The multiple Cannes Cyber Lion Winner and AKQA global creative director talks about the creative process.

iMedia's 2005 Agency Summit at Amelia Island in Florida is just around the corner. The event, which has been sold out for months, kicks off this Sunday. To help familiarize you with some of the industry leaders that will be speaking at the Summit, we are running a series of interviews we've conducted with them. Last week, we heard from Carat's Mike Yapp. Today, we present our conversation with Rei Inamoto, AKQA's global creative director. Inamoto recently left agency R/GA.   

iMedia: R/GA is one of the most forward-thinking and progressive agencies, so what was it about AKQA that made you leave?

Rei Inamoto: A few main reasons attracted me to AKQA. First, it's global footprint. Second, it's an independent agency. Third, it's eagerness to be the most influential creative agency. Fourth, AKQA's conceptual, creative and strategic approach to every client's problem. Instead of looking at a brief and coming up with a literal execution of the brief, which is what many agencies tend to do, we go through a rigorous concepting process before deciding on an execution. In parallel, creative people collaborate closely with account and strategy people so that the result is both creative and strategic. And creative and strategy need to support one another. A link between them should be a two-way street, and this happens at AKQA.

And finally, AKQA's proactive mindset about client relationships. Rather than waiting for briefs to come in from them, AKQA is always looking for ways to improve clients' businesses and propose new ideas. 
 
iMedia: Why have you chosen interactive as your medium of expression? Or conversely, why did it choose you?

Inamoto: At the end of the day, I personally could care less about the medium I work in. Ultimately, I'm interested in ideas and creating experience in order to communicate them. The marketing/advertising industry is going through a massive change right now. I do believe that the interactive medium -- computers, web, mobile, retail installation, etc -- is at the heart of that change. Also, the interactive medium is still being defined as a viable channel. From these perspectives, although what medium I work isn't the main question for me, interactive is a very stimulating medium to work in right now.
 
iMedia: What steps need to be taken to help get us from where we are today to where we need to be tomorrow?

Inamoto: In the [advertising] industry at large (not limited to interactive) there is a tendency to be obsessed by means rather than ends. Today, where we are now, is channel-driven. Tomorrow, where we need to be, should be idea-driven. I personally would like to do work that can be independent within a medium in whatever channel it resides but also work that is synergistic as a whole through multiple channels.

iMedia: An important topic of discussion is the separation between media and creative -- the unbundling of media. What are your thoughts on the role of media in the creative process?

Inamoto: To me, creative is to media what food is to a restaurant. In many cases, the success of a given restaurant, at least in New York City, partially but somewhat largely depends on its location. Similarly, the success of creative -- not the quality of creative but its result -- can also depend on media. There are many restaurants in NYC that are in great locations and so-so food but are running their business fine. Also, there are some restaurants that are in poor locations but great food and still successful. Several restaurants combine both recipes and are very successful. And just like the relationship between a restaurant and food, one can’t separate one from the other.

iMedia: Discuss how your agency goes about the creative ideation and development process, specifically with respect to collaborating with your media counterparts.

Inamoto: Our creative process is extremely idea-driven and rigorously conceptual. Ideas and stories that we come up with are and need to be media-independent to start off. Once we define the idea, we then appropriate media to execute it. Sometimes, it's an existing media channel. Sometimes, we may have to create a new channel.

iMedia: What is it going to take to get our "traditional counterparts" involved in the space?

Inamoto: Get away from the "copy and paste" approach. Just because you put a commercial online or put it into a video-enabled banner does not make the work interactive. Don't say that it’s an integrated campaign just because it's the same creative used everywhere. That's laziness. Similarly, online film is not an idea. It's just a distribution format. Don't say that the big idea for your next campaign is online film.

More on Rei Inamoto

Rei Inamoto is AKQA's Global Creative Director, responsible for delivering worldwide creative solutions for the agency’s international clients such as Nike and Xbox. Inamoto most recently served as the executive creative director for R/GA, responsible for winning numerous awards including multiple Cannes Cyber Lions, One Show and Clio Awards. During his five year tenure at R/GA, Inamoto worked on key accounts such as Nike, Purina, CableVision, and Reuters' digital signage project on Times Square. Prior to R/GA, he worked at Blue Marble ACG on accounts such as Cadillac, General Motors, Proctor & Gamble and Australian Tourism Commissions. In 2004, Inamoto was named one of the Young Guns by The Art Directors Club, which annually selects the best young talents working in the design and advertising industry. Born in Tokyo, he graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Michigan with a BFA in Mixed Media and BA in Computer Science.