Day 5 of AdWeek started with the final session of the Morning Masters series and Kenneth Wong of Queen’s University took us to school with a thought-provoking session questioning whether “on strategy” means the end of creativity. At a time when business margins are under increasing pressure and value-seeking customers are more price conscious than ever, there is tremendous pressure on creative departments. Not only must they engage the customer and break through the clutter, they must also generate short-term sales. Wong argued that the best strategy is great creative or innovation, which delivers on business demands better than a simple value/price approach to communications.
The challenge of being the brand at the forefront of the consumer’s mind is made even more difficult when we consider how human memory functions. In Yahoo! Canada’s presentation, Nick Drew, Head of Research, took the audience through their findings on memory. Participants were asked to remember certain visual items and, after only 10 minutes, 6/20 remembered what they were shown. Throw smartphones into the mix and we have an even bigger dilemma: the heaviest of smartphone users had the worst memory retention. Brands can spin this positively by being present on mobile at the time of purchase consideration.
We got to watch some of the best Cannes Winning Commercials at the afternoon special screening. We still can’t stop singing ‘Dumb Ways to Die’, one of the Grand Prix winners out of Melbourne, Australia, an awfully catchy public service announcement campaign by Metro Trains to promote rail safety.
FFWD Advertising and Marketing Week Canada closed off with the final presentation of the week, hosted by Rogers Media, covering Product Innovation. Jennifer Holgate, VP Digital Sales and Ad Operations, and Corby Fine, VP Business Development, Platforms and Innovation, took us through their process of interpreting and using big data; understanding your audience, finding them, engaging them, and, of course, measuring. Making sense of constructed data is audience intelligence; data can prove points but it can also provide new opportunities you weren’t looking for. As these new opportunities continue to impact communications, Holgate and Fine highlighted the importance for organizations to leverage internal resources and intelligence, adjusting organizational structure, and being prepared to evolve infrastructure as we brace for the exciting future.
#LYNL | (Live Your Notable Life)
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