Creativity Squared: Looking at Everything Sideways with David Feldman

David Feldman is CD at VCCP. He was formerly ECD at Social Chain and has worked for Facebook twice and also worked for Netflix. 

Over the years, David has spoken at industry events, recently at Future London Academy, talking about cultivating communities. He has 15 years experience at some of the biggest ATL, integrated, planning, digital and social agencies in the UK. 

Person

I’d say I’m an inquisitive person - a poor man’s Louis Theroux - who finds the origins of why things are the way they are, oddly fascinating. As a creative, I believe I’m only being true to a brief, when I understand its true context and respond in ways others wouldn’t necessarily be expecting. I’ve been heavily influenced by Alan Fletcher’s book, ‘The Art of Looking Sideways’ and it’s that joy in the discovery of the unexpected that motivates and inspires me. I tend to use a lot of anecdotes when describing thoughts, but it’s because the answer to a problem trying to be solved is often being played out to great effect in other industries, mediums, cultures, contexts and even retrospectively, in different eras. You just have to look at everything, sideways. 

Product 

I judge creative work on how it feels. Before anything else, it has to grab my attention and make me believe the audience we’re trying to reach could rally behind it. Even take it on as their own. Once we have that bit nailed, I’ll don my rational hat and help teams figure out what it needs to do to answer the brief better, stand out more, work harder. I believe creative ideas should be treated like hand grenades, with an ambition to shake up the expected status quo and leave a real impact. At the very least, be the most explosive thing said in a meeting. From a social creative point of view, a lot of brands are light years away from where they need to be - most behaving like a brand on social, rather than a social brand. Controversially, a lot of the work we see on social isn’t social at all. The threat is no longer just about having your work ignored or being unfollowed, it’s fans having the means to create their own competing brand or product, if they don’t feel understood or listened to. Focussing on how to cultivate communities and build meaningful fandoms that lead to increased advocacy, loyalty and growth requires a new approach and way of thinking. But that’s what makes it so exciting. 

Process

I wish there was a single all-encompassing method to creating work but it often comes down to perseverance and belief - a blind hope (and prayer) that a great idea will come. I sometimes thrive off the pressure of a tight deadline. I sometimes also need time to not think about it and then…out of the ether…it appears as if by magic. I mix up my mediums often, switching from Notes on my phone, to Slides on my Mac, to actual notes with a pen in my notepad, or if that’s been mislaid - which it often has - the back of my kids’ homework sheet which I later get told off for scribbling on. I think when you’re able to effortlessly build, build, build on top of an idea and then strip it all back to its purest expression, and it still feels rich and exciting, you know there’s a chance it’s half decent.  

Press

I believe the best creatives thrive in environments where the expectations are high and the purpose is shared and understood by everyone, including clients. For VCCP, when it comes to the work, it’s all about the ideas, the output and the craft, so the decisions I make within my role - and the reasons I’m fortunate enough to be in it - are clear. When it comes to good social, I think the biggest challenge agencies face are making sure creativity is being sold as a premium service, whilst simultaneously finding new ways to meet the demands of platform algorithms and time-starved always-on brand work. For that to work, I believe we need to transform some of the ways we operate and look to other industries outside of advertising for inspiration. Luckily I’ve joined an agency who’s DNA is all about challenging the way things are, in pursuit of better.