You have one guess where I was for this Quick Conversation 🎤 👀

💡 "The best results are when we go into a room with lots of ideas and come out with something that none of us could have predicted, because it's a synthesis of our shared thinking and our collaboration" 💡

Richard Exon, co‑founder of Joint

I had the pleasure of catching up with my ex-colleague Richard Exon (we worked together many moons ago when he was CEO at RKCR/Y&R) at Joint’s London office....and I asked Richard "What is The Key 🔑 to great creativity?"

Richard Exon’s key?

🤝 Collaboration.

Which he expanded on with these three great points:

1️⃣ 🤝 True collaboration:

Bring the right people together and synthesise their ideas. If you leave with just your own idea intact, you’ve missed out on the magic.

2️⃣ 💡 Creativity belongs to everyone:

Account teams, producers, strategists, designers and clients all contribute. Creative thinking is as essential in strategy and production as it is in execution.

3️⃣ 👫 Co‑creation with clients:

Invite clients into the process from the start. Shared ambition and joint ownership lead to the most effective outcomes.

🫘 🥦 Richard Exon also shared a great example of this in action with Joint’s recent campaign for #RichmondSausages’ "Veggie Tasty" range.

🌽 The line “Your favourite veg has never tasted so sausage” came from that collaborative process 🥕 , and it's a banger!!!! 🤦‍♂️

🙏 Thank you Richard Exon for your thoughts on this and sharing that great creativity comes from Joint thinking.

🎤 I had a really great “Quick Conversation 🎤 ” with Johnny Corbett about creativity and how it should run through everything we do in a marketing function, not just comms and products 🎤

Creativity matters at every level of business, and Johnny Corbett is well placed to have a point of view with this as the founder of WhichWayUp, helping marketing directors, CMOs and CEOs connect business strategy with marketing best practice and then creating a structure around that.

🎥 Do watch the full 3min film (linked in the comments).

A Summary of Johnny Corbett's key points answering "What is The Key to Great Creativity?":

1️⃣ Creativity isn’t just pretty pictures: ⚡

It’s a way of thinking. In business we lean on data and rational “system‑2” decisions. Johnny argues we need to inject creative thinking into those decisions to inspire people and drive belief and behaviour change.

2️⃣ Embed creativity across capability and culture: 💥

Johnny looks at customer activity, internal capabilities and culture. Creativity plays a role in each. You need to train teams to recognise and harness creativity, put processes in place to let it flourish, and use it beyond communications. Then product development, pricing and internal storytelling all benefit.

3️⃣ We’re human: 🧠

Creativity taps into that. Technology and AI are vital tools, but we’re still human beings. Creative approaches unlock emotions and responses that data alone can’t reach. Everyone can be creative if given the systems and encouragement to think differently.

☕ Thank you Johnny Corbett for the brilliant "Quick Conversation 🎤 " by the Hideaway Coffee in Soho (a great 'secret spot' in Soho) and all the best with your new business WhichWayUp.

🌟 “The key to great creativity is twofold: deep audience insight and close client partnership.” 🌟

Jonathan Tapper (AKA JT), Managing Director of Saatchi & Saatchi UK

On the sunny rooftop of Saatchi & Saatchi UK, behind their iconic “Nothing Is Impossible” sign, I caught up with the sharp, energetic and brilliant JT for a "Quick Conversation 🎤 ".

I asked "What is The Key 🔑 to Great Cretivity" and his answer was very clear:

1️⃣ Deep audience insight:

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Know your audience so well that you can create relevance in their lives. Insights should go beyond sounding good, they need to change how people see the world and how they understand the value you provide.

2️⃣ Close client partnership:

🤝 Trust and shared ambition are the only way to unlock transformational work. JT's strong view is that true creative success happens when clients and agencies align on what success looks like and commit to it together.

3️⃣ Creativity that drives growth:

📈 The relationship doesn’t end with an ad. Saatchi & Saatchi UK’s work for EE, John Lewis & Partners and Santander UK goes deep into the business to drive growth, not just produce a great campaign.

💥 What I loved about our chat was that JT brought together the two topics I cover in this "Quick Conversation 🎤 " Series that are so inter-woven: Creativity and Client-Agency Relationships.

To JT, creativity isn’t just about making great ads, it’s about building relationships and insights that make a real difference.

⚡ He seamlessly connected the dots between human insight, collaboration, big ideas and great creativity.

Thank you, JT, for the great chat and to Oli Richards for being part of the conversation "off-camera"!

🤝 “It’s a collaborative effort of people who, first, understand the business problem, second, understand who we are talking to and what resonates with them, and then bring the creative production and makers community together to bring that to life.”

Sergio Lopez Ferrero

Global CEO Omnicom Production

🏙️ What a backdrop! Sergio Lopez Ferrero and I spoke on a balcony at Omnicom’s London HQ with the Shard towering behind us. It was the perfect setting for a conversation about building the innovative future of creativity and Omnicom Production's place within that.

⚡ With Omnicom’s recent acquisition of IPG now all playing out in H1 2026, and the huge shifts in AI assisted production, this is an especially exciting moment for the company. One full of opportunity and momentum.

Sergio Lopez Ferrero and I had a great "Quick Conversation 🎤 " where I asked what "The Key 🔑 " is to great creativity.

Sergio's response was:

1️⃣ Bridge brands and people 🤝

Great creative isn’t just about beautiful work or performance, it’s about connecting brands to consumers and solving real problems with emotional resonance.

2️⃣ Bring great minds together 🧠

Solving those problems requires understanding the business challenge and your audience, then uniting the creative makers and production teams to bring it all to life. Collaboration is the key.

3️⃣ Innovate continuously 🚀

Sergio’s team is evolving production into immersive content experiences that connect brand storytelling with media and commerce. It’s all about ensuring a brand shows up authentically in culture.

🔥 With big changes underway at Omnicom, Sergio Lopez Ferrero’s vision and focus on collaboration feels absolutely right.

I'm looking forward to seeing how their innovative approach works towards transforming the industry!

🙏 Thank you to Sergio Lopez Ferrero, Jim Rothnie and Angharad Jones for your time discussing Omnicom Production's new structure and ambitions. Great to see you as always.

🌟 “Know your value. Knowing what you’re amazing at. Your strengths, your superpowers, the unique value you bring is so important. Only you truly know your worth; your boss doesn’t necessarily see it.” 🌟

Gill Whitty-Collins, author of #HowToWinAtWork

📖 🍾 This week, I had the huge pleasure of attending Gill Whitty-Collins' “How To Win at Work” book launch at Libreria in East London.

⚡ The energy was so positive and uplifting in this very cool bookshop, buzzing with friends, contacts, ex‑colleagues, clients and fans. It was great fun meeting fascinating people and trading stories about how people knew Gill and how her first book, and Gill as a person, had helped them on their journeys, both personally and professionally.

💡 What became clear quickly was how much Gill Whitty-Collins’ previous best‑selling book “Why Men Win at Work” and her workshops have enlightened women and men about the realities of the world we work in and how it’s rigged in favour of men… and what to do about it.

🔥 That community energy made her new book launch feel so special.

So...I had to ask Gill Whitty-Collins if we could do a "Quick Conversation 🎤 " and she said yes!

I asked Gill what “The Key 🔑 ” lesson for women from her new book is, she distilled it into three powerful points:

1️⃣ ⭐ Know your value: Identify and own your strengths, your superpowers and the unique value you bring to work.

2️⃣ 🎯 Only you can see your worth: Your boss might not understand everything you do. Don’t rely on others to recognise your full potential.

3️⃣ 🚪 Take your brilliance elsewhere if it’s not appreciated: If an employer undervalues you, trust yourself enough to leave. Staying in an environment that doesn’t serve you doesn’t help anyone.

The support for Gill and this book was amazing, with Gill even doing a reading from the text.

I left inspired and grateful to have a signed copy with a message for my wife who has just started new business!

🔥 “The biggest post got 98 million impressions” 🔥

That's what can happen if you harness great creativity.

I had a great "Quick Conversation 🎤 " with Carl Pring, (marketing leader at Shell), discussing what "The Key 🔑 " is to great creativity.

His answer:

"Imagination. Pushing boundaries and challenging ideas"

Carl Pring's team collaborating with IBM, Scuderia Ferrari HP, MSQ and SEEN created a personalised film (using AI) set in the Ferrari F1 pit, with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc welcoming you by name. One post notched up over 98 million impressions and the campaign had 100% positive sentiment. 🤯

Check out the film about the campaign in the comments

Carl Pring expanded on his "Key" of "Imagination":

1️⃣ 💪 Imagination needs brave boundaries

Carl challenges his agencies to go braver and bolder. If an idea doesn’t make people feel a bit scared, it’s not pushing far enough. Creativity flourishes when you keep asking, “How could we be more daring?”

2️⃣ 🤖 Use AI to enhance the idea, not replace it

In their Ferrari collaboration, AI personalised each film by integrating your name in audio and on VIP passes. It wasn’t gimmicky, it was seamless storytelling that made fans part of the Scuderia Ferrari HP and drove those 98 million impressions.

3️⃣ 🤝 Make people part of the experience

Great creativity invites participation. Instead of passive viewing, let your audience step into the story. Carl’s team captured data in exchange for hyper-personalised content, creating shareable moments and building deeper connections.

🌟 Imagination, AI and participation, all harnessed with courage and curiosity.

That’s Carl’s key to unlocking creativity at scale.

🙏 Thank you Carl Pring for your time and here's to great success in the awards with this one!

🍾 And also such great news that Scuderia Ferrari HP are doing so well in this year's F1 and that Lewis Hamilton got his first podium for Ferrari!!! 🍾

What is "The Key 🔑 " to Great Creativity?

❤️ 🧠 “Having an open heart and an open mind, because those are the things that stop us from revealing our highest potential… and stop comparing oneself to somebody else.” 🧠 ❤️

#HowardJones

☀️ 🌴 This is a throwback to last summer at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity… and also a bit of a throwback to the ’80s: Because I had the huge honour of having a "Quick Conversation 🎤 " with #HowardJones, the legend behind “What Is Love?”, “New Song” and “Things Can Only Get Better.”

🤯 Yes… THAT #HowardJones.

😎 And yes, we were on a yacht.

🕺 AND, he had just performed on that yacht which the crowd (and I) loved! 😄

In our "Quick Conversation 🎤 ", Howard shared wonderfully heartfelt and inspired thoughts on creativity:

1️⃣ 💖 Open heart & mind: Creativity flourishes when you’re not closed off or judgmental.

2️⃣ 🚫 No comparisons: We’re all unique; when you stop measuring yourself against others, you unleash your own originality.

3️⃣ 🌱 Creative living is everyday: It’s not just about art, it’s how you live your life, every action can be an act of creativity.

🌟 I should have expected nothing less from a truly creative talent. Wise, considered, inspirational words, especially given there were only about 30 seconds of prep for this chat!

🔥 And he finished with this amazing rallying-cry:

"I sincerely believe that everybody has potential for great creativity in the field they operate in... I would just love to see that flourish...I think the human race would then stop having wars and fights with each other."

🌟 What is “The Key 🔑” to Great Creativity? 🌟

❝ Curiosity about everything. ❞

Katy Howell, founder & CEO of immediate future social a 21‑year‑old social media agency.

🚀 So Katy is a true social pioneer!!

..and on a sunny day by the South Bank, she shared how curiosity is "The Key 🔑 " to great creativity, which fuels her work.

Here is what Katy Howell shared:

1️⃣ Curiosity about everything 🚶‍♀️

Katy draws inspiration from the world around us, ads on the Tube, fonts used in signs, the latest social outrages, and the books she’s reading. Staying aware of what’s popular (and what isn’t) helps her feel the pulse of culture.

2️⃣ Diverse sources of insight 📚

Great creativity needs insights from many places. Katy believes you can’t solve a creative problem without drawing from a vast mix of experiences, whether that’s spotting patterns on social media or absorbing ideas from unexpected books and art.

3️⃣ Ask, ask, ask ❓

Curiosity thrives when you keep asking questions. Katy leads her team by example: “What if we tried it this way?” “Have we looked at this?” She also encourages everyone to spend time out of the office, observing people and asking why things work, because problem‑solving starts with asking the right questions.

🙏 Thank you, Katy Howell, for sharing with us that creativity begins with curiosity and constant questioning.