Berlin, Germany. Luis Paulo Gatti (Sr.Creative at BBDO Berlin + Awards Coordinator & Instructor at Miami Ad School Brazil)
Tomilli: What is your creative process like?
In all his projects, I always think of people first and their lifestyle. As I work with many different brands, I know that I always need to study different things and behaviors. For me empathy is a the main key Word.
I always try to be aware of trends, even though they are often not things that I naturally like. I believe that brands have a mission to help people and send positive messages to society. Furthermore, being good for the community is great for business, making brands seen with care and respect.
What has been the best advice that a creative director has given you? Who was it?
I was lucky to work with great professionals who were also great people. I can’t remember an impact phrase, but I remember several talks and advices at different times in my carrer. I also remember a lot of attitude, I consider that more than any speech. That was great for me and I try to share it with my students.
When you have a creative block, what do you do to inspire yourself again?
When you work with creative in business, creative block is not an option. I learned this early and when I feel with out inspiration I just relax and research more about the topic I need to speak about. I admire artists who can afford to spend more time in their creations, but in our business model things change quickly so an opportunity to speak with our consumers can sometimes not wait. And we must include on it all the sales logistics involved and that we are part of. But in one line, the answer to any creative block is be calm and focoused, study and research.
What should a good brainstorming be like?
With a lot of newspaper material and any kind of relevant information about the target, focus, energy and humility to know when an idea is bad. You cannot believe you found the best idea until have several others to compare. Quantity means quality at this point.
As a consumer, are you very demanding when it comes to advertising?
For sure. Let’s be honest, who likes advertising? That boring thing that appears while you are watching YouTube.
However who doesn’t like smart, fun and relevant content? The brands that just look at themselves end up being the ones that have less engagement. We have several successful cases where the brand understood the public’s behavior on social networks and decided to talk with the same language.
A very good example is Geiko, who made their YouTube channel something fun where people feel interested in subscribing to watch their news. So, the conclusion is that if people don’t like people who speak only of themselves, why would they like brands with similar behavior?
How much does advertising influence you when making a purchasing decision?
That is a good question and I will say it depends. There is no point in having amazing communication and the product is bad or hard to find. However, a well-done campaign leads the consumer to consider a certain product and if it is good there is a big chance of catch a loyal consumer. I am included in that for sure and I believe everybody as well.
An example that worked for me is the brazilian flip-flop Havaianas. I like the positioning of the brand and I identify myself with it. It could be any flip-flop but the Havaianas have several fun models that I feel connected to and a very cool advertising and point sales. More brands should follow their steps.
Does advertising have more influence on purchasing decisions today than in the past?
Evidently nowadays people understand more easily what an advertisement is compared to a time when cigarettes were sold as something good for the lung. If we think about the best cases of all time, they have something in common, they are relevant. There is a big difficulty in thinking about the long term and talking to the consumer step by step because we want numbers and results for yesterday. Building something takes time and impatience ends up generating those boring communications that we want to skip every day. The technology has changed, nowadays I consider it much more fun to work with creativity for the variety of ways that we can use it geared towards business. We just must always put our consumers in the center of attention and talk about what they want. That way your Brand you always look relevant and, who don’t want a good talk?
I am open if you wanted to talk about any of my opinions, technology or trends. Feel free to send me a message at Lp_gatti@hotmail.com
You can also check my projects at www.Lpgatti.com
*With 13 years of experience, Luis Gatti worked in the European, Middle Eastern and South American markets, and had achieved recognition in the main advertising festivals, including Cannes Lions, D&AD, Oneshow, ADC global, New york Festivals, Clio, LIA Awards, Eurobest, Dubai Lynx, Epica awards and others.
Besides to being creative, he is teacher & coordinator at Miami ad School and father of a crazy baby called Erik.