Why global collaboration is the key to greater creativity

From Lennon and McCartney and Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C Clarke to the Beat writers and Gorillaz, we know history is littered with innovative, creative collaborations, many of which changed the world or, at least, how we see it.

But what these particular collaborators share in common is that they defy distance; these highly successful and creative partnerships didn’t depend on them being in the same room or, often, even in the same city or country.

In Cannes, it was impossible to have a conversation about creativity and collaboration without mentioning AI. While AI could mean we are standing on the cusp of the next great era of machine-enabled collaboration, as so often happens in our industry, we are so busy obsessively gazing into the future that we aren’t seeing the opportunities for great partnerships that have yet to be fully realised in the here and now.

We have stopped thinking about how we can do things differently today and instead allowed our thinking about how creative teams function to become too rigid.

Brands are missing out on exciting and innovative creative work because many agencies and networks are too inflexible about how creative teams work, so they aren’t leveraging the diverse talent pool in their own businesses.

Covid has shown us that we can work from many different locations and over different time zones, but few agencies are really taking advantage of what this means by bridging the global gap between talent from lots of different backgrounds and countries. 

By decentralising creative teams, for example, having an account director and strategist in one city, briefing creatives in another city, in another time zone over video chat, you are immediately bringing together a diversity of thought, diversity of backgrounds and a more diverse worldwide view.

Many of you will be thinking this is simply outsourcing creative, it’s been done already, but that is missing the point. It isn’t about shipping off the creative to be done cheaply elsewhere, it is about reimagining what it means to build truly global teams who collectively bring a worldview to creativity.

Teams that can bring a different perspective and depth beyond what we typically see from the traditional agency model. 

There needs to be a change in thinking, of course. A shift to being more open sourced when it comes to staff planning and how we gather talent, but this inclusive approach to how we structure creative teams and the diversity of minds it brings to the table is what we need to build brands that excel now and in the future.

Consumers are more connected and exposed to culture and content across every continent than ever before. Alas our brand-created content must also embody a borderless mindset.

We know there is fantastic creative talent all around the world. For example, we have seen many, many brilliant award-winning creatives coming out of South America, particularly Brazil.

However, as things stand, these great minds don’t have the opportunity to work on global brands and global business until they pack up their stuff and move to London, New York or Los Angeles.

We can harness this talent now if we become more flexible about team structures and more open to the idea that we don’t have to be in the same place to be together on a brief.

By bridging the gap between the Northern and Southern hemispheres, we will create exciting global opportunities for creatives working in multiple markets.

At the same time, clients and brands will have access to new ideas and thinking. It is the modern way of working, and instead of paying lip service to inclusivity and diversity, it opens the door to both. 

From a client perspective, having teams working across time zones means briefs are worked on for 20-plus hours a day. Global teams work faster and smarter. In our experience, they are more aggressive, more on the front foot, and more ambitious about the work they deliver.

And while it is legitimate to question how creatives living thousands of miles away from a brand’s customers can create something authentic and meaningful, each team is constantly working off the same brief, the same data and the same insights.

These things can be emphasised and understood and turned into something incredible.

It is time to look beyond the advertising empires of old to a more flexible industry that adapts to today’s social and economic reality.

We need to be more innovative about how we structure our creative teams and staff our agencies and break down the artificial construct of agency walls that house world-class talent, despite their physical location.

By becoming more open to working in partnership with our global talent, we are helping clients access lower-cost marketing and encouraging innovation by bringing different minds, free of the expectations of local markets, to bear on briefs.

At a time when brands are demanding more fresh, innovative work, as well as cost savings, this strategy can deliver both.

Julia Hammond is president of Stagwell Global