Karen Martin: Reigniting Creative Power at the IPA

Last autumn, Karen Martin got a call that would change the IPA’s leadership - right in the middle of a Halloween party. She answered dressed as Regan, the possessed child from The Exorcist. On the line was former IPA president Julian Douglas, offering her the role after she’d successfully led the IPA Effectiveness Group and while she was running BBH London as CEO—a role she’s held since 2020. The scene somehow feels fitting for a career defined by bold moves.

Her initial reaction was one of disbelief. “Really, me? Are they sure?” she recalls. But she knew this was an opportunity she couldn’t turn down. “You’d have to seriously think to say ‘no’. Your immediate response is ‘yes’, and then you go, ‘Okay, now what?’”

Martin is one of the ad industry’s most exuberant leaders, combining energy and ideas with a clear focus on business performance. At BBH London, she has guided the agency toward greater creative confidence and consistent growth. And it’s that mission that she has given herself to drive more widely over her two-year tenure. ‘Creative Power’ is the name of that agenda during a period in which creatives feel less confident about themselves and the changes being placed upon them with the rise of Gen AI.

“It’s the only thing I care about,” she says. “Somebody needs to put positivity and confidence back into our industry, because we’re not helping ourselves. Human creativity is the difference between good and brilliant.” Martin does caveat that she is not anti-AI either – far from it, but she believes that it shouldn’t be introduced at a human cost either.

Striding Ahead

Putting her money where her mouth is, Martin did something unusual for an IPA president to mark the start of her tenure—spurred by her own creative team at BBH, she made an ad. Not just any ad: The Woman Who Walked Around Soho deliberately echoed one of the agency’s finest hours, the Johnnie Walker film The Man Who Walked Around the World starring Robert Carlyle.

The ad was Martin’s first statement as IPA president, showing the level of support she can expect from her team and the standards she intends to uphold. Representing both the IPA and the wider industry, she approaches the role with the same precision and ambition she brings to BBH London.

Even her nine-year-old daughter played a part, helping her nail the complex script the day before filming—a small but telling sign of creativity in action.

More than a personal milestone, the campaign signals Martin’s broader mission: restoring creative voices to the IPA Council and ensuring those shaping ideas today have a platform to influence the industry’s future.

“We had data people, statisticians, researchers, all writing five-point plans on how to get to great creative. But no one was asking: what is it like to be creative right now? What’s the process? What’s the challenge?” she says.

This led to the launch of a new IPA training course, Creative Essentials. While initiatives existed for strategists, account managers, and producers, one crucial group had been overlooked.

“That has to change. I’d encourage everyone in agencies to do it—because the more you understand creativity, the better you can sell it, defend it, and nurture it,” says Martin.

She has also added a creativity category to the IPA Effectiveness Awards. “Where’s the work?” she asks. “We need to celebrate the ideas, not just the numbers.”

Protecting The Future

While Martin sees potential in AI for advertising, her deeper concern is the impact on entry-level opportunities. “If machines replace junior roles, how will anyone learn? That’s what keeps me awake—not just for agencies, but for the future of the industry. If we don’t prepare, what jobs are left for the next generation?”

She points to BBH’s training initiatives, particularly The Barn, which brings in young talent for nine months of paid, intensive training before many move on to full-time roles in leading agencies. “It’s a huge investment, but it ensures brilliant talent enters the industry who might otherwise miss out.”

Martin wants the IPA to lead similar efforts. “We need to make the industry look attractive again. Show young people the work and make them ask: How do I do that? Right now, we’re making it bloody impossible to get in.”

Even with AI creating new challenges, she insists the fundamentals of creativity remain unchanged. “A great idea today is a great idea 40 years ago. Strategy, craft, insight, curiosity—the channels may change, but the work endures.”

She also believes clients could push for bolder work, citing BBH campaigns for Tesco and Paddy Power as examples of ideas that still cut through. That willingness to take risks, she says, comes from long-term partnerships built on trust.

“Great work comes from great partnerships. You can’t expect it on day one of a pitch. It takes years to understand stakeholders and respect the risks clients face. Trust builds slowly—but it can be lost in an instant.”

Creative Repetition

Martin’s core focus is rebuilding creative confidence across the ad sector, a mission she says will require persistence, determination, and constant advocacy. She intends to speak about its importance relentlessly, reminding brands that creativity is business-critical—not just a nice-to-have. Optimism, she believes, will be key to the success of her tenure.

“We need to do a better job. Stop the self-flagellation and remember why we got into advertising in the first place. Great people, brilliant ideas, part of culture—it’s still cool. We just need to show it.”

Her focus may sound simple, but it is anything but. Martin hopes her agenda will inspire agencies to make great work, hire exceptional talent, and deliver results. “It’s not about writing vision statements,” she says. She wants leaders to roll up their sleeves and “get in amongst it.”

There is a real urgency to her message.

“If we don’t protect creativity, we are screwed. That’s the truth. Creativity is what makes advertising matter—it’s what makes it work. The IPA should stand for that above all else.”