How this creative director makes the most memorable marketing content

To Alex Wilson, Executive Creative Director at Amplify creating marketing-related content is the same as making anything else: it's all about grabbing (and keeping) the attention of people. "You can inform through the lens of entertainment" adds Alex. "I think people don't mind being advertised or marketed to if they enjoy the experience."

Amplify is a worldwide creative agency that specializes in experiential marketing, creating massive-scale experiences and campaigns for major brands such as Playstation, Netflix, Levi's as well as many other. "We have the ability to bring ideas to life on all platforms," says Alex. "Historically we've been referred to for being more of an experience agency, but content was always at heart of what we did."

We were able to talk with Alex to hear more about his creative process and his opinions on the current landscape. Find out what he said in our conversation, or check out the video below.

How do you find your North Star when it comes to video production?

"Our purpose is always to entertain and inform. I think that's one of the true powers in video-based content. It lets you do that with a captive viewers. In the end, whenever someone comes to us, maybe wants to use this technology in order to accomplish some thing, we consider this moment in terms of one scene within a wider piece of storytelling."

How do you make sure that you're creating something of quality? What keeps you on track?

"Audience, always. Whoever we're talking to is the key. Are you speaking to them in the places they want to be spoken to in the manner they would like to be spoken to? Start with the audience and what you can do to best talk to them, and give the audience value. Don't interrupt the experience, but elevate it."

What sort of content is suitable for your particular client?

"Whether it's an immersive television show to find the biggest person who is a fan of a particular show that's on Netflix, whether it's building the world of a mobile phone device and breaking the rules of how a retail setting can be, or launching the newest sneakers, or the most recent game title. Everything we do starts with the audience and then eventually the concept of how to implement that concept on a myriad of platforms.

We do not always want working to a certain outcome. Our briefs and clients often come from that direction, but that's what that compromise, collaboration, and co-creation originates from. will allow you to discover the best solution for them regardless of whether it was necessarily what they thought that it would be initially."

How do you evaluate the results of your efforts?

"For us, it's 'Did we tell that story authentically to the target audience we intended it for?' This is the only thing we have to know. We work a lot with different cultures and subcultures. We've got an incredible section of our agency that looks at cultural. We've always, as an agency, been very close to that.

We strive to collaborate with the individual rather than broadcasting directly to them. Instead, we invite their input to aid us in the creation of those experiences and content with them, to make sure it is a success for them and their viewers. There's no clear answer as to what success can refer to, but if you produced that content with a style that is well received by the audience and was well-received by the audience, that's a great gain for us."

What's the greatest advice you've ever received?

"My chief creative director, Jeavon Smith, said I was told 'Ignore the background noise. I believe that the ability to ignore noise is useful in many contexts. I think it lets you concentrate on what you're there to achieve and the other things that will be doing with you and move together as one because there is plenty of noise."

Which one do you prefer ?

"Lots of individuals within the studio and agency utilize it in a variety of ways. It is most definitely one of the most popular. Finding new talents is an excellent opportunity to us. As for internal usage, we speak about our work at the very least as a portfolio the work we've done. If we have to locate an examples of work we've done in this article or record this in some manner that allows us to return and retrieve the information that we have."