THE CHANGE MAKERSFFWD Advertising & Marketing Week January 27-31, 2014www.icacanada.ca

T O P TA K E A W AY S

With a focus on innovative social marketing and public service campaigns,

The Advertising Review Board hosted The Change Makers conference-within-a-conference with a sold-out crowd getting

a snapshot of the latest and greatest, along with a warm visit from one beloved

astronaut. Some highlights:

The Institute of Communication Agencies (ICA) has spearheaded Advertising & Marketing Week since 2009 along with its member agencies, partner organizations and the media.

WE MUST COMPETE WITH POPULAR CULTURE FOR CONTENT

According to AOL’s David Shing the best way to do this is to jump on news. The arrival of Kate and Wills’ first born produced a landslide of brands aligning themselves with the happy event, many, like Oreo’s were shareable and conversation starters themselves. Shing remind-ed us that we need to be curators of conversation, not content.

IT’S ALL ABOUT ATTENTION

Long-form content is where engagement is at, Shing says. With media overload (1,900 messages per day on average) and app fatigue, brand utility is essential. There are lots of ways to do this: evergreen publishing (re-publishing) and video (90% are video freaks), for sure, but advocacy rather than awareness is what we should seek and mobile is the best route to get there.

WE’RE IN AN AGE OF CONTEXT OR INTEREST

Subtle or blatant brand identification? The consumer doesn’t care. What matters is the story and the conversation that sur-rounds it. Ecosystem marketing, screens working together, will fuel the conversation.

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DAVID SHINGDigital Prophet - AOL

“This is the world we’re moving in”

FOCUS ON DIGITAL NATIVES

Regardless of your target, digital natives push out content so give them an experience and a story wrapped around it and it will fly. Adidas’s photo shoot with London soccer fans in advance of the Olympics included a surprise visit from David Beckham. Because in the end, photos – (especially of food and pets, says Shing) -- are the most shareable, conversation-en-abling content out there.

CELEBRITY ALWAYS HAS AND ALWAYS WILL SELL

Again, Becks…and we were also reminded that even our homegrown (and humble) Canadi-an-style celebrity works. The Honourable David Johnston, our Governor General-turned-so-cial-marketer is behind My Giving Moment, a campaign to mobilize Canadians to perform – and share – acts of generosity that has resulted in 750M impressions. But perhaps the best example came in our keynote treat delivered by astronaut and game-changer Colonel Chris Hadfield who rallied 700,000 school children in a mass vocal performance from his extrater-restrial launch and immortalized Bowie in a gravity-defying tribute. The result? A new gener-ation across Canada and around the world that believes that there are no limits to what we can accomplish if we set our minds to it.

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COLONEL CHRIS HADFIELDAstronaut / Former Commander of theInternational Space Station

“Space Oddity”20,924,364 views

CAPITALIZE ON THE COLLECTIVE

Manifest’s Andrea Donlon and Jim Diorio’s expe-rience with My Giving Moment showed the pow-er of partnership. A little nationalist fervor and a universally adaptable idea can bring unlikely bedfellows (like competing big banks) together in shared purpose.

DON’T FORGET TO HAVE FUN

Social change doesn’t have to be dour. In fact, it might not even work anymore. Tony Foleno from the US non-profit Ad Council pointed out that tonality really matters in the social space. Even the iconic Smokey Bear has evolved from his admonishing roots into a kinder, more cuddly mascot for forest fire prevention. But his favourite came from a campaign to promote Foster Care that avoided the typical sad stories of children waiting desperately for adoption. Instead, the multi-media campaign focused on the reservations of prospective parents, playfully pointing out that perfection is not in the job description – a powerful insight that emerged from their initial research.

EVALUATION MATTERS. A LOT.

Foleno reminded us that when it comes to good purpose our job is not to win awards. We all need to do more to assess our impact objectively and honestly. Only this way can we get better at mak-ing change happen.

Contact Julia Howell, 416-364-0797 x 204Julia@corktownseedco.com

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“Take The Stage” campaign

“Smokey Bear Hug” campaign

“Foster Care” campaign