12 Questions : 20 People – #6 Jason Hodges, Creative Partner, Brilliant Agency, Singapore

12:20 is a Sydney based creative consultancy that works with agencies across Asia. Recently, while working in Singapore and Hong Kong, Christian Finucane and Jon Skinner met with 20 creative leaders from the top agencies to discuss the opportunities and challenges for the industry. The interviews, ’12 Questions: 20 People’ are being published in a series of blog posts on Campaign Brief Asia. The sixth interview is with Jason Hodges (pictured above), Creative Partner, Brilliant Agency, Singapore.

What’s the most exciting thing about working in Asia?

The pace, the cultural diversity and sheer size of the audience: 60% of the world’s population on a single continent. The food isn’t bad either.

What inspires you?

People. Filtering out the noise on social media reveals some incredibly powerful insights into the way we think and feel today. Traditional news sources report predominantly negative stories; however, Facebook, Twitter and the like share so many amazing facets of our lives. Humans are awesome. Oh, and cat videos.

How has social media impacted creativity in the region?

Positively, given the need for creative evolution. The ability to target real people with specific messages that they might actually appreciate is unprecedented. Like any advertising, there’s digital wallpaper too, but a smart idea can translate into amazing, engaging work.

What is the recent campaign everyone wishes they’d done?

I really hope that there’s a big campaign around the Volvo Precision Steering idea: the single-minded messaging of the viral Van Damme ‘Epic Split’ is terrific, well produced and has already attracted parodies, memes and some 50 million views on YouTube [at time of writing]. Great job.

Which clients are pushing the boundaries and how?

There are many examples, which is good news for the industry here. I really like the initiative for Kidproof SEA by TBWA KL, targeting the parents of unattended children in a shopping mall (pictured below).

Simple and powerful, this has been Liked, shared and retweeted over and over again. It was a brave, direct approach that was the right side of ‘prankvertising’. Other parents that I know reacted very strongly, emotionally and positively to it.

Are there any cultural ‘creative watch-outs’ working here?

Sure, you soon learn the sensitivities. What’s exciting is how you interpret and test these social mores, always tapping into the zeitgeist. Sometimes it’s a fine line. One of Brilliant’s recent integrated campaigns for PropertyGuru.com.sg asked Singaporeans to have a go at valuing the iconic President’s palace as if it were a prime real estate listing. Whilst some involved almost fainted at the prospect, people generally embraced the idea and entered into the spirit of it. [The expert panel valued it in the range of S$18-25 billion – but I must stress, it is NOT for sale.]

Which Asian country is punching above its weight creatively?

Thailand is always entertaining, and we’ve been doing some fun work in Indonesia too: definitely a market that produces good work – and one to watch.

Why does creativity matter?

Standing out from the clamour of paid, earned and social media is more challenging than ever. Without creativity, differentiating parity products would be immensely difficult. Data has its place, but creativity remains the life force of the industry. Today’s smaller budgets demand even bigger thinking.

What makes the local industry different?

It’s important not to foist your own notions and nuances of creativity upon a largely indifferent, often bewildered public. Whilst best practice is valuable, the work we produce locally is conceived – or at the very least rigorously sense-checked – whilst looking through a ‘local’ lens. We work in many languages too: often, campaigns I write don’t ever actually run in English.

Cannes Titanium, Spikes Asia Grand Prix or AWARD Gold Pencil? Which and why?

The Effies. Oh, don’t be like that: it’s the recognition that the majority of clients are interested in – and we all believe that creative work is effective work, right? Cannes and other shows are great for raising the bar creatively and showcasing what’s possible. Awards are immense fun – Cannes, D&AD, Spikes – but work that’s proven to work goes a long way in this market.

What is the creative issue that frustrates you the most?

Many clients now have in-house design/creative teams, even departments, which increasingly take an agency’s master concept and adapt it themselves – not always sympathetically to the big idea. Naturally, it comes down to cost; however, it’s never easy to see hard fought-for ideas re-interpreted across different media channels. The industry continues to evolve rapidly and we simply have to adapt to the ‘new normal’ by producing the most compelling and resilient work we can.

What’s the biggest opportunity for creative people?

Digital liberation. The confines of traditional media produced some amazingly creative thinking, but now that every communication could effectively reach a global audience, the game has long since changed. The best work transcends borders, cultures and languages. Nothing is impossible. And the world is truly a stage – 24/7. What an awesome time to be in the industry.

Photo above: Jon Skinner (left) and Christian Finucane (right).

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