Advertising is an $8oo billion global industry with no real R&D activity to speak of. This is problematic because other high-technology industries have been encroaching on its business model and bringing innovations to bear which has caused significant disruption. The fact is, the advertising industry has remained fairly unchanged since the advent of television. These new developments have put it into free fall.
The IAPIA is a public policy think tank established by Smart Communications to answer the challenges of the advertising industry's outmoded business model. The first aspect of this work was the establishment of The Gasp Company, initially founded as a new age start-up to put into practice the techniques and technologies developed by IAPIA. It is the mission of the Institute to devise and evolve new ideas into new practices through collaboration and evaluation until they can be tested in real-world applications and presented for deployment. In executing these new advertising applications, Gasp took on the role of developing the publishing function of IAPIA so their work could be broadly circulated among the industry's thought leaders and innovators.
The identity system had to facilitate presentation — the distillation of complex ideas into understandable segments — such as extensive research in a variety of forms, including long form documents, data, analysis and visual elements. Depending on the length of presentation and the stage in the process, the parties involved could opt for a quick overview or a more in-depth read.
The Institute continues to launch several key entities and concepts, but none more important than Gasp itself. What began as an experiment in document development and distribution is now a fully functioning design firm and a brilliant proof of concept. Other IAPIA programs include the work associated with the development and testing of new advertising business models such as the NeoAdvertising platform and the Four Alpha System of Organizational Creativity recently chronicled in the book Creativity At Work, written and designed by IAPIA founders Harry Webber and Angela Glenn.
Angela Glenn, art direction
Harry Webber, copywriting
Angela Glenn, Harry Webber, illustration
Teresa Chang, research
