Robots, effective storytelling and digital marketing for day 2 of Spikes Asia

SINGAPORE – Half-way through Spikes Asia 2015, the delegates gathered again at the Suntec Exhibition and Convention Centre to witness a powerful line up of creative and inspiring seminars by Google, Twitter, and BBC Channel among others.

The shortlists for Branded Content and Entertainment, Digital, Film, Film Craft, Mobile, Print and Poster Craft, and Radio were also announced today. Along with the other categories, the winners will be revealed during the awards ceremony at Ritz Carlton tomorrow.

Here are some of the highlights from today’s talks:

The day started with a talk about how whisky brand Johnnie Walker promotes regional contemporary art with the art of blending. He presented ‘Keep Walking’, a multi-sensory art exhibition held at Johnnie Walker house in Beijing.

“It’s important to let go and let other people tell your story for you instead of telling it yourself.” –Lawrence Law, Global General Manager, Johnnie Walker House.

A discussion on how brands should properly make use of digital strategies by McCann Worldgroup Asia Pacific’s Head of Digital Patrick Rona followed. It’s ultimately by being genuine and knowing what the consumers need.

Following a talk about optimizing digital strategies is how to stay creative amid all the technology and data available for agencies to make use of. “Data allows us to create meaningful connections in a much smarter way. Data ultimately makes creativity better.”

Apart from this, Havas Worldwide Global CEO Andrew Benett also shared how their agency supports their people in pursuing their passion outside of work.

Gordon Bowen of mcgarrybowen debuted its Icons in Action series by bringing over Christina Hendricks or as most people in the hall knew her, “Joan” from the TV series Mad Men. Christina talked about her experience in starring in an advertising-themed show which gave her a newfound appreciation for the industry that according to her is often taken for granted. She has also learned a lot from the show, lessons that she was also able to apply as an endorser, “[Before accepting an endorsement], I like know a lot about the brand, being educated about it.”

The makers of a lot of robots (Pepper and Matsuko) we know today, Dentsu Inc. Tokyo, also took the stage to talk about some of its projects that exemplify creativity in the pre-singularity age. This includes some virtual reality projects like the Sound of Honda and Reviving Legends.

“Only human creativity can create new innovations.” –Yas Sasaki, ECD of Dentsu, Inc.

Over at Google, they have an initiative called ‘Art, Copy & Code’ which pairs leading brands and agencies with a team of developers and creatives to come up with digital marketing strategies. To effectively carry out any project, they follow a three-step process. Mike Glaser, Senior Manager, Google Creative Partnerships shares this:

Focusing on two of the most critical issues in the industry, four leading industry names, Lucy Hockings, presenter at BBC World News, Merlee Jayme, Chairmom at DM9 JaymeSyfu, McCann Global Chief Strategy Officer Suzanne Powers, and BBDO India Chief Creative Officer and winner of first ever Glass Lion grand prix Josy Paul, got together to discuss how address the problems surrounding gender and diversity–how can agencies promote equality in the workplace? Along with brands, how can make use of their creative campaigns not just to sell products but to promote awareness? Listen to what Josy has to say about it:

Twitter is one powerful tool that brands can use to sell their products but according to Steve Kalifowitz, Twitter’s Head of Brand Strategy, Asia Pacific, it’s not always about the amount of tweets you post or the number of times you become a trending topic. It’s about knowing your audience and strategically using Twitter’s data to reach them.