{"id":8910,"date":"2021-08-11T09:59:26","date_gmt":"2021-08-11T08:59:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/singapore\/?post_type=news&p=8910"},"modified":"2021-08-11T10:14:50","modified_gmt":"2021-08-11T09:14:50","slug":"creativity-squared-andrew-hook-and-the-strange-directions-of-the-creative-process","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/singapore\/news\/2021\/aug\/creativity-squared-andrew-hook-and-the-strange-directions-of-the-creative-process","title":{"rendered":"Creativity Squared: Andrew Hook and the Strange Directions of the Creative Process"},"content":{"rendered":"
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VCCP Singapore\u2019s executive creative director on how a \u2018misspent\u2019 youth in hospitality prepared him for advertising, the multi-faceted role of an ECD and getting under the hood of a brief<\/h4>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/section><\/div>\n\n
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\r\n When I see a strong idea in front of me, things get noisy pretty quick. If a great idea is on the table \u2013 especially in its rawest form \u2013 that\u2019s when things need to get expressive. <\/blockquote>\r\n \r\n \t\t\t <\/div>\r\n \r\n
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According to creativity researchers, there are four sides to creativity. Person (personality, habits, thoughts), product (the thing that results from creative activity), process (how you work), and press (environment factors, education and other external factors) all play a part. So, we figured, let\u2019s follow the science to understand your art. Creativity Squared is a feature that aims to build a more well-rounded profile of creative people.\u00a0<\/i><\/div>\n
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Now, we speak to VCCP Singapore\u2019s ECD Andrew Hook. Hailing from Auckland, New Zealand, Andrew first plied his trade in Middle Earth, working at boutique shop Generator for five years. Then in 2005, restlessness took hold of him, so he packed his bags and set sail for the tropics. His first stop was the venerable Batey Ads in Singapore. He was promoted to ECD of Batey and managed the global relaunch of Qatar Airways out of the Singapore office.<\/i><\/div>\n
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He then spent four years at DDB, as creative lead for the Health Promotion Board, before taking the reins in 2014 at Havas. During his tenure there, the agency\u2019s work was recognised at Cannes, Spikes, One Show, D&AD and the Effies, while also picking up metal at the Agency of the Year Awards in back-to-back years. In early 2019, Andrew joined VCCP Singapore as regional executive creative director.<\/i><\/div>\n
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Here, he shares his approach to creativity.<\/i><\/div>\n<\/div> \t\t<\/div>\r\n \t\t\r\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/section><\/div>\n\n
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Person<\/h2>\n \n
A while ago, we did a basic personality test for the whole agency, assessing how different people process information, express themselves, and so on. It generated some interesting results. Some people who saw themselves as expressive and emotive were deemed analytical and logical \u2013 and vice versa.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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The test landed me in the Expressive \/ Driven quadrant. This was a bit of a surprise. A lot of people would characterise me as quiet and laidback, and I know myself pretty well as a hardcore introvert. But to me, the contradiction made sense.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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Firstly, most of the creatives I\u2019ve known over my career tend to be a bit of a mixed bag. They pivot across a spectrum of logic and emotion, analysis and expression. Why? Because that\u2019s the nature of the job, and the skill set. Creating ideas involves fusing together logic and emotion in surprising combinations. You need to access different parts of the brain, at pace, under pressure, and with fluidity and flexibility. So, I think a lot of creatives have that kind of natural \u2018sliding scale\u2019 to their personality.<\/div>\n
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Secondly, context matters. In the early phase of your career, a creative can be more aligned to their dominant bias (introvert, extrovert etc). But at CD level and above, the demands of the job change dramatically. Being a CD is all about communicating. You\u2019re talking all day long \u2013 to planners, clients, account service, operations, production, everyone. And of course, you\u2019re in constant contact with the creatives as they develop their ideas. The job requires you to leverage parts of your personality which might not naturally be there on the surface.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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Which can lead to some interesting contradictions.<\/div>\n
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Personally, I\u2019m impatient and stubborn when it comes to fighting for and protecting an idea. But I\u2019m very patient when it comes to the process of creation. An idea won\u2019t always reveal itself according to schedule, and you can\u2019t force it to come out of hiding. Patience is critical to allow great ideas to come into the light.<\/div>\n
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More than anything, I value periods of quiet to be able to really focus. You have to demarcate this time away from the noise of the day-to-day.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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But when I see a strong idea in front of me, things get noisy pretty quick. If a great idea is on the table \u2013 especially in its rawest form \u2013 that\u2019s when things need to get expressive. I want to talk about it, pull it apart, look at its good points, bad points, risk factors, and ultimately put a spotlight on its true potential.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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That\u2019s the creative director\u2019s key responsibility. In that context, the passion needs to come out of the bottle. We want to create an atmosphere of energy around the idea. And that will set us up nicely to go into bat for it.<\/div>\n
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\n Creatives… tend to be a bit of a mixed bag. They pivot across a spectrum of logic and emotion, analysis and expression. \n <\/blockquote>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/section><\/div>\n\n
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Product <\/h2>\n \n
The role of an ECD is multi-faceted. You\u2019ve got a lot of hats to wear: coach, psychologist (some days, therapist), diplomat, producer, operations director, and so on. But the real beating heart of the job is judging the creative work.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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And to be honest, it\u2019s also the most mysterious part. If only I could write down a sure-fire methodology in a few sentences. I\u2019m sure I could retire in the Bahamas\u2026 or maybe I\u2019d just be out of a job. This part of the process can\u2019t be wrapped up in a neat little bow. Everyone wishes it could, but it can\u2019t.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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The one thing I can say though is this: to assess whether or not an idea has any real power, you have to feel something for it at a deeper level. It\u2019s as simple \u2013 and as difficult \u2013 as that.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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Sure, there\u2019ll be surface-level criteria that help put things in words. Is the idea surprising? Disruptive? Ownable?\u00a0<\/div>\n
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But they are not really \u2018the thing\u2019. I think any good \u2013 or potentially great \u2013 idea needs to generate a certain magnetism. It\u2019s got to pull you in like a tractor beam.\u00a0\u00a0<\/div>\n
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At first glance, an idea may be perfectly logical, sensible, and tick all the right boxes. But if you feel nothing for it, then down the line you\u2019re going to have a problem.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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On the other hand, a beautiful idea in raw form can have all sorts of issues. Maybe the logic is wonky, it\u2019s not tidily expressed, or it doesn\u2019t execute easily. But if it draws you in and punches you in the gut, then you might just be onto something.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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That\u2019s when you have to buckle up and fight like hell for it. I see the gut-punch test as a simple proxy for how consumers as a whole might react to the idea. Obviously, the notion of \u2018consumers\u2019 involves a vast spectrum of personalities, tastes, ways of thinking. So it\u2019s far from perfect, and it\u2019s definitely not scientific.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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But out of the gate, what we\u2019re looking for is a kind of batting average for the idea.\u00a0 An immediate, gut-level signal of whether or not it\u2019s going to have any kind of power \u2013 and whether it\u2019s worth investing valuable time and energy to bring it to life.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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Process<\/h2>\n \n
The start is slow, and begins with a critical mindset.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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Typically I want to get under the hood of the brief, and see what\u2019s going on. Are there issues that could arise later? Is the ask realistic? Do we have all the information we need? We try to troubleshoot as best we can what obstacles could appear in the coming days. Then the creative process begins.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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The healthiest starting point is always a blank sheet of paper. No preconceptions. The answer could literally be anything.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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This approach gives you the best shot at a really powerful idea. Of course, it\u2019s an ideal: there\u2019s often baggage around the brief for all kinds of reasons. But we do the best we can to have a purely open mind.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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Then we get into the thick of it \u2013 and that\u2019s when things start to get murkier. The creative process can go off in all sorts of strange directions. Deadlines and meetings engender a kind of momentum, pushing you along. But that momentum can be stop-start, fragmented, and sometimes just all over the place.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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Nothing to worry about. That\u2019s how it works.<\/div>\n
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Creativity is inbuilt with frustrations, tensions, and volatility of all kinds. But this opacity and strangeness is what makes the process \u2013 and the job \u2013 so unique. These are features of the system, not bugs. In fact, the best ideas often have the most labyrinthine path to expression.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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You might see the seed of the idea on day one. But it doesn\u2019t really \u2018show itself\u2019 in its true form. It\u2019s like looking into a cracked mirror: you can make out shapes, a broad outline. But the distortions don\u2019t permit you full recognition\u2026 just yet.<\/div>\n
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Sometimes a great idea can be thrown out in the early stages. I\u2019ve done it, it happens. And then serendipity allows it to rear its head again at the eleventh hour. And that\u2019s when you realise, this is the one.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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When things get difficult, as they invariably do sometimes, usually the answer is \u2018brute force and ignorance\u2019. You keep banging away at the problem until it yields \u2013 and through a mix of patience and tenacity, it usually will.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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That\u2019s when it\u2019s critical to have faith in your own skills. Everyone has episodes where you say to yourself: \u201cI\u2019ve lost it, I can\u2019t do this anymore. I\u2019m no longer creative.\u201d But it\u2019s a mirage. The skills are still in there \u2013 they don\u2019t disappear one day for no reason. The well never really runs dry.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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Yes, there are days when your brain is not going to play ball. But you need to have faith in yourself that with time and patience, it will come right.\u00a0<\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section><\/div>\n\n
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Press<\/h2>\n \n
I grew up in New Zealand, and my formative years were spent working in an amazing agency (Generator), at the top of its game, surrounded by tremendously talented people. To witness an agency firing on all cylinders is something to behold, and that experience really cemented my career choice in my mind.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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We were making so many things, at such pace, my initial learning phase was supercharged. I was shooting commercials within the first few months, even though I didn\u2019t have a clue what I was doing. We had a huge emphasis on production, and I was ground into the realities of making things from day one.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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Since then, I\u2019ve always believed a great agency understands the full value-chain of what it makes \u2013 right down to the last detail of every production.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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In fact, I think this understanding is what separates the best from the rest. Great agencies don\u2019t just make keynote presentations. Our work doesn\u2019t exist in the abstract. The very best agencies roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty, every day of the week \u2013 and they do it with aplomb.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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During my misspent youth, I also spent years working in hospitality. I think it comes in handy having a solid understanding of a very different type of business. It gives you a bigger perspective on how things fit together.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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On the surface, the restaurant trade has little to do with advertising. But in reality, there are some interesting parallels.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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A restaurant is another form of commercial-creative enterprise. Creativity is built into the product (cooking is inherently creative \u2013 in answer to the \u2018client\u2019s brief\u2019); there are clear commercial outcomes (the customer should be happy with their meal, see value for money, and hopefully keep coming back); and it all happens thanks to a robust system of collaboration between \u2018departments\u2019 \u2013 the kitchen, the bar, and front-of-house.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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My experience in hospitality gave me an appreciation for disciplined operations as the bedrock of great creative outcomes.<\/div>\n
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A great agency is always a strange tango between chaos and control. No matter how much our business changes, I think that underlying principle still applies. You need a deep-seated respect for the chaos of the creative process, while at the same time being wedded to a rigorous system of operation.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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You need briefs, contact reports, meeting invites, cost estimates \u2013 and you need the whole agency to understand the protocols and what is expected. But you also need everyone \u2013 and I mean everyone \u2013 to walk into a room with a mindset that embraces creativity, and all the strangeness, messiness and ambiguity that it entails.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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Not just to tolerate it.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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But to welcome it with open arms.\u00a0<\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":35,"template":"","categories":[193],"class_list":["post-8910","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry","category-in-the-press"],"acf":{"author":{"ID":8580,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2020-08-13 12:34:01","post_date_gmt":"2020-08-13 11:34:01","post_content":"","post_title":"Andrew Hook","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"andrew-hook","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2020-08-13 12:34:01","post_modified_gmt":"2020-08-13 11:34:01","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/singapore\/?post_type=people&p=8580","menu_order":0,"post_type":"people","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},"capability_ids":[],"client_id":"","hero_video":"","hero_image":{"ID":8759,"id":8759,"title":"Andrew-Hook-2019-square-e1549936092815-700x420","filename":"Andrew-Hook-2019-square-e1549936092815-700x420-1.jpg","filesize":61100,"url":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/singapore\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/08\/Andrew-Hook-2019-square-e1549936092815-700x420-1.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/singapore\/news\/2020\/feb\/andrew-hook-joins-vccp-singapore\/attachment\/andrew-hook-2019-square-e1549936092815-700x420","alt":"","author":"2","description":"","caption":"","name":"andrew-hook-2019-square-e1549936092815-700x420","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":8758,"date":"2020-08-21 12:27:44","modified":"2020-08-21 12:27:44","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/singapore\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1920,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/singapore\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/08\/Andrew-Hook-2019-square-e1549936092815-700x420-1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/singapore\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/08\/Andrew-Hook-2019-square-e1549936092815-700x420-1-300x113.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":113,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/singapore\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/08\/Andrew-Hook-2019-square-e1549936092815-700x420-1-768x288.jpg","medium_large-width":640,"medium_large-height":240,"large":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/singapore\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/08\/Andrew-Hook-2019-square-e1549936092815-700x420-1-1024x384.jpg","large-width":640,"large-height":240,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/singapore\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/08\/Andrew-Hook-2019-square-e1549936092815-700x420-1-1536x576.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":576,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/singapore\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/08\/Andrew-Hook-2019-square-e1549936092815-700x420-1.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":720,"Header":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/singapore\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/08\/Andrew-Hook-2019-square-e1549936092815-700x420-1-1920x720.jpg","Header-width":1920,"Header-height":720,"Square":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/singapore\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/08\/Andrew-Hook-2019-square-e1549936092815-700x420-1-720x720.jpg","Square-width":720,"Square-height":720}},"meta-title":"","meta-description":"","social-media-image":false,"news_id":"193","relateditems":false,"related_content_title":"You may also like","hide_related_items":[],"visible_on_home_page":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/singapore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/8910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/singapore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/singapore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/singapore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/singapore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/singapore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}