Love. Hate. Yin. Yang. Solo. Chewbacca. Nicole and Steven Zizila truly complement each other, both in and out of the world of advertising. Yes, they’re married and have been for over a decade. Having had independent careers in the first years of the millennia, an office consolidation at BBDO brought them (and their combined experience) together as a team in 2009 and they’ve been creating ads and managing clients together ever since. Each has a unique skill set and perspective that when combined produces incredible results. This site features samples of their favorite work. Team Z resume

You can also check out their Vimeo channel to view even more.

THE DEATH OF ADVERTISING

There I said it. The days of insufferably self-important ad agencies demanding endless production timelines and wads of cash to churn out one mediocre 30-second TV spot are over. The bloated, useless layers of management? The chest thumping and ego stroking? The old agency model, and everything that’s wrong with it, is finally getting the d-bag label it deserves.

Sure, I miss the dinners at the chichi restaurants, the legroom in business class and staying at Shutters. Who wouldn’t? But the point I’m trying to make is this– what took so damn long?

Let’s not lament about the past. Instead let’s focus on what’s next. Audience attention spans are shrinking by the day. New news becomes old news within hours. Heck, even minutes. What fire at Notre Dame? Tiger Woods had a comeback? Prince died? Content is ingested, expelled and forgotten about at a pace that boggles the mind.

The Storytelling Arc has shifted. In order to engage and keep mindshare with today’s consumers, what we create has to be attention-grabbing, relatable and authentic from the very first frame. These messages expire faster than ripe fruit in the hot sun, and as creative communicators we have to use every tool in our arsenal to make them more impactful in less time with smaller budgets.

Big agency life. Scrappy, nimble mom ‘n pop shops. Highbrow digital consultancies. No matter where we’ve been, one thing has always remained a constant– we’ve mastered the art of getting sh*t done. So, let’s get sh*t done, together.

THE RE-BIRTH OF ADVERTISING.

There I said it. Our industry is changing, and for the better. Brands are no longer willing to accept the buckshot answer of broadcast or cable TV as the optimal way to connect with their consumers. Digital can be laser-focused, personal and optimized in real time. Digital is a smarter way for brands to spend their dollars and they know it.

One of the things I love most about this re-birth (and there are so many…) is that it’s a limitless landscape for fledgling brands to grow. Not-so-long ago, if you didn’t have a multi-million dollar budget to burn on a launch, no one knew you existed. Now Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and even Twitter are leading the charge for fresh-faced brands to introduce themselves to the world. Tagging, Sharing, Liking, Followers, testimonials, reviews… the new brand marketing mix is working and the numbers prove it.

Speaking of new, unlike most creatives, the advent of data into the creative world doesn’t scare me. (Then again, people usually fear what they don’t understand.) Analytics doesn’t “make” creative. But analytics can provide useful insight to improve performance of existing creative, and help develop ways to make it more effective, more engaging and more relevant for the audience. Go ahead and invite me the meeting with the Data Analytics team. Unlike other CDs who would rather hide in their office and shoot pencils at the ceiling, I’d be happy to attend.

So what does this all add to up? In three words, Adapt or Perish. We’ve done more than adapt, Team Z has flourished and from the looks of it things are only getting better.