Anne Boothroyd is no stranger to success, having won over 100 local and international awards for her creative work. Her recent accolades include a D&AD Wood Pencil and a Gold Caples for ‘Quit For Your Pets’, as well as the coveted For Good Award for ‘Unseen Emergencies’ at the 2022 Axis Awards.
The Executive Creative Director at dentsu Aotearoa previously led the YoungShand Creative Department for almost four years. She has worked at almost every major advertising agency in New Zealand, including BBDO, Saatchi and Saatchi and Ogilvy.
Your one-year dentsu anniversary is coming up soon. How are you feeling about the move 10 months in?
When you’re in the change, it can often feel like you’re standing still. But looking back, what felt incremental has actually been a rapid transformation setting us up for an exciting 2023. The best bit for me is the team who have chosen to join me (and stick with me) at Dentsu Creative. They’re a brilliant bunch of deeply talented humans.
What excites you about the creative process at dentsu?
Changing up the ways of working to bring different skill sets and experiences to the creative process. It comes naturally to smaller teams in the indie world but takes a more considered approach in a larger agency context.
What inspires your own creative process?
I still get unreasonably excited about what makes the humans on the other side of our ideas tick. There is so much complexity in today’s media landscape, but breaking it down to the bare bones helps me identify the right solution more clearly.
What’s a campaign highlight from the past year (something you’ve worked on)?
TVNZ+ ‘It’s free, but it could cost you’ has to get a mention. So many talented people helped shape the work, which is getting attention at shows around the world. It’s a brilliant result for the team. My current highlight is our projects in the pipeline. That’s what’s consuming my brain right now, and I can’t wait to get them out into the world.
What’s a campaign you wished you worked on?
Backup Ukraine is an idea that has stuck with me, not just because it’s an unignorable global event impacting so many, but because it shows how creativity and technology can be used to create powerful solutions that have a benefit far beyond the sphere of marketing.
Which local or international brand do you think is pushing the creative envelope?
Maybe it’s because my family hails from Yorkshire, making ketchup and bread and butter compulsory sides to every family meal growing up, but I really appreciate the way Heinz continues to remain relevant without losing sight of the core brand.
What challenges are creatives facing as we head into times of recession and tighter budgets?
Time feels like a rare commodity – carving out enough of it and protecting it to sit in the creative soup long enough. And as budgets get squeezed, creating the right opportunities for brands to engage in emerging platforms and technologies rather than being tempted to just jump on trends.
Quick fire five:
1. Choose 3 words to describe yourself?
Relentless, Curious, Intuitive
2. What was your first job?
A horse trekking guide
3. If you had to eat one food for the rest of your life what would it be?
Sushi
4. Song or artist you’re currently listening to?
Whatever my son is currently into – Wagon Wheel is on repeat right now.
5. Best book you’ve read or podcast listen to in the past 12 months?
New audiobook crush – Atomic Habits. Podcasts – The Coming Storm, The Bomb, Hard Fork and At a Distance.
This article was originally published in the March/April 2023 issue of NZ Marketing. Click here to subscribe.
