The Future Focus

Covid wasn't the only thing to rock the world in 2020, so, with an opportunity to change things for the better in the coming years, we look at what lies ahead.

Insight

What the rise of Gen Z means for advertising

Millennials are so last century; now is the time of the Gen Zers. But who are they and what do they want? The Moon Unit tracks what defines this new generation of consumers, examines their interests and explains why advertising needs to change if it has any hope of keeping their attention.

Insight

Six totally realistic marketing predictions for 2021

From drunk shopping and sponsored souls to the rise of 'menimism' and the advent of 'out out of home' advertising, Culture Editor Amy Kean cracks open her fortune cookies to see where the industry in 2021 is most definitely headed.

Insight

How not to... predict the future

Though it might not seem like it at the moment, we are at the start of a new year, and in this instalment of How not to... Amy Kean chats to "psychic and worldwide phenomena" Clinton Baptsite about what's in store during 2021.

Insight

Shock ‘n’ troll: Is moral outrage stifling creativity?

Ever since Gutenberg invented the printing press, people have vented their spleens. Now, with huge social media reach at our fingertips, amplified by clickbait-chasing media, public opinion has the power to pull down brands in hours. But if the best creative ideas always polarise, when does healthy debate become something more sinister? Selena Schleh investigates.

Insight

Virtual production: A real-time revolution for content creation

In 1928 Buster Keaton undertook one 'risk-it-all' shot to pull off a masterpiece but, says Simon Windsor, Joint Managing Director at Dimension Studios, a century later and virtual production means filmmakers have almost unlimited control and equal amounts of creativity at their fingertips.

Insight

Don’t 'tap into' diverse cultures in 2021, find ways to push them forward

Reflecting diverse perspectives needs to go beyond 'leveraging' them to honoring them, says Will Campbell, Co-Founder & CEO of Quantasy + Associates. It's time to end 'culture-jacking'.

Insight

Intent without action is not going to be enough

If we learned anything from last year it’s that things can always get worse, says Farah Dib, Co-Founder & Creative Director at TwentyTwenty. The world is in perpetual flux, but there is one constant: change is asymmetrical. It happens at different paces across society, and leveraging any of our learnings from 2020 starts with taking the necessary steps to get us all on the same page.

Insight

How freelancers can find their way in lockdown

During much of 2020 Hugh Todd, freelance creative director, writer and podcaster, felt helpless as job opportunities dried up and face-to-face meetings were curtailed. But he - and many other freelancers - found that the struggle to find work was alleviated after turning to a sometimes maligned social media platform and the chance to show off their creative wares.

Insight

Brands need to offer consumers escapism in 2021

Territory Studio's Co-Founder and ECD, David Sheldon-Hicks, examines the ways in which advertising needs to emulate the huge rise in popularity and usage of other platforms since the beginning of the pandemic.

Insight

Newsletters bring unsexy back

Meredith Rodriguez, Head of Sales, Marketing & Development at Stept Studios shares some insights on how, and why, email marketing became essential during 2020, and how important email will be for all of us during 2021.

Insight

How to... maintain safe shoots through an ongoing pandemic

Karim Naceur, Global Head of TV Production at BETC, tells us how to keep going amid the global pandemic, what changes need to be made to keep everyone safe and what the future of production will look like in a post-coronavirus world.

Insight

Sustainability: The future of advertising, but not as we know it …

Tim Cumming talks to a range of industry creatives from both sides of the Atlantic about sustainability, inclusion, the new rules of consumption, and how the winds of change have moved the bottom line from being about finance to focussing on ethics.

Insight

Why branded content is the future

Dominic de Terville, Director of Branded Content at Zinc Media, looks at why branded content will continue to be an area of expansion for brands looking to be an integral and authentic part of culture.

Insight

Run your own race: Resolutions after a year like no other

January often means setting ourselves a list of resolutions. But, after the year we've just had, says Nicola Kemp, Editorial Director of Creativebrief, 2021 calls for a new outlook on the goals we want to achieve.

The pandemic changed everything, and it may just be the best thing to happen to our industry

Five things needed to conquer 2021

Authenticity, escapism, and imperfection

Insight

The future of brand experience is found in the metaverse

If you can't go to the event, then the event needs to come to you. In a year during which live entertainment became almost non-existent. Daniel Hemsley, Managing Director at Swamp Motel, reminds us that there's another world out there, and it's one we can all visit.

Insight

In this new world, experience can be a brand’s most powerful asset

As brands recalibrate their creative messaging for a post-pandemic landscape, Accenture Interactive Managing Director and Lead for Global Creative Agencies, Jeannine Falcone, believes that the route to success can be mapped out through experiences.

Insight

Rejection, acceptance and the new tech-forward normal

2021 is going to be about one-upping the technology we saw used in 2020, says VMLY&R's Executive Creative Director, Experience Design, Walter Geer.

Insight

How to... use found footage

Oliver Merchant, EP at STALKR, talks us through the increased focus on using archival and stock footage in commercials over the past year, and how, instead of being 'make do', it can actually enhance a creative endeavour.