Dubai Lynx 2016 Day 2 and 3 were jam-packed with talks surrounding Big Data, Authenticity, Virtual Reality, Interaction, Storytelling and Content. A fruitful learning experience for anyone in Advertising/Marketing, recent trends, future forecasts and instructional talks on how to use data were all presented.
Here’s what you missed at the Dubai Lynx 2016 Festival of Creativity:
1. Why Is Nobody Watching My YouTube Channel?
“There’s a difference between what you want to say versus what people want to watch.”
– Lars Bastholm
Day 2 began with a timely and fitting presentation by Bastholm from Google, answering a question almost every brand is asking: Why isn’t anyone paying attention to our YouTube Channel?
Among the many elements that contribute to the success of popular YouTubers, Bastholm highlighted the importance of:
- Frequency of uploads: YouTubers tend to upload thrice as frequently as brands.
- Authenticity and consistency: Using repeatable and familiar formats like James Corden’s ‘Carpool Karaoke’ format.
- Collaboration: To mobilize native audiences, the right personalities need to be chosen for brands [with common audiences].
Don’t miss our exclusive chat about: How Lars Bastholm Gets Over Creative Blocks
2. Learning Through Play
“Always think about the interactive element.”
– Dave Armstrong, Google
Reminding us how we used to understand the world around us as children, Armstrong noted that people are more likely to understand your brand if they’re engaged with it in a fun and free format.
Virtual reality acts as a propeller of this ‘Play’ notion where you can place people on stage during a concert at Carnegie Hall, show them historical landmarks [Like Petra], let them experience products like Volvo XC90 or even evoke empathy by virtually placing them inside the reality of a refugee camp.
He put it quite well: “The act of doing can help understanding,”
Find out: How Google’s Dave Armstrong Tests Good Ideas | Dubai Lynx
3. Beyond Social Media
“We need to empower people socially instead of feeding their egos.”
– David Mastronardi
Mastronardi from Cheil Worldwide was an unstoppable force through his futuristic talk and we were in awe. Looking beyond what others poured over, he touched upon the ‘social media’ of 2026 in 12 concise points.
Among the most interesting, he speculated that social media as we know it will be a thing of the past and will pace forward as snackable, connective, empowering, Chinese and even subcutaneous.
Prompting brands to get with the future, and adopt a holistic approach, going beyond generic brand promises and ideals, he said “Microsites, apps and hashtags will be the tombstones of past campaigns.”
4. How to Love Advertising Again
“Before social media, it wasn’t easy – your work had to be even better to ‘share’ – you had to read something, remember it and then verbally share the idea.”
– Susan Credle, FCB
Susan’s talk encouraged advertisers to create things that they had imbued with value, solving problems, renewed with purpose. Going back to Gossner’s quotes from the 50’s, she talked about the power of storytelling and how to do it right.
We enjoyed this analogy she presented for brands and audiences:
If my neighbor Carol ran into me while I was leaving for work in the morning, we’d say ‘Hi, good morning,’ after which she jumps into the elevator with me and asks ‘How’s it going?’, and I reply ‘It’s good.’ We step outside the building together and Carol says ‘I like your skirt,’ and I says ‘Thank you,’ then stands in queue behind me at the coffee shop and exclaims ‘I can’t believe we like the same coffee!’
She argued that she would like Carol more if they were to meet and have a deep meaningful conversation over tea, as opposed to Carol following her around with little bits of conversation.
Unmissable: Criteo: Glimpse At The Strategy Of The World’s Leading Digital Advertisers
5. Rio 2016 Olympic & Paralympic Games: The Most Challenging and Complex Visual Identity in the World
“Understand that emotion is the most powerful bonding ingredient.”
– Fred Gelli, Tatil Designs
[Arguably the most popular talk from this year’s edition]
Inspiring and unique, Gelli gave us a peek into the inner workings of his agency and their ‘bio mimicry’ design approach. He began the presentation with a wacky seeds idea.
You know how certain seed stick to your clothes? He wanted to use those to spread the message of an environmental group, where people hug each other and the seeds disperse, like in nature.
From then on, everyone was in rapture as he explained the complex challenges and competition they had to create an Olympics logo for 2016 – a logo that was received 93% positively, alike by locals, athletes and the international community.
His secret? Maximize simplicity, the fine tuning of body and soul [brand, audience and idea] and considering the life cycle of the campaign and medium.
Did you attend Dubai Lynx 2016? Share what you thought of the sessions in the comments below.
Read it if you missed it: Dubai Lynx 2016 Day 1: Robots & VR