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SPEAKERS : CYRIL LOUIS & LAURENT THENEVET: “FOLLOW THE MEDIA ARTISTS AND NERDS”
The online self is becoming just as important as the real-world self, and in this merged world where people are increasingly curating what they let into their bubbles, advertising is oftentimes seen as an unwanted guest. The key to opening this door? Culture. And with the digitalisation of the world happening at an exponential pace, perhaps the biggest disruptor of culture is technology.
During yesterday’s seminar, Culture & Technology: Two Worlds Converging into One, Cyril Louis, Executive Creative Director of Publicis Groupe Le Pub Asia Pacific, and Laurent Thevenet, Head of Creative Technology of Publicis Groupe APAC & MEA, discussed how the worlds of culture and technology are shaping and transforming each other.
Technology has influenced every aspect of our lives: how we communicate, access information, stay entertained, interact socially, even how we identify and express ourselves. This has permeated into the real world as well: online identity is real identity. Online fashion has influenced real fashion (see: LOEWE’S pixelated SS23 collection inspired by Minecraft). Even brands have begun to build bridges between online and IRL worlds: just take a look at Nike’s partnership of NFT design studio RTFKT on, amongst other things, a real-world hoodie that can be personalised virtually with designs like angel wings, viewable via AR.
Louis and Thevenet shared that we sometimes get carried away by the rapid currents of creative novelty. “How many times have you heard clients ask for a metaverse idea, or your teams pitch a ChatGPT idea,” asked Thevenet, as he suggests that we lead, rather than follow when it comes to experimenting with innovation. “Even my 10-year-old son experiments with ChatGPT, a technology which, by the way, is already a few years old.”
But with technology moving at a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it speed, where does one even begin? The first tip is to have an “always-on” approach to research and development: always be experimenting and always be playing. Stay curious enough to find that emerging tech edge. Feel like you don’t know what you’re doing? “That’s a good sign you’ve playing on the edge of emerging tech!” exclaimed Louis and Thevenet.
The pair also offered another “cheap tip”: Follow new media artists and "nerds": New media artists are always experimenting for the sake of exploring frontiers, without client constraints. And the “nerds” are always hungering for the latest in emerging technologies and innovative applications of technology.
More importantly, technology itself should never be the idea, rather innovation should always be in service of creativity, informed by culture: if technology is the how, then culture is the why. By embracing and moving in the speed of both forces, maybe, just maybe, will consumers let us through the door.
Emir Shafri, Chief Creative Officer, Publicis Groupe Malaysia
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25 March, 2023
