The Egotist Briefs: Rob Rizzo of Digitas

As Executive Creative Director at Digitas, Rob oversees the creative direction for the Boston and Detroit offices for a wide range clients, including General Motors, Aflac, and Goodyear. For the past 10 years, Rob and his teams have created award-winning work in print, interactive/digital, CRM, collateral, events and promotions.

Rob consistently drives compelling brand engagements between clients’ offerings and customers’ passions. In fact, he provided the creative vision behind GMC’s sponsorship and content development for the Scripps Networks’ Living.com video magazine. A breakthrough application for on-demand entertainment, it won the very first Emmy Award for “Outstanding Achievement in Advanced Media Technology for the Non-Synchronous Enhancement of Original Television Content.

Prior to joining Digitas, Rob worked at variety of Boston agencies, including Cabot Advertising and Hill Holliday, earning recognition for work on Fidelity Investments and Budget Rent-A-Car, as well as campaigns for AutoNation USA, Cell One, and Spaulding Golf. With more than 24 years experience in brand, digital and direct, Rob is committed to creating integrated brand campaigns that play to the right mix of each and every channel.

First off, congratulations. Digitas was just voted the 2010 Agency of the Year by The Boston Egotist readers. The voters really turned out for this poll. Is this a testament to the people working at Digitas? You guys must be the most enthusiastic agency in town.

There’s a heightened energy in the office. People are excited. We had an award-winning year. We’ve won great new clients—Aflac, Goodyear, Conoco Phillips. We’re lead agency for several of our relationships, highlighting how clients are shifting to the digital mind-set.

We’ve added great new talent. Dave Nottoli came to us from Wieden + Kennedy, and most recently, Darren Foot from Modernista and Jamie Ferreira from Mullen. Already, they’re making a tremendous impact on our culture, work, and commitment to enhancing our creative prowess.

Obligatory question…did you make a new year’s resolution? Personally? Professionally?

Nope. Never do. I took the long route to graduating from college. Something like seven and a half years just to get my Bachelor’s degree. So the start of the new year has always felt more like September to me. But I have been offered resolutions like “Try not to suck so much this year.” I think that one was offered to me by Kenny Rennard, the vice president and group director of Creative. It was actually the first in a series he took the time to compose for me. Just one of the many advantages of having such an open and honest group of creative leaders. Nobody holds back. Whether being serious or in jest, which I’m definitely chalking this one up to, people speak their minds here.

What’s your proudest Digitas moment from 2010?

Winning new business at the scale we accomplished this year. It’s so damn hard to balance the drive for new business and your day job, but we have great teams in this office that can do both.

I am really proud of the work we did, and the team who did it, for the launch of the Buick Regal with the Moment of Truth. Buick is working hard to change brand perceptions, and Digitas has been helping. Moment of Truth is a cool aggregate experience of everything everyone’s saying about this new European-inspired car. You get critics’ reviews; hidden-camera test drives; auto show intercept videos; Twitter feeds of people who love, like, or hate the car; all the reviews and responses from experts on ride and handling; audiophile reviews; and all the conversations and comments threaded to each.

This work is helping to establish our client and the brand as a leader in the social marketing sphere as well as an innovator in the automotive industry. The site has already won the award for Website Excellence at OMMA and was a featured site on the FWA this year. The team’s work was amazing.

There have also been a few mobile campaigns that were fun, like Crest’s YuckMouth and the GMC Play-Off Challenge.

What’s your Digitas forecast for 2011? Any big surprises?

More industry-changing work. Bigger, better ideas that make people take notice of our clients and our agency.

Right now, the teams are cranking on some really exciting stuff for Aflac, Buick, GM, OnStar, and P&G. Big, attention-getting activations that are going to bring new dimensions of interaction and community to these amazing brands.

As of this interview, the Downy team activated clean sheet week with “Mike In The Window.” For seven days, comedian Mike Birbiglia is living and sleeping in a Macy’s window in Downy washed sheets to prove that the new Downy will keep your sheets smelling clean and fresh all week. Check out his videos on the Downy Facebook page.

We also have big plans for evolving the role of the Aflac duck, we’re launching Goodyear’s new brand digitally, and as always, we’re dreaming up new ways to engage people’s passion through technology on the many GM brands. You are going to be seeing a ton of great new work from us.

And you’re going to be seeing and hearing a lot more from us in town. We are stepping up in 2011 to take a much more active role in the Ad Club and MITX. And we are going to be talking about and celebrating our people. Across the Boston and Detroit offices, we have a collection of amazing people. We have published authors, a stand-up comedian, an actress, award-winning dancers, a dozen singer-songwriters, painters, photographers, jewelry designers, jugglers, animators, speed metal guitarists, film-makers, graphic novelists, even one of the founding members of the Lemonheads. It is an eclectic bunch of people and they make coming here every day a lot of fun.

And while we’re on the subject of people, we’re hiring. We’re looking for the best creatives, planners, technologists, and marketers. Get your stuff to us, pronto.

What’s the creative philosophy over there at Digitas?

We are constantly reminding everyone that Creative isn’t just a department. It’s not limited to art directors, designers, coders, and the like. Everybody needs to bring their best thinking to help us make the work better.

Not to sound so cliché, but there is a universal belief here that great ideas can come from anywhere or anyone. It may be a tidbit of a behavior that someone in Strategy & Analytics uncovers that creates a spark. Or something that a studio production person observed on vacation that introduces a whole new way of looking at a challenge. Basically, it comes down to creating an environment where everyone feels comfortable speaking up and pitching a thought or idea.

Bottom line is best idea wins. No matter where it comes from.

What media trends most interest you right now? What’s being under-utilized?

There are few trends I like. Somebody’s already done it and now you’re just joining everyone else who’s following.

Remember Second Life? We spent more time explaining why clients shouldn’t waste their time or money on that. Later, it was Subservient Chicken. Everyone wanted to do their version of that, totally ignoring the fact that chicken reaffirmed Burger King’s core brand message that you can have it your way. Even when ordering chicken.

One trend I do like, and this is where the traditional world is catching up to the digital world, is the focus on consumer behavior. Digitas has been at the forefront of understanding and affecting consumer behavior for a long time now. This is what we spend most of our time thinking about. Then, we think about the best channel to achieve that.

What trends are you sick of?

Right now, everyone is app crazy. Every day, someone comes charging in saying we need an app for such and such a client. What for? For what purpose? Utility? Engagement? Mindless time fill? Too often, the answer’s that the client wants an app. Rather than just building apps for apps’ sake, I think a better use of time is finding new, interesting ways to make mobile and social media work for our clients’ brands and the customers who engage with them.

From a digital perspective, what do you like to see in the creatives you hire?

Craft. Curiosity. Collaboration.

First and foremost, people have to have their chops. That’s a given. And they have to be learning and relearning all the time. They need to be students of their craft and trade. They’ve got to know what’s going on in the world and be able to embrace it, improve it, or evolve it. And they’ve got to be generous with what they know and share it with others. Be open with their ideas and allow others in to help build on them. This is really a team sport here.

For you, why Boston?

That’s like asking why the Red Sox. It’s home. It’s jam-packed with culture, history, and crazy-talented people.

What are three pieces of advice you’d give any creative?

Always make time to meet with junior talent. You never know who will be the next superstar, or eventually, your boss.

If you have an issue with someone you work with, talk to them. Not about them.

Never leave a meeting or brainstorm session wishing you said something. If you have an idea, get it out of your head and into the discussion.