Introducing Little Black Book Club

Little Black Book launches Little Black Book Club, an online platform for creatives to submit their work for feedback from AUNZ’s top creative experts.

Its aim is to become an inclusive industry-wide initiative to help foster and develop young talent amongst the creative community.

Born from an insight by Host/Havas’ Jon Austin that junior and midweight creatives are facing more challenges than ever in a constantly evolving market, Little Black Book club aims to bring AUNZ’s creative industry together in a safe and inclusive way.

Whilst their creative books remain the major currency to pursue and advance careers, often it’s the presentation and format which can be lacking, taking away from the quality and diversity of work.

Based upon the idea that creativity feeds on community, the Little Black Book Club has brought together an impressive list of AUNZ’s most successful and celebrated creative leaders to share positive insights and feedback to the next level of creative talent.

A world-class list including creative talent from across Australia and New Zealand  will offer positive and independent feedback directly on creatives’ books. It’s a unique and positive collaboration aimed to unite and power the creative community across the region.

Confirmed creative experts are:

Tara Ford – CCO, The Monkeys

Barbara Humphries - ECD, The Monkeys

Simon Vicars – CCO, Colenso

Ryan Fitzgerald – ECD, Special Melbourne

Leisa Wall – ECD, FCB NZ

Alex Derwin – CCO, BMF

Evan Roberts – CCO, TBWA

Kat Alvarez-Jarrett – ECD, TBWA

Jim Curtis – CCO, Clemenger

Julian Schreiber – CCO, Special

Tom Martin – CCO, Special

Lea Walker – Mrs Walker Recruitment

Anne Boothroyd – ECD, Dentsu Aotearoa

Jon Austin – ECD, Host/Havas

Matt Ennis – CD, Host/Havas

Raymond Otene McKay - CCO, RUN Aotearoa

Little Black Book’s new APAC editorial team will support the initiative through regular updates, ‘Book of the Month’ editorial features, profiles and insights from both sides of the process.

One of the creative experts, Jon Austin, ECD at Host Havas Australia draws on his experience with creative feedback. “We spend so much time crafting and considering the work that goes in our book,” he says, “but not much time thinking about the way that work is presented: the book itself. And that can be problematic. The great stuff can get buried. The volume of work can be overwhelming. The write ups can be confusing. There are a ton of common mistakes we’ve all made along the way (my one was trying to make everything feel ‘integrated’ and just repurposing different sized banners).

“Unfortunately, gone are the days where you would take an actual book into an agency and sit with an ECD for an hour explaining the details. These days, it’s often not much more than an email with a URL, which someone has minutes not hours to go through. So an ineffective book leaves a lot to chance. Book Club was designed to help sharpen your book to give the work it holds the very best chance to stand out in a busy, hectic, distracted world.” 

Little Black Book Club creative expert Katrina Alvarez-Jarrat, executive creative director at TBWA Sydney, adds, “As we all know our portfolio is essential to our career – but it's also something that you'll never get feedback on if you're doing it wrong, which is why 'Little Black Book Club' is such a great idea.”

APAC MD at Little Black Book Toby Hemming says the initiative fitted in perfectly with LBB’s ambitions across the region and beyond. “When Jon mentioned the idea to me, I knew for certain this was an initiative we absolutely had to get behind,” says. “The best creativity is powered by community, and LBB is on a mission to empower everybody, at all levels of our industry, championing and supporting amazing work and the people and stories behind it. I’d like to offer a massive thanks to everybody for giving up their precious time, and watch this space for more exciting initiatives from LBB in the region.”

Little Black Book Club is open for submissions now, with interested creatives encouraged to send links to their book to mybook@lbbookclub.com.