TBWA Study Released For Cannes Lions Shows The Future Of Creative Work

TBWA Study Released For Cannes Lions Shows The Future Of Creative Work
B&T Magazine
Edited by B&T Magazine



TBWA\Worldwide has today released a global study on the Future of Creative Work, revealing how creative talent feels about the state of the workplace, and what companies can do to make it better for employees.

Compared with the general employee benchmark, creative talent are significantly less likely to be satisfied with their work/life balance (55 percent, compared to a 64 percent global benchmark), and more likely to feel burned out or discouraged a lot of the time. In a culture where boundaries, mental health and stability are the most important values, the time has come for change.

Analyzing data from three different global sources—a proprietary TBWA global quantitative study which surveyed employees at creative companies as well as a general employee sample; syndicated resources such as Forrester and HBR, and by scraping content from employee review sites—the study seeks to uncover just how much the culture of creative work had changed since the workism-fueled 2010s.

“Creativity has the ability to move the world forward,” said Ben Williams, TBWA’s global chief creative experience officer, who co-led the study with Agathe Guerrier, the agency’s global chief strategy officer. “But for agencies and creative companies to be leading this progress, our work cultures need to evolve, quickly.”

Added Guerrier, “As an industry, we have a tendency to use creativity as an excuse, as if working in a creative field was reward enough to forego such mundane notions as annual reviews, career paths, functioning processes and fair pay. The findings of the research should act as a wake-up call. Our talent is asking us to respect their time and mental space, to provide financial stability, and to deliver a better daily experience of creative work.”

The full report is available now, and highlights include:

Today’s Talent Works to Live, Not Vice Versa

We are entering a new era when it comes to the culture of work. To put this research into context, the study looked at relevant Edges–TBWA’s term for a meaningful cultural shift. The top three Edges that resonated the most in the study across the general sample of all employees, not just creative, all showed work being put firmly back in its place.

  • Work/ Life Boundaries, 80 percent respondents agree/ strongly agree it is important their employer helps them achieve a good balance between personal and professional life.
  • Stability Pursuit, 79 percent respondents strongly agree it is important their employer helps them maintain stability in their work-life so they can confidently plan for the personal milestones they care about. What’s even more surprising is that stability is most important to the youngest employees: 69 percent strongly agree among 18-25s, versus 51 percent among 41-55s.
  • Mind Maintenance, 77 percent respondents agree/strongly agree it is important their employer helps them care for their mental health by avoiding unnecessary pressures or stress, and proactively supports their emotional wellbeing.

The cultural value that mattered the least out of the nine measured among all respondents, creative and the general sample, was Activist Awakening–the idea that work should align with a person’s values or causes they care about.

Creative Talent Expects More

The findings show that creative talent has stronger demands of their employers than the general population sample.

  • Work/Life Balance, 63 percent of creatives strongly agree it is important that their employer help them achieve a healthy balance vs 44 percent general population sample.
  • Stability Pursuit, 59 percent of creatives strongly agree vs 38 percent general population sample.
  • Mind Maintenance, 58 percent of creatives strongly agree vs 42 percent general population sample.

The Daily Grind Is Worse for Creatives

While creative companies earn high marks for placing a high value on creativity (81 percent vs a 51 percent global benchmark), as well as building cultures where employees feel respected by their co-workers (86 percent) and receive praise and recognition for their work (71 percent), they are falling short on the day-to-day employee experience.

Creatives are 2x more likely to say things like approvals and authorizations, day to day schedule and task management and daily commutes degrade their work experience than the global benchmark.

Williams notes “The biggest problem is with the day-to-day experience of creative work–the pain points and daily grind standing in the way of flow. We’re seeing talent increasingly ask for their boundaries to be respected, help achieving their goals and support with their mental wellbeing. They know what they want, and we need to be giving it to them.”

Implications

The findings point to some actionable changes all creative companies can make.

#1 Creativity cannot thrive without daily process and structure.

Creative industries are not delivering on the functions of daily work–the approvals and processes and operational burdens that get in the way of getting down to work. How can we improve the daily experience of work to enable more creative flow? As one example, TBWA is looking at different business models to incentivize faster, smarter and more efficient ways of working.

#2 Talent wants work to stay in its lane.

While we used to think talent wanted work and life to blend, it’s clear they want boundaries. How can we better protect talent’s boundaries, or at least recognize when we overstep, especially when the physical boundaries of life and work are blurrier than ever with remote work?

#3 Stability matters more than spirituality.

Where we thought talent yearned for an employer who aligned with their high-level values and worldview, we’re discovering their expectations are more pragmatic. Companies can focus on the fundamentals, from annual reviews to growth plans to compensation, and gain more satisfaction than offering quick fixes. TBWA agencies including Shanghai, New York and others have invested in transparent career planning and professional development plans to give clearer career direction to talent.

TBWA is in the initial stages of a long term investment in employee experience, exploring more efficient models and ways of working and applying learnings to the company’s operations. Anyone interested in advancing the Future of Creative Work agenda can contribute comments and ideas directly in the report.




Please login with linkedin to comment

TBWA Australia

Latest News

Archibald Williams Wins NBA Digital, Activation & Fan Engagement Accounts For APAC
  • Media

Archibald Williams Wins NBA Digital, Activation & Fan Engagement Accounts For APAC

Independent brand and digital agency, Archibald Williams (AW) has been appointed to lead the NBA account across the APAC region. The NBA is one of the most prestigious sporting leagues in the world and basketball is one of the fastest-growing sports in Australia. Effective immediately, AW said it was “excited” to work across all digital, […]

QMS Champions Creativity As First Most Contagious APAC 2023 Sponsor
  • Advertising

QMS Champions Creativity As First Most Contagious APAC 2023 Sponsor

Leading digital outdoor company QMS has announced it is the first-ever inaugural partner for Most Contagious APAC, the landmark London event by creative and strategic intelligence company Contagious, which will be showcased in Australia on Tuesday, 12 December in Sydney and Wednesday, 13 December in Melbourne. Most Contagious is an event that delivers key advertising […]

OMG’s Annalect First To Get Meta’s Advanced Analytics
  • Technology

OMG’s Annalect First To Get Meta’s Advanced Analytics

Omnicom’s data and analytics division Annalect has partnered with Meta, giving it access to Advanced Analytics (AA) – one of Meta’s privacy-focused measurement solutions – to provide Omnicom’s clients with future-proof, next-level measurement. Omnicom is the first holding company to have access to AA. AA allows advertisers to combine their first-party data with Meta’s ads […]

AKQA Launches Eco-Conscious AI DIY Assistant Encouraging People To Gift More Sustainably
  • Technology

AKQA Launches Eco-Conscious AI DIY Assistant Encouraging People To Gift More Sustainably

WPP’s AKQA has launched Fixmas.gift, an environmentally conscious AI-powered DIY assistant, affectionately known as Fixie, for a one-stop solution for all things repair. Fixmas.gift hosts an array of guides and inspiration to empower people to prolong the lives of their belongings or purchase pre-owned items that need a little love and care. Fixie can: Help […]

Marc Collister: AI & Automation Set To Revolutionise Creativity In 2024
  • Opinion

Marc Collister: AI & Automation Set To Revolutionise Creativity In 2024

Marc Collister (pictured) of P2 Content Creators spills the beans on his 2024 predictions drawing from two decades of experience in the advertising, film and television industry. I’m certain it will come as no surprise that in 2024, we can expect our industry to move at breakneck speed again. With even more rapid shifts in […]

Opinion

by B&T Magazine

B&T Magazine
Zeno Group Australia Bolsters Client Offerings With An Expanded Creative Services Portfolio & New Senior Leader
  • Marketing

Zeno Group Australia Bolsters Client Offerings With An Expanded Creative Services Portfolio & New Senior Leader

Zeno Australia has announced expanded creative design capabilities and the appointment of Jim Michell (lead image) to its senior leadership team. The new moves support strong growth in the region. Zeno Australia’s clients, including Abano Healthcare, Motorola and Yorkshire Tea, can now tap into a suite of creative design services to augment the agency’s work […]

Assembled Media Inks TikTok Creator Campaign for BIC
  • Campaigns

Assembled Media Inks TikTok Creator Campaign for BIC

Assembled Media, is drawing upon the creative power of TikTok Creator Marketplace to help generate unique, impactful content for iconic stationery brand, BIC. The social activation campaign titled ‘A Pen for Every Side of You’ promotes the flexibility of BIC’s 4 Colours pen and is active nationwide on the BIC Stationery TikTok account. The campaign […]

Big data and analytics visualization technology with scientist analyzing information structure on screen with machine learning to extract predictions for business, finance, internet of things
  • Media

IAB Launches Fourth Module In Its Marketing Measurement Innovation Series

IAB Australia has launched ‘Evolution in Market Mix Modelling’, the fourth module in its Marketing Measurement Innovation Series, which has been developed by IAB Australia’s Ad Effectiveness Council. The module explores what is driving the increased use of MMM and how the technique is evolving with advances in computing power and machine learning to provide […]

Aerial view of a coal fired power station with large cooling towers emitting co2 into the atmosphere. With its lights already turned on the power station is illuminated in moody twilight.
  • Media

Scope3 Expands Carbon Measurement Capabilities To Include DOOH Advertising

Scope3, the collaborative sustainability platform leading the decarbonisation of media and advertising,  announced the addition of digital out-of-home (DOOH) to its emissions measurement. With DOOH ad spending predicted to grow from $17B in 2023 to nearly $24B by 2028, measuring this channel brings us one step closer to understanding the total impact of digital advertising […]

January 14, 2023 - New York, New York, USA: 2023 NRF Big Show press conference with Composition 2024 NRF Singapore.    Photo by Ian Wagreich / © Ian Wagreich Photography
  • Marketing

Now Open For Registration – NRF 2024: Retail’s Big Show Asia Pacific

NRF 2024: Retail’s Big Show Asia Pacific, is now open for online registrations for the main conference. Jointly organized by the National Retail Federation and Comexposium, Retail’s Big Show Asia Pacific will take place from 11 – 13 June, 2024 at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre in Singapore and is expected to draw thousands […]