Keeping the creative fire alive in a global network

“Big doesn’t always equal better,” Lynsey Atkin, outgoing McCann London chief creative officer, claimed in her latest opinion piece for Campaign. 

In the midst of the proposed Omnicom-IPG merger, which is set to create the largest holding company in the world, and tech platforms casting larger shadows every day, the question is: does size really matter?

Atkin suggested that the most talked-about agencies are exactly so because “they know who they are”. She said, “In a culture of convergence, identity is everything.” The challenge is, therefore, keeping identity and creativity alive while growing, expanding and scaling.

Fires need three ingredients, Ben Williams, global chief creative experience officer at TBWA Worldwide, points out: heat, fuel and oxygen. To keep creative fires burning in a global network, he suggests the essential triad of survival translates to focus, envy and fun.

Conversely, Grey’s global CCO Gabriel Schmitt referenced Bruce Lee and "being water" to keep creative fires burning, but in the sense of clarity rather than adaptability.

The solution usually comes down to people and being “human-first”, according to Debbie Vandeven, global CCO at VML. FCB’s Andrés Ordóñez agreed, and while the best creative ideas are “never finished”, he noted “being a global network isn’t about size, it’s about culture”.

Ben Williams
Global chief creative experience officer, TBWA Worldwide

Any fire needs three ingredients: heat, fuel and oxygen.

Focus (the heat). Things get lost when we forget the importance of the creative product. Bringing a sharp focus to what the agency or network is producing brings the heat for not only the creative department, but for everyone in the company.

Envy (the fuel). The "Damn, I wish I had made that" is the inspiration every creative needs. It’s a punch in the stomach that drives you forward and signals what’s possible. 

Fun (the oxygen). The easiest way to snuff out any spark or fire is with fear—whether that may be fear of feedback from the account team or clients. Fun is the antidote—creating an environment where all disciplines enjoy the process of thinking and making. Because when people are having fun, creative thinking flows.

At an agency level, these ingredients are critical. And globally, when connecting these smaller fires together, it becomes a bonfire with huge creative potential.

Debbi Vandeven
Global chief creative officer, VML

We centre around a simple “human-first” philosophy to fuel our creative fires globally. It’s all about putting people first. We connect as a network and concentrate on the human element in all the work we do. It takes brains to uncover great solutions, heart to connect emotionally and courage to push for innovative ideas. Moving forward, we are looking for smart ways to use AI to enhance our creativity, and to help us combine human imagination with technology. This focus enables us to create ideas that not only build brands but also resonate deeply with the people we are trying to reach.

Gabriel Schmitt
Global chief creative officer, Grey

You know the “be water” thing from Bruce Lee? That’s how we keep the creative fires burning at Grey. But not in the “be adaptable” way; more in the “be clear” way. Grey is not small, but it’s also not very big. So, we set out to tell everyone exactly what the expectations for the work are. I am making sure I share with everyone (creative leads and beyond) how, at least in my experience, we get to great work, and what to do once we have something amazing brewing. To everyone. The same way. Clarity, clarity, clarity, rinse and repeat.

Kate Stanners
Global chief creative officer, Saatchi & Saatchi

They say necessity is the mother of invention and, in our industry, it’s the spark that sets creativity on fire. Every great idea starts with a problem, and in a global network, we get to tackle some of the biggest, pithiest challenges out there. And who doesn’t enjoy that kind of challenge? We are fortunate to have access to world-class tools in technology and data, allowing us to really dig beneath the surface, uncovering the root cause, the problem behind the problem. And when it clicks —when the idea isn’t just clever, it actually solves something—it’s magic. The thrill of that "aha" moment, the craft of the idea, the impact it has—that’s what keeps the creative fire burning and keeps us coming back for more.

Andrés Ordóñez
Global chief creative officer, FCB Global

Creativity thrives when people think fearlessly, challenge norms and push ideas without barriers. Being a global network isn’t about size, it’s about culture. It’s about putting people over process, prioritising real conversations, unexpected collisions, and the power of &—where strategy & craft, data & emotion, and global reach & local insight come together. Tech will keep evolving, but the fundamentals remain the same: diverse minds pushing each other forward, keeping egos in check and staying relentlessly curious. AI won’t replace creativity, it will give us time back to do what we love: create. Let’s keep celebrating the wins and the people behind the work. Remind each other every day that the best ideas are “never finished”, to stay restless, keep challenging and never stop chasing what’s next. Vamos.

Indy Selvarajah
Global chief creative officer, Ketchum

It’s not easy. There is so much noise surrounding creatives' headspace at the minute—economic uncertainty, mergers, tech encroaching on skillsets and job losses. So, the most important motivating cry from someone like me is making sure everyone sticks to, and believes in, our creative vision and point of view on how to get to great work. For us, it has always been about making truly culture-first, earned creative work that relies on real people talking about it, not just our industry. This can’t, and shouldn’t, change despite everything else going on around.

Secondly, it’s also ensuring that the connections continue to happen. There is nothing better than our weekly global creative call, where we have those from Brazil, the US, Canada, the UK, Germany and Belgium coming together to chat, share, vent (obvs) and help level up one another’s work.

Chris Beresford-Hill
Worldwide chief creative officer, BBDO Worldwide

When NFL great Tom Brady was asked where he got the confidence to pull off so many come-from-behind victories, he said something like “because I’d done it before, I knew I could do it again”. That’s pretty much it. Reminding our teams all around the world that they are the ones who made every digital out-of-home ad "Adoptable" for Pedigree, that they used AI to create an impossible mother-daughter duet for VW, that they put a 3D hologram in the middle of the night sky in Las Vegas for Meta Quest. In the quest for impossible ideas, we’ve done it before, and trust we will do it over and over again. 

Chaka Sobhani
President and global CCO, DDB Worldwide

To be honest, I couldn’t phrase it better than Lynsey did in her recent article when she talked about the importance of knowing who you are. It’s the fire that starts everything, and the reason why people show up every day, believing in and sharing a set of values, knowing what you’re all trying to achieve and how, and having the best time doing it. It’s all about the head and the heart, doing it together, and feeling part of something bigger.

I think a shared creative culture that’s connected in its beliefs attracts the best talent and best clients alike, who, in turn, want to work with as many like-minded but different people, on as many ideas that live in as many places as possible. When you create those ties that bind, and make sure you uphold and live by them daily, there's no end to how brightly the creative fires can burn.