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SPEAKERS : MALCOLM POYNTON REMINDS ADLAND THAT BRANDS = FEELINGS
As clients compete in a never-ending sales race, advertising has turned to tools like programmatic ads, and yes, artificial intelligence. Yet, amidst these technological advancements and buzzwords, marketing effectiveness has plummeted by 15%. ADFEST 2024 Grand Jury President and Global Chief Creative Officer of Cheil Worldwide, Malcolm Poynton’s, closing keynote, Brands = Feelings, was a rallying cry to return to the heart of advertising: human emotions.
It begs the question: are we sacrificing creativity at the altar of technology? Amidst the clamour over A.I.'s potential to revolutionise marketing, Poynton challenged the industry to pause and reconsider the role of human creativity in giving clients an unfair advantage that’ll help brands connect with people meaningfully.
Delving deeper, Poynton highlighted, “As we race to keep up with the exponential growth of A.I., where debates and demos drop daily, we’ve perhaps missed the most significant scientific discovery in psychology: the profound impact of emotions on decision-making.” While this may seem intuitive to creatives, the implications are staggering. Countless studies, from those by strategic brand consultancies like eatbigfish to marketing effectiveness stalwarts like Peter Field underscored a simple yet powerful truth: to win wallets, brands must first win hearts. Poynton shared, “In fact, brands that resonate emotionally with consumers are a staggering 6.2 times more effective.”
This truth is evident in the most iconic advertising campaigns of our time. Take Dove's Real Beauty Sketches, for instance, a campaign that artificial intelligence wouldn’t have been able to come up with without the creative leaps human intelligence makes. This ground-breaking campaign not only tugged at heartstrings but also drove tangible results. Indeed, across the globe, countless other brands from Nike to Samsung across various channels from TV to social media, have successfully leveraged the power of emotions to not only cultivate brand love but also to drive sales.
In essence, Poynton's message was clear: brands are not just logos or slogans, they are embodiments of human emotion. As he aptly put it, "Brands are not what you think, they are what you feel." And as the applause faded and the audience pondered his words, Poynton left his audience with a poignant hope: that his keynote would not be the end, but the start of a vital conversation. One that transcends buzzwords and algorithms to focus on what truly matters: the human experience.
23 March, 2024
