Episode three of PHD’s Creativity Unwrapped podcast explores how to role of technology can drive creativity; how the industry is grappling with the early days of the metaverse; and perspectives on how technology connects us all.
“We are often asked questions from our clients on the metaverse, and our advice is to test and learn. New roles will be created within agencies that focuses on skills relating to the metaverse, whether that be Web3 designers or Web3 creatives, talent who can really immerse themselves and help our clients navigate this new web,” says Philippa Brown, Worldwide CEO at PHD.
The metaverse, described by Contagious as the ‘betaverse’, is explored in detail in ‘Technology and Creativity,’ the third episode of Creativity Unwrapped, a PHD podcast series exploring the role of creativity in marketing.
In this 30-minute episode, PHD CMO Chris Stephenson hears from industry leaders as they share their views on how creativity and technology work together.
Guests include Paul Kemp-Robertson Co-Founder of Contagious; Philippa Brown, CEO at PHD Worldwide; Tiina Salzberg, CSO at 180 Amsterdam; and Kate Osborne Global Business Lead at Omnicom Media Group (OMG), who explore how technology and creativity shone through at this year’s Cannes Lions Festival and scored Grand Prixes with the judges.
Key campaign examples include:
“Back up Ukraine” by Vice Media
This campaign asked volunteers in Ukraine to use an app to scan objects in the country. The scans were then turned into 3D models and uploaded onto the cloud, where they were backed up far away from the conflict zone. This tool was designed to protect Ukraine’s cultural heritage (statues, buildings, everyday objects etc.), and to support the national spirit. Each scan served as a tiny act of resistance against aggression, so anyone on the ground could save a little piece of their country’s culture.
“It’s impossible not to love this,” says Kate Osborne, Global Business Lead at OMG. “There’s much conversation around the metaverse and Web3 and the amount people are paying for assets in the digital world; yet when you see a campaign like this that is so intrinsic, it shows that you can create something of real value that lives virtually and proves its importance.”
“I will always be me” by Dell Technologies and Intel
Dell Technologies and Intel, in partnership with the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MND), launched an innovative platform that could change the lives of people living with motor neurone disease, a neurodegenerative condition that causes people to lose the ability to speak.
‘I Will Always Be Me’ is a unique book-reading experience that banks a person’s voice so that they never lose it. The audiobook is written like a letter from the person diagnosed with MND to their loved ones, explaining that despite what may change about their appearance or abilities, they will always be the same person on the inside.
The campaign let users access voice-logging technology to record the voice of the person reading the book, containing every sound necessary to create a unique digital voice.
Emily van Lierop, Global and Digital Operations Lead for Sanofi at PHD, comments: “I think there’s space here for creativity in pharma and I’m very excited to see – what was traditionally quite a boring and a rather mundane area – become exciting, so I welcome all these brands bringing in new inventions to help boost the space where pharma plays.”
Stephenson concludes: “The industry is committed to separating the metaverse reality from the hyperbole, with investment in the roles and capabilities that will power our understanding of emerging technologies. The power of technology is not in the tech itself, but in technology’s ability to address significant and real-world challenges, tell compelling stories, and enable powerful human experiences and connections.”
Speakers in this episode:
Chris Stephenson, CMO, PHD Worldwide (host)
Paul Kemp-Robertson, Co-Founder, Contagious
Philippa Brown, CEO, PHD Worldwide
Melanie Pennec, ECD, DDB Paris
Dora Pruzincova, Chief Creative Officer at DDB, Prague
Tiina Salzberg, CSO, 180 Amsterdam and founder of 180 Thinking
Kate Osborne Global Business Lead at Omnicom Media Group
Alex Jenkins – Managing Partner for Editorial at Contagious
Emily van Lierop – Global and Digital Operations Lead for Sanofi at PHD
Kimberlee Wells – the CEO of TBWA Melbourne and TBWA Adelaide
Sandro Heierli – Creative Director Art at DDB Berlin
Susie Walker – VP for Awards & Insight at Cannes Lions
Campaigns referenced:
“Liquid Billboard,” Adidas
“Whopper Heist,” Burger King
“AO Art Ball,” Australian Open
Learn about all these campaigns and more in ‘Technology and Creativity,’ the third episode of Creativity Unwrapped.
Click below to learn more, or follow the whole Creativity Unwrapped series on Spotify, Apple, or Amazon.
