Speaking about the Grand Prix and Gold winners, jury president Rose Herceg, country president Australia and New Zealand, WPP, said that they were ‘all a measure in the simplicity of data’.
She went on to highlight three insights the jury saw in the winning work. ‘The first is that people can get lost in data. The ones that were awarded were able to cut through the complexity. [Leonardo] da Vinci said it best “Simplicity is the ultimate form of sophistication”. And for that alone, we were awarding entries that were able to cut through and tell a story with data that was frankly quite beautiful, and elegant.’
‘The second insight is to know your audience. So many times, marketers think they know their audience, but they really don't. And this is where the human instinct and the human side of our industry needs to be propelled forward, please know who you're talking about and talking to.
‘The third one is that we did see and hear a lot about AI. For the love of all that is holy, if you were using AI, please be able to explain why you’ve used AI.’
She added what the Grand Prix and Golds all had in common: ‘They did multiple things at once. They fuelled an economy, they opened up a social conversation, they challenged the norms, they changed the law, they changed politics, they actually did several things with one idea.’
Herceg had particular words when it came to purpose: ‘I'm all for work that is worthy, and what changes the planet, and what has purpose and what is good. But I also recognise that unless we are making money for our clients, and with our clients, we won't have an industry in a decade. So for anyone there who is looking at how to weigh up doing good with turning a profit, these things are not mutually exclusive, they can go together, and they can be very healthy bedfellows.’
Speaking to Contagious on the topic of purpose backed by commercial intent, she said: ‘Ambition is not a dirty word, profit and money is not a dirty word. Making money is what fuels an economy, that fuels our industry and fuels our society. You can do it really well, you can make money, but you can do it with kindness, you can do it with purpose, you can do it socially and sustainably. Those things should live together, our world would be better if all of our GDPs around the world were able to deliver money while not destroying the planet or destroying relationships or destroying societies.’
