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Oct 1, 2026
[Volume 1 Issue 2] BEN JAMES: Relentless Reinvention at Crispin - One Month In as CCO
[Volume 1 Issue 2] BEN JAMES: Relentless Reinvention at Crispin - One Month In as CCO
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Transcript
0:00
So we think about organizational design that way- Yeah... um, and, and its real effects on how we can make that work in the best way to get, uh, great things done for client businesses. Yeah. That's, um...
0:14
Shoot, I just [chuckles] I was so into what you were just saying, I lost my, my follow-up. Um, oh, here it is.
0:20
[upbeat music] I am currently focused on my new role as chief creative officer of Crispin.
0:48
So in that role and in that focus, I'm really focused on the Crispin brand, how it lives today, uh, what the people at Crispin do, and the things that we're gonna make for clients that makes it really, really fun.
1:04
Perfect. All right. So let's, let's, we'll get into things. So let's, um, uh, and again, we've talked before, but let's kinda set some timelines.
1:09
So we're literally recording on the last day of the first month of, of this role for you, so- Mm-hmm... this is the first month that you've been kind of in this role at this new company, and this is the last day of it.
1:18
So we've been talking. But what is it kind of one month in now, that being your timeline, what, uh, what's kind of a broad view of what it is that you've been doing this past month in this role? Yeah.
1:30
I mean, this is the 30-day moment of a new leadership role. This is exactly that moment. Um, and what I've been focused on is learning about the people here,
1:45
learning about the work that we do, learning about the clients that we work with, and then thinking about the best ways to market what is the best of what Crispin does, uh, in a very modern context.
1:59
And so we're focused on exploring what are the things that we're best at and, you know, some of the exciting things that we have coming up with client conversations about what we do, and I'm excited to share that there's a lot to share.
2:13
[chuckles] Yeah. Yeah. And w- and I wanna get into whatever you wanna get into. So real quick, you, you mentioned team though, so just kinda...
2:19
And again, we've talked, so I know that's what your focus has been, but this is also, you know, it's a brand-new role for you and it's a brand-new company, so you're doing the work and you're learning your role, but then you're also, like, meeting maybe new people, maybe people you knew, but you're also building relationships in this first 30 days, like you already pointed to.
2:35
So can you talk a little bit about what the team looks like right now, like what you actually are coming into? Yeah. So Crispin today is made up of creative and media, uh, as it always has been.
2:48
Um, and it's really about mixing together those things to make sure that we connect in the zeitgeist with whatever we need to do for clients to, uh, further their business and achieve some goals.
3:03
So, um, there's a pretty enormous amount of media thinking, um, pretty enormous amount of social media thinking, and then a lot of package work. So today at Crispin, we do creative media,
3:20
uh, social newsrooms, and package design, culturally driven package design. Hmm. So this is a unique situation, um, me joining this brand and doing this.
3:33
So I do believe that as a leader, uh, and especially with the way that
3:40
the message moves now through media, um, it's really important that you understand the people who are responsible for being, you know, becoming the squads- Hmm...
3:51
really that work with clients to get their message into the world.
3:55
So from a leadership context, did some things that might be considered a, a bit inventive in the way that it went about getting to know some of the team and trying to just put in the new energy that's needed but continue with the momentum that we also already have.
4:12
Yeah. So that's actually-- So we can get into it if, if you want, because that's, uh, my next question's gonna be ar- kind of around, you know, very traditional, like what's working for you right now?
4:20
What are your first early wins?
4:21
But I know this is an area that we've talked about before with team specific, so can we get into like those u- kind of unique things, one of those things that you've been, you've been kinda implementing this first month?
4:29
Yeah. The f- the first team thing that I did is I sent a note that is just, you know, the hi, I'm here note, uh, to the, the whole team and really about half the agency,
4:43
and invited them to an IRL series called Chop Up the Algorithm. So had the idea to have everyone share what is inspiring them in their own social media and algorithms.
5:00
But the way they shared it we made a little unique, in that we asked, uh, them to screen grab the things that were most inspiring from their social media and then actually print those out so that we could have a paused discussion about it.
5:20
Uh- Yeah... explicitly said, uh, this is not to have links sent over in a teams chat. This is not to have something texted as a link.
5:32
Um, but rather to really look at the architecture of the feed and the architecture of the algorithm and what is it that makes up the things that come at us that inspire us every day. So, um,
5:48
we've done that in the New York office, in our Houston office, where on Thursdays we print out what inspires us from the world and really from social media,
6:00
and then take it to the middle of the room and gather around it and have a discussion about what we like Yeah.
6:07
So going, like when you were, and I've loved talking about this and, and seeing it kinda like unfold over these weeks, but going into it, what are your-- Can you kinda give a snapshot of what it is you were hoping for, like, to get out of this exercise when you, when you kicked it off?
6:18
Yeah. Uh, the main hope is really about, you know, taking pause to think about the things we make and why we make them. Um,
6:29
you know, a, a big part of it is to just see and just be curious about, you know, what comes at people who are the people that we employ to work with clients to reach into culture and connect with audiences in new ways.
6:46
So what I've noticed is that, you know, over the time that we've had social media, it's just become an overwhelming amount of messaging that's coming at us. You know, that, that stuff is much,
7:01
you know, cited and understood or at least talked about as, you know, how many messages we receive every day and how long the scroll is and all that.
7:11
But, um, continue to see a lack of people actually creating the forums to take pause to really look at it. So we did this in order to see
7:24
what are the things that inspire the people we work with, um, what are the things that come up the most, um, and then really look at the actual, you know, context with which these things come at us. And
7:40
what we've done with that is really multifold. Um, you know, through that exercise, we know how to study what really works in social media.
7:52
Um, we really study the way that, you know, frame by frame looks, um, really break down. Um, we look at what is the most impactful, why is it coming through to one particular person. And there's been some interesting
8:09
sort of added benefits to it that we didn't necessarily expect. One being- Hmm... like
8:15
often when I've been in organizations where we share a lot of the same information just through the links that we get, our algorithms start to influence each other, and we start to drift into the being the same community.
8:27
Through this, we've managed to, um, continue to keep the diversity of thought that we have available to us, you know, kind of each person having their own, you know, media experience. Um- Yeah...
8:42
we're, we're able to really preserve that.
8:44
I've loved hearing about this 'cause even just talking about it now, it seems-- I mean, there's, again, like there was your original intent with this, but there's so many pieces 'cause you've already mentioned, like there's you getting to know your team through it.
8:54
Yeah. But then you're also getting to know, like you said, how social media works. I would imagine an offshoot of that is like how you can differentiate your own work within that.
9:02
Uh, you're starting to understand like culturally as a group and collective, like what you're bringing to the table. There's a lot of pieces in that. Like are these-- were these all things that you were expecting?
9:10
I think a lot of it had intention to it. Um- Yeah... part of the intention was to see what breadth we could get out of it. Um, I,
9:20
I will say though, it was first and foremost as a leader getting to know the people and what are they interested in doing and what are the kinds of things that they see that influence them because- Yeah...
9:32
I think that's a big part of the media ecosystem now is it has to do with this idea of, you know, a singular creative leader who is the one with- Yeah...
9:44
the ideas that shall save it, you know, or, or that shall do it anew. Yeah. I don't believe in that. Like, and um, I believe very much in,
9:56
um, lots of different creative input and cultural input coming from different places, and I think that that is a design that fits the media environment that we're in.
10:09
I do think, you know, another thing about it that I, I wanted to be different had to do with designing a solution that as a leader, um, what was I walking into? So we have- Mm-hmm...
10:22
offices in New York, Houston, and Los Angeles, and we have people that work at Crispin that live in Colorado, North Carolina, Washington State, uh, Pennsylvania, you know, quite a few different places.
10:39
Um, we connect with collaborators globally to do the work that we need to. So
10:47
I saw it as a design challenge of like how to get to know people across all of that geography and all of those spaces very, very quickly and, you know, to signal what I'm about, to invite what they're about, and to learn those things together.
11:07
So it, it is a-- it's a process and approach that's really fitting for us. I mean, yes, we also put dashboards up and- Yeah... look at what's performing in the social that we do.
11:20
We do an enormous amount of social media reporting for clients here. Some of that, um, across business needs that's actually
11:30
needs to be discreet because we actually deal in some, you know, communication management where client businesses require that of, of us. So we have all of those
11:41
abilities to be super technological about the way that we all reach out to each other, and we're still having all the Teams meetings and all the ways that people can be out in the world, um, as possible.
11:54
But this was a way to really collapse the time that it really takes to get to know an organization and think about the work we do. Yeah. That's-- it's-- I think it's fantastic.
12:04
How has it been received so far, like through the people that are coming and doing it? You know, um- I think it's, it's been received very well. I was, uh, uh, I was surprised at the enthusiasm for it, um- Mm...
12:18
because, you know, oftentimes these things are like, um, "Oh, what are we, what are we doing now?" You know, we have to print? Like- Yeah... does this guy know that the world's not entirely made of paper, you know?
12:31
Right. I think even in the original sort of like
12:35
the document I was writing as I was thinking about how to invite people into that as an experience, I even wrote, you know, "So go ahead and eye roll at this, and go ahead- Yeah...
12:47
and, you know, feel about this all you will, but please humor this and give this a chance." And, um, people came to the middle of the room straight away. Um,
13:00
in New York, uh, there were some people that I had left off the original list that just saw it happening who work on the media side, and they came over and they said, "Uh, what's going on here? Can we be part of this?"
13:15
And we're like, "Yes, you are a part of it, you know, get in." And they keep- Yeah... coming. And the other part is, um- Did you say, did you say and they keep coming, like they're returning to it? Yeah, yeah.
13:24
They've, they've continued- That's cool... to come through. Um, we do- Yeah... this every week. Um, there was-- We, we, we do it every week on Thursdays at 10:00.
13:33
Um, there was somebody that showed up last Tuesday at 10:00 thinking we're also doing it on Tuesdays already, and then she was saying to the others, "I came on Tuesday at 10:00 and nobody seemed ready to do it, so I printed out and I left my stuff."
13:48
And I said, "Hey, well, good news. I looked at your stuff on Wednesday 'cause it was sitting here in this p- printed pile, and I really like it, and let's talk about it." But then the team said- That's cool...
13:56
"Hey, can we start doing this on Tuesdays too?" And the other part is, um,
14:01
we've had collaborators come through who are, you know, partners in production companies and media companies come through, and they've caught glimpses of it, and they've asked to come back and be part of it. And- Hmm...
14:14
we're, we're rapidly turning it into client sessions, where we'll be inviting clients into it and, uh, have it a way of, of delivering the insights.
14:25
I mean, it's, it's, um, it's an approach where we really stop and pause and think about how we make value out of the things that are coming at us, and, um, we think that that is a high, high value.
14:39
Can we-- Okay, so to stay on this, like, the, the bucket of, like, things that are going well for you right now, kind of within the first month, we've talked about that a bit as far as the, you, your, your whole thoughts and strategy around bringing clients into this space.
14:50
Can you talk about that piece more? Yeah. So, um, I'm in a unique position as the chief creative officer of Crispin in 2026 and moving forward, uh, for the foreseeable future. [chuckles] Yeah.
15:08
Um, in that, uh, I started at Crispin in 2002- Yeah... in my career. And so I'm an alumni of Crispin who took
15:20
the learnings of the methodologies and really took them to lots and lots of different places and worked in a lot of different places with a lot of different people. And
15:30
I left Crispin in, like, 2006, somewhere around there. Okay. And I noticed over time, you know, the, the Crispin story went through several different chapters. This stuff is pretty well known. Hmm.
15:46
And I think that, um, Crispin alumni in particular are a really interesting particular audience to think about, where, you know, we would ask, "Well, what's going on at Crispin?"
15:59
Have talked to clients who say, "Well, what's going on at Crispin?" Or talking to other agencies in an IAT who go, "Well, what's going on at Crispin?"
16:08
And it's always this, you know, what's going on over there type of question. And so in the Crispin way, we are taking that question, and if someone asks us in the world, "What's going on at Crispin?"
16:23
We are saying, "Come by and see us." Hmm. Yeah. And so, uh, come by and see us is the strategy. [chuckles] Yeah.
16:30
It's, uh, if, if you're interested in what's going on at Crispin, come by and see us, and we'll invite you in. And, um, you know, that way it's like it separates the conversation into like, you know,
16:44
are you interested in like, you know, what's going on at Crispin for real, or are you interested in like just the industry thing that we do about like- Yeah... what happens with agency brands and all that kind of stuff?
16:57
Um, and so far we've had a few, and this, this itself will be an invitation to clients to come by and see us. Um, and when they stop by, they can see our social newsroom practice going on.
17:14
Uh, when they stop by, we can walk them through some of the packaging design that we do.
17:18
And when we stop by, when they stop by, we can create, um, you know, sessions where we really walk through how we're approaching media. So soon we'll get to show them work we're doing for Samsung. Yeah.
17:32
Soon we'll get to show them work we're doing for O'Keefe's. Um, it's through this that we'll get to show them the work that we do for New Balance. Um, we'll get to show them work we do in the CPG space.
17:45
Um, because the package design that's here, the creative media opportunity that's here, um, and just this n- new approach to social, um, or really an inventive approach to social is, um, something that we're really excited to share.
18:03
Um, and so it's a, it's a collaborative approach. It's like, well, come on by and let's talk about it, and let's hang out and- Yeah... and do something inventive together.
18:14
What I've found interesting, and again, like putting patterns together now over the times that we've talked
18:18
The, you know, there's one way of doing this where if you're, you know, you're wanting to educate your clients and you wanted to get more information out there about changes or whatever, you could have like put a deck together or an email or something, right, to send out to people.
18:29
But again, like I, I've loved hearing how you've been thinking through it specifically just because going back to the-- how you're designing the space, you're thinking through all touch points.
18:37
Like you're, you're, you're not just like sending out information, and you're also not just like inviting them in as a gimmick or like kinda strategy, whatever.
18:46
Like you've actually talked about how you've designed how they will move through your space, right, and like how they'll experience those brands and those projects.
18:52
And I think that that's fascinating that that is the level of detail that you're thinking about client engagement, especially in the time like you just pointed to,
19:00
how prevalent digital is and, and social is, and there's a, there's a very online version of how to do that, and you're going the opposite.
19:06
Just like chop up the algorithm, I think, is like you're bringing these kinda in real life experiences back to the whole thing, which I just-- which I think is really cool to be hearing about this. Yeah. Um.
19:15
The, the space is part of our outreach strategy and- Yeah... you know, even behind me you see like we're, you know, a key space for us is the text message.
19:24
[chuckles] So it's, you know, creating material that we need to be able to have really interesting texts that are, you know, invitations for people to come by and see us.
19:35
So, um, we hope even through this some, you know, some new people will text us and, and, uh, we'll start a text exchange that's really an invitation, you know, of how to do this. That's really cool. Okay.
19:47
So these are-- I mean, these are all great. Let's, let's talk about the other side for, for a minute if y- and depending on how you wanna go about this.
19:52
But let's talk about, um, kinda first month in, you know, big picture, what you have your arms around right now.
19:58
What about some obstacles, friction that you're finding, problems you're trying to solve, things that aren't like automatically going well, but w- what about those areas right now? Yeah. I mean, I think that, um,
20:09
a really interesting thing that's surfaced is, you know, people want to stick to the way that they go through the motions sometimes. And, um, you know- As in clients? Sorry to interrupt.
20:24
As in like clients, you mean, or in general? You know, um, I'd say m- often it can be with any organization that you join, you can find like just the way that something is run is done in an expected patterned way. Yeah.
20:41
And you might find that in a client business, you might find that with the people that you work with. And Crispin has never been about the expected patterned way.
20:53
Um, there's a way that we have to do that in order to make it a manageable business, um, that, you know, matters a lot.
21:01
But we have a lot of people who have a, a lot of ideas about exactly the way it's supposed to be based on, you know, what they believe to have happened here in the past or what happened in their past, you know, and like why does that work for us now.
21:19
So, um, we, we made a statement really to friends across the agency, and we just said, you know, "If something about the past benefits us in the market, we use it.
21:32
But if it's not really benefiting us for where we're going, we have to, you know, stop talking about the way things used to be." Hmm. Which is a really interesting sort of, um, dynamic to bring into it.
21:47
And I think that that happens in the client relationships as well. It's like any client relationship that you get into, you know, over time you start to get into the pattern. And, you know,
22:02
we get hired to establish new patterns or to solve things that are unexpected in unconventional and unexpected ways. And so if we don't
22:12
continue to come back with ideas that are gonna move the business in unexpected ways, then, you know, we can get stuck. And there, there is a little bit of a separation between, you know,
22:24
yes, a, a managed scope and, and making sure that we, we deliver on, on what is expected of us in a business relationship.
22:33
But, um, I've been, you know, pleasantly surprised and very excited about, you know, the conversations that we have with clients being like just very interested and open to, you know, new possibilities.
22:49
Um, they, they need that to power the businesses again and again and again. So we're really looking at, um, where are the best places there are opportunities for us to break through in new ways.
23:01
Crispin has been on this run of doing some pretty phenomenal video assets. Hmm. And a lot of those video assets getting used as spots.
23:10
Um, and I'm quite proud of that work and, and think it's very cool that we have it on our reel and our roster.
23:20
But we've really started to take a look at, well, how do we get into inventive production, like of, you know, what are the things that we need to create? We talked about it.
23:29
It, it's like you can get in this thing, especially when you're moving very, very quickly with a high volume kind of input, where, you know, it's like, well, the client needs a 30, we break into 15s and 6s and, you know- Mm-hmm...
23:45
and all that kind of stuff.
23:47
And, um, you can get into this thing of like, okay, well, we're here to make a, we're here to make a spot, so we have to do this and we have to do that, you know, and you end up with something like that. This...
23:58
The, the, the best methodology of Crispin was always about, you know, uh, making the most out of what you got. Hmm. You know? Um, and I think it's especially in tune with this environment. But
24:15
I, I'm really excited to say that, like the people embrace all this, and there's also lots of examples, you know, that we're having in the day-to-day where people can, um, where they're thinking very inventive ways.
24:27
The- Hmm The, the Samsung work that is about to be released is actually AI-driven, AI-created for a set of products at Samsung that have AI in them. Yeah.
24:41
So, you know, the way that we do that production, I think, um, the people that worked on it have some very interesting things to say about AI workflows, you know? Yeah.
24:52
Um, you know, I think that there's opportunities in some of the work that we do to do, uh...
25:00
take what we're really good at in, like, social newsrooms and then, like, put it into even things like the package design work that we do, maybe even use social insight for product development.
25:12
Um, we see opportunities for us in that space. Can you actually, just before, can you, um...
25:17
You've mentioned a few times, and I know we've talked about it, but can you, uh, clarify what you mean by social newsroom there? Yeah. So our space is set up like a newsroom. Yeah. And this is an, a new space for us.
25:29
Uh, we were seeing that we're getting a lot of inbound social opportunities, so our physical space is set up in a way that we can make messages move through really, really quickly.
25:43
Um, so to me, it's, it's like a combination of TMZ, Saturday Night Live, and The New York Times. Yeah. Like kinda all in one thing. And this is- Which sounds amazing.
25:56
[chuckles] Uh, it's a, it's a, it's a space and a theory and a way that, um, I've thought about for many, many years, having been influenced, you know, by some of those organizations. Um- Mm.
26:08
And, um, we're finding that for the modern internet and the modern media space and the expectations that we're being asked it for based on how you create things now because of technological influence, um, we have some projects where it helps to be together and have the message pass through that quickly.
26:30
So, um, this is a platform for inventiveness, and we have the space, the materials, the belief, the passions, and the ideas that we can help, you know, clients with some of their wildest media problems.
26:45
Um, we're ready for it. This is, it's really interesting. Can we stay on it for a sec- Like, I'm cur- what's the-- Can you t-talk about the flow of it for a second? Like, how does it, how do things come into it? Yeah.
26:53
How do things out- What's the output? Like, how does that work? I mean, look, in any kinda social production, and I think in any production now at all, there's, there's the insights and there's the action.
27:06
And within those two things, there's lots of different ways you can do that. Um,
27:12
community management, community insights, understanding what's worked for the last three months in the performance creative, understanding what's worked for the last three months in, you know, audience engagement in particular channels.
27:28
Um, when we think very open-minded about where the insights come from, um, that helps us bring the best ideas forward. Then it's, well, what's gonna work in the particular context that we need for these expressions?
27:45
And, you know, the media environment is changing so very fast. I was-- There's a, there's a, there's Greek mythology I was looking up called The Ship of Theseus recently. It's a good branding idea, too.
28:03
It's, it's, it's about organizational change. But The Ship of Theseus, it was a boat that, you know, the people held onto and preserved the boat because it was such a great boat- Okay... to what they needed to get done.
28:17
But over time, they had to switch out the boards and the materials- Oh, right... on the boat until over time they completely changed- Yeah... the, the boat itself.
28:27
And I was thinking about it this weekend, and I was, I was going, that's what the modern media environment is. It- It's not just an organizational metaphor or a brand metaphor. That's going on in media. Um,
28:40
I believe and have seen that the media environment is really changing every 18 months or so.
28:48
And so how you're actually prepared for that and what you have to do, it, it only adjusts in what kind of expressions you have to put out there. Yeah.
28:56
So our method is to think about this very, very, very simple thing, which is where is the most growth possible for a client business and what we wanna do,
29:11
and what is the most creative thing we can do in that space to make as much breakthrough happen as possible? And, like, that's it. And so it's, you know, what technology do we have available to us to do that?
29:25
What technology do we have available to us to make what we need to make? And then make a process here where, you know, relentless reinvention is a feature, not a bug. It's really the way we were built.
29:41
It's what our brand philosophy is, and, um, it's very, very helpful for clients and business, we think, for where the w- the world is really going in the media space. Yeah.
29:54
This is good 'cause I wanted to actually bring this up and, and chat about this, and we can use this for kinda the next section 'cause I'm curious, you know, again, basics like what you've kinda been learning and if there's any new discoveries.
30:02
But can we use this lens? So you've talked about as, you know, other conversations you've talked about this where
30:08
the connection and the relationship between business outcomes and the creative work and that being kind of a lens and focus for you and, and Crispin. Um, can-- Has there been anything in these...
30:17
And again, I know you're, you've talked about alumni and, and been out for a bit, now you're back.
30:21
Say in this first month or maybe months leading into this or whatever, have you-- has there been anything new that you've found, learned, or discovered within that kinda lens of finding those business opportunities and connecting it with the creative work and how those, that relationship works with your clients?
30:35
It's interesting. The way I bring all of those thoughts together is, have thought very deeply... over the last few months about how this is a commercial art, not a high art. Mm.
30:46
And I think we can be high art about commercial art and be very artistic when we're trying to go for commercial means. Mm. But this is definitely a commercial art. And I think
31:00
that's one of the things that in Crispin's history, when you look back at all of the storytelling,
31:07
you know, the, the, the best stuff, it was about being very inventive about a particular moment or a way to get the message to the world, and invention is what's needed very, very much. Um, you definitely
31:23
bring on people, and you have people who are part of the team who are craftspeople, who can make beautiful things. Um, beautifully crafted words, beautifully crafted messages. But have thought very much about
31:40
what was and is special about the methods that we use to get things done, and it's inventiveness. How do you... 'Cause again, multiple times now, the, the invention you've mentioned. How are you approaching that, then?
31:52
Like, that specific piece of the puzzle, invention? Like- The, the best stuff happens when you know the client business very well,
31:59
and then you're thinking about the ideas that you believe will have the best breakthrough. So your beliefs can be informed by data. Um, our beliefs are informed by what we know is changing in the media space.
32:17
So the very, very special chemistry of Crispin is that we as a brand never really suffered from, is it creative or is it media, and all those things.
32:33
You know, the way I learned here from '02 to '05 was, we could work with media thinkers and strategists, and strategists and technologists, and put
32:45
all of those things together in, you know, kind of the, the mix that was really gonna make change in a client business.
32:54
So the way that we do that is, you know, we, we design inventive solutions when the unorthodox is needed.
33:04
And with what we really face, you know, uh, creative thinking and creative approaches is a major part of the storytelling that the world is wanting and craving moving forward. Yes.
33:17
And, and so, um, good news, that's what we're all about. [laughs] You know? [laughs] That's good. Uh, cool. All right, so last thing, uh, last thing before the last thing.
33:27
So, uh, again, kinda to give the timeline, literally your last day is today, uh, of your first month. Yeah. So you're, you're wrapping your first month- Yeah, I was like, ooh... in the, in the seat. [laughs] What, uh...
33:37
And, and you, you mentioned it's... I mean, it is a milestone, right? Like the 30-day, the 60-day, the 90-day in management world, and things like that. Sure.
33:43
So we've talked about what you're being, what you have been focused on. What about looking forward? What's your next, like, month, two months, six months? Like, what are you kinda... What's on your, your mind for that?
33:52
Yeah. Uh, we're digging into workflow right now. Mm.
33:56
We're really looking at, okay, how do we take the idea of inventiveness and then think about, okay, well, if the budget is cut in half or to a fraction of what it was, how are we gonna be very inventive in that moment to accomplish what we need to do?
34:15
Hmm. Um, we're gonna get inventive about inviting more people into the space. We're gonna invite collaborators from across the media world to come in and, um, talk with Crispin people and clients. Hmm.
34:29
Um, and we have a series of client meetings set up, um, just about every week. Hmm. For the next several weeks, um, we have some, uh, client visit expected, where we're gonna be bringing them into the space.
34:45
And- As far as that, like the, the come and see strategy, like that, that piece- Yeah... that's what these are? You know, it's, it's a come by and see us strategy, and sometimes that's coming from
34:55
a friend texts and says, "Hey- Hmm... what are you up to? I'm in town," and we're, "I, hey, I've, I've taken this new job." And they go, "Whoa." I go, "Well, come by and see us."
35:05
But they're also just in the flow of what client needs are. Hmm, yeah.
35:10
We know that, you know, there's client campaigns that we'll do, be developing over the next couple of months that, um, we'll be bringing that sense of clever inventiveness in how we approach things to every conversation.
35:23
We're taking on a lot of chemistry meetings with new clients about- Hmm... who we'll get to work with, uh, next, we hope.
35:30
And, um, so we have a lot of opportunities and a lot of openness from the people at Crispin to really make that work, um, very, very special. Is that... That's really cool.
35:41
Just real quick, the, the chemistry meetings, is that like intake, or is that something different? Is this something unique where it's relationship specific?
35:46
So yeah, I mean, the, the new business meetings now are basically chemistry meeting, meeting tissue session, and then expressions kinda mode. And we're being inventive about our chemistry and tissue sessions. Um- Hmm...
36:01
it's, uh... We're, we're, we're thinking of, uh, you know, really thinking about how we talk to clients about our tissue sessions because historically, uh, the tissue sessions at Crispin are very, very valuable.
36:16
So, uh, we're, we're looking at, how do we actually package up those tissues, and, uh, [laughs] you know, make that work- Just-... uh, really exciting for clients.
36:26
R- just real quick though for context for those that might not know, can you explain what those are? Like, uh, the, the chemistry, the tissue sessions, like what you just kinda named as the traditional- Yeah...
36:34
kind of steps. It's the, in the... For those out there who haven't gone through full, you know, pitch processes, the kinda standard is, you know, the getting to know you. Like, how does this feel?
36:45
And a big part of those sessions is also about does the client feel that you know each other and work well together, or that you can work well with other people?
36:56
Um, so we're having some lovely conversations in the chemistry space. The, the tissue session space is really, is really interesting. Um, you know, tissue sessions based on the idea of, like,
37:10
almost like the disposable work or something that we can do very, very quickly on paper that is maybe not as thick as the other paper, I guess. You know? Yeah. And, and so, [chuckles] um, back of napkin- Yeah...
37:22
types of thoughts, you know? And so those sessions in reality today, they don't look as much like tissue sessions anymore. Like, everybody's playing it, you know, a few meetings ahead.
37:41
Um- Hmm... and so you wanna make sure that you bring your, your best laser light show spectacular to every meeting that you've got going. So- Yeah... um, we
37:52
are doing things that we want to make sure that those sessions are designed to be really special in the Crispin way. Hmm.
37:58
Because then by the time we get to, like, when we wanna actually, um, do the work, we wanna make sure that, like, we are ready to go, um, out of the gate with what we present and do in the last rounds.
38:11
And we're, we're lucky in, in that at Crispin we have a lot of great partners across Stagwell and our holding company- Hmm...
38:20
ecosystem that, um, we can activate in experiential and content and the loyalty space and all kinds of interesting places, um- Hmm... that we, we, we don't really see a lot of others have that opportunity. So
38:36
that entire process is an opportunity for us to show, uh, more than what was just briefed to us and really read through the line-- read between the lines with what is asked of us so that we're creating the most growth possible for a client in the most creative way.
38:53
Yeah. Very cool. Okay, cool. So that's, uh... So last question, and it's broader.
38:57
It's not specific to your work necessarily, but, uh, just in general right now in your kinda role, your, your finger on the pulse of things, what else is on your radar, just broadly speaking, that you're kinda maybe paying attention to, focusing on, maybe reading about a little bit?
39:12
Other than what we've talked about before, kinda broad sense, what else is there for you that you're focused on or that you're paying attention to? Um, I think a lot about just the media literacy space.
39:26
Um, and I think a lot about media literacy being a challenge for all clients and everyone in this industry. Um, it affects us all in some way or another. And, and what that really is, is, you know,
39:43
where the attention is, how trust is built, um, what's expected of these commercial exchanges, how people are influenced, um, we have to help guide clients on, like, you know- Yeah...
39:58
how are people receiving the messages in these new contexts? Um, so honestly, it's, it's, uh, it's moved past the thing that keeps me up at night, I guess. Yeah.
40:13
Um, but it's certainly at the front of everything that, uh, I think about in the practice of what we do. Um, you know, I, I think
40:29
a lo- I think it's fashionable at the moment and interesting to talk about, okay, what's AI's influence on all this? I think actually- Yeah... media literacy actually encompasses the AI conversation. Um, and
40:43
we've done so much of that in the organizations that I've been in, um, over the last few years that we've got that down to a pattern where we really use it in effective ways. Um, so it's more thinking about
41:02
from that space, how do we create the possibilities for our clients through very inventive things that we do? Like, what are the things that we should make now,
41:16
given these technologies are speeding us up and making these possibilities so real and, and, and so able to be envisioned? Yeah. Like, how do we help
41:27
clients go across the organization so that they can do the best possible thing for their business? So we think about organizational design that way- Yeah... um, and, and its real effects on
41:43
how we can make that work in the best way to get, uh, great things done for client businesses. Yeah. That's, um-- Shoot, I just [chuckles] I was so into what you were just saying, I lost my, my follow-up.
41:56
Um, oh, here it is. Uh, I would assume, is that, is that something that's happening in parallel?
42:02
Like, are you having to have these media literacy conversations and bring people along as you're also pitching cutting-edge work, like, at the same time? Is that hand in hand?
42:10
You know, I think a, an, a natural byproduct of chopping up the algorithm is actually a media literacy conversation. Hmm. It's, you know, we ask ourselves as that happens, "Okay, why is this influencing us?"
42:23
And that's, why does this color palette influence us? Yeah. Why does this particular context influence us? Why do I believe this influencer or thought leader in this particular context? And so
42:38
we're trying to make it the natural part of the workflow in all of the client businesses that we have, rather than You know, bringing in some blanket heavy conversation about it.
42:51
Um, it's, it's just a part of our, of our beliefs and like, you know, how we're trying to make the best things possible. Was that, is that something that was already there?
43:00
I mean, you said that you've carried this through and this is something that you've been focused on, but is that something you brought into this role now or is that, has that been there? Um- That weaving in approach?
43:13
It's interesting to ask that. I think it has to do with, um,
43:19
the way I was influenced and how I come up with marketing, and the way I was influenced and how I come up with marketing was very directly influenced by Crispin. Um, and so
43:34
the Crispin way really was about, and is about a unification of the skills that we need to do the best commercial thing possible, um, and, and, and was not about the division of things. And again, it's, you know,
43:51
what's wild is we're doing amazing performance media projects, like really cool, really great stuff, lovely to look at, sells a lot of the product, and that in itself has inventiveness inside of it.
44:06
We're doing really creative things with AI that we're talking about that aren't necessarily directly connected to a media plan, but everything that we do has to have the media plan baked into it. So
44:19
the, the benefit of an agency is really that you can get all of these thought processes together and, and, um, this agency and this brand has invested in all of those things and those beliefs into all the stories that we can tell throughout the, the Crispin history.
44:38
We wanna invite people into learning about the Crispin story and, uh, you know, do whatever we can to make the most noise possible. [laughs] Yeah.
44:50
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