We had the opportunity to chat with Morten Grubak, Global Executive Creative Director at Virtue Worldwide, about navigating his role in our increasingly digtally-focused world.
What does the role of a ECD entail?
I'm Global Executive Creative Director at Virtue Worldwide which means I lead creative output for the agency globally. What does it entail? Never being an asshole. Being open, humble and helpful.
What kind of skills do you need to be effective in your role?
A sixth sense for creativity. And you sometimes need to be able to connect very abstract dots to make the Big Idea.
Where do creative solutions intersect with functional design?
Everywhere – a different perspective on the world, is where you recognize that every functional decision comes with an aesthetic decision too. For example, a kitchen table has legs – are they round, square, or curved? Someone always has to make that decision. The same goes for every aspect of the creative process.
What’s the most challenging aspect of your role?
In all honesty – selling. But the more passionate you are about the idea or concept, the easier it is to push it over the line. You don’t have to be an extroverted person to be an ECD, you simply just need to be authentic to yourself. People can feel that, and it sells better than any other thing.
How do you see the role expanding with the introduction of the metaverse?
There will be endless new opportunities and new possibilities to work with new types of creators. It's a hugely exciting time to be in this industry.
Are there any passion projects you’ve worked on that you’d like to share?
Our latest report: The Screenwear paper. We recently partnered with Web3 Marketspace THE DEMATERIALISED to investigate the potential of virtual fashion. We spoke with leading experts in the space and explored interest and adoption among consumers which enabled us to produce the world’s first ever 'wearable report' because we made it available as a collection of three NFTs for readers to download for a limited time. It's essentially a guide for how brands should show up in this space and it's brilliant.