Tools of the Trade is an AgencySpy feature to help highlight the many tools that help make advertising and marketing folks successful. The tools can be anything that helps you perform at your top form, from your favorite drafting table to your best software program to a lucky pen, a vintage typewriter or a pair of headphones.
Next up is Aaron Cole, partner at creative consultancy Studio Everywhere.
Aaron Cole utilizes Everywhere DAO to connect with creatives from around the globe.
What is the name of the one tool you use all the time at work, and how does it inspire your work?
I’ve worked at some of the biggest agencies of the world—from Mother to Wieden+Kennedy and was also client side CMO at Jaguar Land Rover venture THE OUT. Throughout my career it’s been all about surrounding myself with and working with the best talent.
Everywhere DAO (decentralized autonomous organizations) allows me to do exactly that. It’s a new type of networking platform that connects independent creatives from around the world. With Everywhere DAO I can tap into curated networks of top creative talent and quickly build out bespoke teams of trusted partners. In addition, the members of Everywhere DAO are all super passionate about the industry at large—sharing resources, discussing ideas and launching new projects to improve the state of the industry and ways of working for each other.
Why is it your favorite?
Speak to anyone and they’ll tell you the same—the world and industry are changing, and fast. Everywhere DAO is ever evolving, improving and pushing the limits of how many in the industry hope that the future will unfold. There are always great opportunities being posted, incredibly talented creatives joining and fascinating discussions about how to improve ways of working together. It’s also a unique experiment in ownership, governance, and organization to align a globally distributed group of talent around a common purpose and incredibly ambitious goal—an actual potential use case for Web3.
How did you acquire your tool or hear about it for the first time?
I first heard about Everywhere DAO from Sally Oldfield, managing director of Accept & Proceed, a London-based design studio, which then led to me joining Studio Everywhere as a partner in London, whose community of global talent is built on the Everywhere DAO platform.
How does it help you be successful?
Whether as a CMO, agency leader or consultant, Everywhere DAO helps me quickly find trusted creative and strategic talent, getting the best team possible around the business problem. Plus, it helps me curate my network of trusted collaborators and share relevant opportunities with my network.
Does it have sentimental value?
I think so, since Everywhere DAO stands for something bigger. An evolved way of working. The ability to work on what you love, with who you want, and on your terms—to be a part of something, and independent at the same time. And, on top of it all, having an actual connection to the platform itself via the member token provides recognition and potential rewards (future regulations permitting) with a real, fundamentally human (not sentimental) sense of belonging and desire to contribute as we all grow together.
Do you think your tool could go TikTok viral?
Maybe not TikTok, but Twitter or Discord famous would be amazing. Not just for my network, but also for the wider creative community.
We want to know what tools you use to make you successful. If you’d like to contribute or know someone who would want to be featured in Tools of the Trade, contact kyle.obrien@adweek.com and fill out our survey.