In today's market, brands are aplenty and consumers have no shortage of options. This means being a notable brand is not enough to secure success — consumer behaviour keeps changing, cultural conversations shift quickly and the sheer volume of content in media makes both happen at an incomprehensibly fast pace.
Every day audiences become more difficult to predict, and even the platforms used to engage with them are constantly showcasing some or other new update in the name of "improved user experience". This results in changing advertising models as brands work to keep audience attention, leading to creativity as a strategic tool for solving business challenges and building lasting brand affinity to stay culturally relevant.
Alex Goldberg, Executive Creative Director at Halo, shares his perspective on this specific subject, explaining what it takes to create work that truly stands out and how brands can build in a way that will actually be fruitful.
Attention is one of the most valuable currencies in today's economy. What would you say makes people stop scrolling and genuinely pay attention to a brand in 2026?
Don't be boring. It's as simple and as challenging as that.
You have to make people feel something, enough to do something. We used to compete against other brands and the dreaded "Skip ad" button. Now it's the doomscrolling thumb and every piece of content out there. Millions of minutes are uploaded to TikTok every hour, and with AI you can expect even more.
If you don't entertain and capture the curiosity of the audience, you'll fade into obscurity.
It's never been more important to create work that connects to culture and drives people to action. You just can't afford to be dull or safe. It's an exciting challenge. To be brave enough to avoid the safe routes, and create work for brands that people love, speak about it and ultimately choose.
The traditional advertising model assumed relatively stable audiences and predictable media habits. What does creative leadership look like when the audience itself is constantly changing?
You can't connect with culture if you're not spending time in it.
It's vital that we constantly stay in touch with the way people consume content and engage with brands — then it's about finding the right platforms for the idea to make the biggest impact.
Good creative agencies consistently create effective work because they know how to keep connecting with an ever-changing audience and media landscape. From newspapers to TikTok, Fortnite to whatever my son will be into next week. The rule is to assume nothing, approach each space with an empty cup, and strive to create work that makes the core audience say "You get us".
You can't disrupt anything if you don't know how it works. So, getting into the guts of an audience's behaviour, market tensions and narratives is essential to making brands relevant. There are more touchpoints than ever before, and this presents an exciting opportunity to be hyper targeted in our approach — in the work we create and the channels we use.
Our superpower as creatives is our ability to seamlessly adapt between brands, products, target markets and media spaces. As leaders it's about creating the environment for great work to thrive.
Marketers are routinely under pressure to prove ROI. How can creative excellence contribute directly to business growth outside of generating attention?
In the business of creativity, it's important to understand what creativity really is in our world, and that's finding innovative solutions to business challenges. Sometimes it's through the work we make, other times it could be through reinventing the user journey and customer experience — but it has to make an impact on the business.
Work that works, that is the North Star. Unless you have a first-to-market product that is truly unique, creativity is the most effective way to give your business the edge.
The greatest sign of success is when people love your brand beyond reason. It's why people queue for hours to get the new iPhone, buy five colours of the same Kicks, or get a tattoo featuring three iconic stripes.
When it becomes part of culture and you convert consumers into fans, you know just how powerful creativity can be.
A brand can spend millions on advertising, but a single news story can reshape public perception overnight. How should marketers balance paid messaging with understanding the broader media around their brand?
With paid advertising brands have full control of the message they want conveyed, but they can't control the conversation. So, it's vital that marketers take a holistic approach to building and managing their brand, and every move needs to complement, and not contradict the conversation audiences are having.
To do this, you need to be self-aware, clear on the brand's strategy and brave enough to be part of the conversation. Some of the best work in recent years came from brands engaging with communities or leveraging situations most would shy away from. The KitKat Heist is a perfect example. The brand turned a PR nightmare into their best brand building campaign in years.
During your time at Ogilvy, you worked within one of the world's most established agency networks. How has that experience influenced your approach to creativity and leadership at an independent agency like Halo?
I was lucky enough to work with a vast number of industry experts across multiple disciplines, brands and markets. So I experienced first-hand what works, what doesn't, the power of focused creativity and the need to build strong partnerships with clients.
Creativity is a team sport, and when you're working together, great things happen. Coming from working on some of the world's biggest brands, I know how to identify a great idea and what to do to make the world take notice.
While I have my methods, I'm approaching this with an open mind. Halo has been doing great work and built a strong culture over the years, and I want to make sure that I help elevate the agency the Halo way and not force a system that thrives in the Ogilvy setting.
We'll evolve with each brief and I'm excited to see us build a space where Clients and Creatives come to make brave work, the Indie way.
Having worked on both sides, where do you think independent agencies have an advantage over larger networks when it comes to solving clients' marketing challenges?
Networks certainly have their pros, but Independent agencies can move in ways others can't. I've already seen Halo's strengths in action. We really do have the freedom to move with agility and create with conviction.
The best work really does come from strong Client / Agency relationships. The fewer barriers between the two, the better. If something hinders the process, we can pivot and find a solution. I've seen relationships strengthened and great work emerge from moments of crisis, where speed of response and focused efforts turned obstacles into opportunities.
Can't do that if you follow the status quo, or stick to a system that isn't right for the job at hand.
The advertising landscape has shifted and we're seeing the rise of the indies. This emergence has seen many get a seat at the table, because marketers are seeing the value we bring. Big ideas aren't reserved for big networks and we're excited to take brands to the next level with work we believe in.
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*Image courtesy of contributor and Canva