Karen Martin highlights business of creativity as new IPA president
Karen Martin, the Bartle Bogle Hegarty CEO recently appointed the new IPA president, set out her agenda for her two-year term on Monday afternoon, with the spotlight firmly on proving the business case for creativity.
“Creativity, when applied to big business problems, drives big business impacts,” she said during her inauguration speech. Martin pointed to how the creative sector supports 4m jobs in the UK and contributes £40bn to the economy.
However, she added: “We’ve got lost in short-termism, AI, mega-mergers, budget pressures, regulatory constraints and tech bros cosplaying as Bond villains.”
As IPA president, Martin outlined four key initiatives during her term.
Celebrate human creativity: Martin will introduce creative directors to the board of the IPA Council to bring the crucial creative perspective to the business of advertising.
Furthermore, she called on the industry to balance the potential of AI with the value of human creativity, arguing: “AI has the incredible potential to augment, to scale and to personalise. But we should always ask the question: Should we be using it to create where a human hand could have done the same?”
Train the next generation of creatives: The IPA will launch the Creative Essentials Certificate to support emerging talent with the tools and insights to succeed in the industry. It mirrors similar IPA certificates in account planning and production.
Martin also plans to create bespoke training courses to help creatives more broadly.
Attract diverse creative talent: Martin will expand Barn, the ad school opened by (and based at) BBH in 2021 that pays the London Living Wage. Over the next two years, Barn will increase its student intake and partner with more agencies to open doors to more under-represented talent.
Reward creative excellence: The IPA Effectiveness Awards will roll out a new Creative Award to highlight the role creativity plays in business success.
Everyone’s responsibility
Closing her speech, Martin called on everyone in the industry to “take ownership” of creativity.
“This is about everyone who touches creative, from media to research to strategy and production,” she explained. “It may not be in everyone’s job description, but it’s certainly everyone’s responsibility.”
Martin concluded: “Over the next two years, I will be on a mission to fiercely protect, nurture and champion creativity in all its forms. Let’s put it at the heart of everything we do. Because it isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s all we have.
“And can we also just have some fun, please?”
Martin succeeds Josh Krichefski, GroupM’s EMEA CEO, who focused his agenda on mental health.
To accompany her presidential address, BBH created a homage to the Johnnie Walker “The Man Who Walked the World” ad, featuring Martin and a host of other industry leaders, including BBH co-founder Sir John Hegarty, former Adam & Eve/DDB creative chief Rick Brim and Wieden & Kennedy London chief creative officer Ana Balarin.
“Recently, it feels like we’ve become more about the tools and less about the people. More about the science and less about the creativity,” Martin said in the film. “It’s like we’ve forgotten what great looks like.”
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