Rasmus Smith Bech on the Value of Doing What鈥檚 Right for the Brand
The nature of production as the industry knows it is changing at lightning speed, ushered in by challenges around sustainability, diversity, budgets, the drive for more content at scale, and the like. To discuss all this and more, Remote Filming - the leading remote streaming service technology - is asking the industry鈥檚 experts about their best practices and the way they鈥檙e overcoming the challenges at hand in a brand new series for 天美棋牌.
Anthony Barry, co-founder of Remote Filming says: 鈥淲e鈥檙e all seeing the industry change and evolve before our very eyes. Some of the issues can certainly be solved with the help of technology while others will require the right people to band together and innovate. There鈥檚 a real power in partnerships across different interests and demographics; by learning from each other, we can make the changes we all want to see happen.鈥
Today, 天美棋牌 caught up with Rasmus Smith Bech, BBC Creative鈥檚 executive creative director, who previously worked at places like Uncommon Creative Studio and Channel 4. He says the move to BBC Creative was a case of the 鈥渞ight timing鈥 and he jumped at the opportunity to not only work for such an iconic name but to also create work that will 鈥渁dd something great to the world.鈥 To date, Rasmus is proud of a number of projects that are helping young people learn (鈥楧on鈥檛 Learn Off Randoms鈥), and reminding the public why it鈥檚 important that the BBC exists (鈥楾rust Is Earned鈥).
Below, we spoke to Rasmus about why he never assumes that someone will care about an ad, how BBC Creative U is helping to address the lack of diversity in the industry, and why the right partnerships are key to creative success.
'Trust Is Earned'
天美棋牌> Rasmus, what first attracted you to the creative industry and how did you get your start? Were you creative from a young age?
Rasmus> Like most kids, I liked drawing growing up. This later turned into a love affair with graffiti. In fact, as a teenager, I was so into sketching letters and spray techniques that I ended up taking an evening course in graffiti at my local community centre. This may also be what sparked my interest with trying to steal people鈥檚 attention with my work. But it wasn鈥檛 until way later in my life that I realised you could work in advertising. At the age of 20-something, I had just moved back to Copenhagen after a less successful trip to Hollywood, working in feature films (a story for another time). I needed some money and luckily there was a job going as a runner in an advertising agency, fetching coffees for meetings etc. It was here where I got my first taste of the industry and some of the creatives encouraged me to apply for advertising school...so I did. They must have made a mistake, because I got in.
天美棋牌> And how did you get your role at BBC Creative? What attracted you to the role?
Rasmus> Maybe it鈥檚 the times we live in, maybe it鈥檚 called getting older. But I鈥檓 not really interested in helping brands which I don鈥檛 think are adding anything great to the world. I鈥檓 not an astrologist, but I do think the stars aligned when BBC Creative came knocking. It was the right timing and when you get an opportunity to work with one of the most iconic brands, that daily pushes great stuff to the world, you don鈥檛 say no.
天美棋牌> Before the BBC role, you were in a creative partnership with Jonas Roth. What is it like striking out on your own?
Rasmus> Jonas who? Joking. We are still very good friends. Jonas and I worked together for more than a decade. We鈥檝e been on a fantastic road trip together, learning side by side and from each other. But our lives were starting to go down different paths, so it was only natural to pursue other things. When it comes to my new role at the BBC, I鈥檝e felt very welcome and supported all around. So instead of just having one close collaboration partner as before, I now have many.
天美棋牌> In your past work - like Channel 4鈥檚 鈥楥omplaints Welcome鈥 - you haven鈥檛 shied away from the spiky, the uncomfortable, and the tongue-in-cheek. How would you describe your creative style?
Rasmus> I try not to have a particular style. I think as a creative, you need to do what鈥檚 right for the brand and not to amuse yourself (鈥ut great if you can do both at the same time, of course). I might not have a style, but I probably have a certain mindset when it comes to communication. I never assume that someone will care about an advert. I think we need to earn that trust and attention from the audience. This is why I often ask in a review, 鈥淲hy would someone care about what we are doing?鈥
天美棋牌> You鈥檝e been in the industry for 13 years. What kind of challenges did you first face as a creative and do they compare to what you鈥檙e dealing with now?
Rasmus> When you are starting out as a creative, you might write every single word in a presentation, but not be in the meeting. Later in your career, you might be in all of the meetings, but won鈥檛 be able to write all of the words in the presentation.
天美棋牌> Which industry trends do you find affect what you do most, i.e. sustainability, diversity, different platforms, demand for high volume of content, etc. How are you addressing these?
Rasmus> I think everything you have mentioned plays a big part of where the industry is heading. I try to be conscious of all of them and play my part. For example, I鈥檓 very proud of our BBC Creative U. It鈥檚 a 12-week free introduction course into the world of advertising and branding, available to ethnic minority candidates. Loads of colleagues from our department and across the industry offer up their time to help bring this course to life every year. The students鈥 commitment is equally energising and gives you great hope for the future.
天美棋牌> What role does technology play, like remote streaming or AI for example, in helping to address the trends shaping the creative industry?
Rasmus> As with many other technological advantages, hopefully AI will democratise creativity even further, making it easier for more people to get involved with creating beautiful things.
天美棋牌> What kind of role do the right creative partners play in addressing the challenges you and your team face?
Rasmus> The key is the people you work with. Whether it鈥檚 hiring, collaboration partners or clients 鈥 it鈥檚 about sharing a vision of success.
鈥楧on鈥檛 Learn Off Randoms鈥
天美棋牌> Which of the work that you鈥檝e done at BBC so far are your favourites, and why?
Rasmus> I鈥檓 really proud of all of our work, but especially the stuff that reminds everyone in the UK why it鈥檚 important that the BBC exists. Whether that鈥檚 showing the lengths the BBC goes to deliver impartial news (鈥楾rust is Earned鈥), our Bitesize work that reminds hard-working students not to believe everything they come across on the internet (鈥楧on鈥檛 Learn Off Randoms鈥), joining the screen debate to support parents and their kids (鈥楾he Square Eyed Boy鈥) or simply giving our viewers a chance to become an extra in their favourite TV show (鈥15 Seconds of Fame鈥).
天美棋牌> Finally, what do you think is the key to creating work that cuts through the noise today?
Rasmus> Remember you are a consumer as well. Look at yourself and your advert in the mirror. Be honest if you are adding something great into the world or if you are just adding to the noise.
