A Digital Bite of The Big Apple
New York is arguably the centre of the ad industry. But while The Big Apple on the East Coast is home to many of the globe’s traditional agency network headquarters, the West Coast is more widely known for its digital / tech scene, largely thanks to San Francisco’s Silicon Valley. So where does that leave the digital scene in New York today? And how does it compare with San Francisco and other West Coast hubs, such as Los Angeles, Seattle and Portland? LBB’s Addison Capper chatted with New Yorkers from Firstborn, Huge, Atmosphere Proximity and Wondersauce to get a slice of The Digital Big Apple.
The scene
“The New York digital scene is the core of the global digital scene,” says Eric Mayville, Co-CEO / Founding Partner at Wondersauce. “We are a truly global city with access to talent from all over the world. This helps create diverse companies that in turn can create diverse, unique, and innovative work for our clients. Because of that I think that the scene is a very positive one. We want to continually push each other, learn from each other, and be challenged by each other.”
Firstborn SVP ECD Dave Snyder mimics Eric’s positivity on the local scene, but does note the difficulties that come with the astronomical prices of doing business. “This makes it hard for people to open up offices in, what truly is, the best city in the country,” he says.
Stephanie Mitesser, a Content Strategist at Huge, doesn’t see digital in New York as a scene so much, more an underlying part of everyday business. “It’s more of a common thread among many different companies straddling various industries (publishing, traditional advertising, finance, etc.), she says. “It’s for this reason that working in digital in NYC appeals to me; you have so much opportunity to apply what you’ve learned to different fields. And, those opportunities continue to grow.”
East Coast vs. West Coast
When chatting to New Yorkers about the differences between digital on the East and West Coasts, the biggest point seemed to be that, whereas companies in places like San Francisco tended to be highly specialised, NY organisations were more rounded in their offerings.
“On the west coast places like SF are so “bubble-like” it drives me a bit silly,” says Dave Snyder from Firstborn. “But whatever. If a bunch of UI designers and UX-types want to sit around and polish 100 variations of buttons and debate what may or may not be better, go for it. But they are wasting their time.”
Meanwhile, Dave also notes the benefits of New York’s subway system compared to the time folk in LA spend stuck in traffic! “As a result, New Yorkers are less isolated from one another, so it’s easier to have a pulse on what’s culturally relevant because you’re interacting with strangers every day. Great design has empathy, and when you are shoved into a subway with a hundred other people, you can’t help but understand and share your neighbour’s experiences. That being said, we could kick LA’s ass in a fight—an important point to remember. Maybe because we drink more. Not sure. Portland is interesting, but stuck in a bit of an echo-chamber #Bacon #ModernVernacluarBro.”
“Digital dominates SF entirely, whereas NYC is the epicentre for many industries,” adds Stephanie from Huge. “As such, I think the NYC digital community has a more realistic understanding of how digital fits into an ecosystem comprised of many industries. Conversely, the SF digital community seems more focused on technology’s singular, idealistic ability to change the world.
Eric from Wondersauce adds: “New York seems like one of the most well rounded markets in terms of types of work we create here while other cities seem to have specialisations in terms of the sectors they serve which impacts the type of work they create. Whether that be retail, CPG, fashion, or tech in places like Ohio, SF, LA or Seattle, you can find all of that wrapped up in one place here in New York.”
Robert Bachle, Director, CRM Strategy & Analytics, Atmosphere Proximity, notes the importance of media to the NYC digital scene, a point that Stephanie also mentions. “New York will always be a media-driven scene, so the focus on applying technology to advertising, as opposed to digital products and experience design, where Silicon Valley’s talent and innovation will always keep San Francisco in the driver’s seat.”
“Technology drives digital in SF, media drives digital in NYC,” adds Stephanie. “This influences the types of companies that spring up in each city, as well as the demand for different talent. For example, consider my job, ‘content strategist’: in SF, it’s usually a product design role; in NYC, it’s usually a marketing/editorial one.”
“None of this stuff matters though,” notes Dave from Firstborn. “Great design is happening on both coasts. Not one is better. And that is what’s so awesome and it’s a great sign for the industry as a whole.”
The talent drain
The loss of talent from the ad industry to the tech industry is a plague to the industry across the globe. But is the problem as big in New York as it is in places such as SF’s Silicon Valley?
Wondersauce’s Eric thinks not – instead he and the agency have been working together with start-ups, to the benefit of both parties. “Silicon Alley is not as big of a threat to talent drain as Silicon Valley is to San Francisco. In contrast, we have been able to partner with some great NYC tech start-ups to add value to the work we are doing with clients.”
Atmosphere Proximity’s Robert echoes Eric’s thoughts. “We haven’t seen as much of a talent drain to startups as I’ve heard in San Francisco and Boston, but companies in the martech and adtech space will continue to poach top talent from digital agencies. Sustained competition for New York digital talent will be from the system’s integrators and consulting firms.”
Eric also reckons that New York as a city in general fits the life of those that work at agencies more so than tech companies. “The vibe of New York City seems to align well with folks that are more geared towards working at agencies,” he says. “You have constant new challenges both in terms of the industries you get to work across and the types of challenges you're tasked with solving. Product life at a start-up can evolve fast as well, but you’re still much more focused on one big solve than if you’re at an agency moving across multiple clients and types of deliverables.”
Stephanie from Huge takes a broader look at the issue, citing gentrification as a big potential hazard for the digital industries. “Zooming out a bit, gentrification – and the urban planning policies that attempt to control it – will impact the industry in the future. If NY’s cost-of-living doesn’t stabilize, it will severely limit the calibre and diversity of upcoming talent, especially creative talent. Some of my best co-workers spent their 20s earning very little money while they pursued creative projects; if that becomes entirely infeasible in NY, the talent pool here will be a lot less interesting.”
Strongest Work
Dave Snyder
“I would say the work that Stinkdigital did for National Geographic. It’s immersive in all the right ways. It makes sense (versus being purely superfluous). It looks great and works well across all devices. Most importantly it does what great live-action VR is supposed to – take users to places they can’t otherwise go.”
Stephanie Mitesser
“Fittingly, my pick was made by a media company: ‘Watching’, the New York Times’ new site that helps you figure out WTF to watch. We’ve all felt paralysed by the option overload caused by our streaming devices; deciding what to watch feels so daunting you often don’t choose anything. I suspect that individual products (e.g., Netflix) are working fast and furiously to address the same problem, but in the meantime, I’ll use Watching.”
Eric Mayville
“The Outline by Joshua Topolsky and team. I love seeing people trying to reinvent both consumption and creation of content. They are playing with new user experiences and pairing that with a beautifully wide variety of content. This takes a complete understanding of interaction design, content strategy, and a modern approach to editorial coverage.”
