In the fast-paced world of social creativity, no two days are alike—especially for Katy Sumption, the dynamic Executive Creative Director at NewGen. From morning huddles with her innovative team to the exhilarating challenges of shaping the future of brand-building, Katy’s journey is one of resilience, passion, and a deep understanding of the ever-evolving landscape of modern marketing.

In this interview, Katy shares her experiences, from breaking through industry barriers to her vision for the future, offering invaluable advice for aspiring creatives along the way.

Tell us a bit about your role! Is there a “typical” day?

As the Executive Creative Director of a social creative and creator agency, each day is wildly and wonderfully different. Just like the world of social itself, there’s an array of wonderful twists and turns that keep us on our toes as we create for this ever-evolving space.

Amongst the constant evolution, we like to start each day however with a little consistency as we come together as a creative team in our morning huddle.  Chatting about the latest in work, silly things we’ve seen and coming together as we make our plan of action on our working projects.

I’m very fortunate to have such a talented and passionate creative team at NewGen who have an extremely collaborative mindset, so our daily meets are just a really nice way to start the day with excitement and as a unit… before of course a little madness unfolds.

What was the biggest challenge in getting to your current position?

The industry I joined 15 years ago is almost unrecognisable to the one we operate in today. Not only was TV king, attitudes were in hindsight, prehistoric. In my first few agencies, I was one of very few females (and a young one at that) in large male dominated creative departments and being a girl from Brentwood Essex was often told I didn’t ‘look like a creative’. *context * male creative hipsters were the ‘thing’.

So, despite doubt about gender and appearance, I remained on a mission to prove my ability.

Fast forward to today and that fight, and grit remains, especially now as a mother of two. In places people will tell me I can’t, I’ll be on a mission to show I can.

Undoubtedly, this resilience has helped no end in the ever-evolving social and creator landscape we now pioneer.  Knowing that you can never rest on your laurels, having to forever learn and push forward along with the ever-evolving rules of modern marketing and creativity.

What is your biggest career-related win? What is your biggest loss?

My biggest career-related win is no doubt co-founding an agency, The Elephant Room. A career-defining moment that taught me so much.

Previously, large, well established agencies were all I knew and going from something so structured and well run to a team of five ‘figuring it out’ was a huge learning curve which was both hard but liberating.

It totally changed how I operated as a creative, what I knew could be done and how to build and grow teams as we brought them on the journey.

All things I proudly take with me today. 

And losses? Some pieces of work simply fly, but now and then they don’t get the traction or response you imagined and even now that can feel like a little loss. Of course, with each project we grow, we evolve but I think any creative will still tell you, it cuts deep on the odd occasion it happens.

Which individuals and/or agencies do you gain inspiration from? Do you have any heroes in the industry?

There are some core creative players I’ve been very lucky to grow up alongside in this industry and witness how they too push the new wave of creativity forward.

Firstly, Caroline Paris, who grew from intern to ECD at Brave over 14 years before now moving to Saatchi & Saatchi as social creative director and leading the way for a new methodology.

The second is the multi-faceted Ross Taylor who most recently has been leading global clients such as Pizza Hut, Brit and Adidas as group creative director at Iris. 

Again, I see the modernity in their thinking and creativity approach, their deep understanding of new-age audiences and their bravery in challenging conventions as they help move the industry forward. 

What’s your one big dream for the future of the industry?

It feels like the industry is at a pivotal moment. The rules have flipped, and the power put into the hands of the everyday creators as brands are now starting to be built through communities and social pages. Not on our TV screens.

However, ideas and insight are still crucial, and we mustn't lose the importance of clear brand values and building blocks. It’s still the power of an idea that connects brands with its customers and the consistency of how a brand acts and behaves that creates long-lasting brand love.

I truly believe the future of our industry will be built on even sharper and simpler concepts and if paired with the true understanding of a brand's role and purpose we can embrace the power of the creator economy - utilizing social for both brand building and performance.

What are your top tips for aspiring creative professionals?

Be resilient and keep going. Not everyone is going to always ‘get you’ and not everyone will always think on the same wavelength and that’s okay. We’re here to bring diverse perspectives.

Take growth from the learnings and as always ‘work hard and be nice to people’ but I’d also say be relentlessly passionate too.

What do you think sets apart truly exceptional creatives from the rest of the pack?

Creatives that think beyond the agency bubble and primarily care how the audience will respond to their work - not their industry peers. 

For me, exceptional creatives are those who are not only curious about life beyond their four walls but endeavour to experience multiple perspectives, references and audience understanding.

Those who really know how to connect with people and to create ideas that transcend any stereotype and just speak to someone's soul.

I like to build my teams with those who look outward, who are passionate about life and bring an excitable energy for the ‘what ifs’ and the ‘why nots’.