#plusnet

Huge amounts of data [54m pieces of data per day], processed by complex algorithms powered by machine learning and AI. Pretty complex stuff. I think that brilliance lies in harvesting this and turning it into a simple, clear action.

It was good to see the speakers pull in some real world examples rather than try and blow our minds with the theory of all this stuff. PepsiCo have used social prediction to implement a number of business changes – one of those being across their Walkers Sensations product line. By taking the data and making long term predictions [i.e. what will happen in 6 months] they were able to forecast certain ingredients becoming more popular and then produce a new range of flavours to take advantage of this future demand. A new range that is performing really well. Pretty impressive stuff.

They also touched on how Black Swan as a company have developed a charity arm [named White Swan] which is using the same technology to help better diagnose people with currently undiagnosed conditions – helping the medical profession to treat people better and ultimately save lives.

As with other presentations this week, the most powerful opportunities come from the combination of humans and machines. We should be focusing on how these relationships can be strengthened rather than fearing for our jobs!

I then went for some creative inspiration at Google’s What Creativity Can Do session. This was all about how the creative teams at Google have helped to deliver some truly inspiring and socially impactful products, services and work and helped to change people’s lives. Whether that’s partnerships with UNICEF, helping to rebuild countries like Greece after the economic collapse through digital training for people or an app that helps refugees when they first land in a new country. These things all came from the creative teams rather from the strategy or product innovation or leadership teams.

We can’t all do things on the same scale as Google clearly but we should all remember how powerful creativity can be and use it to do more. It’s certainly something I’m going to spend a lot more time thinking about.

I then listened to a great panel on Embracing the Future with some big hitters from the world of media, publishing and brand. It was great to hear the thoughts of WPP, Google, The New York Times and GSK about some of the big challenges and opportunities in the industry.

The last session I went to was about the Nike Breaking2 project. If you’ve not heard about it then you can find out a bit more in this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkhtgbBr-cY

I was interested in this more from a people point of view and how the whole project was around pushing the boundaries of what is or isn’t possible. This is a great mind set to have – and whilst I’m clearly not going to attempt to run a marathon in 2 hours – these type of ‘moon shot’ projects so inspire people to do strive to do more. Originally a small idea with limited support at Nike, the team behind it got the support of one passionate senior leader to support it and then they took a big risk and made it happen. He was so bought into the idea that he even got his hand tattooed!

How much could you achieve if we strive for something seemingly beyond reach?    

They partnered with YouTube to target customers on other networks to show how much their data was costing as they were streaming on 4G turning YouTube's most popular downloads in to 6 second pre-rolls. The innovative targeting, use of data and impactful creative tripled online searches for Xfinity Mobile. I think we can take this approach and flip it round for our existing customers to illustrate how much they get with a Plusnet Mobile package - building on a campaign the customer engagement team are working on already. You can see the film here with more details here - you’ll need to sign up:

 https://www.lovethework.com/campaigns/392153

I also met one of my idols, Johnny Marr. Who knew all those years ago in my angst ridden teens Iistening to The Smiths that years later I would be having a selfie with him. Selfies weren't even invented then. It was really interesting to hear about his connections and chance encounters which have taken him in different directions including working on the sound track for the film Inception. He kept returning to his work ethic- it's not easy to write amazing songs apparently (although he did write This Charming Man in 15 mins in between doing his homework!!) and he mentioned one of David Hockney's favourite quotes that he refers back:

“Inspiration is a guest that does not willingly visit the lazy.”

I'll leave it on that note.

I went to listen to Conan O’Brien and Shaquille O’Neill talk about personal brand and entrepreneurship. This was a pretty funny session as both of these guys are naturally very entertaining. They talked about some of the different work they’ve been doing and what was important to them. The big take out here was around authenticity. It’s all about choosing the right partnerships and being true to yourself. They talked about partnerships they’d never do [who knew Shaq hates Spam so much!] and how you’ve got to move with the times and the technology. They also both spoke about creating content for different platforms rather than just playing out a TV ad across every channel. This is something we are trying to do more and more of at Plusnet.

I then dived across The Palais to hear Ari Weiss [CCO of DDB North America] and Rankin Carroll [President Fruity Confections Mars Wrigley – yes, that’s his real job title!] talk about their crazy Super Bowl ad from earlier this year. Chaired by David Schwimmer [who featured in the ads] it was a really interesting look at a unique piece of work.

In a nutshell, Skittles made an advert for one single super-fan and played it to him during the Super Bowl. Exclusive the Rainbow. They got tonnes of coverage and also avoided having to actually buy an ad slot for millions of dollars. They even had his mum and best friend in the advert. You can see some of the teaser ads on the video at the end of this post.

There were two massive learnings for me and, albeit on slightly different budget levels, some great similarities with how we try and work at Plusnet. Firstly, whilst clearly a pretty impressive ‘stunt’ the creative was the result of clear business need and insight. Skittles [and the rest of the category] sold the most in the four week run up to the game. During the game was too late and they needed to engage earlier. They took this insight and ran with it and that turned into this  great, disruptive campaign.

The second was that this was about being super smart and super creative. How could they get massive reach and engage the right audience without spending millions and millions on media. How do you make the creative so strong, unique or interesting that it works harder for you. Given our low share of voice this is something that we constantly have to do in order to take the fight to the bigger competitors.

I then continued the celebrity presenter theme and went to hear Edith Bowman quiz Johnny Marr on his life and career. I’ll let Jane cover this off later [and post her selfie with the man himself!]