Reimagining Advertising: some reflections from our learning journey
In this article, we reflect on the first two sessions of our 6-month learning journey with 12 practitioners from different parts of the advertising ecosystem including AMV BBDO, Channel 4, D&AD, Kantar, Natwest and OMD. In partnership with the Royal Society of the Arts (RSA) and with research partners King’s College London, we are exploring how we reimagine and transition advertising towards supporting a thriving future (read our announcement on this initiative and meet the participants here).
Session 1 — Understanding the System with guest speaker Dr Orit Gal
This was our first time convening our twelve trailblazers in a room. The focus this week was on leaving job titles and roles at the door, zooming out and considering the dynamics of the wider ecosystem we’re all participating in. We are used to thinking of certain sectors as operating like systems — think of the health, education or food system — but often don’t apply this same thinking to industries like advertising, or the agencies and organisations within it. We invited Dr Orit Gal, Senior Lecturer for Strategy and Complexity at Regents University, to demystify systems thinking with the group.
As Dr Orit explained, systems come in all sizes — from the scale & complexity of something like “the political system” to the smaller but intricate living systems within our own bodies (like the respiratory system). All systems are simply manifestations of networks, where individual nodes interact — sharing information, resources and behaviours.
Each node is simply trying to better its position in the network by seeking better access to network flows. To better their position, nodes may experiment with new ideas, find new resources and make new connections. Guided by incentive structures, these behaviours accumulate to create unintentional patterns which we may see as “good” or “bad”.
Dr Orit used the female-founded startup landscape as an example. Why is it that only 2% of startup capital goes to female founded startups, when they make up 38% of the landscape? No one intentionally designed the system to favour men, but a complex accumulation of incentive structures has left us with this “bad” pattern. As a group, we explored all the possible nodes of the system that might be contributing to this pattern. Investors, like angels and VCs, likely play a big role. But so might other nodes — mentors, accelerators & incubators, role models (or lack thereof), families and others who uphold the system as it stands. Then there are other, more hidden nodes, who may hold disproportionate power — like angel investors’ golf club acquaintances, whom they might want to impress.
In mapping all the possible actors within a system, it became clear how many possible points of intervention there might be. Change is possible: over time, old patterns fracture, and new ones emerge. The key provocation for change agents is therefore: How can we intervene in the system to promote some patterns, and undermine others? This work will begin in earnest after summer.
As the session drew to a close, Jahnvi Singh — Senior Learning Journey Designer at the RSA, guided the group to co-create a list of principles for engagement that we made a commitment honouring throughout the learning journey. This is just one of our favourites: Bring an open mind, positive and hopeful spirit, and the energy to dream big.
Takeaways from Session 1
Systems are simply manifestations of their underlying networks. In these networks, individual nodes interact — sharing information, resources and behaviours.
There are heaps of possible interventions in the system. It’s about finding places to influence patterns and fracture others.
It’s your mindset that matters. The practice thinking systemically helps us consider our leverage points. Donella Meadows has a wealth of thinking on this linked below in our resources wrap up.
Session 2 — Signals of Change
Where our first session was all about how systems work, our second meeting explored how change can come about. In Session 2, we learnt about Futures Thinking and the frameworks that can help us imagine emerging futures, and plot possible opportunities for intervention. We selected the Three Horizons framework as an entry-tool for this work; a framework we use often at Purpose Disruptors when thinking about longer-term change. We are immensely grateful to Graham Leicester, Director of the International Futures Forum, for his invaluable guidance on our application of Three Horizons.
Andy Thornton, RSA’s Head of Regenerative Design, led an introduction to Three Horizons, first explaining and expanding on the theoretical underpinnings of the model, before using it in practice in a group exercise.
Andy highlighted how Three Horizons shows the importance of imagination and vision to effectively embed transformative change in the present. “First horizon” thinking represents the perspective of today’s world, whereas “second horizon” thinking speaks to the emerging activities resolving the immediate issues of the first horizon. Further out, a “third horizon” offers more radical possibilities that may not seem viable to us yet, and which can be accessed through imaginative practice. Transformation requires holding all three horizons in the present.
Working in groups, participants mapped the waves of change they can observe in today’s advertising industry. When playing their charts back using the RSA’s story script (read as a reflection on the past, 10 years into the future) there were some common threads in what surfaced. Some of these are reflected below:
[Horizon 1] In 2023 we were facing many issues, like…
Endless growth
Productivity tied to reward structures
Inconsistent pockets of green change
[Horizon 2] There were promising signs — which were pockets of the future in the present…
Current workforces refusing to work on or pitch for certain work
The next generation of creative talent demanding more responsible commitments
The rise of industry climate action networks
Greenwashing regulation
Clients moving towards regenerative business models
A rebranding of consumerism
Creativity channelled in alternative, novel ways
[Horizon 3] Because they worked, here we are now and we have an industry that is…
Taking accountability for objectives beyond growth
Mainstreaming a narrative where moderation feels aspirational
Adhering to honesty and integrity in the dissemination of information
Operating in service of people and planet
After the Summer recess, we will bring everyone back together to think about what alternative futures we could seed and grow within the systems where we have influence.
Takeaways from Session 2
Where you sit in the system dictates how you view change. We discussed the contradictions in thinking amongst commercially-minded teams vs. creative teams — and what incentives might enable you to intervene at different places in the system.
Imagination can help us unlock Third Horizon thinking. It can be natural for some discussions to occur by default in the first horizon (business as usual). Questions like “what’s hopeful?” can be helpful in getting to longer-term, third horizon thinking. (Our Good Life 2030 Toolkit is also designed to support with this.)
But all horizons are required in how we meet the present. We need to manage what we have now, as well as visioning tomorrow. It’s the fine art of building the plane while flying it.
Next steps on this journey
We’ve been reflecting on what ideas and observations are resonating with our trailblazers, and what challenges are puzzling them. Each member has a learning portfolio to capture evolving, unedited thoughts and reflections. Look out for our next blog where we will unearth some of the common themes and threads.
Further reading
Here are some of the resources that inspired these two sessions.
- Donella Meadows — Systems Thinking Resources
- Donella Meadows — Leverage Points: Places to intervene in a System (article) / Leverage points (video explainer)
- Dr Orit Gal — Social Acupuncture
- Geoff Mulgan — The Imaginary Crisis
- International Futures Forum — Three Horizons Practical Resources
- Purpose Disruptors — Good Life 2030 Imagination Toolkit
- Purpose Disruptors — Rethinking the Good Life (published via The Drum)
- RSA (Andy Thornton, Head of Regenerative Futures and Jahnvi Singh, Senior Learning Designer) — Enabling Business Regeneration
