We were incredibly proud of our Creative Strategist Olivia Phillips for winning a place on the prestigious, and highly competitive Cannes Lions Creative Academy. Only 30 (under 30) applicants were accepted into the Academy, with the majority being from big brands (Google, Pinterest, Red Bull) and network agencies.
Creatives on the program spent the week of Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, learning from the world’s most inspiring talent. This included: world-renowned CEOs, chief creative officers, artists, actors, directors, journalists and creative superstars. Liv shares her learnings:
“What a week! It was bloody fantastic. I’ve learnt so much from industry leaders in the big network agencies like Wieden+Kennedy, Droga5 and WPP. I’ve grown my network and made friends for life! Overall I felt inspired and encouraged that we could do work that would earn a place on that stage.
The 3 key themes for me were:
- Creativity is in – agencies know it, brands know it, and it’s having a moment in culture.
- Humanity > AI – the future is AI supported, but humanity led.
- Digital is dying – real connection matters now more than ever. IRL brand experiences have never been so important
The Value of Creativity
In the words of Bill Bernbach, one of the founders of DDB, “Properly practiced creativity can make one ad, do the work of ten” but “If your advertising goes unnoticed, the rest is academic.” What we’re seeing is that the companies doing the most creative work are more effective at driving net enterprise value.
“At the same level of media spend, creatively award winning work sees a 7% uplift in effectiveness.”
James Hurman, McKinsey & Company.
“If you produce a dull campaign in the UK it costs you roughly £10m more in media spend to have the same commercial impact as an interesting campaign.”
Adam Morgan, eatbigfish.
Creative work becomes award winning when it’s:
- Original (leading the sector/industry/culture)
- Engaging (share of voice, emotion, memory)
- And executionally brilliant (nobody could do it better)
GUT became creative agency of the year in the space of three years and their take on it is that “Safe is invisible. Brave is unforgettable. The brands that win aren’t playing the game: they’re rewriting the rules.” Anselmo Ramos, Founder and Creative Chairman, GUT.
Five Insights for Action
- Fame is a marketing channel, because word of mouth is the most effective medium of all, it costs nothing and multiplies and increases your impact, but that can be both positively and negatively. However, if you’re famous and people have a positive perception of you, it’s easier to brush off negativity.
- Consumers think better of companies who advertise more creatively. They perceive that a company that puts that much effort and care into their advertising, must put it into their product/service too.
- When it comes to measuring effectiveness, it’s the emotional impact that matters as it’s the best indicator of memorability.
- Attention spans aren’t shorter. The binge watching trend proves that. So create content worth watching!
- Consistency creates fluency. We need to be more concerned about how we wear-in our campaigns, rather than them wearing out. Assets become distinctive where they’re used consistently. Whether that’s a tagline, a jingle, a shape or a character. It’s how you get creative with the execution and playing out of campaigns. ‘Have a break. Have a KitKat’ was first introduced in 1958. ‘Should have gone to Specsavers’ in 2002. People connect emotionally with the comfort of the familiarity of those campaigns. It’s how we reuse creative assets that counts.
Be Inspired!
The great news is that creativity and great creative strategy can come in many forms and they don’t need huge budgets. We literally have the power to solve the business and cultural problems of the future, simply with our imaginations and that’s exciting!”
