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The Campaign team had the pleasure of attending the recent MAD//Fest London for the first time, and we all came away with fresh ideas, inspiration, and a sense of excitement of what’s to come. All of the talks had something in common - to stay culturally relevant and remember the power of connection.
We heard panels talk about creativity in B2B and the power of humour, so here’s a round-up of some of the sessions that left us feeling inspired.
PR is boring. Stop it!
This was a wake-up call that B2B PR doesn’t have to be boring - we don’t need to play it safe and it can be so much more than a press release. Whilst B2B audiences are smaller it means that quality of coverage is more important than quantity.
The Q&A that followed reminded smaller agencies and start-ups to not underestimate the power of social media for building contact databases for journalists. It reminded us that on platforms like LinkedIn, company pages are useful but people build relationships, and so individual’s pages will always perform better for this.
Memes and the art of not being cringe
Theo Garcia, Co-Founder of Solo Coffee had us in stitches with his honest and hilarious talk about using memes, without being cringe. Memes are powerful if they are relevant and self aware.
Some other takeaways from this session were to not try to start the conversation, instead join one that’s already happening. Brands can benefit from focusing on entertaining rather than selling, and to also focus on relatable (and niche) humour to build a good relationship with the audience.
Basically, be funny but don’t try too hard.
Not stunts, but statements with IKEA
Values are promises - and delivering them makes a difference. That was the mantra of the IKEA talk at the Hexagon Stage. The brand’s newest campaign wasn’t about being big and flashy but one that reinforced the brand affinity, whilst championing real stories and showing experiences that resonate with their diverse audience.
Creativi-tea in consistency
If PG Tips is a heritage brand, they’re using this to their advantage with the power of nostalgia, bringing back the iconic PG Tips monkey. In fact, we were even told that studies show that nostalgia has been proven to reduce stress.
‘Consistency doesn’t have to be boring’, and sometimes an old but reliable brand can keep it fresh but not boring.
Building brands through community
Lululemon’s talk was a great reminder of something we understand the value of - authentic engagement. They encouraged brands and agencies to get real feedback from ambassadors and fans, and be open to any criticism because that’s how improvement happens.
Find what your community is all about and hone in on those areas.
The power of unexpected partnerships
The appearance of Mummy Pig and Baby Evie was a pleasant surprise - as was Battersea Power Station lighting up to reveal the sex of the new baby pig…and the front page Hello! pregnancy photoshoot.
These unexpected partnerships really made a splash - they were culturally relevant and were a hit for a wider audience than ever imagined.
The takeaways
Though the talks spanned different industries and themes, they were all similar in the fact that they encourage boldness. To be brave and bold with a campaign - to have a purpose and go for it. PR is ever-evolving and as an agency within the industry it’s essential to keep up with how people are consuming content.
We all came back from MAD//Fest London excited to take these lessons forward - finding the fun, relevance, boldness, and bringing the unexpected angle to the stories we tell.
