Defining Award-Worthy: Q&A with CD Bronwyn Mackay
Originally from New Zealand, Bronwyn began her career working on global brands like McDonald’s and Volkswagen for DDB before expanding her expertise at various digital and boutique agencies across Auckland.
Now in Vancouver, she is creative director at Wasserman & Partners and has experience in everything from large-scale integrated campaigns to content creation and commercial directing.
In this interview with LBB, Bronwyn has a word of uplifting advice for upcoming talent and says she is looking for work that does beyond ‘advertising’.
Q> What does creativity mean to you in just three words?
Bronwyn Mackay> Always being curious.
Q> What is your advice for those wanting to break the mould, think differently, and create work that stands out?
Bronwyn> You are capable of coming up with brilliant ideas. Keep digging. Keep challenging. Keep asking questions. Be relentless.
Q> What makes a piece of work worthy of a Caples award? What will you be looking for when judging?
Bronwyn> Memorability. I want to see work that I'll keep thinking about long after I've seen it.
Q> How have awards that you have won in the past influenced or changed your career?
Bronwyn> I think there's a certain amount of self-doubt that comes with being a creative. Having your work acknowledged and recognised by your peers is incredibly powerful.
Q> The Caples provide feedback on every entry. As a creative, do you find this helpful when creating future work? And would you wish there were more opportunities to hear from your peers as a younger creative?
Bronwyn> I think this is brilliant. Feedback is hugely important, at any stage. I've had some incredible mentors, it's their feedback and guidance that has helped me push myself during my career. There's always something to learn and people to learn from, it's one of the things I love about this job.
Q> What kind of work are you bored of and what are you hoping to see more of this year?
Bronwyn> I’m bored of anthem spots. What I'm looking forward to is work that genuinely means something and goes beyond 'advertising'.
Q> What was your favourite piece of work in 2019?
Bronwyn> Go back to Africa was brilliant.
