Mediaweek Academy: Julia Zaetta and Adam Ross reveal why being creative isn’t just for the creatives

The Mediaweek Academy held its eighth session at LinkedIn's office in Martin Place on Wednesday, September 27. 

Attendees returned to the session focused on Inspiring Creativity, led by facilitator Rowena Millward, a global leader in business and personal growth.  

Accompanying Rowena on the panel was Legend Julia Zaetta, editor-in-chief at Market Magazine and Superstar Adam Ross, Coca-Cola creative lead across the ASEAN and South Pacific region.

See also: “It all happens in the subconscious:” Mediaweek Academy’s Adam Ross on understanding how ideas are born
See also: “It’s critical”: Mediaweek Academy’s Julia Zaetta speaks on having a sense of creativity in a competitive industry

The session focussed on inspiring creativity with both Legend and Superstar, giving effective tips on how to inspire creativity within yourself and the importance of keeping audiences in mind at all times.

“Think about how you might prepare for a date, how you prepare for that date should be the same way you think about creativity,” Zaetta said.

Zaetta noted that she hoped the attendees left the session with: “a whole new appreciation and love affair with the people for whom they are doing what they're doing.”

The industry legend added that she hopes they learned that creativity isn't restricted to people who are in creative jobs.

“Everybody doing anything needs to be creative to make it more enjoyable for whomever they're dealing with,” she added.

For Ross, he said that he hoped attendees would leave with the appreciation that what they get to do for work is fun.

“We get paid to use our imagination every day, and that's awesome,” he said.

Ross added: “I also hope they go away with an understanding that to be more creative, you need to focus on what you're putting in your brain more than what you're trying to get out.”

“Ultimately, we are in the memory-building business and your goal should be to keep the real human at the focal point at all times."

The industry wisdom and knowledge shared by Zaetta and Ross during the session were inspirational and insightful, not only for the attendees but also for each other.

Zaetta noted that the size of a client or the reach of a product does not matter. She said: “You must not be frightened of how big your audience is because it's really just a collective of individuals.”

For Ross, he noted Zaetta’s passion for her work and authenticity as a highlight.

“You mentioned how to entertain your audience and that your audience can be anyone. The second I met you, I knew you were entertaining. You are living your belief just by being you, which is incredibly endearing,” he said.

James Porter, Media manager at Audience Precision said the session was significantly informative from an agency viewpoint.

“I took in the idea that it’s beneficial to try to mould your communication strategy to each specific client because every client is different and you have to be ahead of the game and know what they want before they ask for it,” he said.

Renata Tavares Silva, content partnerships manager at oOh!media thought that the session was fantastic and was especially pulled in by the advice Julia and Adam gave.

“Creativity is engagement and we work in an engagement industry so I learned it’s necessary to have some kind of connection with your audience and also to have a connection with the ideas you are putting out there,” she said.

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Top image: Julia Zaetta, Rowena Millward & Adam Ross