Ben Coulson: Easily Distracted and a Master at Parking Backwards
Ben believes the industry is full of oracles and futurists and yet, he doesn’t claim to be one. He’d rather let the future come to him, strangely and quickly. Going along with the ride, and learning as much as he can before the next wave takes over.
Having spent many years working within the industry Ben has created campaigns for high profile clients from across Australia and New Zealand.
He has worked for Clemenger BBDO, McCann Worldgroup, HERO and today finds himself at Dentsu Creative Australia.
LBB’s Casey Martin spoke to Ben about the future of trends within the industry, and how not to treat creatives like toys.
LBB> Have you always been a creative person, even as a child?
Ben> If being easily distracted in class qualifies, then my teachers would say definitely yes.
LBB> As the chief creative officer at Dentsu Creative, what initiatives do you plan to implement to foster a culture of innovation and creativity within the agency?
Ben> I was thinking a chocolate fountain statue of Rick Ruben in reception would be the obvious place to start. Beyond that, a relentless focus on doing things that haven’t been done before. I’m not huge on agency mantras, but there’s a good one here at Dentsu Creative: “We make the never before”. I like that because it’s a reminder to chase the most elusive of ideas: the truly original one.
LBB> With your extensive experience across various regions and agencies, what lessons have you learned about driving creative excellence, and how do you plan to apply these lessons at Dentsu Creative?
Ben> There is one lesson often forgotten by management: don’t treat the creatives like children or prized toys. Meaning don’t shepherd them from the realities of the business, or the clients. More great work comes out when the people who do the ideas have a direct relationship to the people buying them. It creates trust, which is the only way to get to the brave ideas.
LBB> How do you see the role of creativity evolving in the current media landscape, and what strategies will you employ to ensure that Dentsu Creative remains at the forefront of this evolution?
Ben> There’s no shortage of futurists and oracles in our game. Personally, I don’t claim to know the exact way creativity will evolve, which I love. It has always been unpredictable; the best work always defies trends. I think it's good to know the trend/new medium etc, then mess with it in an unexpected way.
LBB> Can you share some examples from your career where you've successfully pushed the boundaries of traditional creative thinking?
Ben> I’ve always parked backwards in the carpark. It’s taking time, but I’m hoping someone here will notice and see the metaphor.
LBB> Given the industry's emphasis on delivering impactful results with limited budgets, how do you plan to balance creativity and cost-effectiveness in your creative strategies at Dentsu Creative?
Ben> Regardless of the budget, the challenge is always to make the work outperform the expectation. It's not always an executional thing, remember the Harvey Niclas Shop lifters work? Million-dollar idea, two dollar execution.
LBB> With the increasing demand for personalised and data-driven creative solutions, how do you envision integrating data insights into the creative process at Dentsu Creative?
Ben> Data is really behaviour being measured. Our business is all about observing behaviour, so we get involved in the data early. We interrogate it for the unusual, not just the expected. And we go looking for interesting behaviours that lead us to ideas.
LBB> What are your thoughts on the importance of diversity and inclusion in fostering creativity and innovation within an agency, and how do you plan to champion these values at Dentsu Creative?
Ben> Our audience is from all walks of life, and so we need to be also.
LBB> As the industry undergoes profound changes, what role do you see Dentsu Creative playing in shaping the future of advertising and marketing?
Ben> Hopefully a big one. Dentsu has capabilities beyond the traditional agency stuff. We make all kinds of interesting things, often for brands, sometimes direct to market. Just this week I saw a reality TV show we made, that involves a bunch of Jordy Shore types being captured by Apes, in a version of Love Island meets Lord of the Flies. It’s now in its third season... mind blown.
LBB> How do you plan to nurture and develop talent within Dentsu Creative to ensure that the agency continues to attract and retain top creative professionals in the industry?
Ben> All roads lead back to the quality of the work. You can have pretty crappy offices, with the cheapest quality coffee in the kitchen and you’ll still have the best talent, if you can get great work out.
LBB> What are the trends in the region you’re expecting to see take-off in the next year?
Ben> I’d like to see a trend emerge where we solve clients' branding problems, before we go solving every social issue with our two-minute case films. Please can we stop inventing tech that pretends to help people with disabilities do stuff, it really stinks.
LBB> If you could change one thing about the industry, what would it be and why?
Ben> I’ve heard stories about life before the introduction of fringe benefit tax (FBT), just once I’d like to see what that was like.
