The New Speed of Creativity

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The New Speed of Creativity

September 16, 2025

Early in my career, I learned how to think big. Big campaigns. Big launches. Big moments that took months to build and seconds to reveal. That was the rhythm of major ad agencies: the craft was meticulous, the execution bulletproof, the ideas built to stand out and make a difference.

At FINN, I've learned something equally valuable: how to think fast. Not reckless-fast. Not half-baked-fast. But fast in a way that matches the pace of how business actually moves today. Fast like responding to a client question in minutes or hours instead of days. Fast like turning what used to take a two-week brainstorm into a two-day sprint. All. The. Time. Fast like a news cycle (which keeps getting faster!) Fast like culture itself, where AI, algorithms and audience expectations have conditioned everyone to want everything. Right now. Yesterday, if it's convenient.

It turns out, the combination is where the magic happens here. Our experience means we know how to do the big thinking and the excellent execution. Our reality means we know how to go fast. Those three together aren't just a formula, they're what I see as our competitive advantage.

Here's why: in the old model, time was the luxury. Clients gave it, agencies used it. Now, time is the tax. It slows brands down, it costs them opportunities, it puts them behind competitors who simply move faster. That's where we win. We're not skipping strategy or lowering quality; we're collapsing the gap between inspiration and implementation. Most of the time, we've seen a situation before and that is part of moving fast - when you've seen it, you know how to get to the finish line faster.

I used to joke about the old creative triangle: good, fast, cheap - pick two. If you've ever been my client, you probably just rolled your eyes in recognition. It was a clever line back then, but it doesn't hold anymore. Today, I think you can have all three. Fast doesn't have to mean sloppy. Affordable doesn't have to mean basic. And good doesn't have to mean slow. Our work still wins awards, still drives results, and still stands out. But it doesn't sit in a holding pattern while the world moves on. And don't get me started about focus groups (hint: the internet is our focus group). And in case you're wondering, "cheap" is always relative. When I say it, I mean, doing something for the right price.

This is the era of speed. Not speed for the sake of speed, but speed paired with smarts, standards and experience. Big. Sharp. Fast. That's the model. That's the mindset. And that's our advantage.

Oh, and I came up with this idea, wrote a draft, edited it then asked AI to help me make sure my grammar didn't suck (I've also trained it to know my particular tone). The whole process took me as long as it takes to drink a big cup of coffee. Fast, right? Okay, gotta go…

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POSTED BY: Peter Levin