasing access to information. Agencies, however, still haven’t determined the best strategy and can often struggle. Eager to find the answer, they end up trying to offer everything in order to meet their clients’ demands. And, as we all know, the person who gives everything delivers nothing.

With this in mind, my prediction for this year is that the advertising industry will struggle to grasp the future business environment. We must establish our new role within it, without losing what makes us so relevant: great creative work.

What would you most like to see happen in advertising over the next 12 months?

I believe the marriage of creativity and technology will drive our market forward, raising the bar for excellence.

What are you most looking forward to personally over the next year?

In Brazil we have been blessed with the world’s two biggest events within two years: the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games. I have big expectations and am looking forward to see how Brazil will do, as we’ll be on display for the world to see.

The events project Brazil as joyous, innovative, and victorious, and Brazilian advertising reflects this. Now for the first time, Brazilian advertising will be compared with big global campaigns, and not just domestic ones. That brings me a question: What opportunities for the Brazilian advertising industry will emerge for the world after 2016?

What will you do differently this year that you didn’t last?

2013 was a very busy year. It was the year of preparation for the grand show that starts in 2014. At Agencia Africa we created the World Cup logo and we have three official sponsors as clients so it’s fair to say we feel extremely responsible for helping to make this the best World Cup ever.

Following a frantic 2013, I’d like to dedicate 2014 to better understanding all the changes that are taking place in our industry due to these massive Brazil events coming up.

What media/technology/platform/campaign do you think will shine this year?

It will be all about content – familiar, yet it has the opportunity to transform everything we do.  

What effect do you think this year’s World Cup will have on the industry?

Anyone who has watched the Super Bowl ads in the past must be excited about the prospect of thousands of non-stop, jaw-dropping commercials and ideas launched just for the event, over 30 days. After all, it’s the World Cup, and a World Cup that will be played at the home of football. Anything is possible.

Where will you go on holiday this year and why?

I want to get to know a piece of my country that I don’t know yet: the Amazon. I have spent more dollars and miles travelling around the world than around my own country. That doesn’t make me proud, but I’m going to resolve it this this year.

What’s your New Year’s resolution workwise or other and do you think you’ll stick to it?

My resolution for 2014 is very simple: I’m going to focus on travel. I love to travel, I’m curious, I love different cultures, and going to exotic places. There’s nothing better than getting rid of that ‘office suntan’ and getting some calluses on the feet.

If you had one hope or request from the client side this year, what would it be?

Freedom. Agencies have been losing relevance. Advertising has not. That relevance has been lost by the commoditisation of creativity. A fear of making mistakes and a culture of hiding behind surveys have brought us to a mentality where it is presumed we don’t have the freedom to try and take risks. Without that liberty we produce lukewarm campaigns – equal to jokes that aren’t funny.

And if you had a piece of advice for the creative industry in 2014 what would it be? 

Take care of the young creatives. They have a lot more opportunities today than we had. We need to find ways to keep them in our industry. We know that the beta generation is here not just for the money, but also for the challenge to create incredible things. That’s why we have to make it possible for them to find the ideal conditions to make their ideas happen. Without that, we don’t have a future, and the present will be less thought-provoking.