Advertising has made some digital leaps forward over the last few years, particularly in the areas of production and technology. Creative Technology is not a new concept anymore (the 4A's even has an event for technologists, CreateTech), and more traditional agencies are building out internal production capabilities. While this has created new job opportunities for technologists, data strategists, UX designers, and many other types you'd find at pure-play digital agencies, the options for creative talent has yet to markedly change. You can be an Art Director, Copywriter, or Designer, essentially meaning you can design or write scripts and ad copy across media. These are still very relevant and mission critical agency functions, but much of the digital talent escaping to start-ups doesn't naturally fit the mold. Many are hybrids. They do a little of everything from creative to product management to strategy to technology. And these are people we need to attract and have a place for.

Just as the definition of advertising creativity has evolved to be inclusive of media and technology we think it's time to take it another step. We need to make room for the social media and start-up generation. We need a new creative discipline. We're calling it Invention Strategy. The Invention Strategist sits within the creative department, works on integrated teams with Art Directors, Copywriters, Creative Tech, UX, and Media, and is responsible for digital ideation and strategy as well as creative direction on things like apps and platforms.

Brands compete with digital giants for attention today. We all need to act a little more like start-ups. Inventors. Our marketing has to be less about message and more about immediate value. We don’t need to throw away everything we've learned about building brands, but we need to take a few pages from the Web 2.0 and product development communities in how they’re structured, think, and act, in order to create content and experiences that resound with people today and make businesses go. Ultimately, invention should be everybody's job, and we want more t-shaped or hybrid thinkers across the agency, but by introducing Invention Strategy to the creative mix, our hope is that we kickstart things and push the thinking a little further center, and in turn create new job opportunities for creative folks out there who may not have advertising on the radar right now.

This past Monday, we welcomed, Bud Caddell, our first Invention Strategist to Deutsch LA. Bud's a great thinker and has worked on some breakthrough digital and social media marketing campaigns and platforms for brands like American Express, Ford Motor Company, GE, CNN, Pepsi, HBO, and TBS/TNT. We're excited to have him and to get the group of the ground.