Los Angeles, June 28th, 2023

R/GA is an innovation consultancy, and digital design and advertising agency, headquartered in New York City, with global offices in multiple cities. An innovation leader for over 40 years, R/GA offers business transformation, experience transformation and marketing transformation through its multiple services.

Michael Olaye is the Managing Director of Strategy & Innovation at R/GA, based in Los Angeles. In an interview with TIA, he described how his career path took him to different cities around the world, from the UK to Sweden. He highlighted R/GA’s collaborative work approach and how the agency experiments with technology.

Let’s start with which “not so touristy” places you would recommend when visiting Los Angeles.

I love visiting deep suburban towns outside of any major city. Currently, one of my favorites is Santa Clarita in Los Angeles. A hidden gem that is just 30 mins from central LA, but it feels and looks like Europe. Calm, reserved, and friendly.

Tell us about your journey. How did you find yourself being SVP, Managing Director – Strategy & Innovation at R/GA?

I have had a twisty path to getting to where I am today. I started my career in digital in the late nineties by teaching myself how to code when I was in university, where I was studying electrical engineering.

In the early 2000’s I joined a group of friends to run a digital “urban” boutique agency in the UK called Unorthodox Styles, which was a mouthful to say, and so we decided to rebrand it to U-DOX, which is still in existence today. One of the most notable projects to come out of the agency is a sneaker brand called Crooked Tongues, which ASOS acquired towards the end of that decade. At U-Dox, I led the technology and innovation front, mainly developing full-stack technology solutions on the web, flash, and e-commerce while fully involved in technology strategy, new business, and business development. I have always believed every craft person should know how to sell their craft to prospective clients.

After leaving U-Dox, I joined Havas as head of technology and Innovation in 2011, responsible for building its digital offering and teams specialized in platforms and products.
In 2016 I moved to Oliver Marketing, the world’s most prominent in-house agency specialists, as its group CTO and took on the additional challenge of CEO role of its digital shop Dare, turning the company into an Experience specialist agency.

2019 saw me move to Stockholm, Sweden, to join The North Alliance as Chief Growth Officer, Internation. Working alongside leaders and teams to help grow the organization’s international portfolio.

Finally, a catch-up advice chat with Sean Lyon about my itch to try working in the USA led me to join R/GA in the summer of 2021.

Where do you spend most of your time, and what does a typical day entail?

I spend a lot of time at home – working, reading, and relaxing. However, I usually explore new areas within Los Angeles when I go out, as I am still new to the city.

What are your main focuses at the moment?

We’re working hard on growth, client retention, and our distributed creativity model within R/GA; I am focused across these three areas as needed. New Business, Innovation, Technology, and how to create the most effective teams to deliver great work for our clients and partners.

R/GA claims to design businesses and brands for a more human future. Please tell us more about this.

At R/GA, we collaborate across disciplines to create new solutions at the intersections of design and technology, data and creativity, business building, and brand building. This all means we take a human-centered approach to what we create.

How does R/GA “stay ahead”?

We stay ahead by experimenting with the possibilities that technology enables.

Over the last four decades, R/GA has always been a company that has reinvented itself to reflect that technology change from the start of a company built on pioneering computer-assisted filmmaking that harnessed technology to serve human needs through design – and to adapt roughly every nine years to reflect the arrival of the internet, social media, and everything. Today our model focuses on being a global creative network, working across customer experience, communications, brand design, and customer relationships.

What is your strategy for hiring talented individuals who can contribute to your agency’s growth?

Having an entrepreneurial mindset goes a long way at the company. We empower free-thinkers and those trying to find new avenues of creativity. We also are known for hiring and nurturing some of the best craft talent in the business. You have to glance on LinkedIn at some of the most awarded and recognized digital-first individuals, and there’s a high chance they have passed through the R/GA door at some point in their career.

When creating digital ecosystems that connect with audiences, what elements are the most important for brands to prioritize?

Brands need to operate like an operating system. We call this Brand OS, which acts as more than just marketing – a strong brand informs business decisions, customer experience, product roadmaps, and internal culture at every touch point that it exists.

What advice would you give someone in a leadership position for the first time?

Being humble and willing to learn new things is essential in any leadership role. Today’s best leaders are servant leaders. Your people are your superpowers; lose them, and it all unravels.

Tell us about a recent project you’ve worked on that you’re proud of. What mainly brought out the best in you?

I’ve been working alongside a talented R/GA team and one of the most collaborative clients on a new platform built around how systemic racism affects black African Americans. It’s a project that takes a complex problem, dissects it – and plays it back in an exciting and digestible way with a strong emphasis on education to the general public. It launches later this year.

What kind of new tech stuff has blown your mind?

Like everybody else, I love the newfound ability of GPT and generative AI technology. We’re truly at the cusp of seeing computers becoming true partners to humans in everyday scenarios.

Where do you see the metaverse going?

The metaverse is due a comeback at some point in the near future, but only with some of the hype and scale predictions we got in 2022. The main challenges to realizing a true metaverse(s) experience will be determined by what infrastructure exists and how the interoperability challenge is solved. In the meantime, we’ll keep seeing steady development in applications that enable Metaverse-like experiences launched at more minor scales or within sandboxed environments, such as gaming worlds, MR, AR, and VR. I also see corporate metaverses, such as Nvidia’s Omniverse and others using metaverse for digital twin solutions until the general public catches up.

In your view, what is the biggest challenge the interactive sector is facing right now?

There are just too many applications out there – and it’s become a monumental task to stay on top of it all. As a result, we have new interactive solutions launching almost every week.
Hardware limitations for Interactive experiences rely on is also a challenge right now. While high-end gaming PCs and consoles provide immersive experiences, they also have limited penetration into the average household due to their high cost. Similarly, VR headsets, motion controllers, and other hardware devices are expensive and require robust systems to run smoothly. Overcoming these limitations to reach a broader audience and provide more accessible experiences remains challenging.

Can someone get into the field without educational experience in a school environment?

It depends on what fields of the industry you are talking about. Education plays a significant role in landing a good starting salary and position in areas such as AI, business, and finance. Still, there are other ways to enter the industry. We’re seeing more young people creating ground-breaking work across various sectors in our industry without all of them coming through the regular run-of-the-mill education system. Both paths are equally beneficial for our industry.

Is there any lesson you’ve had to learn multiple times?

Yes, you can beat experience when considering past failures to help you make better decisions in the present. My main lesson is that a project is only as good as the empowerment of the team working on it.

From your standpoint, what is the greatest challenge of our time?

Poverty, inequality, global health crisis, geo-political tensions, technological advancements, and ethical dilemmas.

Please share a fun fact that not many people know about you.

I am a 12-year veteran of Capoeira, the Brazilian martial art combining combat and dancing. I can also do some pretty mean backflips.

Thanks Michael!

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Brand strategyDigital Business StrategyLeadershipMetaverse