Q&A: Nadia Yuliani – Creative Director of M&C Saatchi Indonesia

We recently caught up with Nadia Yuliani to discuss her new role at M&C Saatchi Indonesia. Yuliani made the jump from Dentsu Indonesia where she worked on a wide range of accounts from Laurier, and Biore, to Pocari Sweat and Ajinomoto.

She’s a student of Visual Communications Design who has honed her talent over 15 years at a number of agencies including Dentsu, Leo Burnett, ColmanHandoko, Arcade and Bates.

Throughout the course of our discussion, Yuliani discusses the role the pandemic has played and will continue to play on the industry as well as the opportunities that exist in progressive, younger agencies.

You’ve recently been appointed the creative director at M&C Saatchi Indonesia. Could you talk about what you hope the agency and the brands you represent accomplish?

I’m always curious to see if things can be done outside a certain way, and I hope M&C Saatchi can always push to create works that do exactly that.

For many family-centric FMCG brands, I’m interested to see a shift in how mothers and wives are represented in advertising to keep up with the changing times. Although the changes wouldn’t happen overnight, advertising is one of the many ways we can project a positive model in the future, including the conventional roles of moms.

When you were hired you said “M&C Saatchi is becoming a promising ground for its work that challenges convention.” Tell us more about that.

I feel that in newer, more progressive agencies there’s better opportunity to do work with more creative freedom, and within a short time frame, M&C Saatchi has grown by creating many interesting campaigns.

Specifically, I was impressed by M&C Saatchi’s social campaign for PKBI to prevent child marriages that was so simple yet had such a striking emotional impact.

“My base in copywriting mostly derives from my passion in storytelling, and I use it to my advantage to tie the entirety of campaigns together.”

The Covid pandemic has presented unforeseen challenges for the creative industry. What are some notable ways of delivering for clients you’ve seen the industry use to adapt?

Ideas need to be sharper and creative outputs need to be stronger because so much work now needs to speak for itself without the buffer of face-to-face meetings and the promise of elaborate productions. Ideas are tested more vigorously now that there are even more restraints to make them happen.

What are some of the changes you see carry forward post-pandemic?

A practiced habit on being focused on your own work, no matter your environment or social surroundings.

You have a background in visual communication and professional experience both in graphic design and copywriting. Could you discuss how having both skill sets has influenced how you approach your work?

Since I’ve always been interested in design trends, I like to get a feel of the visual concept first and foremost, and whether it both suits the brand and the style is deemed fresh for its time. My base in copywriting mostly derives from my passion in storytelling, and I use it to my advantage to tie the entirety of campaigns together.

What are some campaigns that you’ve worked on that you are most proud of?

In my previous agency, we did a brand campaign for Laurier, Ini Cara Cewek. I enjoyed working on it because it was a wake-up call to even ourselves about the preconceptions put upon women by both society and themselves.

Are there any campaigns that have arisen from the pandemic that you particularly like?

I love “Courage is Beautiful” from Dove where they donated relief to care for front-line healthcare workers. I thought it was a strong way for a beauty brand to stay relevant while being attuned to the world’s situation.