Zeitgeist 2011 - Branding in the Digital Era

Last week I was at Zeitgeist 2011 which was truly an amazing gathering of great minds. It was so impressive to see 400 world leaders gathered in one room, and to be a part of it was phenomenal. Speakers included Stephen Hawking, Martha Lane Fox, Maurice Levy, Rory Sutherland, and many, many more.

You can check out the event including videos of keynotes and panels here: http://www.youtube.com/user/zeitgeistminds.

I found the panel discussion called 'Building and Managing Brands' extremely relevant to the CCI courses and the work that most of us want to do. Maurice Levy, CEO of Publicis Groupe and Angela Ahrendts, CEO of Burberry, discussed their branding strategies with special attention to the digital movement in advertising and promoting a brand.

Below is the moderator briefing that I created for the panel, which gives a good overall background to the careers of these two industry giants, and I think gives us some insight into how to brand in the current digital climate.

Maurice Lévy, Chairman & CEO, Publicis Groupe

Maurice has said ‘I think that sharing is probably one of the most important words in the world of business’ (CNN Interview 2005) Given the last 6 years in the digital world, with issues of copyright infringement and file sharing, how does he think that word has taken on new meaning in terms of branding?

He invested in Digital early on, earlier than any of the other big agencies by purchasing Digitas in 2006 and Razorfish in 2009. Then gained Microsoft as a client last month. Many people said the effects of the digital revolution and recession would kill paid-for advertising but instead, it has driven growth. Competitors at Omnicom have lagged but still made close profits. Why is this? What about the digital revolution makes branding more or less successful in his eyes? What drove him to invest so much in digital so early on?

In interviews, he has touched upon the issue of advertising and branding via social media, saying he doesn’t think it will be as successful as expected, but has not explained in detail. Does he still feel this way? If not social media, what does he think will be the next big step in branding via digital platforms?

Angela Ahrendts, CEO, Burberry

Comes from rural Indiana in the US and has spoken a lot about her roots, coming from a small town, etc. Now, as the CEO of a major fashion company, how does she think the digital revolution has helped to strengthen brands in more rural areas that may be considered ‘off the map’? Has digital infrastructure allowed Burberry and other fashion brands to reach a broader geographical audience?

She has led Burberry to be at the forefront of technological innovation, ahead of all of the competitors, in one instance simulcasting fashion shows in 3D (a fashion first) in NY, LA, Tokyo, Dubai and Paris with the ability for viewers at home to stream over the internet and post comments in real time. What impact do these cutting edge technologies have on the ability for branding in the fashion world?

She has taken great steps to modernize the brand through social networking and mediated outreach to a younger audience (facebook campaigns, twitter and other social sites). In forming youthful online communities around the brand, is there a fear of ostracizing the older, more traditional clientele that may not be as digitally savvy?

Zeitgeist 2011 is Upon Us!!

This week I'd like to give a brief overview of exactly what I've been working on for the past month, since I've mentioned Zeitgeist in previous posts but not had the chance to explain in detail.

Zeitgeist is one of Google's biggest events, held each year in the US and in Europe with keynote speakers and panels over a two-day time period. The term Zeitgiest is outlined as "the defining spirit or mood of a particular period of history as shown by the ideas and beliefs of the time". As such, 'Google invites you to hear perspectives on global issues from the leading thinkers of our time - from business leaders to statespeople, renowned writers and bloggers, professors and publishers, inventors and humanitarians, activists and musicians. Explore the ideas and phenomena that affect our social, economic, political and cultural surroundings. Learn from leading innovators and discuss topics that influence the global economy, creativity, digital technology, leadership and human rights. Join the debate, contemplate the views which shape our world, and most importantly, be part of the Zeitgeist.'

The sheer scale of this event is enormous, with everything from production to speaker management taking nearly an entire year's worth of planning and execution. I have been working on speaker research for each panel discussion for briefing calls with the moderators. For example, finding that the two people on the Branding Panel are known for their digitally savvy marketing campaigns and suggesting some questions on that topic. I have also organized the on-site briefing documents for each speaker and the on-site speaker management schedule, which I will help to implement with my team making sure each speaker is prepped, mic'd and que'd promptly.

Although I've only come on to the project in the final stages, the team has been very inclusive and have given me real, tangible projects to contribute to the overall event which takes place next week.

You're Only as Good as Your Last Job

This week I've had the chance to actually speak with people on the events team - have lunch with them in small groups and get some background on their experience and expertise. Its come to my attention that several of the team members are contractors and are not official employees of Google. They are freelance event producers who have a short-term, project-based contract with Google. They use our office space and facilites and have Google email accounts, but cannot attend special meetings that discuss sensitive, private information.

In having a conversation with one team member, I couldn't help but think back to Helen Blair's paper "You're Only As Good As Your Last Job", which focuses on the film industry and the flexible specialization framework to explain recent changes in corporate and market structures in the CCIs. This particular freelancer had been brought onto the events team in May of 2010 to work on our Zeitgeist event for 4 weeks. She was then asked to stay another 4 weeks to work on a different marketing project. This cycle continued for 4 months until they no longer needed her on projects. She took some time off to travel and then was called back for work on Zeitgeist 2011 for 4 weeks. She has currently been at the company for 8 weeks and has no clear distinction of her next project or if/when employment will be terminated (Blair, 2001).

This is a constant theme in the CCIs today where an employee is only as good as the last job they did, the portfolio they've created over time and the network they've made for themselves. It is very individualized and responsibility lies mainly with the employee and not the employer to guarantee work. To quote Blair's article, "People need to continually resecure work and maintain positions within groups and contacts" (2001).