ARF Annual Conference- Insights Changes Everything
ARF Annual Conference
Insights Changes Everything
The ARF Annual Conference, (aka Re!Think) is the destination for the world’s insights, analytics, and marketing leaders providing unparalleled discovery, networking, and inspiration.
1. Innovate or Get Out!
How to stay relevant in business when your competition flies at start-up speed. Industry leaders share how they are implementing a startup discipline and best practices in their companies, and the payoffs.
Speakers:
- Charles Buchwalter – President & CEO, Symphony Advanced Media
- Jeffrey Graham – Global Director, Sales Research, Twitter; Board Member, The ARF;
- Steven Rosenblatt – President, Foursquare; Board Member, The ARF
- Kristy Vance, Ph.D. – Global Director, Media Insights, Unilever
- Moderator: David Kohl – CEO, Morgan Digital Ventures LLC
The conversation started with discussing how companies need more courage to get out of their comfort zone and explore outside their company culture. First and foremost, the right management team has to set the framework. Most companies and start-ups are not moving fast enough and they are not evolving with the industry. Companies are moving more towards mobile, however, innovation dies when it is not done the right way. Keeping up with trends is hard when you don’t have the right people to show you how to use the tools. One example is the publishing industry. How long will it stay around when you see other companies evolving.
“You need the right people behind the tool to show you how it works.” Kristy Vance
For example, Google started with 60 people. The management asked employees what they thought the biggest loss and cost was. The employees answered that the biggest cost was the food. The biggest cost for Google was the cost of not failing. Opportunities that they were not trying or investing in was the biggest cost. This can be defined as the ‘Opportunity Cost’.
Kodak is an example of a failing company because the company didn’t take action fast enough and did not take any opportunities. Now, look at their position…
When it comes to leadership, top management needs to be patient and stop keeping failure to themselves. It is not only up to them to fix the problems. Talk to someone for 2 minutes and discuss it. Failures need to be learned steps on the way. In addition, leaders needs to be honest and upfront with partners through the process. Sometimes, even a mentor can help you get to success.
“Double your failing rate. Expect that you can fail, but do it fast.” Jeffrey Graham
KEYNOTE, How Creativity Helped Achieve Peace
The ‘why’ and ‘how’ behind a propaganda campaign, based on insights, to demobilize Colombian guerillas and end Colombia’s 52-year civil war.
Speaker:
- Jose Miguel Sokoloff – Global President, MullenLowe Group Creative Council, Co-Chairman & CCO, MullenLowe SSP3
Jose starts the talk by explaining that the campaign felt like building an airplane as it flies. The team had a lot to learn and listen before creating the campaign. Jose was challenged to demobilize Colombian guerrillas. The first thing the team did was to talk to guerrillas and ask them what the underlying reason for joining was and what their dreams were. They told the guerrillas that they were here to learn so that they could get people out of the jungle. Talking to them and listening to their stories made them come up with a brilliant idea.
They realized that guerrillas were as much a prisoner of his organization that those he holds hostage.
They started with advertising on the radio so people could hear the guerrilla’s stories. The radio had the capacity to reach where guerrillas actually were. One Facebook post created a large march in Colombia where people were giving guerrillas the message that they had the support from the people. There was a better life waiting for them. At this point, everyone was learning.
The military was forcing them to not put stories out on the radio. Guerrillas were scared that they could hear their own voices on the radio. The team realized that they needed to reach them with humanity and controversy.
Around Christmas time when people are longing for their families, the team created a sentimental idea. The trees in the jungle could look like Christmas trees. 52% guerrillas lived in the jungle and the trees were 75 feet tall. They activated the trees with light every time a guerrilla came near. We sent them the message “If Christmas can come to the jungle, you can come home.” 331 guerrillas were motivated by this operation and this message.
Jose explains that it takes optimists to do something like this. They thought it would work and it did. Some guerrillas were not reached because they only heard about the Christmas trees, they did not see it for themselves. Guerrillas started using the rivers to move away. That is when the team came up with another idea to reach the Guerillas. Colombians and families of the guerrillas sent gifts on the river that were put in around, lightening covers so that during the night they would light up the rivers.
Guerrillas biggest worry was not to be accepted. Parents were sending the message “before you were a guerrilla you were my son.” The attempt made 18,000 guerrillas mobilize. The whole process was explained as a peace process. When they focused on what united them, they forgot about the past and what divided the nation. Peace is better than war.
“Concentrate on what unites us, not what divide us”. Don’t judge on what’s wrong”,
Jose Miguel Sokoloff.
