• by Larry Dobrow , Featured Columnist, October 1, 2007

A Natural Curator

Nick Law

Executive vice president, chief creative officer, R/GA North America

Before finding his way to the interactive world, Nick Law studied graphic design. He worked for a small packaging firm, a corporate-identity titan (London's Pentagram) and traditional ad shops (notably D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles). He toiled on a range of global brands - everything from Arthur Andersen to Eastman Kodak.

But don't call the Sydney-born Law a dabbler. Rather, view him as one of the leaders of a new generation of interactive execs, a generation which views facility with multiple disciplines as a huge benefit, rather than a mere bonus.

Law's versatility has proven quite valuable as R/GA navigates the ever-broadening interactive business. "The industry has become this big blur of different types of agencies that didn't exist five, ten years ago," he says. "Everybody used to have discrete responsibilities within the marketing niche. Now, we're coming across PR companies that do creative industrial design."

R/GA has responded to the evolving environment better than most. Never mind the awards and similar trinkets that agencies point to as cold, hard evidence of their recent success. Law hopes that R/GA's work and longstanding client relationships speak for themselves.

The firm has been Nike's top gun in the interactive space for some time, and has scored in recent months with programs for Nokia and Verizon. R/GA presented the former as an entertainment brand, devising a wildly clever campaign that allowed users to place themselves in a mini-action movie.

"The challenge is to take a brand and show how it can come alive in the broadband space," Law says. "What we did with Verizon is a good example of how we work." R/GA started out with both creative and tech people at the table. "It's very different from the traditional model, where the tech comes charging in at the very end."

That collaborative spirit - which Law refers to as "creative intimacy" - is what he believes distinguishes R/GA from the competition. Asked about the most crucial parts of his job, he quickly cites "curating creative teams. The right mix for the right project. If we don't get that set right away, it's hard to correct it later on."

Law's peers believe his leadership skills equal his creative ones. "Certainly if you spend more than ten minutes with Nick, you'll realize he's creatively animated," says Kevin Swanepoel, president of The One Club. "He can capture and hold a large group's attention with a click of his finger. He has a natural leadership quality to him."

Law is uncertain about his professional future. "Things will have changed sufficiently so that I wouldn't recognize my current job," he ponders. "We must keep asking the question, 'What does the consumer want?' It's not about what we want or what will be fun to do or what will get us out to L.A. to do some shooting." He adds, "Although that last part wouldn't be too bad."