Knowledge in a creative capsule – ET BrandEquity

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Over the past two years, the World Advertising Research Center and The Times of India Group have collaborated to facilitate cross-industry dialogues in the marketing and advertising ecosystem. This year’s series saw Cannes Lions join forces and further advance the cause of creative efficiency, encapsulated in an insightful evening on September 24 in Mumbai.

Playful and purposeful

Ed Pank, SVP Lions Division, APAC, dissected some of the notable campaigns and key themes from this year’s festival, and how humor and humanity are critical to effectively connecting with consumers.

Pank added that one of the lessons learned from Cannes was to be a little more playful about how we tackle sensitive issues and rebalance the use of humor and humanity. He noted how India had shown success on these themes.

He also observed that award-winning work is increasingly done by different teams. “You create homogenous teams, you create homogenous work, and it doesn’t cut through. It’s about the heterogeneity of teams and bringing in a diverse culture,” he added.

Pank also shared that there were many different forms of film craft that were utilized this year. Discussing winning campaigns such as ‘The Square Meter’ by Heimat TBWA in Berlin, which addressed the rising cost of living crisis in Germany, Pank emphasized that craftsmanship was wonderful for rejuvenating brands.

Touching on AI and the sub-theme of “analog innovation” within it, Pank highlighted campaigns that had used it imaginatively, saying it was important for brands to identify and enhance the human elements of their brand alongside embracing more AI- innovation, and also making sure AI and technology don’t overshadow it.

The era of the brand is not over

In the “Creative Impact Unpacked” session, research and new perspectives were shared on not only why creativity is important, but also how winning campaigns apply it.

The session also took a deeper look at misconceptions about what makes creativity effective. Last year at Cannes, marketing professor Scott Galloway famously declared that “the era of the brand is over”. Disagreeing with this notion, strong case studies – both Indian and global – were shared that proved the power of creative branding.

Marketers in the boardroom

Sudhanshu Vats, Managing Director Designate, Pidilite Industries also took the stage in a fireside chat on ‘The Influence of Marketing in the Boardroom’. Through several “provocations”, the chat explored the role of marketing today and how CMOs and marketing professionals can gain increased influence in boardrooms.

Do shareholders see value in marketing? When you build brands, you get better margins, better profit, emphasizes Vats. “Branding is not just about creativity – although that is very important – it starts with insight, strategy and then branding,” adding that segmentation is critical and will remain so in the future. Vats also added that today, when it comes to data, it was important for marketers to “unlearn and relearn.”