Daniel Bonner is the Global Chief Creative Officer at Wunderman Thompson and alongside his fellow CCO Bas Korsten, he's responsible for "bringing ambitious clients a competitive advantage through the formidable power of inspiration."
Daniel has a proven track record of innovation and collaboration – establishing and growing teams from which award-winning work has flourished, including the most coveted medals from Cannes Lions, D&AD, Clio, LIAA, ADC and One Show.
Daniel has also proudly led teams to more than 20 Agency of the Year titles as well as an ‘Agency of the Decade’ award. On a more personal note, Daniel is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and has previously been ranked as the No.1 Digital Creative Director by Campaign and named “Influencer of the Year” by Creativepool.
We sat down with Daniel this week to get to know the man behind the curtain.
Tell us a bit about your role! Is there a “typical” day?
Nothing is typical about any day, although there are clear patterns that repeat themselves. More often than not, across a 24-hour period (in 2023) - I’ll send 40 emails (receive 50 in return); spend four hours meeting clients and colleagues to discuss, improve or present work; up to two hours preparing future meetings; and all day thinking about how we can raise the standard of our work.
What was the biggest challenge in getting to your current position?
It has been a journey of 26 years to get to the position I find myself in today – and so the biggest challenge has been to sustain a level of consistent performance and creative excellence that has allowed me to progress, be recognised and relevant enough to earn the right to sit where I am.
What is your personal background and what role did it play in your career?
I grew up in a very working-class family from the industrial north of the UK. While media, creativity, or the arts wasn’t a very common career path, basic hard-work ethic and a determination to be as good as I could be at the one thing I seemed to be good at (art) was a huge help then, and is still a big part of how I work today.
What is your biggest career-related win? What is your biggest loss?
In the last two years we have won three Cannes Lions Grand Prix at Wunderman Thompson, two of those were for Innovation and they were very special. However, the biggest win, from a personal point of view, was a particular D&AD pencil win in 2003.
What made this relatively ordinary win so meaningful to me was that the winning project was the first one I led following the relatively sudden death of my father just two weeks prior. At the time, I wasn’t sure I would be able to do it… but I learned from that win just what the human spirit, and I myself, was capable of.
The biggest loss? Every loss hurts. If it didn’t it would be time to do something else.
Which individuals and/or agencies do you gain inspiration from? Do you have any heroes in the industry?
I don’t look upon anyone, past or present, with ‘hero’ status from our industry. While there is, of course, work that I admire, respect or wish we had done or got to first, the majority of inspiration for me comes from the extraordinary feats of innovation, creativity, and the courage of humanity from outside of our day to day – be that professional sports, the natural world, science or technology – there is so much to learn from and be inspired by outside of our bubble.
If you could go back to your teenage years, would you have done things differently? Do you have any regrets?
I don’t believe in regrets. Every mistake you make, makes you better.
If you weren’t in your current industry, what would you be doing?
This one is so difficult to answer as I’m totally unproven at any other career. I would’ve loved to have been a great Automotive Designer.
What’s your one big dream for the future of the industry?
That we take the time to enlighten and inspire the next generation of creative talent so that they are truly ready for what is happening now, and what’s to come. As an industry we can be guilty of being too short term focused when there is a real long term opportunity to nurture creativity and give it the space to thrive and grow.
What are your top tips for aspiring creative professionals?
I have three tips.
1. Optimism – it’s your friend and its infectious so use it when others around you have run out of theirs.
2. “No” is not the end – you are going to hear the word “no” way more often than the word “yes” – use it to find a work around, reflect on what can be better and have the courage to keep moving forward. The journey of every single one of our Cannes Lions Grand Prix winners started with the word “No” (at least once).
3. Collaboration is not weakness - there are some brilliant people who you can learn from, be inspired by and who will make you better. Asking for help of others isn’t a signal of what you can’t do, it’s being open to achieving more than you thought was possible.
What are your top tips for other creative leaders?
Again, I have three tips.
1. Leave your ego at the door. It’s not just about you. As a leader it’s your role to help others achieve their potential and in turn, they will help you achieve yours.
2. Ask all the questions (yep, even the silly ones). You aren’t expected to know everything, regardless of how experienced you are. Questions aren’t a weakness they are the product of curiosity. Plus, the more you understand at the beginning the easier it is to get the end.
3.Creativity is the difference. It’s the special bit. The secret sauce. The accelerant. The catalyst. It’s the one thing they don’t have. It grows every measurable business KPI. So, protect it, its valuable and don’t ever give it away for free.
When you think about your team, what is the thing that matters to you the most?
Their desire to create. They have to be motivated and inspired. Without that ambition and courage… there isn’t anything.
Do you have any websites, books or resources you would recommend?
Return On Courage by Ryan Berman. It’s an essential read for anyone in a position to create change.
Rattan Jyot October 10th, 2023, around noon
Knowledge + faith + action = courage