Dubai: For the advertising industry’s creatives, thinking small is becoming a way of life. Where earlier they had broad canvases — print, TV commercials and outdoor — to visualise a campaign and make it stick with the audience, they now have to try and do the same on the sharply scaled down screens of smartphones and tablets.

In the process, is creativity getting squeezed out from ad campaigns? Will an ad on a smartphone screen can ever aspire to be memorable?

Terry Savage, Chairman of Lions Festival, reckons that form will not subscribe creativity. “No matter what changes occur, creativity must still be at the heart. It is still the great differentiator [and] the enhancer — creativity is what agencies do and this positions them in a good place.

Agencies “are certainly working hard to embrace this significant change to our world and some of this change is generational. The new people coming into the market are digital natives and so will have an inbuilt understanding of the space. The fact is, though, that the world is changing on so many fronts ... digital data and innovation are both now major driving forces. That is why a collaborative approach is needed by all.”

Savage’s organisation helms the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the global ad industry’s annual celebration of the best and brightest work put out by its creatives, as well as the Dubai Lynx Awards.

And according to Savage, digital media’s growth does not mean advertisers and marketers put practicality — instant connection with the intended consumer base — over all other considerations. Certainly, he doesn’t see any risk of a dumbing down of how the message is put out.

“I am very clear on this — The edge that the ad industry has and has always had is creativity — be it TV, press, digital, innovation or the creative use of data,” said Savage, who was in Dubai for a networking event held by the IAA (International Advertising Association) UAE Chapter. “No matter what changes come at us in the next five years, as long as our industry remembers that creativity is the key issue, they will continue to prosper and lead the market in branded communications.

“As we see both at Cannes Lions and Dubai Lynx, great creativity can be — and is — developed on digital platforms as well as traditional platforms. You may be able to connect instantly, but connect with a good creative and your ROI [return on investment] will be greater than connecting with bad creative.”

As for what could be in store for the industry circa 2015, Savage said: “When we started Dubai Lynx with the support of the IAA, I don’t think any of us envisaged the rate of change we have seen — that is not going to slow down. Technology, data and innovation are all increasing forces in enhancing creativity.

“So in 2015 I think we still see challenges ahead in terms of adapting to these changes. I do think that is the way it will be going forward, be it 2015, 2016 or beyond. Our world has shifted.”