Talking about Change @ Food For Thought

May 8th, 2008 - posted by Chris

Good afternoon from day two of Food for Thought. After several hours of digesting the creative process, a few laps and a dozen high speed s-curves here on the BMW Performance Center race track should successfully balance the morning’s cerebral with the afternoon’s centrifugal.

The morning began with a look at an Apple ad from the mid ’90s. The truncated version of that message: It’s the “crazy” people who dare to change the world. Those who alter the course of technology, transportation, education or the social order are considered heroic by some and vilified by others, but they’re never ignored. In advertising, being ignored is death.

This Food For Thought version of “everybody into the pool” began an intense inquiry into the art of connecting at an inspirational level. Here are some of today’s most interesting questions and opinions:

• Is media the new creative or is data the new creative? Or is it neither? Perhaps it’s the creative which acknowledges the data.
• The new focus group is the web. The reliance on survey-based insight is over.
• The single biggest challenge facing marketers is getting clients to embrace and be comfortable with change, that is, new ideas.
• We are an on-demand nation. Today’s marketing is about one to one conversations and social media is how we get there.
• There are no places left to hide disingenuous communication. The triangulation between the press, friends and family and advertising demand authentic, true stories.
• In today’s environment of “hot today, old tomorrow” technology, how do you know which widget to put your trust and money into? Answer: Don’t chase the technology, chase the behavior.
• Is the whole notion of influencers overstated? The answer may be that it depends on the context, not on the person. “Genuine-ness” is the new key to being influential.

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Lots to chew on at Food For Thought kick off

May 7th, 2008 - posted by Chris

Want to know how far Greenville, South Carolina’s come as a recognized hub of creative convergence? A rabid sports fan, living in the city of Boston, gives up Celtics playoff tickets (that’s Celtics basketball, the real sports dynasty - sorry Yankee fans) with seats in the NBA box - to travel to our great corner of the world to open the first annual “convention of unconventional creativity,” otherwise known as Food For Thought.

That fan happened to be Dr. Rosabeth Kanter of the Harvard Business School. Dr. Kanter, recognized as one of the top 50 intellectuals in the world, put the wedge in Greenville’s creative glass ceiling several years ago when she professed to her cadre of national and international thought leaders and change agents that the Upstate was a legitimate and emerging center of economic innovation. And nothing’s been the same since.

Framed by the historic walls of the Wyche Pavilion alongside the Reedy River, Dr. Kanter spoke eloquently - and without notes - about what makes, and marks, people and organizations as winners or as losers. Her thoughts fairly demand a dynamic and interactive discussion as we look to think differently and imagine the possibilities:

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EP Spot Named Finalist in Prestigious Radio Competition

May 2nd, 2008 - posted by Barry

A radio commercial developed by Erwin-Penland to promote responsible drinking at Clemson University has been named a finalist in the Radio-Mercury Awards, the premier competition for radio creative.

“Tara” is a 60-second spot in which a college student, who’s obviously overindulged, leaves an answering machine message for her more sober self. Making plans for the weekend, Tara breathlessly describes a wide range of destructive behaviors that can result from drinking too much before an announcer delivers the closing line: “Control your drinking. Control your other you.”

The commercial is part of a comprehensive campaign to reduce overconsumption within the Clemson University community. Erwin-Penland donated its creative time, while Clemson paid for recording the spots and airing them on local radio stations.

The list of finalists competing for more than $160,000 in prizes in this year’s Radio-Mercury Awards reads like a who’s who of top creative shops, including Crispin Porter + Bogusky, TBWA/Chiat/Day, GSD&M, The Richards Group and Wongdoody. EP’s spot is competing in the Public Service Announcement category, where the winning agency will receive a $2,500 donation to the charity of its choice.

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