Michelle Diggles, a senior political analyst with third way, a centrist think tank that addresses such problems as public policy, recently spoke with Gary Larkin, the corporate governance research associate at The Conference Board. As another US presidential cycle has wound down, corporations are facing a huge perception problem when it comes to corporate political […]
Great ideas are killed every day. The 2017 ANDY jury will stop at nothing to save them.
Lawyers? Focus groups? Last minute client feedback? If you’ve ever had an idea die an unnecessary death, the 2017 ANDY Awards call for entries is a must watch. The humorous, animated campaign, out of Deutsch’s New York office, mocks the stereotypical PSA-style campaign with an industry twist; because while we support fighting to save the whales, the ANDY Awards Jury is fighting to save great ideas while highlighting the show’s mission to raise the standard of craftsmanship, and as the first show of the season, setting the tone for the industry
But it wouldn’t be a mock PSA without gratuitous violence. In the first of three films animated by South Korean company Superfiction, we see a creative director trying to kill an idea unnecessarily – that’s when ANDY Jury member and Burger King SVP of Global Brand Management, Fernando Machado, steps in to save it in the nick of time; by ending the creative director’s life with his bare hands.
“It takes a lot to get a great idea through the advertising gauntlet,” says Gina Grillo, President & CEO of The ADVERTISING CLUB of New York and International ANDY Awards. “At its core, this campaign is about everyone in our industry – clients, creatives, lawyers, etc. – collaborating to be brave and stand up for creativity. Our hope is creative types everywhere will live vicariously through these scenarios and vow to fight harder for the ideas they believe in.”
“Experiencing the death of a brave idea is gut wrenching, but we’ve all been through it. Sadly, some people get used to it,” says Pete Favat, 2017 Chairman of the ANDY Awards and CCO of Deutsch North America. “Unfortunately, provocative ideas die in quiet, private places with no one watching. We want to expose the sometimes ridiculous reasons why these ideas die every day and hopefully put a stop to it. Maybe people will use these short films to help stop the insanity and produce braver work.”
Why? Because for more than 50 years, the International ANDY Awards have been the first to recognize the best and bravest ideas. So, have you been brave enough to defend your great ideas? If so, enter them into the 2017 ANDY Awards before January 13th. The first video of three is already up on the ANDY Awards’ website, and the call-for-entries campaign will be running from now through February , as videos, on social, and in banners.
CREDITS:
Animation Design: Superfiction
Animation: Anima Boutique
Concept: Deutsch New York
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ANA, in partnership with GfK, conducted research to help bring clarity to the current state of shopper marketing and make predictions about where it’s headed.
Our Executive Director, Douglas Chia, has penned an article on gender board diversity for the recent issue of Directors & Boards. Below is an excerpt: The reasons women aren’t landing on boards—or perhaps excuses—are not new: not a priority . . . fear of change . . . unconscious bias. In conversations with male and […]
As usual, the TED community has lots of news to share this week. Below, some highlights.
Bike on the Seine … literally. Carlo Ratti Associati unveiled a concept for the Paris Navigating Gym, a boat that would use the energy from passengers’ stationary-bike workouts to propel itself through Paris along the Seine. Aboard the 20-meter-long vessel, 45 exercisers can enjoy sweeping views of the city as they work up a sweat, while enjoying the disconcerting experience of pedaling forward while moving sideways. Users can track their energy output and the environmental conditions of the river, captured in real time by sensors built into the vessel. Will it get built? Doesn’t matter — it’s fun to think about. (Watch Carlo’s TED Talk)
Rendering of the Paris Navigating Gym courtesy of Carlo Ratti Associati.
VR hits Sundance 2017. Three TED speakers will be showcased as part of New Frontier at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival: virtual reality filmmakers Nonny de la Peña and Chris Milk. Out of Exile, the work of de la Peña and team, tells the story of Daniel Ashley Pierce, a teenager who was accosted by his family and kicked out of his house because they disapproved of his sexuality. The work uses audio footage that Pierce secretly recorded during the encounter. Meanwhile, Chris Milk and Aaron Koblin (and Pharrell!) have created the ambitious Life of Us, which captures the complete story of the evolution of life on Earth. (Watch Nonny’s TED Talk, Chris’ TED Talk, and Aaron’s TED Talk)
A pioneering hunter. Morgan Spurlock is the executive producer of The Eagle Huntress, a documentary following 13-year-old Aisholpan, a young Kazakh girl living in Northwest Mongolia, who is training to become the first girl in twelve generations of her family to hunt eagles. While many Kazakh eagle hunters reject the notion that a female can take part in the tradition, Aisholpan — with the support of her father — is determined to prove otherwise. The documentary is one of 15 finalists for the best feature documentary Oscar; also on the list is TEDster Ava DuVernay’s powerful film 13th. (Watch Morgan’s TED Talk and read our interview with Ava DuVernay)
Crowdsourced ways to tackle fake news. Eli Pariser is crowdsourcing the effort to tackle fake news. Inside a Google Doc, he’s leading a group of volunteers to brainstorm ideas and approaches to the problem as well as compile resources and background reading on the subject. The group is exploring a wide range of approaches, from domain checking to the blockchain, reports Wired, and work on the document is ongoing. (Watch Eli’s TED Talk)
Singapore is tops in global education. On December 6, the results from PISA’s latest global education test were revealed, with Singapore, Japan, Finland and Estonia on top, the US in the middle, and overall a lack of proficiency in basic science (read the press release). Reviewing the results, The New York Times reports that countries that did best generally “acted to make teaching more prestigious and selective; directed more resources to their neediest children; enrolled most children in high-quality preschools; helped schools establish cultures of constant improvement; and applied rigorous, consistent standards across all classrooms.” The test, overseen by TED speaker Andreas Schleicher, is administered every 3 years to half a million 15-year-olds in 69 countries to evaluate not just what they’ve memorized, but their ability to think. (Watch Andreas’ TED Talk)
New light on Alzheimer’s. Ed Boyden is part of a team of researchers that showed that they can reduce the beta amyloid plaque characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease –and believed to be harmful to brain cells — in the visual cortex of mice, using LED lights that flicker at a specific frequency. The researchers believe that the lights stimulate brain waves called gamma oscillations, which they discovered help suppress beta amyloid production and induce its destruction. Boyden, along with colleague Li-Huei Tsai, have started a company called Cognito Therapeutics to explore the possibility of using the technique to treat human patients. (Watch Ed’s TED Talk)
How to navigate a world that moves 100mph. On December 6, Joi Ito released Whiplash, a guide to surviving our faster future that he co-wrote with Wired writer Jeff Howe. Drawing on case studies, research and philosophies from MIT’s Media Lab, which Ito directs, the book proposes 9 organizing principles to reframe your thinking to adapt to our rapidly changing, unpredictable world. (Watch Joi’s TED Talk)
Have a news item to share? Write us at [email protected] and you may see it included in this weekly round-up.
Cartier lights up Paris and New York in it’s 2016 Winter Tale ad created by Publicis 133 Paris. Enchantment awaits…
CREATIVE CREDITS:
Ad Agency: Publicis 133 – Paris, France
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Technology has liberated so many frontiers. We used to work at work; now we work anywhere and on any device. We used to watch television; now we stream video on-demand. And the examples go on and on.
Marketers used to tell stories (mostly) via a handful of dominant print and video channels; now the channels are many and diverse. These fundamental changes have inspired innovation and invention in ways that should elevate the brand and customer experience. But, have they?
Ana Andjelic explored the current state of luxury brands and asked “Why aren’t their brand stories better?” Ana came to a profound conclusion. She observed, “Instead of a brand spirit speaking the language of a modern audience, we got content strategy. Instead of a brand point of view expressed through enduring aesthetics, we got temporary campaigns shot by the latest photographer du jour. Instead of being inspired to tell their own stories, we got influencer marketing programs.” And while the history and legend of luxury brands gives them an abundant source-well from which to build story, her observation can apply to nearly any brand.
In a September article, Tom Goodwin opined that “We’re at peak complexity. And it sucks.” He was talking about digital transformation specifically, but he might as well be talking about the modern world. Enter marketing technology — especially marketing automation. Like any new technology, there is a rush to implement quickly as there is great promise marketers will “be able to do more with less.” Sadly, many marketers are just doing more, and this is the problem.
“More” Is A Strategy
It’s easy to be seduced. The possibilities for pushing content to more touchpoints increase daily. Platforms in the cloud, social media channels, and other innovations allow marketers to automate processes, and scale programs – usually with a few simple clicks. These programs need content in order to thrive. Their appetites are voracious, insatiable really.
A couple of times per year, Loggerhead Sea Turtles lay many thousands of eggs on the beaches along the Southeast shores of the U.S. Only one out of every one thousand of the hatchlings will live to adulthood, so “more” can be a “successful” strategy. For sea turtles. According to Sirius Decisions, 70-80% of B2B content is never used. So why does it get made in the first place?
Usually the misstep lies in not understanding the correct approach. Too great an emphasis is placed on what the content is and what it says; too little emphasis is placed on the vehicle used for reaching the customer and the specific business outcome the content is supposed to achieve. The idea of nurturing a relationship and what it means in the customer experience is obscured by the speed of execution.
Less Requires More
When the time has been taken to understand customers’ pain points, triggers, and content preferences, marketing technology can both help propel the brand story and purpose in ways that can be automated and scalable. As long as the brand is mindful that the technology needs to be used in the best interest of the customer (and not in terms of what it can do for marketing), it is a win-win situation. Keep this in mind:
It’s all too easy to be a brand of “more”. Instead, be a consistent brand. In an era dominated by fake news and uncertainty, it is more important than ever to be true to your purpose.
Don’t let the future leave you behind. Join us in Hollywood, California for Brand Leadership in the Age of Disruption, our 5th annual competitive-learning event designed around brand strategy.
The Blake Project Can Help: The Strategic Brand Storytelling Workshop
Branding Strategy Insider is a service of The Blake Project: A strategic brand consultancy specializing in Brand Research, Brand Strategy, Brand Licensing and Brand Education
FREE Publications And Resources For Marketers
A critical question for leaders is, “When do you stop pouring resources into things that have achieved their purpose?”
The most dangerous traps for a leader are those near-successes where everybody says that if you just give it another big push it will go over the top. One tries it once. One tries it twice. One tries it a third time. But, by then it should be obvious this will be very hard to do. So, I always advise my friends and colleagues, “Don’t tell me what you’re doing. Tell me what you stopped doing.”
The first step for a leader fighting to earn a place in the future is to free up resources that are committed to maintaining things that no longer contribute to brand performance and no longer produce results. Maintaining yesterday is always difficult, extremely time-consuming and risky.
Maintaining yesterday always commits the brands’ scarcest and most valuable resources–and above all, its ablest people–to nonresults. Yet doing anything differently–let alone innovating–always creates unexpected difficulties. It demands leadership by people of high and proven ability. And if those people are committed to maintaining yesterday, they are simply not available to create tomorrow.
The first change policy, therefore, has to be organized abandonment. The leader puts every product, every service, every process, every market, every distribution channel, every customer, and every end use on trial for its life. And does so on a regular schedule. ~ Peter Drucker
Abandoning Yesterday
Change is hard. That’s why the future can look so much like the past. And why brands and the marketers who manage them often lose their edge. For those marketers who see comfort zones as a dangerous place and are ready to become the change leader your organization needs, we have designed a unique experience around brand strategy for you. One that challenges today’s thinking about brands and brand management. One that helps prepare you for tomorrow. One that breaks you free from yesterday’s marketing conference format.
The Blake Project and Branding Strategy Insider have designed a uniquely powerful experience for brand leadership in the age of disruption. We call it The Un-Conference: 360 Degrees of Brand Strategy for a Changing World.
Reserved for 50, it’s unlike any other marketing conference you’ve attended before:
No Attendees. Only Participants.
The best pathway for learning is through participation, not observation. The Un-Conference: 360 Degrees of Brand Strategy for a Changing World will challenge your thinking about brands and brand management. To do that, we’ll put you on a team of 10 and offer you opportunities to compete, lead and learn alongside other marketers in a unique environment. The challenges you’ll tackle are based on and influenced by the actual issues that you and other participants are facing.
In May of 2017 we are focused on: Disruptive Marketing Trends, Building Emotional Connections, Encoding Brands In The Mind, Brand Storytelling, Brand Leadership, Digital Strategy, Customer Experience, B2B Brand Strategy and more.
It all takes place at The London Hotel in West Hollywood, California May 1 – 3, 2017.
Our schedule…
Monday, May 1st – Kickoff Mixer: 7- 9pm at The London Hotel Rooftop Pool
Tuesday, May 2nd – Day 1: 8am – 5pm, at The London Hotel / 6:30pm – ? Team building event and dinner
Wednesday, May 3rd – Day 2: 8am – 5pm, at The London Hotel
Who Should Participate?
We have reserved these two days (and a kickoff mixer on the evening of the 1st) for 50 senior B2C and B2B marketers who see professional growth as a mandate for success and who seek a learning experience superior to last century’s format of marketing conferences:
-Marketing oriented leaders
-Marketing professionals (brand managers, product managers, directors, vice presidents, CMO’s, brand strategists etc.)
-Advertising agency professionals (account executives, planners, creatives, agency heads)
-Marketers facing brand strategy issues
-Marketers seeking a competitive advantage
-Professionals in charge of brand building, brand management, human resources
-Professional brand consultants, digital consultants and researchers
-Marketers who prefer participation over observation
-Marketers who don’t believe that last century’s format of marketing conferences advances them as leaders.
Every year a wide range of brands from around the world join us. Past participants include AAA, Bayer, Bloomberg, Humana, Land O’ Lakes, Liberty Mutual, Pilot/Flying J, RJ Reynolds, TD Ameritrade, GlaxoSmithKlein, Wounded Warrior Project, Monsanto, Ogilvy, Kawasaki, GE and many more.
Only 50 marketers can participate. To secure a spot for you or your group at The Un-Conference: 360 Degrees of Brand Strategy for a Changing World call me directly in Los Angeles at 813-842-2260. Or simply email me.
Special pricing for Non-profits, MENG/Marketing Executives Group and American Marketing Association Members.
“If you want something new, you have to stop doing something old.” ~ Peter Drucker
I do hope you can join us.
Sincerely,
Derrick Daye for The Un-Conference, Branding Strategy Insider and The Blake Project
Apple’s latest ad from the “Practically Magic” campaign features charming youngsters performing Romeo and Juliet in a school play as a proud father records it all with his iPhone 7.
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When it comes to equality across race, class and gender: “None of us has time to sleep — we need to be woke as hell,” says Mia Birdsong, host of Session 3 of TEDWomen 2016. In an emotional, pointed session, seven speakers and one performer explored the painful realities of the present and offered hopeful views of the future.
Founders of the Black Lives Matter movement — from left, Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi, interviewed onstage by TEDWomen cohost Mia Birdsong at TEDWomen 2016 in San Francisco. Photo: Marla Aufmuth / TED
“I’m not passing a torch; I’m helping you light the fire.” Kicking off session 3, Mia Birdsong sat down with the three founders of the Black Lives Matter movement, Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi, for an in-depth conversation about the movement, how it’s rocked public consciousness across the world and where the future lies for Black lives. Sharing personal experiences of being Black in America and statistics about the abhorrent state of racism worldwide, Garza, Cullors and Tometi made it clear that this systemic problem must be addressed at the root for the progress of all. “Our work is not just about our own visibility, but how we make the whole visible,” they say. Their advice on how to participate? Lead, join something and “sharpen each other so we can rise.”
Attacking discrimination through prenatal care. When activists discuss the effects of racism on marginalized populations, they tend to focus on the challenges that occur during one’s lifetime. But what about before you’re even born? According to stats shared by birthing rights activist and doula Miriam Zoila Pérez, pregnant women of color experience far poorer health outcomes than their white counterparts. Though poverty and access-to-care are partially responsible for this statistic, Pérez identifies discrimination as the root cause of this disparity. Pregnant women of color who receive the recommended prenatal care still suffer from higher rates of illness and death during pregnancy and childbirth, and immigrants of color actually have worse health outcomes the longer that they stay in the United States. “Racism is actually making us sick,” Pérez says. She illustrates a new way to counteract these effects, known as “the JJ Way.” This model of unconditional support from healthcare providers emphasizes a compassionate rather than punitive environment for all women. “While we can’t eradicate racism and the stress that results from it overnight, we might be able to create environments that provide a buffer to what people of color experience on a daily basis. And during pregnancy, that buffer can be an incredible tool towards shifting the impact of racism on generations to come.”
The urgency of intersectionality. As a law student, professor Kimberlé Crenshaw came across the case of Emma DeGraffenreid, an African-American woman who had sued a manufacturing company for not hiring her on the basis of her race and gender. The judge dismissed her claim, noting that the company had hired people of her color, and hired people of her gender. It just didn’t happen to hire people who were both. Crenshaw saw an overwhelming lack of language to describe this injustice at the intersection of race and gender, and developed a theory she called “intersectionality” to describe how our overlapping social identities can relate to structures of racism and oppression. “When there’s no name for a problem, you can’t see a problem,” the law professor and activist says. “When you can’t see a problem, you can’t solve it.” Intersectionality theory also helps explain the current misrepresentation of violence against African-American women in politics and media, spurring Crenshaw to launch the #SayHerName campaign to bring awareness to the forgotten female victims of police brutality. Joined by singer Abby Dobson, Crenshaw encourages us to bring these women to light and finally say their names.
“Being difficult means to disrupt the expectations of others,” says C. Nicole Mason onstage at TEDWomen 2016. Photo: Marla Aufmuth / TED
The gift of being difficult. “Have you ever felt like you were being a pain in the ass, or have you ever been called ‘difficult’?” asks C. Nicole Mason. The author of Born Bright: A Young Girl’s Journey from Nothing to Something in America, Mason says she has been “difficult” her whole life, but only after writing her memoir did she start to wonder if that was really such a bad thing. “I decided that being difficult means to disrupt the expectations of others,” she says, “to ask for more than what was being offered and to take the road said to be closed to me.” Born a brown-skinned girl to a teenaged mother in Los Angeles, the expectations for Mason’s life were carved out before she could begin to imagine what she might want for herself. But she had a different vision for herself — one that would require the disruption of stereotypes and the stigma placed upon poor people, girls and blacks in our society. Mason outlines three kinds of disruption that shaped who she is: (1) disrupt dominant narratives; (2) disrupt the rules of how things are supposed to be done and who should be doing them; and (3) disrupt the expectations and limitations that are put upon you by society and others. “Let’s all go out and be difficult,” she says.
“This month I become the first woman on British television to host a primetime comedy game show,” says Sandi Toksvig. “I’m thrilled, but the first? It’s 2016; television has been around for 80 years.” Photo: Marla Aufmuth / TED
Getting equality on the ballot. The night before Sandi Toksvig‘s talk at TEDWomen 2016, the World Economic Forum updated its estimate of when women around the world can expect equal pay as men. It had been originally estimated as the year 2133. Now …. it’s 2186. “We can’t wait that long!” says Toksvig. Earlier this year, Toksvig — Britain’s first openly gay female media personality — decided to bring the issue of equality to the here-and-now by founding a new political party, The Women’s Equality Party. Their platform is simple: let’s create equality in every aspect of our lives. (“And then close down, go home and get the rest of the chores done.”) Toskvig hopes other women in other countries will copy her party’s model and mobilize for equality around the world.
Born to sing. “My voice — my greatest gift, my greatest salvation,” says Taylor Dayne, as she reflects on the role of music in giving her purpose and helping her counter the chaos of her childhood home. “If my parents couldn’t protect me, my voice would,” she says in a talk laced with musical quotations from the perfect song, as she explores why a woman who loves love (“All of my singles, did you ever notice?, have the word ‘Love’ or ‘Heart’ in the title) is still searching for connection. She closes with a soulful rendition of her new song “Born to Sing.”
*reSET is the only Connecticut organization to receive the U.S. Small Business Administration for the Growth Accelerator Competition Award, announced by President Obama on August 4th, 2015.
