I feel like Michael Palin in Full Circle. I just arrived in Dubai after a two-day rampage through Rome where I spoke at the UPA Summit. The theme there, like the unofficial theme here in Dubai, was "Everything is changing, shall we change everything?"
Rome was an ultra-calm conference, where contemplating the extreme changes happening in the media world was done over delicious Chianti. I suppose it is hard to debate the future of the media and advertising business when buildings dating back to the beginning of Roman civilization surround you. Change in Rome is not available at Trussardi.
Four and a half hours later, courtesy of Emirates Airlines, I arrived in Dubai -- the complete opposite of Rome. The million-person city was built in the last ten years. The airport is scintillatingly modern. Sparkling pillars, titanium walkways and giant palm trees growing in huge crystal flower boxes. The airport has huge glass walls with lights embedded in them. I have no clue how they've done this technically since there are no wires. Small touches always impress me, like lines of modern elevators whisking you down comfortably to customs. And polite and welcoming customs officials. Nice touch.
This is my second time here. The first time was ages ago when we were shooting an American Express commercial in the desert with a professional falconer. So much has changed. Frog John Doyle shot StrawberryFrog's recent Morgan Stanley ads here last summer in 150 degrees heat and came back with tales of a super city rising out of the desert.
That was then and the economic crisis is now. Beforehand, everyone I spoke with said Dubai was in shock that the economic plunge had hit the city hard. After arriving, I can tell you that I haven't seen it. The man who met me at the airport with a sign, the driver who drove me to my hotel, and the people in the lobby, all had wonderful smiles and said business was more or less the same. So, where is the fear? I haven't seen it - yet. And I may not since the unemployed here must leave the territory.
Cannes Lions, the uber advertising and marketing festival and event that's held annually in Cannes, France in June sponsor Dubai Lynx. They asked me to speak at this year's Dubai conference.
The advertising industry worldwide is in shell-shock from the recession. Agencies are the canaries in the coalmine of the economy. The first to go when the going gets tough. It's the easiest line item for CEOs to cut off the budget, so all the spending on advertising tends to get the cut. November and December was a blood bath in New York as many legacy agencies reported lay offs. Media blog impresario "Agency Spy" stopped reporting the amount of layoffs because it got so depressing.
So here we are. Three months later. Everyone is asking: So, now what? This is what we speakers are addressing here in Dubai and also this past week in Roma.
I had already written my keynote about Cultural Movements. StrawberryFrog's DNA, our competitive edge. But I have since thought of modifying it to the tough times at hand. A little more optimism vs. pessimism is needed. We owe it to the young people who aspire to add their intelligence and creativity to this business. Yes, we have the fire at our feet, but there is still so much to be excited about if you are starting your career in this business. Many legacy agencies still rely mainly on TV and print ads. The economy is pushing advertisers to embrace new and digital technologies. And herein lies the opportunity. We don't have 60 years of history for how we should do a mobile campaign or a social media campaign -- it's pioneering territory. We just completed the first ever Valentine's promotion for Agent Provocateur on blogs and on Twitter. First ever. Never been done. This is the future.
Taking about the future, the drive to the hotel passed some of the most futuristic buildings I've seen for a while. The super highway from the airport is more or less empty of traffic. It's late here so darkness covers the city. I'll write more about the event tomorrow.
Most of the speakers at the event are from the UK and other English countries. There is your token Canadian (me), Brazilian (PJ Pereira), and Indian (Piyush Pandey), but for the most part Dubai seems to hold the UK media world in high regard. And with that, here are the speakers at this conference and what they will be speaking about:
Tom Bazeley
Managing Partner, Lean Mean Fighting Machine, UK
Seminar: Be As Ambitious As Dubai Or Don't Bother
Richard Beaven
CEO Worldwide, Initiative
Seminar: President's Address: Results Are Our Creative Lifeblood
Dave Bedwood
Creative Partner, Lean Mean Fighting Machine, UK
Seminar: Be As Ambitious As Dubai Or Don't Bother
Rob Belgiovane
Partner, Executive Creative Director, BWM, Australia
Seminar: Big Ideas On Small Screens
Marc Bresseel
General Manager, Microsoft Advertising EMEA
Seminar: Harnessing Digital Creativity To Connect Brands To Consumers
Felipe Burgaz
Group Marketing Director for Africa and Eurasia, Coca-Cola
Seminar: Scrambled Or Melting Pot?
Farid Chehab
Chairman, Leo Burnett MENA, Chief Creative Officer, Leo Burnett CEEMEA
Seminar: Debate: North African Voice
Chris Clarke
Chief Creative Officer, LBi, UK
Seminar: Building Believable Brands
Michael Conrad
President, Berlin School Of Creative Leadership
Workshop: Inspiration For Chosen People
Laura Desmond
Global CEO, Starcom MediaVest Group
Seminar: New World, New Agency
Laurent Ezekiel
Managing Director - MENA Region, LBi
Seminar: Building Believable Brands
Daniele Fiandaca
Founder, Creative Social
CEO (Europe), Profero
Workshop: Creative Social Presents: The Evolution Of Digital Creativity
Jonathan Ford
Creative Partner, Pearlfisher, UK
Seminar: The Ultimate Luxury? How To Achieve Iconic Status Through Design
Scott Goodson
Founder, StrawberryFrog
Seminar: How To Spark A Cultural Movement
Mark Hill
Managing Partner, therightslawyers
Workshop: Legal, Decent, Honest And Truthful... Well Maybe
Bob Isherwood
Seminar: The ORE That Gold Comes From
Paul Kemp-Robertson
Editorial Director, Co-founder, Contagious, UK
Seminar: Risk And Reward: A Contagious Trends Briefing
Tham Khai Meng
Worldwide Creative Director, Ogilvy & Mather
Seminar: President's Address: You Don't Need Much - You Just Need An Idea
Alex Lieu
Chief Creative Officer, 42 Entertainment, USA
Seminar: 360 Entertainment: What Goes Into The Making Of A Successful Alternate Reality Game
Walid Menassa
Creative Director, Publicis Graphics, Lebanon
Seminar: Debate: North African Voice
Tarek Nach Nouchi
Director, Kalimat Maktoob
Workshop: How To Create And Manage A Successful PPC Campaign
Piyush Pandey
Executive Chairman, National Creative Director, Ogilvy & Mather India
Seminar: Advertising Creativity - Putting The Consumer First
PJ Pereira
Chief Creative Officer, Co-founder, Pereira & O'Dell, USA
Seminar: Welcome Back, Pixel
Workshop: Digital Advertising Uncovered
Richard Pinder
Chief Operating Officer, Publicis Worldwide
Seminar: Debate: North African Voice
Osman Sultan
CEO, du
Seminar: IAA-UAE Chapter Presents: du - The Door To A New Brave World
Dylan Taylor
Creative Director, Direct, BMF, Australia
Seminar: President's Address: Responding To The Downturn