5 Questions for: Henry Chassaignac of Zehnder Communications

The ad industry is changing at a mind-numbing pace. In our 4A’s 5 Questions for… series, we ask agency leaders across the country to to offer their POVs on some of the most pressing issues of the day. Here, Henry Chassaignac, President/Executive Creative Director of Nashville-based agency Zehnder Communications weighs in. Chassaignac has been at the agency in different capacities and locations for more than 16 years. He has worked on campaigns for Hyatt Regency Chicago and Burger King. 

1) What’s the biggest challenge or opportunity facing the ad industry right now?

Today, people are bombarded with messages across multiple platforms at once, unlike people were 15 or 20 years ago when there were fewer media forms. This makes it more challenging for marketers to earn audiences’ attention.

At the same time, this media fragmentation results in new opportunities for marketers. First, we have to work harder than ever to come up with messages that truly stand out and captivate audiences who have the power to skip, scroll, and fast-forward through ads. Second, we have to be extremely strategic in our choice of media platform and intentional in our audience targeting. Agencies today can rely on audience and performance data to refine their media strategies more than ever.

2) What is the single most significant change you need to make in your agency in the next 12 months?

As the media world continues to expand and diversify, so should the experience of our employees. Today, it’s not enough to just be a designer or a PR specialist — you have to be able to understand a little bit of everything. Moving forward, we’ll place an increased emphasis on hiring candidates who are able to see beyond their specialty. Additionally, we’ll continue to encourage cross training and collaboration between departments so that we can create marketing solutions that are truly integrated.

3) What products/services/unique skills do ad agencies offer that guarantee the industry’s survival for another 100 years?

At Zehnder, we have a saying: “innovate or die,” and I think it’s fitting as a response here. The advertising industry always has, and always will, thrive thanks to the very curious people who comprise it. This curiosity pushes agencies to constantly innovate, whether for professional gain or out of pure desire. For example, Zehnder was one of the first agencies in the US to create a geo-based mobile app back in the early 2000s. This started purely as a passion project and then evolved into a professional service.

4) What attributes do you look for in your next generation of leaders/managers?

Because we work in such a creative and innovative space, it’s crucial that leaders in agencies have the ability to inspire their staff. I would like Zehnder’s next generation of leaders to encourage their employees, appreciate the perspective of their clients and juniors, and not be afraid of taking creative risks. As the pace of advertising continues to increase, it’s simply impossible to have all the answers exactly when you need them. Good leaders will rely on their teams to keep their agency and clients ahead of the rest.

5) If you weren’t working in advertising, what would you be doing as a career?

I’d be a TV show producer. I’m a fan of detective noir mysteries and would love to recreate John MacDonald’s Travis McGee novels as a TV series.