Creative perspectives: Denis Mamo

Jacky Law talks to Denis Mamo about the role for creatives in the global healthcare industry.

(Continued from 'Creative perspectives: Alex von Plato')

pharmaphorum invites five judges from this year's Creative Floor Healthcare Awards to talk about how the most talented people in the advertising business can be drawn into healthcare.

Denis Mamo is a strong believer in fortune favouring the brave, particularly in the healthcare space.

Interview summary

JL: What's been the most important thing you have learnt within your creative career?

DM: Keep it human. Keep it simple. Be brave. We're competing with Miley Cyrus for people's limited brain-space. What seems brave in a boardroom is only another yawn for the wider community. Working with nice, smart people is also cool.

"Keep it human. Keep it simple. Be brave."

JL: How do you think healthcare can better attract advertising talent?

DM: Self-interest. Find people who want to change the world. Give them a place to pursue their purpose. The more we can prove that we can affect change, the better people we'll attract.

JL: What developments in creative advertising beyond healthcare could most benefit the healthcare space?

DM: Technology and shareability. More measurement means more information, which in itself can lead to confusion. There's an unlimited choice of opinions out in the big bad world, not all of them accurate or useful. More confusion, more work for us to do.

"What seems brave in a boardroom is only another yawn for the wider community"

JL: How could healthcare award shows better recognise talented creativity?

DM: Brilliant work that never sees the light of day is what creative people dread, so it's important that decision makers are taken along for the ride. When clients are engaged by competition and success, they begin to appreciate the power of creativity. There's no other category that can move consumers like healthcare, which scares some marketers. Let's reward the brave ones.

JL: What do you think will be the most exciting developments in healthcare advertising?

DM: Wearable technology will herald the dawn of the 'singular media channel'. Rumour has it that Apple will launch its iWatch with health monitoring. Real-time advertising that taps into a person's immediate physical condition will open up a whole new era of creativity.

The next interview in this series 'Creative perspectives: Denis Mamo' can be viewed here.

About the interviewee:

Denis Mamo will be judging at The Creative Floor Healthcare Awards, for more information about the awards or to enter, visit their website. The earlybird deadline expires on 28th February.

Denis Mamo is Executive Creative Director, UrsaClemenger, Sydney. Prior to UrsaClemenger, Denis worked at Ogilvy, PublicisMojo and BWM, winning awards at shows such as Cannes, Clio, New York Festivals, London and AWARD, where he had the honour of serving as Chairman of Judges. In 2001, Denis joined independent agency Ursa as Creative Director and Partner. Over 10 years he helped the grow the agency into an award-winning group of five communications companies with offices in London, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. In 2011 The Clemenger Group, owned by BBDO, acquired Ursa, merging three agencies to form UrsaClemenger. Today, the only thing that excites Denis more than brilliantly simple ideas is the opportunity to share them with six billion people.

Closing thought: Does fortune really favour the brave in healthcare advertising?