It all started with a hunch: communication agencies always relied on external production houses to create their content, looking elsewhere for editors, producers and motion designers. At Miyagi—now Media.Monks Milan—we immediately proposed an "all inclusive" approach, where inclusiveness also meant the idea of ​​merging creativity with production capacity, creating in house what others were looking for outside. In this way we have integrated strategy, creativity and production both as our mindset and as our modus operandi, knowing how to solve problems immediately and before others, like the new Mr. Wolf of communication. Lean, fast, smart, without forgetting that coolness that is so popular in Milan.

Content first, because content is our king. 

We have always been a content-oriented company. But how do you get there first? How do you anticipate a trend? You do it by following the evolution of both culture and social media. Which came first, TikTok or its content? Why do certain themes become trends and others don’t? What “works?” We must keep in mind that society and social media always influence each other.

It’s not enough to be creative. We need to have a structure capable of continuously shaping itself, driven by the desire for novelty and constant change, and thus become capable of adapting to the zeitgeist of the moment. There we were, with our flag planted on the moon before it became mainstream.

Anticipating trends means knowing how to grasp them but also welcoming them, without prejudice, with curiosity and interest.

When, for example, for Ray-Ban they asked us to launch a social activation on TikTok—a channel where the brand was not yet established—with the goal of eliciting user generated content, we sought to understand the inkling of what would become common tropes: what are these people doing in the elevator? Why do they start making videos of themselves dancing between doors that open and close on the next floor? What if they put on sunglasses?

Thus, in one afternoon on a sofa scrolling TikTok, an explosive, highly successful campaign was born. It was all there: the brand, the wow effect, the gameplay mechanics and the perfect positioning of the brand within a context like that of TikTok. Ray-Ban was speaking the right language, and it was having fun too. The campaign earned 17.2 billion views, 3.2+ million new videos and an engagement rate of 14%.

Creative thinking with a productive approach.

Back in the day, agencies offered clients mostly static social content. Beautiful, original, engaging—but static. And videos were another category, often not even requested, because they were perceived as too complex both to create and in terms of economic sustainability. The so-called "production machine" was demanding, requiring an effort that was seen as time-consuming and expensive in investment.

Our mindset, however, has always been that of a varied group, a production structure with creativity shared horizontally between each profession. In short, the team saw the power of strategic figures such as videomakers, editors, graphic designers, etc., collaborating together. Thus we could propose lateral, disruptive, cool and much more dynamic ideas to a client than static content. And all this was absolutely affordable. It wasn't magic, it was our added value: creativity with a production structure. Something different from an agency, something more than an agency.

At the time, therefore, our direct B2B customer found himself with video content instead of static, but at prices that were difficult to find elsewhere. And at the same time, end customers and consumers could benefit from cool content that stood out from the others.

On the other hand, when we face a brief we don't immediately launch into the execution of a good idea. We take a step back and analyze the brand in depth. This allows us to identify not only the business problems, but all the aspects that led to that problem, in order to be able to provide a creative solution that is not only beautiful but also effective. And consistent.

Smart flexibility.

Today we are increasingly dealing with a dynamic world, where projects merge with channels, brands with content, and the dynamics are even faster and constantly evolving. There is no longer time to think in just one direction; but we need to have a broad outlook, to be able to interpret ourselves in many different aspects.

Our being "smart" is above all a productive flexibility, which continuously adapts to any need. There are projects that start one way and then evolve into new forms and possibilities, how do you manage not to go haywire? By planning from the beginning and knowing how to anticipate problems and needs. You cannot be rigid, otherwise you will find yourself blocked at every unexpected step. And so moving forward, taking a long view and knowing how to adapt becomes a method and a mentality that concerns all departments, from creativity to production.

In this way, dismantling and reassembling a production plan becomes part of the journey, a team effort that adapts to needs and which always focuses on the quality and effectiveness of the result.

Technology as a superpower.

Artificial intelligence is the big theme these days. The world is divided between those who see it as the end of humanity and those who see it as the path to a better future. For us, AI must be an ally, a tool at our service.

If when we started our adventure, over ten years ago, we were able to enter the market as an agency different from the others, precisely because our method and our "know-how" could be an added value, today we want to be the first to know how to interpret new technologies and integrate them into the way we work. Instead of being afraid of it, we must know it, understand it, and study it. And make her become part of our team.

We like to think of AI as a super power in our hands, and—to quote Spiderman—"with great power comes great responsibility." Translated into the Monks context, AI is a huge opportunity to improve the quality of work. It's up to us to decide how.

One way is by integrating it into our work routine, as a useful support and not as a shortcut. For copy, it is an ally in creating many variations on the theme, testing ideas and content, and generating text that can provide new inspiration. For an artist it is a way of being able to travel with the imagination, accelerating the creation of complex and daring ideas, allowing oneself to make the most of time. The speed that AI offers us is not so much in doing in less time what previously took hours, but rather being able to do more, being able to dedicate ourselves more deeply to real priorities and not blocking creative processes.

AI is part of our smart and flexible path, because, just like in our early days, we are capable of remaining competitive, fast and cost-efficient without sacrificing quality and originality. This is why we want to be ready immediately, before others, learning to govern it, manage it and foresee its uses and new scenarios. In line with our history, we like to be ready and always prepared.

We’ll be there for you.

And now? We will continue to be there before others, hungry for curiosity and full of enthusiasm. Milan has taught us to always be open to the future and listen to what is happening around us. We have always liked getting straight to the goal with concrete, coherent and achievable ideas, but we also want to amaze. We believe in the value of the team as a group of people who collaborate to share a common passion together. It is exciting and a great satisfaction to expand our group more and more today, opening ourselves up to new worlds and an international context. After always looking for it, we too feel a bit like that "next best thing."

Enterprise companies are seeking management practices focused on strategies, systems and culture that foster creativity. On our first installment of “Talking Creativity” webinars, we touched on the topic of always-on creativity: how leading brands are maintaining high standards of creativity and the ways that creatives, who form the engine for sparking innovations, are building the systems for scale. Below are a handful of takeaways from the session.

Everyone is creative, but some exercise it better than others.

From finance to data, legal to sales, or even science to football, every job function has individuals who are inherently creative. Being creative is never an end, but rather a means to finding solutions. One must continuously hone their skills in creativity. Haniah Omar, Associate Creative Director for Media.Monks Singapore, put it this way: “Remember pretending to be a plane when you were a kid? Bring that amusement back and channel it to solve real-world problems.”

The new-age creatives need to be like Swiss army knives.

Creatives need to dream big but dream quickly. They need to imbibe an iterative approach to creativity by thinking, doing, testing and repeating. Most creatives today need to be “T-shaped people”: experts in one or two fields who also have skills in other ones, and who are able to connect those competencies. For example, if you have pitched your creative idea, you have been a salesman. It’s donning multiple hats but knowing the one that fits rather comfortably.

Organizations must be willing to invest in creativity and innovation.

Global Marketing Director for Paypal Shane Capron shares that his mantra is to innovate or die. He quoted a study he’d read about how 77% of brands could disappear and people wouldn’t even care. The only way of survival is to invest in creativity, knowing that it might not yield results immediately but can help future-proof your business. It’s important to avoid having myopic view. Think of both the immediate and long-lasting effects of creativity and innovation on the brand.

Agility can be a bit of a dangerous word.

Despite needing to be agile in today’s volatile world, Capron warns brands not to get on a race to the finish line, absorbing as much data as possible and applying them into campaigns. That’s when brands turn to a cookie-cutter approach to creativity, making their marketing ineffective and their people burnt out. Creativity comes from unlocking beautiful insights that enable brands to make a significant impact on its consumers now and into the future. Agencies who help brands do that build brand continue to build value amidst disruption.

Simplify the brief.

Capron shares how briefs can be a whiteboard for demonstrating marketer knowledge and includes all the bells and whistles. This is when creativity can be in the ether but not touch real ground. It’s important to really dig into what problem statement the brand is dealing with and what are the mediums they could explore within a time frame. Instead of the nice-to-haves, focus on the north star and try to understand what’s not on the brief. Those cues are important to brand learning.

Make space for collective creativity.

We pride ourselves for offering brands seamless access to a diverse range of global talent, agnostic of where your business is. This comes from the understanding that collective creativity is truly a superpower and that sharing insights is key. Organizations must create a system for creativity and innovation by combining people and teams with three individual factors: plasticity (drive to explore), divergence (high-degree of non-conformity and impulsivity) and convergence (ability to be precise, conscientious and persistent by seeing interdependencies). Omar believes putting your soul out there as a creative is scary but teamwork makes it lesser so.

"A great innovative idea can come from anywhere." Shane Capron, Global Marketing Director, PayPal

Seize the areas ripe for creativity.

With digitalization and now virtualization, creativity will play a key role in riding the future. Capron warns brands to not just fit into mediums for the sake of it. Instead, they should define their purpose and then choose the medium that best supports it. Creativity is finding the right role brands can play to add value to the customer. We’ve mapped out different virtual realms to help brands discover ways they can authentically present themselves in our Map of The Metaverse worlds. 

Finally, the panelists shared that the ultimate role of creativity is about being meaningful and influencing change—be it in changed behavior, identity, experience and/or growth. Awesome work ultimately creates memory recall and has a lasting impact on the minds of consumers. Thus, exercising creativity is knowing the role you play in shaping the future.