Workshop with Ted Royer of Droga5

Day three of the conference began with a workshop led by Droga5 Executive Creative Director Ted Royer. One thing that this conference can't be criticized for is a lack of power players and heavy-hitters from the agency world. Here was Ted Royer, whose familiar face is perhaps most recognizable from appearing on the cover of Creativity Magazine's 2007 Agency of the Year issue.

The workshop began with group presentations of an assignment for a plan to reinvigorate Amtrak in America, as Ted interjected with thoughts and observations on each group's ideas. The second portion of the workshop was an opportunity for us hear more from Ted about the trajectory of his career path, as well as some of the key insights that he thinks are crucial to success in the advertising business.

Ted stressed the importance of taking preemptive measures with clients. It is our job as creatives to be proactive in immersing ourselves in an understanding of the clients business, or perhaps more importantly, in our clients business problems. Experience the brand for yourself so that you're not just imagining the brand in a concepting session in an office somewhere. Creatives need to reach out to the client for no reason in particular sometimes so that a mutual sense of understanding can be established.

While talking about the unexpected turns his career path has taken, Ted noted that the arc was not always upwards. Certain opportunities that were the most exciting weren't always the most lucrative. Some of the most rewarding work came from unexpected situations. On the topic of creative leadership, Ted pointed out something that many creatives are probably a little afraid to admit: being a creative leader doesn't mean you have to be a better creative than everyone else around you. It means you bring out better work from those around you. Creative leaders help others achieve better work.