Saatchi & Saatchi

NEW Home, NEW Energy - the New Creators' Showcase 2026 will debut at SXSW London. A celebration of the very best in creativity, storytelling and visual innovation, previous NCS winners have included The Daniels and Jonathan Glazer. We champion up-and-coming creators from across the globe with a platform to be seen, discovered and hired by decision-makers in the advertising industry. After an incredible 36 years in Cannes, we're moving to pastures new. The 2026 showcase will see a renewed commitment to “put the C in NCS” and welcomes work from all moving image formats to be submitted. Read more in the link below via Deadline Hollywood, and where you need to go to enter 👇

The New Creators' Showcase is coming to SXSW London.   For the first time in its history, NCS will debut in London - and this year we're opening it up wider than ever. All moving image formats welcome. A new music showcase. And every shortlisted creator gets to present their work on stage in Shoreditch on 4th June.   Read all about this year's NCS below 👇   https://lnkd.in/eautAgys

We’re a creative agency. We make ads. It is a simple way of describing what agencies do, and for a long time it has been a useful one because it is easy to understand, it matched how services were bought and reflected the most visible output ....the work. But it also shifted attention onto what is produced rather than what is achieved. When positioned that way, and anyone in an agency will know this, the conversation sort of follows a predictable path: formats, timelines, delivery, cost, billable hours, procurement pressure and pitch processes (that ask for fully formed work before a relationship has even been established). While none of these things are inherently wrong, taken together they begin to redefine the role of the agency in a way that is narrower than it should be. Because agencies were never meant to be judged on output alone, but on whether the work changes the trajectory of the business. That distinction came through clearly in a recent conversation I was lucky enough to have with Claire Hollands the CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi where the language consistently returned to growth, not as a vague ambition but as a commercial outcome that the work is expected to contribute to. The shift Claire talked about was strategy and creativity sitting at the centre, not a unit of work as the end product being the focus. The environment around agencies is changing, with clients under increasing pressure to demonstrate commercial outcomes rather than activity, and AI making parts of the delivery process faster and cheaper. All of this sharpens the distinction between what can be automated and what actually creates advantage, and in that context the value of judgment, integration and creative thinking becomes more, not less, important. The discussion was fascinating with Claire, there was no hiding from the realities of the world we live in, but the ambition for Saatchi & Saatchi is clear and I believe a lot of agencies are navigating this, how to move from output conversations to conversations around growth. This comes with higher levels of accountability that requires shared metrics with clients, clearer definitions of success and, in many cases, a willingness to be more selective about where to play. If you want to hear about how things are working inside Saatchi & Saatchi directly from the CEO, this is one not to miss.

“To shift from being underestimated to being undeniable.” Our simple (and timely) mantra. Read the full piece from our CEO Claire Hollands on culture, growth and restoring Saatchi & Saatchi UK's sense of ambition... Live in Creative Salon Worldwide today 👇 Saatchi & Saatchi Publicis Groupe Publicis Groupe UK https://lnkd.in/ezfCv_4W

"More pitches, for clients who are feeling increasingly risk-averse - coming into an undifferentiated market which is fast consolidating into larger, homogenised collections of capabilities and people. In conditions like this, clients don’t widen their criteria; they narrow it. They look for signals they can defend internally. And in creative services, agency brand is one of the few signals that still carries weight before the pitch even begins." Saatchi & Saatchi UK Chief Growth Officer Oli Richards writes in Creative Salon Worldwide today, on why it's becoming increasingly difficult to preach the power of brands to our clients, whilst the industry quietly dismantles its own... https://lnkd.in/exwCg5Qn

We are deeply saddened by the passing of Dame Annette King, our former UK CEO. Annette was truly one of a kind. A fearlessly talented leader whose courage, kindness and straight-talking leadership helped shape Publicis Groupe UK and leaves a lasting impact on our industry, and so many people in it. Our thoughts are with Henry, Carter and Sylvie, and all those who had the great privilege of knowing her.