It’s always interesting to see how the ad business gets reported in mainstream press. Today’s Wall Street Journal looks at the open vacancies for Chief Creative Officers at big shops:
While ad chiefs are eager to tap top creative talent that can work in the digital realm, they say the bigger priority is finding someone who can break down the walls that exist inside ad firms and get people with different skills to work together. A lack of such teamwork is one of the biggest gripes marketers have with the ad business.
Finding the right person is no easy task, says Bob Jeffrey, JWT’s CEO. “There is not a lot of great creative talent at the senior level.”
The lack of seasoned executives with both digital know-how and the knack for molding a cohesive creative team has caused some ad chiefs, including Mr. Jeffrey, to extend their searches outside the ad business.
They say they are looking to other industries such as film, design and technology for new types of creative thinking.
If there’s a lack of teamwork, it’s because there’s a need for creative types to get credit, internally in an agency and externally in the industry, for work created. That’s how you get awards. That’s how you get promoted. That’s how you become a CCO. Or so I think.
