Noble thoughts from AdFest 2017
James Noble is one of Australia’s most successful digital exponents. He is the founder of Carter Digital, which was recognised as one of Australia and New Zealand’s Most Innovative Digital Agency in 2016. Campaign Brief’s Ron Samuel caught up with Noble at AdFest to discuss his judging experience.
James Noble was on the Digital Craft jury at Cannes Lions in 2016, and the Interactive and Mobile jury at AdFest this year. He has sat on juries and won awards for digital all over the place, so he really knows his stuff. He’s also a good bloke and was happy to answer a few questions about what he saw at AdFest, the standard of work and what to expect next.
What were the three best pieces of work you saw and why?
In no particular order:
From breathtaking illustrations, and storytelling comes a platform designed to solve a real world problem. It’s not often this level of attention to detail is applied to an education platform. This approach to encourage social responsibility is masterfully executed.
Creating social change within a society is no easy task. What a brief to pose and deliver. Leo Burnett (I think it was) walked the line and produced a tool for parents and Australian Schools that the rest of the world will be interested in to see the outcomes.
Educating kids on science using Live VR, in space, talking to an astronaut, wearing a space helmet and going to space camp… do you need to say more.
What countries are doing the best digital work and why?
Every country delivered some great work. The approach came from many different angles, some utilising hardware, others through mobile and video. If we were to pick a theme or trend, social, environmental, educational and cultural behaviour issues were all a focus this year.
Was the user experience well considered overall, or just in the winners?
Right or wrong, user experience was a consideration in virtually every entry. Coining a phrase for the next evolution of the UX era, ‘PX’ focused (people experience) this was certainly an approach. With brands shifting to humanising brands to better engage during a micro-moment era. Tackling real-world problems, and bold execution of these values is a crucial step to delivering an effective user experience.
Are there any general areas that agencies are failing with digital creativity?
Ideas are as strong as ever. Refreshing to see some simple ideas executed masterfully. Using technologies for technology sake happens a little too often. Traditional Ad agencies are starting to understand and see the immense value in digital deliverables, big data, and UX research. This isn’t their strongest point. The real magic begins when Ad Agencies embrace deeper collaborations with specialist Interaction and Experience Digital Agencies to execute ideas.
Are there any key mistakes that many of the interactive and mobile entries that missed out are making?
Accounting for the unknown and variables is out of your control. You may create the best mobile application or website in the known universe. If it doesn’t load fast enough over 3/4G, forgets to account for touch hit areas, testing on your preferred audiences browser, or something as simple like a font too small to read, you’ve lost.
Did you think that the ideas translated effectively to the user in the interactive and mobile work?
What do you believe is the starting point for great mobile work? You can control what’s on the screen, that’s it. A great mobile experience encompasses the user experience, customer experience, technology being used and the space in which it is experienced. Great mobile and digital work account for the environment beyond a screen.
How creative can you really get with mobile, were the boundaries really pushed at AdFest?
We’ve seen the rapid evolution of the feature phone to Smartphone explode. The boundaries on mobile were nudged at AdFest this year. With the use of Geo-Location, screen size, processing speed, voice control and VR on mobile all beginning utilised. With more new features making their way onto the Samsung S8 (and no doubt other manufacturers), I expect next year at AdFest to eclipse 2017.