Glenn Cole: “Australia’s biggest strengths are its talent, creative ambition and Aussie spirit”

72andSunny co-founder and chief creative officer Glenn Cole is about to hit Australian soil to embark on a whirlwind tour. He’s hosting the AWARD Creative Leadership Forum and is jury chair of the AWARD Awards both on May 26, ahead of launching the agency’s first Australian office. The Communications Council caught up with Cole to find out how he’s developed a culture of creativity, his own creative process and what he thinks the biggest opportunities are this side of the Pacific.

TCC: Ahead of 72andSunny’s Australian office opening, what do you think is the Australian market’s biggest strength?

GC: We see the biggest strength of this market as three things – the talent, the creative ambition, the Aussie spirit.  

We have always been impressed with the talent in Australia and, more recently, in Asia. We see brave lateral thinkers with make-it-happen skillsets and a global orientation that scales better than talent from other markets.

The creative ambition in this market is second to none. It consistently ranks high on the creativity index, with a breadth and depth of output of work that belies the market size. Increasingly, Australian work and brands are setting new innovation standards for the industry.

Finally, the Aussie spirit is huge x-factor. And it feels close to our hearts. Optimism and openness are core values of our company and of our people. We are opportunity junkies with little patience or appetite for cynicism or fatalism. Building with Australians feels very natural, like being home. CONTINUE READING THE INTERVIEW…