This week, Tigris’ head office team enjoyed some brilliant advertising ideas at Ad Week events in Toronto.

Officially called “FFWD Advertising and Marketing Week,” this event is Canada’s largest and most diverse annual gathering of advertising, marketing and media leaders. It consists of leadership conferences, galas, awards, and panel presentations. Ad Week was held in Toronto on January 26 through 30th 2015 and showcases advertising ideas from the industry’s best in Canada, while offering a forum to highlight new ideas, future trends, and industry discussions.

The events at Ad Week have been spearheaded by The Institute of Communication Agencies (ICA) and profile the accomplishments of the Canadian communications industry. The Tigris team attended two presentations on Thursday Jan. 29th at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. Through the tips and experiences of industry leaders presenting, we were able to obtain a few pieces of advice for keeping ahead in our business.

The first session that we attended was entitled: “The Power of Fame” – which focused on how brands drive “fame” by creating best in class creative solutions. This session, led by Jennifer Campbell, General Manager of Enterprise Marketing for Canada Post Corporation and Scott Pinkney, VP, Executive Creative Director at Publicis Canada, used case studies to demonstrate how brands have used some very innovative means to drive fame; and in turn create major results for their businesses. Using powerful visual examples of successful brand campaigns, Scott and Jennifer were able to ask the audience to look outside of the box. They suggest that the most successful campaigns push the boundaries; they inspire and evoke emotions, and use multi-channel marketing to stand out and be seen.

One key point that was stressed during the discussion was that ‘disruption’ is a key ingredient. Disruption is the shift from the traditional to the unexpected. When a campaign can break out of the mold and surprise their audience with something sensory, something previously unseen, this is when they’ll reach success!

To illustrate this point, one of the case studies we viewed was a commercial ad campaign for Molson Canadian, where a beer fridge was placed in random locations in various cities around the Europe. The fridge could only be opened by a person who could scan their Canadian passport on the fridge. The advertisement showed crowds of people surrounding the fridge in the various cities calling upon any Canadian citizens, and when one with a passport was found in each location, the beer fridge was successfully opened and the beer shared happily amongst the crowd – of course, all captured on video. This campaign was highly successful in its ability to force people to take notice. The experience of the campaign- having the actual beer fridge show up in a random location, peaked curiousity, encouraged interest and a desire to see what was inside, and when it is known that only a Canadian could share the contents, it’s an emotional response that the audience feels when a Canadian arises from the crowd: pride. Overall the ‘Beer Fridge’ campaign generated over 1.6 million views in a week and quickly made the rounds of social media.

With the various advertising campaigns that we viewed at this seminar, we were urged to use our simple insights and to trust our gut when brainstorming ideas for our next campaign. Jennifer and Scott encourage us to challenge the brands we work with, explore all of the creative avenues available, and try something different for our next marketing initiative.

The next session that we attended was called “Stay Ahead of Your Competition: How the Most Successful in the Advertising Industry Do It.” This session was led by Notable Editor-in-Chief, Eric Wainwright, and included insight from the following industry leaders:
• Caroline Moul, VP Digital & Emerging Media at PHD Network Canada
• Debra Goldblatt-Sadowski, Founder & CEO of rock-it promotions
• Armin Huska, Chief Digital Officer of Mindshare Canada

This panel discussion helped us learn how advertising leaders put themselves ahead of their competition and stay relevant in the industry. Keeping ahead of trends was one of the most important points that was brought up by all of the panelists. They couldn’t stress enough that a forward-view was of utmost importance in an industry of constant change and revival. Armin Huska discussed that each day, one of his methods for success is to read about what worldwide trends and technologies are up and coming. He believes that to be ahead of the curve instead of catching up, it’s crucial to research future certainties. In studying innovations in Europe and the UK he gains an edge over his competitors in North America, many of whom are instead digesting the content of their peers. The most successful brands are those who are reacting in real time-creating an immersive experience for their audience.

The panel suggested that in order to succeed as a leader in marketing, things that you need to do well include:
• Learning faster than the competition: Have the drive to always be the first to know; the person who is ‘in the know’ has the power.
• Implementing faster than the competition: Action in real-time yields the most success. We live in an age of technology that allows for instant connection; we must use this ability to work faster than the competition.
• Be hungry for knowledge, embrace change in a smart and professional way.
• Show commitment: Be the first to arrive, last to leave. This is a life style that will help you get ahead.
• Be good to your staff and clients: Build strong relationships and have fun! Make sure you’re doing something that you love!

As Armin put it bluntly, marketing can be viewed akin to anything else in life: ove it, live it, or change it! These experts are the top leaders of their field, and are sharing their knowledge so that Canadians continue to out-perform and innovate in this industry for years to come.

I hope that our look back at the advertising ideas shared at Ad Week 2015 have inspired you as well to think outside of the box and embrace your brand from a different perspective.

If you have an upcoming event that Tigris could assist you with, we would love to discuss more about how we can help make it a success! Please feel free to visit our event marketing page or give us a call at 647-286-9392 !