Today was full of interesting seminars and people…. Along with ice cream and Coke J
First up was the seminar with the company Fiat. Fiat seems to be trying to be a socially and globally conscious company…. Well the heads of advertising were giving the presentation. But 95% of Fiat’s cars run on alternative fuel sources so it can’t be all bad. They stressed the need to listen to the consumer. They have just created a car that was designed based on the suggestions of their client base on the basis that they usually know the problems better than the designers… which is very true! They also wanted to share their brand and have a conversation with their customers through their brand and through the theory of open innovation. I could see this going one of two ways: either people will buy the car and talk it up because they had an input or the car will be very different than the picture they had in their heads and they will not want to actually drive the car. It will be very interesting to try to keep up with how sales of this car go for Fiat.
Up next was one of the star studded seminars with Soledad O’Brien and Martha Stewart on the panel. This panel was about women in advertising, the glass ceiling, etc. Martha discounted the glass ceiling by saying that she never felt it… but she also started her company herself and it took off. She’s had a great run with her company and I hope that she is right about there not being a glass ceiling but almost everyone else on the panel mentioned it so I’m going to have to go with it existing in some form. Apparently I’m going to have to work on my swagger because one, slightly masculine, panelist said that women do not have the same attitude when walking into a room. Well, this I can do put I feel like with good posture and a smile, much can be accomplished as well. The life balance was also mentioned several times. This means that women have to balance work and home life much more than most men do and that the way to success is through collaboration in both work and home lives. (This has been a major theme throughout the festival). One woman stressed the need to have mentors, both male and female, because they will help guide us throughout our careers. I like that she brought in the collaboration aspect on a much more personal level (as far as office life goes) than just working on a team project. There was an Asian women on the panel that didn’t quite go with the rest of the panelists in that she said there is not a glass ceiling in the Asian market and that child can’t isn’t a problem because of their one child policy (this means that 6 adults can take care of the one child)…. Guess I’m going to go try my hand in the Asian market! Haha… not really. It was interesting to hear about the Asian market but I think she would have been better suited on a different panel.
Next up was my favorite seminar of the festival so far. It helped that it contained Robert Redford (sigh) but he truly is an amazing person who I could have listened to for hours on end. He was able to spin every word he said into a story, not just his life history. One story of his life involved Cannes. He was a travelling artist in Europe, whether for jobs or just to travel is unknown, when he was dropped off in Cannes, France, very late at night. He decided that is was too late to try to get a hotel so he went to the beach to sleep by the pier. As he was trying to get comfortable, he looked up and saw people in tuxedos drinking on the balcony on the Carlton Hotel and thought to himself, “I wonder what it’s like to be one of those people.” Sixteen years later, as he was putting on his tuxedo he looked out of his window at the Carlton Hotel at the pier he had slept and wondered under. He had the realization that he was one of those people now. I can only image the little smirk and head shake that accompanied that thought. When asked what kept him going, he replied completely deadpan, “sex.” He waited for our laugher to die down and then went on to say that the risks that life has to offer kept him going and that they helped to keep him fresh. He stressed that in life, risk is a good thing and that we shouldn’t be afraid to be attracted to the offbeat side of life. If he hadn’t followed through with this, the Sundance Film Festival would not exist. Everyone, namely his agent, thought he was crazy for wanting to start a place where people could get away from it all and make their films. When asked what made a good movie, he again replied sex, this time with a smirk. Again having to wait for us to stop laughing, he went on to say that for him a good movie is one that tells a story that was previously unknown and hits you emotionally. I could name a number of Robert Redford films that have hit me that way, but I think that I will just let you think of that one your own. The interviewer then when on to have a fan moment and asked if Redford had a favorite of his movies and did he actually hit the ball in The Natural. In response to the first, Redford gave multiple answers. To keep it short, he said that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was the most fun for him because it involved horses and the country he loved. Apparently the film was originally supposed to be called the Sundance Kid and Butch Cassidy but when they were approached for the jobs, Redford wanted to play the Sundance Kid and Paul Newman wanted to play Butch Cassidy, so they switched. The name changed because whatever character Newman played was going to appear first in the title. And Redford did actually play baseball in The Natural for those of you who were wondering. When asked what was next for advertising, he replied danger and online. Danger is regard to just because a media is invented does not mean that is has to be used and online because even though everything is moving online, the content still needs to be held to a higher standard.
Up next was a meeting with three people from the New York office of Porter Novelli and then a meeting with a man from Fitzgerald & Co located in Atlanta, GA. Each was very encouraging, engaging, and relaxed. They really tried to tell us interesting aspects of their business/companies and answer all of our questions with a refreshingly straightforward perspective.
The Coca-Cola seminar was next on the day’s docket. I know some people loved this seminar and I thought that it was well put together but it also led to some disturbing questions. One of their campaigns that they talked about was focused on teens… shouldn’t we not be trying to get teens to drink more soda during the years that they are growing and developing? They mentioned that they could be found in over 200 countries… some of them the same countries where a Coke is cheaper than fresh water. The campaign was an amazing campaign and very successful but I think that Coca-Cola needs to become more socially responsible and examine what their company is going to stand for because people might call it in to question in the near future. I thought that the presentation was very well put together, everyone who spoke was very eloquent (especially the first speaker), but the chapters during the first part got on my nerves…. And the intense clapping after everything, I didn’t feel that it was necessary.
I then decided to stay for the Angry Birds seminar. Given that I don’t own a smart phone nor have I ever played the game this was pretty much a waste of time. He talked about the game and what they were doing to expand it while protecting its brand integrity. He said to make your brand stand out and pay attention to details… not exactly earth shattering revelations. Oh well, you win some and you lose some.
Overall I had a great day at the festival and learned some interesting things about people, companies and myself.
xoxo
Kitty
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