A sea change is happening in the dynamic between ad agencies and brands. As more creative content is going on the Web and becoming an integral part of brands’ identities, companies are bringing creative minds in house.
Some experts say that this is an inevitable part of the shift wherein brands are becoming publishers. Others say that the balance between in-house teams and outside creative agencies is a delicate and necessary one. Either way, many top brands are rethinking their strategy.
Enter Andy Goldberg, the first chief creative officer at Fairfield, Connecticut -based General Electric Co. (GE). He runs GE’s Creative Lab, a department of marketers with the creative license to experiment with new media projects, including a new TV show created for the National Geographic Channel called Breakthrough!, and a serialized, fictional podcast called The Message. Created in partnership with the Slate Group, the podcast was the third most popular podcast on iTunes by its second weekly installment. Goldberg’s GE commercials include “Childlike Imagination,” which was nominated for an Emmy award for outstanding commercial in 2014. Other commercials made under his direction include “The Boy Who Beeps” and the “Owen” series.
