IAA panel lifts shroud on creative technologists at M&C Saatchi-hosted forum in Sydney last night

“Just do it” was the abiding message for creative technologists and those who aspire to be them at an International Advertising Association Australia Chapter Young Professionals forum hosted by M&C Saatchi Sydney last night.

The panel of Amnesia Razorfish executive creative director & founder Iain McDonald, M&C

Saatchi creative technologist James Bush, Lime Rocket & Buzzy.IO senior app developer and founder Mike Gardiner and Publicis Mojo creative technologist Shaun OʼConnor pondered what creative technologists are and what exactly is it that they do in a lively discussion moderated by MediaCom Australia head of innovation & technology Nic Hodges.

Hodges cited figures from Google Jobs that showed a 700% increase in search enquiries for the term creative technologist since January 2010. But when queried about what it is he does, creative technologist Bush said his response varies depending on what he has been working on recently.

Says Bush: “Because my job changes day to day, I could be brainstorming with creatives one day, educating clients the next and making things into a prototype the day after and none of the above the day after that. The term is an oxy moron.”

The others concurred that the role is defined by its breadth and ambiguity. Itʼs inability to be

defined. OʼConnor described his role as a “thinker and a maker”.

Says O’Connor: “To conceive an idea, see it happening and execute it. For the latter part it is crucial for a creative technologist to be able to understand and write software code in order to “make things. Thereʼs a lot of bullshit that comes with it but cutting through that is the key, itʼs easy to talk a big game but you have to come with a broad knowledge and coding is definitely necessary.”

McDonald blanched at the need to code thesis.

Says McDonald: “You absolutely donʼt need to be able to write a line of code to be a Creative Technologist.”

He recalled being part of a team that had to build a virtual pinball machine for Disney in only a few hours with no coders or developers in the house.

Says McDonald: “We ended up drawing our designs on bits of paper, taking photos and hand animating it. There are so many more infinite disciplines the role falls into. The nature of the beast is so diverse. Flexibility is the name of the game rather than specific things that you do”.

For Gardiner the ability to code is a means to an end.

Says Gardiner: “Do I get out of bed just to write code everyday, probably not, but I do want to build things. In five to 10 years coders wonʼt even be needed.”

Hodges suggested that the distribution of creative ideas and messages to people via technology was a key part of a creative technologistʼs role.

Says Hodges: “With brands struggling to have relevance communicating to consumers “the technology is in the communication.”

McDonald suggested that despite Australia “swimming in digital talent” what creative

technologists can achieve is quite often held back by clients who donʼt understand.

Says McDonald: “A lot of great ideas fall on deaf ears. This is largely a structural issue, due to the traditional client/agency model that still prevails in Australia despite enormous change in the past five years. The key is for agencies to work in partnership with clients.

“Clients donʼt know what they donʼt know and are still very campaign and media led. Brands

donʼt need to be doing big amazing things to score with consumers, they just need to try harder with sprint, 6-week type projects. In Australia clients still have fast-follower mentality rather than being the first.”

For Bush, recently over from the UK, thereʼs a great hunger from clients to embrace digital that wasnʼt there even a year ago.

Says Bush: “And theyʼre wanting to do more, itʼs an exciting time to be doing what weʼre doing.”

According to Gardiner clients and agencies need to embrace failure from agile processing teams, busy making stuff.

Says Gardiner: “You only fail when you put a creative technologist on a tight leash. Youʼve got to have hours in the week to let them run around, shake prototypes, bore their colleagues and smile a lot.”

McDonald cited another factor holding the discipline back in Australia as the “very poor digital

training options available. And theyʼre expensive”.

Says McDonald: “We need a digital university.”

All agreed that being a creative technologist is not a job. You have to live it.

Says Gardiner: “You wake up at 2am with a thought and the next thing youʼre hacking something for a prototype. You need to have a hunger for it.”

Hodgeʼs final question asked the panel, “For everyone in the room who wants to be a Creative Technologist whatʼs the one thing in the morning that they should wake up and be doing?”

Says Bush: “Just that, Get doing.”