No brand ever got famous without a big idea. Without it, we’re left with gimmicks, gadgets, and buzzwords. A digital wasteland, where living in the now makes us forget the destination. And the people we counted on to make brands look good have fled to other industries that recognise their talent and feed their egos. Fight mediocrity. Reward magic. Bring back big ideas.

We exist in a state of perpetual conflict fuelled by lack of trust. Look around – the evidence is everywhere: Clients don’t trust agencies. Agencies can’t trust the media. Staff dare not trust their employers, And consumers don’t trust any of us. We need to back the problem-solvers above all. Empower the knowledge builders so we better understand what we all contribute. Reverse the stick/carrot mentality, so people feel part of the solution again. We need to trust in trust itself.

When it comes to technology, nobody wants to be left behind. But there’s a difference between predicting the tide and getting swept away by it. It’s up to us to define how technology should be applied. Is it a backroom tool or a strategic weapon? Is it about making brands more personal or customers more predictable? Above all, why can’t agencies work more like social networks – where every part contributes by finding its natural level of expertise. In short, we need to re-evaluate how technology itself is valued, Before machine learning makes monkeys of us all.

It’s not funny – the way our business has come to fear change. Change is what kept us all from playing safe, From focusing on the agency of the future at the expense of the agency of today. Now we seem to be caught in the headlights – unsure which way to jump. We need to be driving change, not holding it back, Helping people to accept it rather than throwing best practice their way. If you know where you need to be in 5 years, you should have set off already. Enough with legacy solutions. Make the decision – start the change.

These days everyone wants to be big in data. It guides our thinking, shapes our strategy and belittles our customers. Within agencies, it has become just another silo mentality – a self-fulfilling prophesy. But data wont decide between creative routes or directions. It can’t make courageous creative decisions – at least, not yet. And it won’t even find its way to the right people unless you help it. This is a huge danger moving forward – brands standing still because outdated models tell them to. Let’s use data to learn, not dictate. Don’t succumb to analysis paralysis.

Top creatives used to feel at home in advertising, it was what we were famous for. Now we’re famous for bad PR, ignoring consumers and lack of trust – yet, looking it’s like no one cares. There’s still awards shows, celebrating campaigns that never were. Still bean counters suggesting that creativity is just another cost to be cut. Still teams obsessed with pushing the same old hokum out through brand new channels. Enough already. We need to listen, nurture and invest in talent once again. Or lose it to newer industries that do.