R/GA

Creative Technologists Move From Margin to Center

The article argues that the role of the Creative Technologist—an interdisciplinary practitioner who treats technology as a medium—has shifted from niche agency and art contexts into core product teams as AI accelerates the need for rapid experimentation and meaning-making. Drawing on practitioner accounts (notably Tina Tarighian at Google Creative Lab) and a historical timeline from Bell Labs collaborations to the Media Lab and creative-coding communities, the piece traces how the title splintered into product-focused variants (Design Technologist, Design Engineer) and why the AI era is reviving the original, exploratory disposition. The author suggests the attitude of ‘writing the first draft of what a technology means’ is becoming more common across roles, even when titles remain different.

Jason Young: Marketing Is Marketing, Full Stop

Jason Young, vice president and head of marketing strategy for US Pharma at Novartis and juror on the Effectiveness jury for The Drum B2B Awards, argues that consumer and B2B marketing are not fundamentally different. He says marketing is a science focused on human behavior change and that brands must balance performance and brand marketing while explaining that balance to budget holders. Young views AI as primarily a tool for process efficiency and freeing marketers to do more human-driven work. He advises curiosity and discipline as key qualities for future marketing leaders.

Ari Halper: B2B Should Mean Business-to-Person

Ari Halper, global ECD and head of creative excellence at R/GA and a juror on The Drum B2B Awards' Creative Aces jury, argues that B2B marketing should be reframed as B2P (Business-to-Person). He says marketers must remember they are communicating with people, not organizations, and that creative ambition in B2B can match B2C. Halper describes pragmatic use of AI as a strategic and creative partner—researcher, analyst and comp artist—while emphasizing the continuing need for human judgment and craft because AI tends to accommodate rather than challenge. He also discusses brand building, arguing long-term brand success is composed of many shorter efforts that should aggregate toward a consistent narrative. The Drum B2B Awards entries close July 23.