Cincinnati Advertising Creatives to Battle it Out in “Agency Fight Night”

On Thursday, January 21, three of Cincinnati’s largest advertising agencies - POSSIBLE, Rockfish and Barefoot Proximity - will compete in the inaugural “Agency Fight Night,” a real-time contest to see who can generate the most creative ideas under extremely tight time constraints and with no advanced preparation. The event will be held at the historic Woodward Theater in Over the Rhine from 7:30 until 9:00 p.m.

 

“We conceived Agency Fight Night as a fun, unique event that brings our creative community together and celebrates the abundance of top-notch talent we have here in Cincinnati,” said Troy Hitch, chief innovation officer at Barefoot Proximity. “While the best ideas can take weeks, or even months, to develop, we thought it would be a blast to watch agencies compete under intense circumstances while showing off their creative expertise.”

 

In this inaugural Agency Fight Night, the participants will be given several distinct tasks to brainstorm and create against, each of which will somehow tie to the Cincinnati Reds, who have agreed to take part in the event.

 

Hitch said that the fact that three major agencies - including a pair of WPP firms (POSSIBLE and Rockfish) and an Omnicom firm (Barefoot) - would be willing to work together to plan the event and, of course, compete head-to-head in such a public fashion, speaks to a heightened energy in the Cincinnati’s creative community. “Our whole town has been undergoing a renaissance in the past five years that has exhibited itself in many ways, but definitely in a more robust and talented creative community for sure.”

 

“Part of the charm of Agency Fight Night is that the contestants won’t know exactly what will be asked of them until that evening,” said Jason Bender, chief creative officer of Rockfish. “It could be anything from naming products to concepting a Twitter campaign to roughing out a logo. Maybe all of the above.”

 

“Of course we love just about anything competitive,” said Phil Castellini, the Reds’ chief operating officer. “We are excited to see the ideas generated during these high-pressure circumstances, and feel fortunate to be the focus of our town’s creative genius for this extraordinary event.”

Agency Fight Night is open to the public and free of charge. However, one must register at AgencyFightNight.eventbrite.com/ as tickets are limited and an RSVP is required.

 

“No TV show or one-night event can depict real intuition and ingenuity when it comes time to crafting ideas for clients,” said Adam Kahn, executive creative director of POSSIBLE, one of the three agencies competing. “This real time experience is a great depiction of the pressures we face on a daily basis when refining ideas.”

 

Kahn explained that the audience will be able to participate in the event by awarding “people’s choice” points during each of the challenges. The agency with the most points overall at the end of the night will be declared the winner. “For all three of the agencies, this event isn’t just about bragging rights,” said Kahn. “It’s about showcasing and raising the exposure that Cincinnati is a creative destination.” 

 

Kahn explained that future Agency Fight Nights will inspire different formats and other agencies. “We collectively dreamt this up to be a fun opportunity for our industry to break out of its familiarities and to create new opportunities for people in our industry.” he said.

 

The Woodward Theater is located at 1404 Main Street in Over the Rhine. Doors open at 6:00 for a pre-event happy hour and will stay open until 10:00 for post-event festivities.