Point of View: Global Creative Director, Cinzia Crociani

Cinzia Crociani arrived in Busan this week to present at AD STARS 2018.

As Global Creative Director at Energy BBDO in Chicago, Crociani is best known for helping to create the award-winning ‘Life Saving Dot’ campaign while she was Associate Creative Director at Grey Singapore.

At AD STARS 2018, Crociani’s session is called ‘Can Creative Marketing Help Solve the Opioid Crisis?’


You have worked in Italy, Singapore and now Chicago. How has this shaped your perspective as a creative?

Having lived and worked in such diverse environments has helped me to understand the complex realities of different global markets.

Singapore was incredible from this standpoint because my colleagues, the people I was spending most of my waking hours with, were from all over Asia. I was fascinated by the insights in their lives, their cultures and their way of seeing the world.

I know that after living abroad for 10 years, I don’t see the world through the same lens I had when I left Italy. At the time I was full of certainties and convictions and I always thought I was right. Now, I don’t have any certainties and few convictions and it’s very freeing. When I think and create I feel my mind is like a universe in expansion, there are no borders or limits.

 

What were the challenges involved in making the ‘Life Saving Dot’ campaign a reality?

One of the biggest challenges was finding the right partners for the distribution of the bindi. But our team was incredibly resourceful and determined to make it happen. We ended up traveling from the north to the south of India distributing the bindis in medical camps in really remote areas of the country.

 

You believe men would benefit just as much as women from gender equality. How much closer has the ad industry moved towards gender equality as a result of #metoo, and how far do we still have to go?

I believe that an environment where everyone looks the same and sees the world in the same way is destined to fail. But, when we seek out and include people who are different from us within our community, we gain different viewpoints, inspiration, and even tension. This diverse environment inspires new life and is where good work thrives.

So, I would say that inclusion will keep the advertising industry alive and give many agencies the chance to grow. I don’t think that #metoo has magically solved gender inequality, but it has shocked the system and forced it into action. More steps are being taken to hire women, foster female talent, and promote them. We have a long way to go, but I’m happy to be a woman and to be part of this moment of change. I believe that we’re making history.

 

Now that you live in Chicago, how does the windy city inspire you?

In my opinion, Chicago is where a lot of American culture comes from. Even though it is an international city and I work in an international office, being rooted in Chicago provides the best taste of authentic American culture. Just last week I even went to a Cubs (Baseball) game.

The city is always buzzing with interesting events, from musicals that premiere in Chicago before making it to Broadway, to amazing concerts and museums. All of these things inspire me every day. But most of all I’m learning about the people, the way of life and the culture here—a whole new world to add to my mental universe in its continuous expansion.

 

What are your guiltiest pleasures when it comes to pop culture?

I’m a hoarder of information, culture and experiences. The part of pop culture I binge on the most is science fiction, everything from Philip Dick books, to Battlestar Galactica, to the Welcome to Night Vale podcast, and all of the superheroes too.

For inspiration, I try to keep my interest as wide and various as I can. I put an effort in not focusing only on design or advertising. I read Wired religiously, I listen to several podcasts and watch tons of documentaries – my favorite documentary series at the moment is Dark Tourist.

But I have to say, I never really feel guilty when I consume pop culture. Pop culture is like a mirror that looks inside ourselves and it’s a way into people’s hearts and emotions. And I believe that what may look trivial today, may become something important tomorrow. Think about Shakespeare or Michelangelo, their work was the pop culture of their time.

 

What will people learn from your talk at AD STARS 2018?

One of the main things I want people to take away is that as advertisers we often forget that we are our clients’ consultants, not just their executors. So, before acting, we should make sure we understand the root of the problem behind client requests and then try to give them what they truly need, even if it’s not exactly what they originally asked for.

“Prescribed to Death” is a perfect example of going beyond what is asked of you. The National Safety Council gave us a brief around road safety, but what they really wanted was to gain more recognition for their organization and its mission to stop preventable deaths in the United States. We went back to them with a platform that would work across multiple issues, including road safety, and encouraged them to tackle a less talked-about everyday killer: prescription opioid overdoses.

I know it’s not always easy to do, but in a time when many clients are opening in-house agencies, keeping our external consultants’ point of view is the only way we’ll be able to make a real difference in their business and add tangible value to our profession.

 

Are you working on anything exciting at the moment?

Right now, I’m in that moment where I’m feeling inspired to push forward some interesting pieces of work, but they still need a lot of love and dedication before they’ll be ready to come to life.

 

* ‘Can Creative Marketing Help Solve the Opioid Crisis?’  took place on 23rd August at AD STARS 2018, 4pm.