Jamie Turner, Director of Consumer Insight for BKV, opened the event by stating that although human behavior has not changed much over hundreds of years, marketing has changed drastically within the last 10-20 years. Are we keeping up? Jamie noted that humans buy for emotional reasons but justify through rational explanations. As brand developers it is our responsibility to create and nurture these emotional connections that drive sales. In the ever evolving digital world it is important to recognize that customers don’t differentiate brands where they encounter them, and as Jamie so eloquently put it, “if you don’t guide the perception of your brand, it will guide you”. His advice was to make sure your web strategy was more than just a website, that it should exist as a hub across all digital platforms.

I listened to Chris Hill of Hill Group Design talk about creative’s role in marketing and I really appreciated his point on design firms that have a certain style. A good designer’s work and therefore a firm’s style should not be recognizable because good design should represent the client’s brand and not the designer’s vision. I agree but realize that as a creative director this is something that requires constant effort to achieve. It is important to put your client’s needs, and their audience, above your own taste. .. i.e. there is no place for ego in an effective campaign…  confidence, yes.. expertise, yes.. but ego and personal opinion, no.

Chris also had a slide with my favorite quote of the day. “You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation” – Plato. I love how this translates to our relationships with our clients as well as our client’s relationships with their audience. Something we should remember as we work to build better relationships and therefore build better brands.

I look forward to next year’s event.