Eurobest 2014 / Final Thoughts
Eurobest was an inspiring and eye-opening experience. My mind was blown away by an avalanche of awesome work and even more awesome people.
Having full access to industry heroes and spending time around such great minds changed my perspective and gave me a richer understanding of the (digital) creative process.
By the time Eurobest ended I felt energised, full of ideas and with a will to change lots of things.
7 IMPORTANT THINGS I LEARNED.
Aim tight to get wide. Talk to someone particular. Go after the outliers, the edges, the fanatics. Target smaller interest-based segments, instead of the over-general traditional demographics. Give them something they really crave for.
Focus. Make clear impact by communicating only ONE thing at a time. Choose ONE emotion and be clear about it. Simpler stories, told well, and the decline of the over-engineered.
Take advantage of the anomaly. Embrace and celebrate the new normal, the new behaviors, the new racial, social, cultural and sexual norms. Exaggerate to prove your point.
Stand for something and give power to your customers. The brand space is stuffed with stories. Occupying neutral ground means a slow drift into obscurity. You need to find a unique territory for your brand. Manifesto brands are mapping the new territory. Usefulness + Brand Purpose = Authenticity.
Build stories relevant to your brand’s purpose and territory (most of the times based on real world or customer stories) and give them visibility in a creative way. Claim them with traditional advertising, and then continue the big story online, where it’s free. Great content is not enough, you need multilevel storytelling.
Create your own media. Create a new space, your space, don’t just buy other people’s space. Claim your own “earned media” space. Remember that everything between a brand and a consumer is media.
When campaigns burn, you have to put petrol on the fire. Use the success to reinvest in technology, PR, localization and media to help the viral to grow even after it spread by itself.
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3 THINGS AGENCIES NEED TO CHANGE.
Work closely with your clients and spend time learning the actual business.
Prepare for a new world of products and brands being born inside the agency.
Agencies have to start scouting for writers, directors, comics, character designers, storytellers…
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3 THINGS I WILL CHANGE.
Less Talking, more PROTOTYPING.
In an increasingly more digital world, be more ANALOGUE. Try not to get distracted by email, phones, meetings or account people.
Practice presenting ideas in only ONE SENTENCE, without commas. And always remember that your presentation is going to be represented to someone else.
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What I Learned at EUROBEST.
from
Filipe Macedo
