Frank Wolfram on the Beauty of the Creative Data
Frank Wolfram, Chief Technology Officer Geometry Global EMEA, was the keynote speaker in “The Best of Cannes” event, that took place on the 18th of November at Sheraton. The goal of the event ? To train and inspire the creative and marketing community in order to motivate people in their goal to win a Lion.
Here are Frank’s answers to a few questions related to creative data and how this can help the industry to advance forward:
Q.: Why do you think creative data is one of the best new categories in Cannes ?
Frank Wolfram: Creative Data can in a way show where our industry is shifting towards. From brand communication to brand utility development. Some entries I saw really point in that direction.
Q.: Do you think PR or creative companies should learn, understand and be in search of the creative data ?
F.W.: The ongoing digitalisation means that more and more meaningful data is created. PR agencies already use social listening tools in order to understand conversations. Creative shops need to understand the changing behavior of always-on consumers. Creative data can be the base of that understanding but also creates the opportunity to tell stories or create value-added services.
Q.: Why and how they can do it ?
F.W.: Why is easy: mobile and the cloud have commoditised the access enabling technologies. How? By following three steps: acquire (data), analyse (data), apply (data). The biggest shift for existing shops is in culture, structure and process. And digital strategists, creative technologist and data scientists are the top talents everybody is now chasing.
Q.: How this discipline can help the communication industry to evolve and perform ?
F.W.: The power of the GAFA (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon) giants as digital experience gatekeepers increases. Brands need solutions to help them to cut through and reach their audiences. This creates lots of opportunities for our industry but also calls for evolution in skills and capabilities.
Q.: What do you think is the most fascinating phenomena in the communication industry nowadays?
F.W.: The classical categorization of agencies fade away. Everybody competes with everyone. And new breads of agencies emerge especially in the field of Service Design a mixture between startup and agency. These outfits currently attract a lot of talent.
Q.: What s your personal objective / challenge / dream about the agency you are representing nowadays ?
F.W.: The nurture an environment where highly diverse teams of strategists, creatives and technologists can strive for meaningful solutions.
Q.: A story from your childhood that anticipate your career in tech& creativity?
F.W.: My dad gave me the first computer when I was 12. I learned how to program it within a week. I immediately was hooked to idea of software being magic made tangible.
