As part of our Favorite Brand Experience series, we’re pleased to bring you an interview with Tracy Ahern (Tray), Creative Director at ImagineThat

Your idea about the perfect working day?
The perfect working day to me would be to have a calendar free of meetings so that I could get back to being creative. With that being said, I’m extremely lucky to work with an amazing team at ImagineThat. I have the perfect balance of artistic talent and technical talent. Together, we are a force to be reckoned with!

What is your favorite brand experience?
The Snickers Get Some Nuts (Mr. T) was awesome. The creative and content is really well written (and hilarious) but also the technology was very cool. The data capturing done in-ad was really smart.

 

And of course, the recent expandables that WE just did for McDonald’s Big Mac. We synched up the “two all beef patties” chant music, taken from their TV commercial, with some great 3D graphics. The result was very cool and different. It got a LOT of play time.

Your muse best comes when? Â
Ironically, it mostly comes when I don’t need it the most. I find I get my best creative inspiration when I’m half asleep. Ideas and solutions really come to me at this time. I’ve learned to keep a pencil and paper close by so I don’t forget them or lose them when my logical, awake mind comes into play.

What needs to be changed/improved in order to achieve ultimate engagement with users?
Clients and creatives alike need to throw away the thinking of the past. The Internet (and online advertising) has changed. We can no longer force information down viewers’ throats or blanket them with a generic message. It’s all about creating a personal connection with the viewer – be it through targeted advertising or just engaging them in REAL dialogue. Users these days see right through contrived content and they are no afraid to say it (and post it all over their FB pages and Twitter feeds.)
 

How has the recession impacted business?
We’ve been pretty lucky (knock on wood.) Because we’re a small agency, we are able to create efficiencies and prove ROI much better than the big agencies these days. The pendulum always swings, though. My theory is to stay consistent, provide amazing, knock ‘em off their asses creative EVERY time, and get to know your clients’ BUSINESS, not just their brief. If you do all of these things, you’ll survive no matter what the economic climate.
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How did you start working in digital advertising?
I started in the advertising business about 18 years ago, before there WAS digital advertising. I’ve always been a tech nerd so when the industry started focusing on digital, I ate it up and shifted my career there as well. For me, it’s not ‘work’, it’s just who I am.