#FairnessFirst: "Diversity and inclusion are the future of creativity" - Susan Credle
Credle, impressively serving as global CCO for the FCB group as her day job, has long been one of my personal favourite creatives to interview. She’s a supporter of diversity in all its forms and striving to balance out inequalities where they exist.
As a result, it’s fitting that Credle’s appointment as chairperson has been called a ’natural selection’ due to her high engagement as a One Club board member, particularly in their education, inclusion and diversity and gender equality efforts – two dozen specific events are held annually.
In sharing her favourite moments from One Club’s Creative Week 2018 overall, Credle elaborates on the need for the industry to celebrate passion projects as well as work done for clients. She’s pleased to see that the creative currently being awarded is less precious and more powerful than ever before as consumers are holding brands accountable.
Credle also elaborates on her plans to work with the industry to continue to support and expand the human and economic value of creativity in marketing, while further encouraging diversity and inclusiveness in that work.
Let’s start with the basics: Explain your new role, as from at the One Club’s Creative Week 2018.
This year, The One Club Creative Week was very special for me. Jose Molla, the chairman of The One Club for Creativity board of directors, announced I would be the incoming chairperson.
I’m incredibly honoured to take on the role. I enjoyed attending the Wednesday-night One Show and celebrating outstanding colleagues.
On the Thursday, I participated in the Executive Leaders Session. It’s an outstanding day-long programme, now in its second year. What stands out most to me is the generosity and vulnerability that the attendees bring with them.
Throughout the day, group leaders each ask a challenging question of the group, and the conversation that follows is full of helpful advice and observations, regardless of where we work. The question I posed to the group was titled: “Is your agency starting to look like a high school where the seniors never graduate?” We discussed the tension between autonomy and leadership. I learned so much, thanks to the positive energy and spirit in the room.
I hope that, as leaders, we can use these experiences to create an industry in which honest, open conversations are both the expectation and the norm.
I also sat on a panel where we discussed Project Meddle, a case study entered into social on behalf of Russia. Out of that conversation, I realised that our industry needs a way for passion projects to be celebrated, along with work done for clients.
We’re so happy for you, in taking on the role as first ever female chair! Share what this means for the One Show going forward.
As a woman taking over the chair position, I’m conscious of the responsibility I have to the industry, when it comes to diversity and inclusion.I will focus on working with the industry to continue to support and expand the human and economic value of creativity in marketing.
Molla has done an incredible job these last four years, and my goal is to use the platform he is handing over to me to further encourage diversity and inclusiveness in the work that our companies create. This is The One Club for Creativity, and diversity and inclusion for creativity are the future.
Talk us through any trends that came up in this year's summits/workshop sessions, as well as the current global state of creativity.
The interesting thing about this year’s award winners is that there are no major trends. This is good news, because it means people are solving for real business problems and brand opportunities, instead of jumping on a trend.
Work that feels on-brand and that is meaningful makes us feel something, provides a service, fixes a problem or starts a conversation is being recognised not only by juries, but by the public. As a result, the creative that is being awarded is less precious and more powerful.
What was your favourite winning work this year, and why?
My favourite work this year is, “It’s a Tide Ad.” The Tide brand has been famous for stain stories for years. To go stainless strategically was a great twist, while remaining on-brand.
I also think the idea respected the viewer’s intelligence. They didn’t dumb down this meta idea. People like to use their brains. They like to get the joke. And finally, to hijack all the other Super Bowl ads is a marketer’s dream and a competitor’s nightmare, and it proved that even with the most traditional media, you can still bring untraditional thinking.
How has attending Creative Week inspired you for the year ahead? Describe the One Show 2018 experience in a nutshell.
Curating great work and celebrating that work with your peers is incredibly inspiring. It is important to remind ourselves of the bar we must continually set for ourselves. I genuinely believe that great creative ideas, brilliantly executed, will not only grow our industry but will also make the world better.
As do we. Click through to our One Show special section for all the latest updates on The One Club for Creativity’s Creative Week 2018.
About Leigh Andrews
Leigh Andrews AKA the #MilkshakeQueen, is former Editor-in-Chief: Marketing & Media at Bizcommunity.com, with a passion for issues of diversity, inclusion and equality, and of course, gourmet food and drinks! She can be reached on Twitter at @Leigh_Andrews.
