Advertising Week 2017: What You Should Know!

1. “BRANDS SHOULD REFLECT WHAT PEOPLE BELIEVE IN…” Dena Wimette, Sr. Global Innovation & Communications Manager at Ben & Jerry’s, started with this in her response to the question “How do you guys do such a good job addressing social issues?”

In today’s social landscape, the age of CSR (corporate social responsibility) for the sake of getting a pat on the back is dead. According to former Obama campaign strategist Carri Twigg, “Corporate social responsibility was the thing 10 years ago, then it became sustainability strategy. The new business model of the future will be corporate social opportunity.”

2. WHAT WILL THIS NEW BUSINESS MODEL LOOK LIKE?! 
Authenticity is KING! Doing work for social good starts by being good, like actually good.

Companies with a solid foundation of core values naturally align with social issues that fit their brand. From an operational approach, Ben & Jerry’s incentivizes community outreach, encouraging employees to volunteer together and even go to protests together. The company’s board of directors include activists who provide deeper insight on the issues that affect their audience.


3. DO'S & DON'TS FROM THE PROS... In response to questions about brand authenticity, many panelists gave their tips on how to pull of a social impact campaign effectively.

DO: “Be a part of social movements before they start,” was a shared sentiment amongst many panelists throughout the D&AD Impact Awards discussions. Sarah Rabia of TBWA commented, "[In advertising] we're not as innovative because of fear. There's such a low margin for error in our industry." "Service your customers, don't just sell to them" -Amy Emmerich, Refinery 29


DON’T: Align your brand with a cause just because it’s a hot button issue at the moment. Social causes should always align with what the brand does. Britta Bomhard, EVP & CMO of Church & Dwight Co., gave a great example of how sexual education and wellness advocacy fell right into the brand ethos of her client Trojan. "Find your issue rather than just wall to wall CSR" -Sarah Rabia TBWA


DO: SOMETHING, ANYTHING, No excuses!!! "If a brand does nothing, they are complicit" said Richard Edelman. The time for playing it safe for the sake of shareholders is long gone, especially with millennial & gen-z consumers who gravitate towards brands who stand for something beyond revenue. "Lack of leadership is causing corporations to fill the gap, for better or for worse" Neda Azarfar, The Recording Academy "Brands should at least create a safe space for your audience if you can't necessarily take a stand" Amy Emmerich, Refinery29


DON’T: "Try not to take a side…" Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman, touched on this important point in response to how brands tackle controversial issues. While taking a side seems tempting, its much more valuable to offer insights that bridge gaps rather than deepen divisions.

4. CAPTURING THE 21ST CENTURY CONSUMER WITH 22ND CENTURY AD TECH
From the art of big data, to cool gadgets that can be used as new media, AdTech and MarTech were huge topics of discussion during this year’s Advertising Week. There was even a “playground” featuring top AdTech startups dominating the realms of holographic CGI, data, and other forms of digital awesomeness.

One particular gadget that stuck out was Meural, the digital picture frame platform. Designed as a space to give contemporary artists an opportunity to feature their original work, users can buy the rights to affordable artwork that will be featured in a “canvas”. In this case, consider a “canvas” to be a series of moving digital images that anyone can flip through on the frame itself, just by gliding your hand in front of it. Meural also gives users the opportunity to upload their own pictures to their digital picture frame with the option to have multiple images move on a rotation. The media usage possibilities for something like this on a brand level could be very interesting, especially with today’s #selfie obsession.

Speaking of #selfies... 

5. HELLO WATSON 
IBM Watson Insights, an AI software platform for businesses, was another major tool that was marketed throughout Advertising Week.

I viewed a particular case study that showed how the software worked for a music producer trying to grasp what made his audience respond. The use of customized segment data to come up with insights was pretty fascinating to me.“Talk to individuals, not segments. What if real-time audience segments were created against your evolving business objectives, so your marketing messages and customer experiences hit the right people at the right time?” – excerpt from the IBM Watson interactive installation


With the help of IBM Watson, industry magazine The Drum produced its first ever issue edited entirely by AI, which provides quite a bit of food for thought. As content producers and advertisers, should we be conscious of the jobs and content quality lost when AI replaces human editors, writers, and possibly even producers in the future?

6. VR & AR: STILL HEADING TO NEW FRONTIERSExperience, experience, experience! More and more, we see the rise of consumers investing into brands that provide an experience rather than just a product. To make an imprint on a consumer’s thought journey, brand experiences must be even more immersive than on a mobile device. Here are some main takeaways from the early adopters and kickass pioneers of the VR/AR content space.

• 360 video is NOT fully immersed VR
• Room scale VR and Social VR create some of the richest experiences
• Design principles and semiotic language MUST be used to help guide the user through experiences.
• "Don’t just sit them in a chair, slap a headset on them, and send them off. Prepare them for the experience “ –Mia Tramz, Managing Editor @ Life VR
• "Sound is so important in immersive experience. Make people do things with lighting and sound" – Mia Tramz, Managing Editor @ Life VR
• Rule 1: Never break immersion
• Rule 2: No extra elements that don't contribute to story
• Think of the camera as the user’s head. High or low angle shots impact experience and the user’s sense of presence in the environment.
  Example: High camera height instead of eye level camera height worked well when it came to depicting children in VR for a fundraising initiative Images