McCann Manchester’s Post

2023: No.1 in the Middle East, No.9 in the world. 2024: No.1 in the Middle East, No.7 in the world.

So proud but still so driven.

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

Strategy is not just a discipline, it’s a culture. Just as creativity is. Been doing a few intensive and (hopefully) interesting sessions for our teams at Publicis Groupe on how we and our clients can be more interesting with our springboards (creative briefs and client briefs), by being more revelatory with insights and more positively provocative with the thinking. And today, for Ramzi’s gang at Saatchi & Saatchi MEA, it was fun to conduct another interesting session alongside other sessions with our teams, especially our young talents, at Leo Burnett MEA (Middle East & Africa) Publicis Middle East and Digitas Dubai as a start - hearing the different ahas, feeling the energy and watching the strategic thinking flow (from people beyond “strategy”), as we cracked a few exciting ones for our big brands. So yeah, it’s true - strategy (and creativity) is not just a discipline, it’s a culture.

🌟 Join the Rising Stars Program at BBDO Asia! 🌟 Are you ready to shine as a rising star in the marketing world? Look no further than the BBDO Asia Rising Stars Program! 🚀 Our exclusive program is about nurturing top talent from the BBDO Asia network, providing them with an incredible opportunity to learn and grow in various marketing disciplines while gaining invaluable teamwork experience. 🌐🤝 BBDO Asia recognizes the importance of providing inspiration and mentorship to our top talent. Our goal is to empower them to return as confident, enthusiastic, and loyal BBDO ambassadors who are truly "plugged in" to our global network. 🌏🔌 Tomorrow, Guan Hin Tay, our Creative Chairman, will lead a session on "How to Present Well" because we understand the power of effective communication. Whether in internal meetings or client presentations, we want you to be more than just a voiceover in a PowerPoint presentation. 🗣️💼 When we present well, we: 🌟 Establish credibility  🌟 Enhance persuasion  🌟 Build strong relationships Maya Angelou once said, "Speak not just to be heard but to inspire and awaken the hearts of those who listen." 🗝️💬 So, if you're one of the Rising Stars in BBDO, we can't wait to see you tomorrow! Let's embark on this journey together and reach for the stars! BBDO Worldwide BBDO Singapore BBDO Asia 🌠🚀 #BBDO #RisingStars #MarketingMastery

Thanks, Aian, for allowing me to share my thoughts on the use of AI in marketing/advertising to your followers. Headline to future creative practitioners: learn it, master it, be an AI pilot... but, in the short term, watch out for prevailing biases, copyright issues, and confidentiality problems.

Yet another Cannes Lions post in your feeds, but a BTS Marketing & Comms Cannes Lead perspective. 📢 🥂 Unsung Heroes of Cannes: First, let’s raise a massive toast to the Marketing and Events masterminds behind Cannes. Months of meticulous scheduling, negotiations, endless email threads, and relentless revisions on award Cannes Lions submissions culminated in a stellar celebration of creativity in Cannes. The precision and execution of partner stages and events were nothing short of spectacular, sending our team home with endless notes and inspiration for future Digitas @ Cannes programming! 🫶 Titles, Schmitles: As a first-timer, I’ll admit, the idea of mingling with the world’s most senior, brilliant marketers was intimidating. Yet, Cannes was the antithesis of a Title-bragging summit—it was brimming with humanity, creativity, and a genuine eagerness to connect and uplift. Everyone was approachable, incredibly kind, and eager to exchange ideas—quite a career-inspiring soul refresher! 📣 Advertising Meets Culture: Cannes was a masterclass in brands having real, two-way conversations with consumers, connecting on a deeply personal and culturally relevant level. 🔗 Networked Experiences, Everywhere: Shameless, but TRUE, Digitas plug. Beyond creativity, talks highlighted how brands are converging experiences across commerce, media, loyalty, and beyond to create seamless and unified consumer journeys. 🔥 Not Cannes-related, but seeing the Olympic Torch relay was a ridiculously cool and historic added-value of the entire experience!! 📓 For a full official recap, check out Digitas @ Cannes Key Themes and takeaways: https://lnkd.in/eWhRngXm 🦄 A heartfelt thank you to Digitas North America and the amazing Stephanie Gilbert for trusting me with the process and for the career milestone of attending Cannes. And a MASSIVE thank you to our incredible partners who made this all possible: Yelp, Aaron Collins, TikTok, Suz (Suzanne) Lampert, Dan Connor, Jon Hillman, Pinterest, Nate Stricker, Jamie Falk, Vox Media, Sasha McTernan, Edwin Wong, Zach Kazin, Yosef Johnson, Brand Innovators, Eric Pompei, Katie Abrams, Google, Megan Danielson. #cannes #canneslions2024 #marketing #commerce #creativity #networkedexperiences

The 71st Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity concluded with the penultimate awards night. The awards were presented for the Film Lions, Glass: The Lions for Change, Sustainable Development Goals Lions, The Dan Wieden Titanium Lion, and The Cannes Lions Grand Prix for Good categories. Special awards were also announced to demonstrate Cannes Lions' dedication towards transparent and accurate results. Creative Company of the Year : 1. WPP 2. Omnicom Media Group 3. Interpublic Group (IPG) Network of the Year : 1. Ogilvy 2. Publicis Worldwide 3. DDB Worldwide Independent Network of the Year : 1. Rethink 2. Edelman 3. Serviceplan Group Agenturgruppe Agency of the Year : 1. Publicis Conseil, Paris, France 2. Rethink, Toronto, Canada 3. Ogilvy, New York, United States Independent Agency of the Year : 1. Rethink, Toronto, Canada 2. Edelman, London, United Kingdom 3. Klick Health, Toronto, Canada Palme d'Or : SMUGGLER, United States Creative Brand of the Year : 1. The Coca-Cola Company 2. The HEINEKEN Company 3. Apple Wieden + Kennedy | Superette | DoorDash | Marcel, Paris | Orange | The Monkeys | Accenture Song | Sydney Opera House | Ogilvy Singapore | Vaseline | Publicis Conseil Paris | Renault Group | INNOCEAN Berlin | Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Congratulations to all the winners! #Creativity #CannesLions #Advertising #Winners #Adtechtoday

🌟 Join the Rising Stars Program at BBDO Asia! 🌟 Are you ready to shine as a rising star in the marketing world? Look no further than the BBDO Asia Rising Stars Program! 🚀 Our exclusive program is about nurturing top talent from the BBDO Asia network, providing them with an incredible opportunity to learn and grow in various marketing disciplines while gaining invaluable teamwork experience. 🌐🤝 We recognize the importance of providing inspiration and mentorship to our top talent. Our goal is to empower them to return as confident, enthusiastic, and loyal BBDO ambassadors who are truly "plugged-in" to our global network. 🌏🔌 Tomorrow, I'll lead a session on "How to Present Well" because we understand the power of effective communication. Whether in internal meetings or client presentations, we want you to be more than just a voiceover in a PowerPoint presentation. 🗣️💼 When we present well, we: 🌟 Establish credibility  🌟 Enhance persuasion  🌟 Build strong relationships Maya Angelou once said, "Speak not just to be heard but to inspire and awaken the hearts of those who listen." 🗝️💬 So, if you're one of the Rising Stars in BBDO, I can't wait to see you tomorrow! Let's embark on this journey together and reach for the stars! 🌠🚀 BBDO Asia BBDO Singapore BBDO Worldwide #BBDO #RisingStars #MarketingMastery

I have worked for just 2 companies over the past 30 years (locally and internationally). Ogilvy part of WPP Sept 1993 - Sept 2008 (15 years) and #MCSaatchiPlc from end Sept 2008 up until now Sept 2023 (15 years and counting +) because I love what I do and who I do it with - in our Worldwide network and M&C Saatchi Group South Africa ( M&C Saatchi Abel Levergy Connect Razor PR ) ❤️ If you are starting your career, choose a great company, with great people, that is customer focused, with an eye on what’s here and now, and an eye on the future. A place that values it’s people and invests in them and the company culture. This modern day, job hopping to simply get ahead and earn more in the moment, is a soulless pursuit in my view, and won’t serve one well. Find your forest, your particular soil, and grow deep interconnecting roots. Never undervalue warm bodies in a room, sparking off one another. Never underestimate the value of human connection, trust, empathy, camaraderie and friendships at work 🙏 You need to stay curious. You need to be a constant student. A learner. And observer. Embrace diversity. Fresh inputs. Read. Watch. Listen. Debate. Travel. You need many inputs. That’s how you stay fresh and relevant. Not simply by moving around.