“Any Good Brief Should Start with a True Challenge”
BIG KAHUNA FILMS, the award-winning creative production house based in Dubai and Beirut, is proud to support creativity across the Middle East. As part of their sponsorship of LBB’s Middle East edition, over the coming months, we’ll be speaking to some of the great minds driving creativity forward across the region.
In this piece, we speak to Natalie Shardan, managing director at Serviceplan Middle East. With a career that began with her BA in graphic design, Natalie’s first steps towards her career in the creative industries began with an interview at BBDO Dubai 18 years ago and the rest – as they say – is history.
Throughout her career, Natalie has worked on campaigns for all manner of brands, including car companies BMW and MINI as well as the Abu Dhabi Department of Tourism and Culture, Columbia Sportswear, Al Etihad CB and more. With experience spanning across VMLY&R, JWT (now Wunderman Thompson), MullenLowe MENA and Nomads, she joined Serviceplan in 2018 and has been working to support her team there ever since.
Natalie speaks to LBB’s Nisna Mahtani about how she takes the time to figure out the strengths of the team around her, the Dove and adidas campaigns which sparked her interest and why it’s important to remember the reason you chose a career in advertising.
LBB> What first made you want to get into the industry?
Natalie> My interest in going into the advertising industry started with my university degree - my BA is in arts, graphic design to be specific.
I’ve always been fascinated by design in general and my university degree allowed me to study design, photography, drawing and sculpture. When I started with an internship in design, I realised that my passion allows me to sell good work instead of actually making it, and this is when I realised that I want to be in account management and got my first job in advertising as an account executive at BBDO Dubai.
LBB> How did you first get your foot in the door and what was the biggest lesson you learnt during the process?
Natalie> Well, it all began with an interview at BBDO Dubai 18 years ago, with a boss who became my mentor and one of my closest friends. I moved from Jordan to Dubai fresh after my university graduation, so I had to learn a lot! The nice thing about Dubai is that it’s a melting pot of cultures so while learning the job I had to keep an open mind and learn about the different cultures of people that I’ve worked with. I must admit It was a bit overwhelming, but I’m grateful for this experience as it shaped who I am today on a personal and professional level.
LBB> Do you remember some of the formative pieces of work which made you want to create something similar?
Natalie> The list is endless! But Dove’s campaign for ‘Real Beauty’ stands out the most. It started vocalising authenticity in advertising and the trend of being consumer versus product focused. The campaign addressed an insecurity that most women are faced with, every day, but never talked about. It shows real humans as consumers.
Pieces like this inspire us as an agency, and myself personally as an agency leader to do real authentic work that addresses a true challenge or a real insight. We tend to forget that we market products and services to humans, and if we don’t connect with them in a way that is authentic and real, our work will not be memorable.
LBB> How do you tackle a brief? What’s the first thing you consider when starting a project?
Natalie> Any good brief should start with a true challenge, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be a business challenge. Once you identify that, which is not that easy, finding a solution becomes so enjoyable. The example I keep on giving is when there’s something wrong with you, it sometimes takes time for the doctor to identify the real problem, but once it’s identified the solution then becomes a process.
LBB> What is the creative landscape in Dubai like? Why is it the right fit for you?
Natalie> It is respectful, conscientious, and ethical. I’m going back to the same point about diversity but it’s a key differentiator in Dubai – across all industries including advertising. You’re respected and heard no matter what your background is. Successful people in the industry are focused and work hard and eventually, it pays off. I started as a junior 18 years ago and now I’m an MD of an agency. Many friends and colleagues are on the same path and got to senior positions in advertising.
Adding to that, the respect for women in the ad industry in Dubai is clearly visible and laudable. More and more women are being given key positions, which makes representation truly evident in the resulting work. Today, for example, some of our most creative writers in automotive advertising are women, and two of our management board at the House of Communication in the Middle East are women.
LBB> The Middle East continues to shine a light on its development, commitment to technology and creative ideas. What makes the region hungry to push forward?
Natalie> Ambition is what drives the Middle East: one-quarter of the population is between the age of 15-29, so you can imagine the amount of energy and resilience this region has.
And governments realise the potential of these young minds and encourage them in every possible way – especially here in the UAE. The UAE government has appointed one of the youngest ministers in the world at the age of 22. It has launched several initiatives to enhance youth national identity and belonging. There’s even a ‘Ministry of Possibilities’ which is a virtual ministry to apply design thinking and experimentation to develop proactive and disruptive solutions, bringing together federal and local government teams and the private sector. The UAE champions ‘Impossible is possible’, which says a lot about the hunger this country has, which is something I respect and am proud to be part of.
LBB> What are some of the trends which you think will be at the forefront of creativity this year?
Natalie> It is definitely AI: it’s amazing how much it’s developed in a very short period of time.
I remember when we were trying to understand how NFTs worked 1.5 years ago, now it’s almost history. Platforms like Midjourney and ChatGPT will change the creative landscape. But it’s important to always remember that we are real humans marketing products to humans. AI will facilitate the way we do things, but it will never replace human empathy and intelligence.
LBB> Can you share one or two of your favourite pieces of work so far and why they’re particularly significant to you?
Natalie> ‘Liquid Billboard’ by adidas was just brilliant. It goes back to the same reason why I think Dove's Real Beauty’ is brilliant. It’s a simple idea, based on a real challenge, linked to the brand and product in a way that is very authentic and it delivered a memorable message.
LBB> You’ve spoken to us about your leadership role before, but how has your approach changed over the years, and how do you get the most out of your team?
Natalie> My approach hasn’t changed much, it has always been focused on understanding my team’s strengths and empowering them to excel at what they can do best, whilst understanding their weaknesses and trying to divert them towards different tasks, and projects that they can do better at and excel.
Getting the most out of a team requires spending time with them and understanding how they work and where they can shine. I’ve changed titles and responsibilities for some of my team members because I realised that they were not excelling in what they were hired for initially, but they can do great when their talent is used in other areas of the business. This helped us as an agency to maintain a low turnover rate. My creative partner follows the same thinking, and this I believe helped us build a strong agency culture.
LBB> If there was one thing you’d want people to do more of in the industry, what would it be?
Natalie> To keep reminding themselves why they fell in love with advertising in the first place. Our industry is very interesting but it’s also extremely demanding. You’re in advertising because you love advertising. There's no other reason, monetary or not. If you don’t keep on reminding yourself of why you’re doing what you’re doing your days in advertising will be over before you know it.
