Voices
Are we leaving men and boys behind?
At Creative Equal’s RISE event, industry leaders consider how to reframe boys and men in marketing
Amanda Moulson
General Manager at Access Emanate
Creativebrief
Creativbrief
Career Highlights to date:
1998, Account Supervisor, Hill and Knowlton
2000, Vice President – Senior Vice President, Associate Director, Porter Novelli
2010, Director of Insight, Strategy and Creativity – General Manager, Access Emanate
creativebrief: As General Manager at Access Emanate what is your primary focus?
Amanda Moulson: As General Manager, I oversee the operational functions of the business as well as ensuring excellent client service and an active pipeline of new prospects. But what really excites me is that I have the privilege of serving as the creative and strategic custodian of our Relevance Marketing approach – ensuring that target audience groups are ruthlessly defined creating the desired behaviour changes to deliver business impact.
creativebrief: Please share a para on your career to date – specifically talking us through the high points.
Amanda Moulson: I’ve had a long career, having worked in the US and in London on product approvals and campaign launches, behaviour change campaigns, issues management and constituency relations. This diversity has been the best part of my work. Like any of us, I get most excited to work on the things I love the most – food, drink and causes that make a difference. I have loved working with Unilever to reinforce the strength of their commitment to sustainability by helping government agencies to reduce pollution or better prevent infectious diseases. But what I love most is working with the Access Emanate team in London. And that leads me to the next question.
"I love pitching [...] I often wonder if the most modern way to pitch is the least modern. Let’s ditch the PowerPoint and have a conversation."
creativebrief: What’s unique about your agency / business? Why did you join Access Emanate?
Amanda Moulson: The team at Access Emanate is the wittiest, kindest and most creative team I’ve had the privilege to work with. The banter in this office is so top shelf that I am convinced we should have a live stream. I’ve never experienced a culture like it and I am so, so proud.
creativebrief: Who are the people new to you (either within your business or externally) who have particularly impressed you in the last twelve months?
Amanda Moulson: This is the perfect segue to the answer below. I’m really impressed with every team member who’s helped make it a great 2015 for Access Emanate.
creativebrief: What has been your agency’s best work in the last year?
Amanda Moulson: This is like Sophie’s Choice – how can you ask me to choose? On the social side, we swept awards for Mane of Thrones for Philips Male Grooming and kept people clicking with the Right Guard Office Challenge. In media relations, for Philips Sonicare we achieved a four page spread in Vogue on the heels of a press trip to Bothel, the manufacturing facility. For Ubisoft, we strapped a camera to an eagle (underscoring the Eagle Vision feature in Assassin’s Creed Syndicate), and that footage made headlines and appeared on the BBC. Also, for the same game, we staged a photoshoot where we replaced Boris Bikes with penny farthings, this got great press, including a placement in The Times.
creativebrief: Industry wide, what work has excited you most this year?
Amanda Moulson: There have been a few campaigns where I’ve seen brands distil their product down to its technical essence, putting a stake in the ground about innovation yet managing to also make a link to pure emotional benefits. Air Wick’s ‘Home is in the Air’ video was a fantastic piece of content featuring a man in US military service who was transported home with his senses, all thanks to the brand. A perfect combination of ATL and social/PR-ability.
creativebrief: Who or what inspires you?
Amanda Moulson: I hate to sound like such a hippie, but I walk around in a near constant state of wonderment – it’s ungrateful not to. It’s trite to say that travel inspires, but it does. It opens my eyes and I am able to see how creativity is executed world-wide and where trends are starting. I love living in London; it’s hard not to be inspired just walking down the street. I also love participating in this evolving digital age. I am fascinated by how digital channels allow us all to be publishers which at its best, can be a great showcase of human creativity and humour.
creativebrief: How do you stay in-touch with the industry’s best work and culturally relevant news?
Amanda Moulson: I am addicted to Twitter, and use it as an aggregator for all things inspirational – whether that comes from industry news handles, artists, entrepreneurs, restaurants, etc. There are a lot of good ideas out there – almost an overwhelming amount – and it’s great to have so much content in one place.
creativebrief: What work or agency from outside the UK do you think is particularly influential?
Amanda Moulson: Is this the part where we all tell you that the Nordics are doing amazing things? It’s true, though. The work is incredible, but I’m also struck by how so many leaders there take the opportunity to reinvent their business, their revenue models, and a lot of the ‘sacred cows’ – for example, dismantling planning or democratising creativity beyond the CD. Plus, we all like a cinnamon bun.
"With native content and brands penetrating so many spaces, not to mention the need for Millenials and Gen Z to have authenticity in their comms, I think we have a unique chance to move from the role of spin doctors to people who provide true context. "
creativebrief: What do you think are going to be the main challenges for agencies in the next two years?
Amanda Moulson: It’s just a turf war out there as our disciplines are all merging together in a race to (get appointed to) produce the most compelling content.
creativebrief: How do you see the media landscape unfolding in the next five years?
Amanda Moulson: I only wish I knew; it’s trying to predict this, and building a future proof business, that’s top of my mind (as above). We are really keen to understand how YouTube, Twitch, and other platforms that truly blow our sense of content wide open, will play out. We make a huge effort at Access Emanate to monitor this space and work within it. We’ve recently executed a piece of work for Philips Male Grooming with Jim Chapman that’s been incredibly successful.
creativebrief: What’s your attitude to the ‘traditional’ pitch? Do you think there is a better/more modern way?
Amanda Moulson: I love pitching – I always joke that it’s because I was a child actress that I need the spotlight. But truly, I often wonder if the most modern way to pitch is the least modern. Let’s ditch the PowerPoint and have a conversation. If I were a prospective client, I’d enjoy seeing the genuine interaction and on the spot response versus a rehearsed pitch, as entertaining as that may be.
creativebrief: What’s the best pitch you’ve been involved in?
Amanda Moulson: We pitched a hair care product and the deck was visually stunning – all image-led without a single word to rely on – and the team simply nailed it. I was grinning ear to ear watching them in action, and the prospect was blown away.
“Media coverage only has value if it changes business, and whether that’s brand awareness, reappraisal, calls to action or straightforward sales, we commit to activities and measurement methods that tie our success to business results.”
creativebrief: In what ways do you think the industry can change for the better?
Amanda Moulson: With native content and brands penetrating so many spaces, not to mention the need for Millenials and Gen Z to have authenticity in their comms, I think we have a unique chance to move from the role of spin doctors to people who provide true context. You may not have expected that from a PR, huh?
creativebrief: What’s the next big thing for Access Emanate?
Amanda Moulson: We’ve got a huge year ahead: we are moving to a new space, as well as having just won three new clients so we’ll have lots of new faces. I can’t wait for 2016; I think there’s no limit to what we can achieve.
Topic of the moment
When asked how you define success, Will.i.am recently said, “Adoption. That’s when you know it’s penetrated.” Metrics for success are evolving, how do you evaluate this for your clients?
I could never get away with this with clients, but I watched a talk by Ed Catmull, founder and president of Pixar, at Web Summit who said he judged success by whether or not people are smiling. That really resonated with me. Happy people, happy with the product of their work, will inevitably lead to people smiling. But that’s the softer answer.
We really take measurement seriously. We focus on outcomes, not just outputs. Media coverage only has value if it changes business, and whether that’s brand awareness, reappraisal, calls to action or straightforward sales, we commit to activities and measurement methods that tie our success to business results.
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