Kevin Roberts, CEO Worldwide of Saatchi & Saatchi, and auther of Lovemarks opened up the summit with a highly entertaining and empassioned speech on how the power of mystery, intimacy and sensuality can turn respected brands into respected & loved brands. Kevin stated that marketing needs to get to grips with the attraction economy:
Where engagement, connection, inspirational consumers, intimate gestures dominate;
Where Return on Investment becomes Return on Involvment;
Where consumers lay out what they want, not what brands think they need;
Where imaginative ideas win over a world of procurement;
Where the brand is not a marketer's brand, but the consumer's brand.
Where aTouch (point) is not enough, brands need to embrace.
So far so good.
He referenced a number of brands that should be considered as 'lovemarks' (hence the books!).
He also encouraged all not to accept the incremental, but the transforming idea.
Again, no-one can fault his compelling arguments.
He entertained the audience with some strong ads which he aimed to demonstrate the stength of mystery, the intimacy or the power of the senses in creating Lovemarks.
His premise that TV is going to be the most important medium did lead initially to a little confusion. Most understand TV as entertainment in a box in the corner of the room, whilst marketers see it as a medium that is showing signs of losing its importance with young people. His version of TV is more as an audio visual experience via a screen attached to something (phone, laptop, black box, handheld gaming, or rolled up in your pocket). By just showing lots of TV ads at the conference, it seemed to suggest that the consumer is crying out for more 30 second spots.
However, his last example confirmed his definition of TV as a screen to engage consumers with. This had User Generated Content, connectability, engagement, fun, and lots of love. The Rubbish Film Festival in New Zealand was run by Telecom T3G Mobile, encouraging people to send in the 'most rubbishy film' made on their mobile. Have a look at the winners here
