Storyboard18 x MC Insider – About an insecure clientele, awards season jabs, and how ideas are getting fished

From whispers in agency corridors and pitch-room chatter to what's buzzing on clients' side, we've got the overheard and untold stories of the advertising industry and its people.

The OTT creative director

An award-winning creative director is reading a lot about cryptos, sneakers, and gaming. We also hear that he is upskilling himself and making his Instagram feed picture perfect. In a recent closed-door meeting, the creative director said it out aloud that he is not only trying to stay connected with his younger colleagues but also trying to stay relevant, to keep his job safe. This over-the-top creative honcho is picking up lingo that he thinks Gen Z adlanders understand, but what he is getting in return are facepalm emojis.

All hands on deck

The chief of a digital hot shop thinks his team and he need to be aggressive with their creative showcase. The agency has been pumping out impressive work, but the founder thinks his team can do better. He has been giving his teams new projects and responsibilities. He is also hiring senior resources, not only from mainline ad agencies but has also got former marketing professionals join his force. We hear that he is investing heavily in human resources and want all hands-on deck all the time. We must say, that's a clear trait of an overachiever.

Insecure clientele

A bunch of advertisers are working with specialised digital agencies with one specific task - to create something that will go viral. However, they are keeping the identity of these agencies under wraps. To the extent of telling these agencies to not share the campaigns on the agency site or on social media. We hear that clients who have got recent success with viral ideas are getting insecure and don't want competition to know their creative secrets. Moreover, we hear that these clients are not even letting their other agency partners know about this arrangement. It is secret sauce indeed.

Fishing for ideas

Not so long ago a legacy agency had called out a brand for using their pitched idea without consent. We hear that after that episode, the agency has slowed down on pitching new businesses and is asking for a fee for every idea. According to an agency insider, several brand managers are approaching them at this time of the year for fishing ideas. "Annual budgets need to be exhausted before the new financial year starts. They want quick and cheap ideas. We are not falling for these tactics," the insider tells us. Once bitten twice shy!

Awards season jabs

A few hot creative shops are staying away from popular Indian award shows. Some are saving up for the Oscars of advertising, the Cannes Lions, and other upcoming global shows. Others have no interest in the awards game. Period. Their benchmarks are just different. A senior creative director, who has worked on recent popular campaigns, says, "To be fair, it's not cool to be judged by professionals who have done mediocre work." Ouch! That's bound to hurt many egos.

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