David Nobay Sees Creative Spirits Soar

When Droga5 Sydney hired Lloyd, a young, enthusiatic employee who also happened to have Down's Syndrome, the agency soon realised they'd taken on someone who would prove to be a valued member of staff. They also realised that people with a disability still found it extremelly difficult to find employment and  wanted to help rectify this.

They, along with Australian charity, BreakThru Employment, came up with Creative Spirit, an organisation that looks to put those with a disability on a trial work placement in a creative company. The goal is that, by 2021, every one of the 32,000 registered creative companies within Austalia will have agreed to take on a trialist. They're not stopping there though; the scheme is looking further afield with interest already from a host of countries and companies.

Here, Droga5 Sydney's creative chairman, David Nobay, explains the origin of the initiative and what he hopes it will achieve.

What was the spark behind your Creative Spirit iniative in Australia?

Two things really; firstly, we hired Lloyd full-time a couple of years ago, and he’s had a profoundly positive effect on the atmosphere of our space here. After two years, I figured it was a good time to spread the word. My instinct – which was thankfully proved right – is that so few creative companies hire people with a disability because they simply don’t know how to, rather than having a problem with the concept. After all, as our campaign thought says “what could be more creative than being different?”

Secondly, I think we can all feel the pressure on our industry right now. As the financial situations darkens, it’s invariably our best work that suffers, and I think we’re all guilty of getting negative and cynical about life in the creative industry when we see our thinking driven more by procurement than imagination.

Lloyds’ story is the perfect remedy, and a reminder that we all have it pretty good.

What’s the effect been since you launched Creative Spirit?

Frankly, if all our ideas enjoyed half the momentum Creative Spirit has in the last few weeks, we could retire early.  Already, about 50 creative agencies and groups have signed up, which essentially means they’ve committed to taking a disabled person on trial. As with any recruitment job, the process isn’t instant. Our partner in this, BreakThru Employment, works closely with each company to find a person that’s genuinely suited to the space. That includes both intellectually and physically disabled people. There’s no pressure to hire. Signing up simply means you’re starting on the journey.

That said, already two disabled people are working in the creative industry directly through the initiative, so it’s great to know it’s genuinely working. Interestingly, we had a call from a major corporate here, who actually apologised that they weren’t technically “creative” (whatever that means!) and have committed to hiring disabled people throughout their national network of offices, so it’s clear the true spirit of creativity is alive in all of us.

We’ve also had a lot of interest from the government here, who see the program as something they want to get behind nationally and push.

The short film is simple, but very effective. Who shot it?

Fortunately, one of my best mates out here is Matt Long; EP/Owner of Goodoil Films. When I first approached Matt, it was with a view to briefing him to think about which of his directors would best suit the project, but Matt’s initial instincts were so clear, I just said “fuck it, why don’t you shoot it yourself?” He became very intimate with Lloyd’s home life, and especially his mother, Theresa, who forms the main spine of the story. The result isn’t clever, or wanky, it just nails the story, which, come to think of it, is actually quite clever.

Are their plans for Creative Spirit beyond Australia?

Absolutely. This is, in reality, such a small industry but has always been global. From the moment the site (creativespirit.org.au) went live, we’ve had calls from as far afield as Botswana, France, Switzerland, Sweden, Singapore, the USA and the UK, and from some great agencies too, including RGA, BBH, Leo Burnett, Naked and Saatchi, to name just a few, who’ve all put their hands up to help in a variety of countries. It would be fair to say, I think we’ve genuinely touched a nerve – or rather the star of the show, Lloyd has.

Also, what’s cool is that, in the US, we’ve been approached by one of the largest disabled employment agencies, who are now in contact with Droga5 New York about how we can take Creative Spirit stateside. The interesting thing about Creative Spirit is that it was never designed to be about a Droga5/BreakThru partnership. That’s just where it started. There are so many other committed and excellent disabled employment agencies – and creative companies – around the world that can and will pick up the baton.

For instance, just recently, I got off the phone with Andy Sandoz, the founder and creative director of Work Club in London, who has now committed to take Creative Spirit and run with it in the UK. Andy was also the creator of the new D&AD White Pencil initiative, so I think he really get’s this space and what we want to achieve in the broader creative community.

What’s really cool for me, personally, is that, in the true spirit of creativity, (which for me is something like “managed chaos”) Andy is going to take the core remit of what we’ve done in Australia and push it somewhere else in terms of how he tells the story. The name, logo and purpose will be the same, but how it comes alive will be new. What could be more creative than that?

From there, I’d love to see a dance company in Rio interpret the story their way, or a Fashion House in Cairo. It’s about all of us, as creative storytellers, using what we’re good at to do something good.