On My Radar: Carl Panczak

Carl Panczak is CEO of digital agency Reactive New York and here he tells us what's on his creative radar, including work for the NYC Rescue Mission, Bladerunner and taking in the city sights from Brooklyn Bridge by cab.

What’s the best ad campaign you’ve seen recently?

Silver + Partners recently created a really powerful film with Smuggler to raise awareness for the NYC Rescue Mission. We did, admittedly, work on the digital component, but the ability of the idea behind it to make you think is incredible.

What website(s) do you use most regularly and why?

I love how The New York Times is innovating it’s digital business; I end up on any of its two apps or the website a few times a day. Otherwise it’s Twitter and Instagram. And Amazon.

What’s the most recent piece of tech that you’ve bought and why?

Google Glass. At Reactive we have been experimenting with it and other forms of wearable tech. Glass has a long way to go if it’s to become a mainstream technology, but it’s an amazing prototype that helps us understand how technology may evolve in the future.

Facebook or Twitter?

Twitter. It’s easy to curate my feed and only focus on what’s relevant. I find myself using Facebook less and less as it becomes saturated with Buzzfeed and Upworthy ‘listicles.’

What’s your favourite app on your phone?

Instagram. So far it hasn’t been spoiled by advertising and I’m a visual person so love the immediacy and simplicity of it.

What’s your favourite TV show and why?

House of Cards. Brilliantly dark storytelling, beautifully shot and an amazing cast. Game of Thrones is a close second.

What film do you think everyone should have seen and why?

Bladerunner. The original and the best noir sci-fi movie – I never get tired of it.

Where were you when inspiration last struck?

Crossing the Brooklyn Bridge by cab. Get’s me every time.

What’s the most significant change you’ve witnessed in the industry since you started working in it?

User experience is finally as important to brand storytelling as narrative content.

If there was one thing you could change about the advertising industry, what would it be?

In digital, it’s as much about technical feasibility as it is about the big idea. So there’s little room for the big egos of old school advertising.

What or who has most influenced your career and why?

An old friend from BBH gave me sage advice early in my career: you can’t really achieve anything at a company in less than three years. So stick it out.

Tell us one thing about yourself that most people won’t know.

I’m planning to ride the Rapha Cent Cols Challenge in 2015; 100 cols in 10 days.