Dan Clays’ Post

Every year, I go into Cannes a bit cynical, questioning whether it is all a bit performative. This year, however, I had a very different experience. Sure, there were certainly still aspects that were more spectacle than substance, but on the whole, I was inspired – by the work, by the camaraderie, and by the emphasis on true #creativity. For every benign, redundant mention of AI, there was an impassioned case made for the power of originality and unexpected creativity. I might have expected this from creative agencies, but I was most encouraged by the championing of creativity from the esteemed panel of CMO’s at Forbes' Most Influential CMO Luncheon.     Perhaps, we are collectively over the seduction of predictability and (faux) certainty. Perhaps, we are all realizing the diminishing returns of relentlessly pursued risk mitigation. Perhaps, the extremes of either dull sameness or shallow gimmicks will yield to smart, beautiful, big, bold, important ideas that build real brands and drive real business and if we are lucky, move society forward along the way.     I left Cannes feeling the renaissance has begun and that TBWA is exactly the right place to be for it, where Disruption is not a catchphrase, but an essence and a mandate.   My optimism was a direct result of spending time with Kyle Chayka, Lucia Aniello, Ben Tallon, Flau’jae Johnson, Beatrice Domond, Seth Matlins, The amazing women hosted by The Female Quotient, our ambitious clients, and my fellow Pirates.   As my partner Bruno Regalo says, a new season starts now – so may we all contribute to the renaissance and show up in Cannes next year with work that makes us proud.   Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity | TBWA\Worldwide | TBWA\Chiat\Day | Omnicom | Troy Ruhanen | Courtney Nelson | Emily Wilcox | Jen Costello | Anh-Thu Le | Kirsten Rutherford |Jacqueline Redmond | Desmond Marzette | Mark Weinstein | Hilton | Jennifer Murillo | Discover Financial Services | Ryan Ostrom | Jack in the Box | Kate Cronin | Moderna | Brandi Ray | Jane Wakely | PepsiCo    #CannesLions2024 #OmnicomCannes #TheDisruptionCompany

In a moment of accelerated #data & #technology, talent matters more not less. Privileged to have spent a few days with Charlotte Lee, Tony Harradine and our inspiring OMD APAC leaders discussing the future of agency services and the growing role #APAC is playing in our worldwide strategy, especially when it comes to #digital #transformation and #commerce innovation.

SINGAPORE | The Marketing Society and WARC had an amazing time being hosted by Ogilvy Singapore last night for a thought-provoking conversation on key marketing trends. Special thanks to our host for the evening, Wendy Walker and our Singapore board for being fantastic champions of The Marketing Society! Huge thanks as well to our hosts at Ogilvy and to Ed Pank (MD for WARC in APAC) for leading the insightful discussion. We also appreciated the perspectives shared in the fireside chat from Lex Bradshaw-Zanger (CDMO for L'Oréal, SAPMENA region) and Ab Gaur (Chief Data & Technology Officer of Ogilvy and Founder & CEO of Verticurl (A WPP Company)). There was also plenty of time for our members to connect and network over drinks and canapés. It was great to see so many engaging conversations happening between our members. Some key takeaways we took from the night included: 💡 Having a versatile skillset is key — Range allows marketers to tackle different challenges: “Being a jack of all trades, master of none but oftentimes better than master of one”. 💡 Grounding innovation in reality — Understanding business limitations, risks, and challenges is crucial to bring great ideas to life. A massive thank you to WARC! #MarketingInnovation #InsightsToImpact #Networking Lynette Pang, Erica Kerner, Joseph Pullos, Gita de Beer, Matthias Blume, Helen Duffy, Xiaowei Liu, Brynie B McBurney, Sophie Devonshire⚡️

💫 Looking ahead to #CannesLions next week! 💫 With Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity opening its doors next week, promising a blend of iconic thought leadership and content from the world’s most innovative brands, a much-anticipated crescendo of creative celebration will come to its peak. Amongst all the conversations, myself and the TDC PR crew will be particularly interested in the factors affecting #CMOs. We’ll see some of the world’s most influential CMOs gather in one place to celebrate, present and learn. Elements of the Cannes Lions programme such as ‘CMOs in the Spotlight’ will also provide a pivotal platform for leading voices to discuss a variety of topics, from marketing investment priorities in the next 18 months to measuring and communicating the value of marketing within businesses, as well as identifying which new skills are growing in importance for today’s CMOs. These sessions that will provide invaluable insights for us as an integrated communications agency. What’s keeping CMOs awake at night? Truly understanding the world of the CMO is critical to the success of the communications campaigns we create for our clients. When communicating to the C-Suite audience through top tier business media, insights such as these help us continue to navigate what is, in essence, a design conversation into a global business world.  Watch this space for observations from next week! #CannesLions2024 #Csuite #CMO #businessgrowth #design #marketing

It's not every week that some of the world's most acclaimed creative leaders get together in one room, much less speak on a dedicated panel to talk about creativity and its growth-driving power in business... But that's what happened last Wednesday, when Goodby Silverstein & Partners's jeff Goodby, Orchard's David Kolbusz, Accenture Song's Nick Law, VMLY&R's Kim Pick and Australian actor, writer and director #MirrahFoulkes, gathered for a #GrowthAgenda event at Advertising Council Australia's #ThisWayUp festival. It's clear that in an information-saturated world, brands can't afford to settle for creative "mediocrity", which the rise of #generativeAI will only further accellerate, according to some panellists. For those who weren't in the room at the MCA in Sydney, catch up on insights from the evening here: https://lnkd.in/gUJXPhM3 In other marketing news.... The Matildas have won the hearts and minds of audiences the world over. And those brands that were clever enough to back them through sponsorships and collaborations are reaping the rewards of record World Cup attendance and TV viewership. Football Australia's Peter Filopoulos, M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment, Australia's Krystyna Frassetto and other marketing experts explain the growth-driving opportunity for brands taking part in this monumental cultural moment: https://lnkd.in/gusfDq44 Plus, an opinion editorial authored by the brilliant Dave Bowman, who penned his first piece for #TheGrowthAgenda as Publicis Groupe ANZ's newly-appointed chief creative officer. He offers a compelling call to arms to infuse the marketing and advertising with a more collaborative, playful spirit; and why it often yields better business results. https://lnkd.in/gFKz3Q7J More to follow: https://lnkd.in/gAaD9rTU

I have a love-hate relationship with advertising and marketing. That feeling about Commercial Creativity is never closer to the surface than at this time of the year, when Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity comes around again. By Commercial Creativity I mean the loosely defined name given to a group of activities from the marketing function in a business, to those who help those marketers do what they need to do, the advertising, media and branding agencies and everything in between. I was for a long time of this world: Chief Strategy Officer of EMEA, Global EXCO, Global Creative Council for the then named Y&R - VMLY&R (and now VML!) and then Chief Marketing Officer for the United Nations World Food Programme. I did lots of things in those roles, some of those are still part of my life, but they are no longer all of my life. This is an exploration of the good, bad and ugly of the industry, the importance of metas and what you might do if you want to try something different. (A shorter version of this was first published by my friends and colleagues at BeenThereDoneThat - thank you. David Alberts, Nikki Crumpton and Marielle Kouroushi-Phillips). Saïd Business School, University of Oxford #marketing #branding #advertising #careers #personaldevelopment #growth

Great to start the Year of Dragon with over 100 marketing professionals in Singapore at the first The Marketing Society event in collaboration with WARC. A few of my takeaways: ▶️ Age of polarization: 2024 is the year of election, affecting more than half of the global population; continued geopolitical tensions, etc. ✨Proposed responses: Brands need to understand local reality, show respect to different cultures, and authentically connect with audiences. ▶️The rise of AI and its impact, like worries about job security, etc. ✨Reality may be: marketers can leverage the technology to be more efficient and productive with text based tasks. At the same time, be aware of the impact on environment and climate: AI needs more computing power! Also brands need to be cognizant about how to create distinct customer values and experiences amidst the rise of AI generated content. ▶️Sustainability on the door step - brands will face multi stakeholders and many local issues. ✨Brands need to be aware that sustainability is not and cannot be a campaign, but a business transformation, demanding creative solutions addressing the challenges and finding new ways of achieving both business and societal success. And, a couple of quotable quotes by the wonderful Ed Pank: “Focus on what unites not what divides”! “Influence change within the rules!” To end this post on highlights about Asia: Asia is the bright spot, with over half of the marketers having a higher budget this year, and more Asian businesses going global. Asia is chartering its own path, with confidence! Brynie B McBurney Wendy Walker Gita de Beer Helen Duffy Erica Kerner Lynette Pang Matthias Blume Joseph Pullos Sophie Devonshire⚡️ #trends2024

🎥 As we approach the end of the year, there is no better time to reflect on our journey. From groundbreaking campaigns to stellar partnerships, it's been a year of growth 📈, creativity 🎨, and success 🏆 👋🏼 We are Wavemaker. We believe there is always a better way to grow 🌱 🌳 By positively provoking ourselves, we can then positively provoke our clients and our industry. We challenge 🥊 conventions, do good 🧡 and champion diversity 🏳️🌈, equity and inclusion. In return of our positive provocations, remarkable tangible and intangible outcomes, amazing recognitions for our work we do alongside our valued brands including Colgate-Palmolive, L'Oréal, Mondelēz International, Netflix, Pernod Ricard as well as our collaborative partners 🤝   🙌🏼 Watch this space as we continue shaping consumer decisions and experiences through media, technology and creativity as a global media agency part of WPP & GroupM. Check out some highlights and achievements of our journey thus far in the video below 🎥 ⬇️ Video thumbnail created by AI in Midjourney.   Wavemaker ANZ Wavemaker Hong Kong Wavemaker India Wavemaker Indonesia Wavemaker Malaysia Wavemaker Pakistan Wavemaker Philippines Wavemaker Sri Lanka Wavemaker Taiwan #positiveprovocation #growfearless

A balanced perspective from "GMan", a veteran of the WPP system and part of the birth and amalgamation of several agencies over the years. (and my one-time boss at Mindshare South Asia). It's true that the people working on the brand and the value they bring are what matter to most clients. But it's probably the name on the door (of the agency) and its credentials that brings in the clients to start with. While VML is made up of long-time stalwarts and leading agencies of WPP, the new amalgam that it is (and we all know the churn and disruption that happens post any merger) will take time to establish itself in the minds of clients (not working with the network currently). And may get them to consider other standalone, non-network options too. Time will tell how this pans out for WPP, its investors, the new agency and its people, and more importantly for clients. What do you feel?

The conversation on how the creative industry can drive more sustainable behaviors is hot at Cannes Lions this year! I had the privilege to join the brilliant Fleur Stoppani and Leo Rayman in a panel hosted by Ollie Joyce at GroupM to share the findings of the IRG Impact Study on creating value for all stakeholders. My key take out: shifting from competition to collaboration is what it takes! #instituteforrealgrowth #humanizedgrowth #mindshare #groupm #canneslions #sustainablemarketing