TBWA’s ‘disruption master’ Steve Walls shifts base from Singapore to Switzerland
TBWA’s ‘disruption master’ Steve Walls has left Singapore to move with his family to Switzerland. He was hired to the region planning-based role last February.
He will, however, still have oversight over the Asia market. His previous experience in the region includes working for Ogilvy and the Publicis Groupe.
Speaking to Mumbrella, Walls said: “The job and the job title will stay the same. I’ll still be there to help people have, sell and execute ideas that will disrupt categories. I’m moving to Europe to follow my family; that doesn’t mean that I’m leaving Asia.”
Asked if there was or would be someone who would be leading the disruption role locally, Walls said: “I work with teams across the region to find the biggest opportunities, the chance to make the most impact, to help our clients gain a greater share of the future.
“TBWA is the disruption agency; the collective is set up to be disruptive. It’s in the DNA, the people already live and breathe disruption, it’s the culture of the collective. There is no one person in charge of disruption.”
Asked about his proudest moments at the agency in Asia, he said: “There have been quite a few. There’s the big stuff, like the Singapore Airlines win and watching great work from Bangkok, Manila and Tokyo develop into unstoppable ideas.
“We loved doing the modern Muslim traveller piece, the chance to work really closely with Malaysia and Indonesia was great for me.
“Then there’s the small stuff – watching briefs getting spikier, seeing the agency really embrace smart uses of data, getting to brief ‘cats are anarchists’ into the region.”
Ravi is the editor at Mumbrella Asia. He has covered the marketing, advertising and media business for over two decades.
This gig turned out to be a [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines].
ReplyOh show us the work master disruptor
ReplyI’m very happy to Maguire
Want to meet up when I’m in town next and I can take you through it?
Just drop me a note, I’ll be more than happy to spend an hour or so with you.
ReplyA couple of links here will more than suffice, our dear Disruption Master.
ReplyLet’s do it face to face.
I’ll take you through the regional reel and highlights, you buy the coffee, we have a conversation. It’ll be civilized.
ReplyPlanning these days, for the most part, has degraded into real smoke
and mirrors, alchemic BS. Hours and hours of costly intellectual garbage that consumes 80% of the campaign timeline. Without having any demonstrable effect on creativity.
Usually, it’s the thinking of one person foisted on an entire department which can only dispute it if they’ve got a death wish.
I saw a lot of examples of some masterful disruption come out of the
Replyrecently concluded Cannes show….[Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]. And I’m pretty sure those winning agencies didn’t put out such ridiculous and meaningless titles either.
I’d agree with you on the woeful state of planning in Singapore, but think that it may be in more rude health elsewhere in the region.
Lots of reasons for that, would love to hear your pov on why it got this bad in Singapore.
ReplySaying that planning is far worse elsewhere in the region is not a defence. 1S$ is about 10,000 rupiah, 24 baht etc, so the expectations should be absolutely higher.
The main reason would be poor quality planners who could not
make it in the west and have acquired top positions of power here.
The second reason is that no planner, however smart, really knows
if their typed up strategy translates into good creative. But instead of being flexible, if the creative doesn’t map 100% with what they have typed, they poke away at it incessantly and drain it of every ounce of goodness….till what is left resembles a squeezed orange.
They exert all their power, intimidation and persistence to shape the work exactly as it pleases them, and then if things go bad, they simply walk away. They won’t defend it with the same energy in front of the client. And they won’t pay any price if the account is lost.
There needs to be more accountability for planners as the end creative product is grown from the seed that they have planted.
Reply“The main reason would be poor quality planners who could not
make it in the west and have acquired top positions of power here.”
You’re joking right? Have you ever worked with a good planner [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]? No such person exists. Most planners [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] are awful wherever they’re from, but the good few are absolutely not [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines].
ReplyUmmmm your post sounds like gibberish for obvious reasons.
Look, it’s simple. Creatives have lost their seat at the agency table
long ago. Because they have been extremely cavalier and shown zero skills or interest at making great work on real briefs. These days they are chosen so they can meekly agree with whatever the CEO or Head Planner says. They are useful idiots who execute someone else’s (planner’s) vision and take the fall if it doesn’t work out. (Strat was GREAT, but let down by poor creative).
Planners, despite talking crap most of the time still retain their seat
Replyat the table. They’ll say some rubbish like “cats are anarchists” and no one will bat an eyelid. Even though they have no way of verifying beforehand that anarchy among cats translates into a good, enduring piece of creative. I know how much a head planner’s hourly rate is and it doesn’t compute with the things that come out of their mouth.
what a [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] man, as evidenced here and on his numerous exchanges on facebook
Replysomeone who [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] lol
eh, got edited, but i guess he’s [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]
ReplyCan’t believe he fell for it. LOL. You all were just teasing him I know. We always thought he [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]. Jerry Maguire, don’t let [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]. No hard feelings Stevo, good luck matey, you will be missed by some of us here in the old shop. We did keep some of your links for sure, not like we had [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] to keep, ha! Just kidding, don’t ever let the lack of [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] un-master your disruption. But we do miss Edmund. Last CCO in here who had a pair. Was able to tell STB what he really thought. No matter, sorry the send off couldn’t have been bigger, better. Next time maybe. As a rule, if you can’t say it constructively, don’t say anything at all, right [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]?
ReplyC.B.
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