Hasta La Creative!

In case you had any doubt, the crowdsourcing trend is here to stay.

Today BBDO’s London office announced the launch of Flare Studio, a unit that will be dedicated to “meet[ing] the rising demand for diverse and authentic video content for an online audience.” AMV BBDO will lead the project along with client Mars’ Petcare division.

In a statement, Mars Petcare’s global CMO Leonid Sudakov said: “We are very pleased to be partnering with BBDO to contribute to a massive transformation of content production.  Flare Studio will give Mars unprecedented access to a global pool of creative talent and we are excited about the unique ideas that this crowdsourcing collaboration will generate.”

Cool. But what does this mean, exactly?

Flare Studio is essentially a marketplace/platform for freelancers, directors, prod cos and, of course, “influencers” to “compete for briefs posted on behalf of BBDO agencies and their clients.” And it’s a tiered model, meaning you can pay to play.

The homepage makes it all seem so simple.

The project isn’t technically new. It’s an extension of AMV BBDO’s in-house content arm, which launched two years ago and now collaborates with 12 of the network’s offices.

Flare founder and AMV BBDO head of content Nick Price offered this statement:

“Flare Studio is a bold undertaking – bringing the benefits of the crowd but also injecting it with the right amount of agency know how to make sure the work reflects an understanding of our brands and can work for them within the crowd source model.  That’s a very different approach from anything else in the market.”

In this case, then, “crowdsourcing” is less of an Airbnb-style “send us your ideas for a chance to win $500” project than a streamlining of the pitch process via a digital platform owned by the BBDO network.

The implication is that BBDO creatives will ultimately work on all resulting campaigns and that many of the parties who provide the winning work will not be amateurs with iPhone cameras but advertising professionals and people who make their livings on social media. In other words, your jobs will not be outsourced … for now.

In order to get the whole thing off the ground, AMV BBDO and Mars are partnering with U.K.-based National Film and Television School and offering two $30,000 scholarships to launch “The Flare Foundation.” So it’s a public service, too.

BETC London hired Russell Davies as its chief strategy officer, effective as of January, 2017. In the role, Davies will be part of the agency’s management team, alongside executive creative director Rosie Bardales (pictured with Davies above) and a soon to be appointed managing director.

“What can I say, we’re incredibly excited to work with a guy as talented as Russell. His experience, curiosity and innovative mind-set is a true sign of a new, dynamic time for BETC London. It’s awesome,” BETC London executive creative director Bardales said in a statement.

Davies joins the agency from an interim role as CEO of digital charity Doteveryone. He arrives with over 25 years of experience, including working with agencies iW+K and RGA and brands such as Nike, Apple, Microsoft and Honda. He spent nine years as a strategic planning director with W+K’s London and Portland offices, before leaving to join Nike as global consumer planning director in 2005. After two years with Nike, he spent a year as strategic director, EMEA with Ogilvy & Mather and one as strategic planning director with R/GA London.

“I’m really looking forward to working with Rosie and the team,” said Davies. “BETC are trying new things and are keen on working in different ways. That suits me. It’s going to be fun.”

Droga5’s newest client is The Paper of Record: our own hometown New York Times.

NYT reps told us today that they would not be able to help us in our search for more information regarding the relationship between the two, and Droga5 declined to comment.

But we can confirm, via multiple sources, that the agency has been working with The Grey Lady’s marketing department on a project basis. The nature of the work is not clear, but we hear that it ties into the paper’s larger strategic goals.

That almost certainly translates into increasing the NYT’s subscriber base and appealing to younger, more diverse audiences while maintaining its position as the dominant news brand in an increasingly splintered digital media ecosystem.

Last October, the Jeff Bezos-owned Washington Post surpassed the New York Times in overall web traffic for the first time; as the latter org’s Lydia Polgreen put in a tweet at the time, “Meet America’s new paper of record.” The same month, the Times’ editorial staff sent out a 12-page internal memo titled “Our Path Forward” and announced a very ambitious plan: doubling digital revenues over the next five years.

The Times’ digital subscriptions have been growing as print advertising dollars dwindle, but it may struggle to reach the aforementioned revenue goal. A September Digiday report noted the NYT’s plans to localize its editorial and marketing efforts and the challenges it faces in both expanding its global audience and attracting international advertisers that have traditionally worked with local publications.

Droga5’s first work for The New York Times should debut at some point in the coming months.

We would also note that this development has nothing to do with a May Style piece that cast Droga5 employees as a self-contained fashion show in what should forever serve as a case study in PR mastery.

Coca-Cola is looking for a new creative agency to work on its Diet Coke brand, AdAge reports.

“Several months ago, Diet Coke and Droga5 decided to part ways, and we wish each other continued success,” a Coke spokeswoman told the publication in a statement. “The brand will update its agency roster in the future. In the meantime, the Diet Coke ‘Get A Taste’ ad campaign continues to run in broadcast.”

That campaigned launched back in 2014 and includes a spot featuring Taylor Swift and a swarm of kittens.

While Coca-Cola is utilizing a one-brand strategy internationally, with ads typically featuring more than one Coke brand, it will continue to advertise Diet Coke separately in the U.S., according to a statement Rafael Acevedo, group director for Diet Coke, Coca-Cola North America made to AdAge earlier this year.  “You will continue to see future executions that will be completely based on Diet Coke by itself and communicating its own personality and really connecting with the loyal consumer base that it has,” he said at the time.

According to Kantar Media, Coca-Cola spent around $21.7 million on measured media for the Diet brand in the first six months of the year and $47.1 million in 2015.

The news comes just as we’re learning about Droga5’s newest client, The New York Times. Back in August, the agency picked up creative duties on A-B InBev’s Best Damn alcopop brand, resigning Strongbow and Newcastle in the process, as well as on unnamed future projects for Mondelez’s Trident gum brand earlier that month.

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(TrendHunter.com) The top October 2016 art ideas include paintings, installations and sculptures that use form, color and other elements of design to express a range of viewpoints.

While paint is typically used in…

A new ad from a conservative anti-Clinton group extends a message that Donald Trump put out in the first presidential debate — that Hillary Clinton lacks the “stamina” to do the job — by describing her as a “tired career politician.” The ad from 45Commitee, a group formed in Oct. 2015 specifically to oppose Clinton’s campaign, comes in 30-second and 60-second versions destined for swing state TV markets.

In the 30-second version (above), an announcer says, “What if we stay on the same path? A flat-line economy. Constant scandals and lies. Endless criminal investigations. The choice is clear. A tired career politician who’d increase taxes and cost jobs? Or a proven job creator” — Donald Trump is on screen at this point — “who’ll fight for good American jobs and appoint common-sense judges who will uphold law and order. It’s time to make America strong again.”

The 60-second version (below) follows the same template but adds additional language here and there — including, curiously, “No candidates are ever perfect” right before “But this choice is clear,” as a ballot that shows Clinton’s and Trump’s names appears on screen.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

The 17th edition of The New Yorker Festival begins Friday, including for the second year some panel discussions and events sponsored by brands.

Raymond James, the financial services company, will sponsor two panels on Sunday: “Food Pilgrammages,” which will focus on “destination dining,” and “Built Attractions,” which will discuss travel.

This time, The New Yorker is tapping talent from other Cond Nast brands to sit on the panels. Editors from Bon Apptit and Cond Nast Traveler will take part in the food panel, and editors from Architectural Digest and Golf Digest will discuss travel. The reason? Because the sponsored panels are part of an “integrative” and “multiplatform” advertising buy from Raymond Jones, which includes paid media in all five of the titles, according New Yorker publisher Lisa Hughes.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

Two Pulitzer winners, two previous National Book Award winners and a debut author are among the 22 finalists. Robert A. Caro will receive a lifetime achievement award.

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