StratFest 2024 – Key Takeaways
We’re living in an incredibly exciting era of marketing. The advertising landscape, in particular, is evolving at a pace never seen before, shaped by technological advancements, shifting consumer behaviors and the increasing convergence of communications methods and skillsets. At this year’s 4A’s StratFest event in New York, I joined fellow planners and strategists to share ideas for how to navigate through growth and change. This year’s conference theme was ‘Lingua Franca’ or ‘bridge language’ and central topics covered by leaders all laddered back to the importance of a shared language. Here are my big takeaways from the event:
Words Matter
We need to develop a new dictionary. Because common industry words like “brand,” “idea,” or “insight” can have varied meanings, even within a single agency, depending upon backgrounds and expertise. Developing a shared vocabulary and aligning on the definitions of selected words will foster better communication and collaboration while simultaneously increasing efficiency. If implemented, we can set a clearer foundation for client relationships.
Revisit Fundamentals With Core Principles
We need to reconnect with the core principles of advertising to elevate the effectiveness of our content and campaigns. During a session I attended, Fergus O’Carrol, host of On Strategy Showcase, estimated that 65% of advertising work falls short on quality. From his perspective, an ad can have high production value but if it’s not engaging and exciting it isn’t effective. He emphasized key principles to revisit and prioritize, such as increasing collaboration between strategists, balancing brand and performance, reflecting genuine customer insights and blending human intelligence with AI.
Embrace AI … and a human touch
AI is here to stay. Used well, it amplifies our work, not replaces it. AI adds new tools to our arsenal, expanding capabilities and creating efficiency across teams. Paired with collaborative insight, human creativity and innovation, AI can create opportunities to develop work we’ve never imagined before. As speaker Juie Shah from DDB Chicago said, “befriend AI, master it even but lean in even more to your humanity and make partnership [between internal teams] your superpower…”
Foster True Collaboration
Strategists and creatives should cultivate collaboration, working together in a more impactful way. Currently, the relationship between strategists and creatives often feels like a relay race, with each team working in isolation before passing their portion of the work off to the next team. David Suarez, Co-CCO at Bandits & Friends, proposed a new model: “Group Run,” in which strategists and creatives work together from the start. This integrated approach can reduce friction and increase integration, resulting in more effective, cohesive work.
StratFest 2024 reinforced the need for clear communication, a stronger partnership between strategists and creatives and a forward-thinking approach to technology to tackle this ever-evolving landscape. As we head into 2025, I look forward to implementing this idea of finding a shared language, internally and externally, to create exciting and impactful work for our clients.
