Beyond the Algorithm: Here’s Why ALTO Still Believes in Creativity
A CEO who rises from the dead. A music video that you can file as an expense. The story of a lung transplant narrated by Paul Giamatti. Ted Danson answering a call to freedom. And John Malkovich following his fashion dreams. It’s a dizzyingly diverse array of ideas, and they only have one thing in common: They all came out of ALTO, the agency that stands tall for creativity.
“We believe conceptual creativity is the ultimate way to break through the noise and find human connection”, explains founder and CCO Hannes Ciatti when asked to sum up ALTO’s approach. “Our job isn’t just to communicate, it's to make people feel something about the brand, to affect people. Everyone at ALTO came here to do the best work of our lives, and that includes asking new questions, entertaining new thoughts and seeking answers to problems”.
Above: ‘This Is How We Work Now’, for Upwork, blends humour and creativity to convey a message which chimes harmoniously with ALTO’s own approach to the future of work.
That emphasis on thinking anew is something that the agency takes seriously. It seeps into every aspect of how they work on a fundamental level - they don’t pitch for free, they don’t maintain physical offices, and they’ve pioneered a ‘Hollywood Production’ approach which, according to Hannes, is helping ALTO meet brands where they are in a cluttered and noisy marketplace.
“As the business landscape has changed, brands have changed with it. What they need right now is a new type of partner that can work project-by-project and truly move the needle with innovative creative work”, he says. “ALTO wasn’t created to be a faster, cheaper version of the big agencies. Our model was built for the new way of working - powered by emerging technologies and using a scalable talent approach that allows us to deliver what brands need (conceptual creativity that stands out), without all of the waste of the legacy agency model”.
Above: ‘The Comeback’ tells the true story of an inspiring New Yorker named Paul in the words of another New Yorker named Paul (Giamatti).
Ideas Beyond Borders
Building on that, the aforementioned ‘work from anywhere’ philosophy means that ALTO is able to connect with the talent needed to bring any idea to life - no matter where it might be in the world. “We bring in the right talent for each job. We prioritise quality over quantity and attract talent and brands that want the same thing. This grants us the power to bring together the world’s best and brightest talent across industries to craft teams that are a perfect fit for each job”, continues Hannes.
With that being said, the agency has found a way to get the best of office-based culture without the restrictions which traditionally came along with it. “It's important to spend time together all in one place, connect on a human level, get inspired and build our culture”, notes managing partner Ed Rogers. “So we have offsites in different cities brimming with culture. We’re making our way around the world as a team from New Orleans to Mexico City, uniting our team together to build stronger relationships and memories to further bond us all”.
Creativity Catching Feelings
Going back to that point around diverse creative ideas, partner and head of strategy Tara Fray points out that this sense of variety and originality is fundamentally by design.
““In an industry that’s growing increasingly prescriptive, our job isn’t just to communicate. Each piece of work we create has meaning - it makes people feel”, she says. “While the strategy behind each campaign is different, we always start with human insights to invoke a feeling of emotion through our work”.
Above: ALTO’s work for Expensify - starring the wonderful Adam Scott - features QR codes which viewers could actually expense via the platform.
The result of that approach is a portfolio of work which stands up as entertainment in its own right - feeling more like the kind of content audiences choose to watch, rather than content that interrupts them. For Hannes, this is one of the key ideas the agency endeavours to uphold regardless of external pressures. “In a challenged and confused economy, some brands stop spending on bold ideas that break through, trading storytelling for sales-driving tactics”, he says. “We see fewer agencies with the muscle to even make great creative, so it’s about much more than just having ideas, you have to be able to execute. If you look at our body of work, you’ll see we’re not hiding any work or clients. Everything we do is conceptual, highly produced, entertaining, engaging and effective”.
There’s something about that approach which, in spite of ALTO’s decidedly modern credentials, feels somewhat traditional in the broader advertising landscape: An embrace of ideas and creative quality. “As more companies hand their brand over to lifeless algorithms, we believe there’s never been a better opportunity to leverage creativity to create better advertising”, posits Tara. “If done right, ads can thrill, delight, entertain, build brands, positively impact culture and, at its best, even help save lives”.
Ultimately, this is something that the team is proudly carrying forwards into the future. Asked what he thinks we’ll be talking about this time next year, Hannes is philosophical. “We’ll be talking about how advertising has been transformed into something positive, and that human creativity is more important than ever”, he says. “Tools like AI will help us to move faster, be more efficient and get some of the daily grind out of the way, but fundamentally disruptive ideas will propel us forward and build brands.
“Because to survive the black hole of marketplaces like Amazon and the app store, brands need something they used to excel at: creative ideas that pierce through the content cacophony and connect with consumers on an emotional level”.
