It's Wednesday at Cannes Lions and the Marketers Academy is in full swing. Here's a look into our day:
Adam Morgan, founder of eatbigfish, and Malcolm Devoy, Chief Strategy Officer for EMEA PHD Media, spoke to the class about the new breed of challenger brands. Here are some characteristics of the new challenger brands:
1. Focus on effectiveness over efficiency (ie. focus on the extent to which you reached your goals rather than the measure of effort required to reach them). These are goals like growth, saliency rather than pricing and ROI.
2. Have a very defined attitude – they behave as through they have a very tightly defined target audience while still reaching all potential buyers.
3. Focus on creativity over relevance.
4. Keep tech below the surface – they personalize the product, not the advertising.
5. Focus on shared distinctiveness.
Key Quote:
“For big brands to become challengers, the biggest thing you can do is to redefine the category you are in.” – Adam Morgan
We attended The Economist debate on stage in the theater.
Key Quote:
“Being true to your values is a long term profit play.” – Kathleen Hall, Corporate VP – Brand Advertising, Microsoft
Keeping your focus on value-based decisions lies in how you design your metrics – focus primarily on brand & purpose then determine how impacts sales – Kathleen Hall @Microsoft #CannesLions pic.twitter.com/Wdz72IQMYY
— Dentsu Aegis Network (@dentsuaegis) June 19, 2019
Tom Elliston, Client Services Director, MullenLowe, and Ben Curtis, Global Brand Director, Magnum spoke to the class about client-agency relationships.
Key Quotes:
“Getting great creative is ALL about the relationship.” – Tom Elliston
“Relationships are about the long game and if you play the long game you do things based on trust because you may not fully understand why at the time.” – Ben Curtis
“It took us a long time to find our purpose space and now we are a fiesta of ideas.” – Tom Elliston
Brand Purpose
The CMO Podcast – Pedro Earp
Brand Purpose
Monday at Cannes Lions 2019