Alex Young, Creative Brief BITE

Predictions are never easy, and as we end 2022 mired in a heady mix of cost-of-living crises, rampaSignificant cultural and behavioural shifts could create an exciting marketing landscape

The butterfly effect of any occurrence – big or small – is impossible to predict, or to detect, until long after the event, and the bigger the incident the wider the ripples will spread. When the pandemic hit in 2020 the narrative through the advertising industry echoed that from the last recession. Businesses were encouraged to spend through the hard times in order to limit the damage to their bottom line. And now, no sooner is the pandemic behind us and businesses have dusted themselves off than we are back in a real recession and the story feels like it’s all been told very recently.

However, the pandemic was responsible for a significant shift in the way many brands connected with the public and one that will be critical as we go into 2023. They discovered the power of positivity, of using their might for good. And that has, to an extent, continued into 2022. Over the past year or two we have seen a marked increase in brands engaging with a more personal approach to marketing: more impactful campaigns, consciously making a positive difference to people’s lives and working hard to get more personal with consumers.

Consider some of this year’s Christmas ads as a prime example. Several brands – from Co-op to M&S – chose to use their annual moment in the spotlight to showcase a good cause. And John Lewis produced a very literal nod to human connection with its film about a foster dad going that extra mile (on a skateboard) to connect with his new charge. All a refreshing change to the usual focus on food, gifts and general excess.

Over the past year or two we have seen a marked increase in brands engaging with a more personal approach to marketing: more impactful campaigns, consciously making a positive difference to people’s lives and working hard to get more personal with consumers.

Alex Young, Managing Director, We Are Futures

Meanwhile on a day-to-day basis consumer giants like McDonalds, Samsung and Sky are putting marketing spend behind projects that are designed not to shift goods today, but to build a stronger connection with the public through campaigns based on education, opportunity and upskilling. 

Whether it’s offering school leavers the chance to train on the job, mentoring young tech entrepreneurs or delivering an expanded arts education to cash-strapped schools, each of these businesses – and scores more like them – have diversified their marketing spend towards things that positively impact people’s lives.  

And if you’re wondering how to sell the notion to the finance director, it’s not exclusively virtuous. By focusing on delivering life-changing projects to young adults, you are also investing in the consumers of tomorrow. Your consumers of tomorrow: Those people who grew up seeing your brands as a positive force, one that inspired them, gave them purpose or just provided a much-needed leg up into a career. That dedication will pay off in spades down the line as you earn the trust and loyalty of tomorrow’s wage earners. 

But, as an increasing number of brands move towards positive storytelling in 2023, it will become more important than ever to live those stories. The phrase “be the change you want to see in the world” has never been more pertinent. Young people today are savvy and switched on. They don’t stand for disingenuousness or a lack of authenticity. Saying the right thing is not enough – they respect the brands that do the right thing, and whose external values are carried through into every facet of their business. 

The secret, I believe, is to treat people as partners, not consumers. The world is moving on from the purely transactional “we-sell-you-buy” model and instead is becoming a two way street. People have a need and a brand has a solution. In providing that solution businesses can go some way to improving lives and experiences.

Education and skills building programmes that help a young person hone their skills and progress in a chosen career, personal banking challenges that improve financial literacy, and schemes that celebrate equality and diversity will all set a brand apart for originality and a commitment to change.

Actively creating opportunities for change, rather than just talking about them in marketing materials and advertising, will give a brand credibility and act as a proof point to discourage any talk of virtue signalling. 

All this points to an exciting time for advertising in 2023 and beyond. I’m deeply hopeful that next year will mark a turning point in businesses creating amazing purposeful and personal connections with people. The subtle shifts over the past few years, coupled with the changing expectations of young people, are now resulting in a wave of new behaviour, so much so that those marketers who fail to adjust in time will, I fear, be left behind. 

https://www.creativebrief.com/bite/will-2023-be-the-year-real-purpose-led-marketing-finally-goes-mainstream

Mark Johnson, Media Shotz

Predictions are never easy, and as we end 2022 mired in a heady mix of cost-of-living crises, rampant inflation and a war in Ukraine, who knows what will be on the cards for next year?

In our first look at business predictions for 2023, we’ve canvassed the leading lights of the marketing world to gauge what they see as the key priorities for the sector in the year ahead. 

Having emerged from the global pandemic in 2022, we should remember that we’re all survivors.

Perhaps it’s no surprise, then, that kindness, empathy and being authentic are coming to the fore as we prepare to head into a new year… 

Sharon Flaherty, CEO Folk

“Empathy and authenticity are key for 2023.

“The cost of living crisis has made the world a darker place for many, and there is a real risk brands might misstep because they don’t give enough thought to this reality. 

“Brand activism is real, and people will call out brands who create content and campaigns that aren’t in tune with what is happening in the world. 

“Cultural authenticity, empathy and crucially, allyship needs to be on the mind of every person in every marketing department if they are to connect with audiences in a way that is meaningful, moral and drives commercial impact.”

Sivan Tafla, CEO, Total Media Solutions

“Alongside the immediate need to navigate the economic climate, long term issues, such as privacy concerns and the impending loss of the cookie, must be addressed. 

“Pausing adoption of first-party data strategies could lead to long term ramifications, leaving businesses behind the competition.

“Similarly, the maintaining and improving of quality in all business practices cannot be sidelined. Slipping standards leads to slipping visitor numbers, and ultimately slipping ROI. 

“Both publishers and advertisers need to ensure the upkeep of the quality and effectiveness of their offerings, encouraging strong relationships with consumers, and maintaining the support of loyal brand users in 2023.”

Mordecai, Founder, Day After

“The Relevance Economy – It’s actually happening, we’re finally moving from influence to relevance due to the algorithmic and government regulations on digital. 

“The Relevance Economy, one of our 2023 trends, is doing what cultural marketers long claimed to be masters of. 

“What’s exciting about The Relevance Economy which is most evident on TikTok is that it is further driving marketing out of archaic age/gender/race personas and pushing a more equitable understanding of an audience. 

“Furthering the overall trend that consumers want to be the ones telling brands what they like and not vice versa.”

From Jacques van Niekerk, Global CEO, Edisen

“A Content Revolution; both real and fake. The amazing opportunities and real risks of generative AI will be a key focus for content creators in 2023. 

“It brings with it the opportunity to revolutionise the production industry in incredibly exciting ways – but everyone ready to take advantage of this has a responsibility to be mindful of the inherent biases within the publicly available AI tools’ algorithms and training data sets. 

“There is a clash coming between original and synthetic content (real and fake if you like) and brands must be aware of the benefits and downsides of each if they are to take full advantages of the pending content revolution.”

Jo Eckersley, CEO, Bubbl

“Despite the cost of living crisis and ensuing discretionary spend cutbacks, consumer purchasing power does still exist – even if audiences are being more selective. 

“In this context, marketers must invest wisely and ensure that communications boost engagement and trust. 

“With apps still on a phenomenal growth path and mobile technology capability unlocking new innovation at every software release, mobile will fast become the absolute go to channel for consumer experience and engagement for 2023.

“Hyper relevance and creativity matter, and this is especially apparent via mobile channels. Encouraging greater creativity in what marketers deliver via mobile channels, and finding new ways of engaging at the right time with a consumer, is critical to get attention.

“Marketers must seek to deliver situation-specific rich content ,offers and customer engagement based on factors such as the environmental context, intent, time and location. 

“Looking ahead to 2023, we will almost certainly see continued growth across mobile shopping, loyalty, entertainment and customer service through new ‘out of app’ channel opportunities. 

“Today, it is possible to use a variety of contextual triggers including geo-fencing, bringing hyper relevance to mobile interactions while still negating the need for cookies or personal data. Innovation in this space is progressing rapidly.

“A privacy-first, convenient and friction free mobile experience is paramount as consumer expectations continue to grow. Today audiences expect seamless service and intuitive, responsive design.”

Louie Sumpter, co-Founder & Strategy Director, EveryFriday

“Stability. Sanity. Simplicity. Coming off the back of Covid, numerous Boris-gates, Ukraine, the cost of living crisis, and most recently the Truss-o-nomic car crash… you get the sense that most people are exhausted, both mentally and emotionally. 

“Add to that the spectre of a US election year that sees Trump stirring an increasingly febrile pot, and it’s enough for anyone to stick their head in the sand. 

“What the world needs more than ever are grown up brands with cool heads. Brands that provide leadership through a steady and reassuring presence. 

“People are going to have enough on their plates just getting by next year, they’ll thank the brands that don’t make life any more crazy than it needs to be.”

James Sleaford, Chief Growth Officer UK, Incubeta

“The economic downturn hitting the nation in 2023 will naturally put pressure on organisational budget planning, and despite all the evidence and analysis which tells us not to do so, marketing will find itself at the forefront of those tightening conversations. 

“Ultimately this climate will drive a focus on efficiencies, which is no bad thing as there are opportunities in automation. 

“The challenge will be balancing a sharp eye on efficiencies with the confidence to continue with long-term branding and privacy essential investments. 

“Advertisers will need a robust data strategy to provide the insights and measurement which will guide them based on their own personal brand position and categories.”

Mateusz Jędrocha, Head of Upper Funnel Solutions, RTB House

“In the year ahead, contextual targeting will continue to gain traction. This technology was used for a long time, but thanks to advancements in AI, marketers can now leverage contextual signals for the purpose of targeting and personalisation. 

“Further, current contextual segments allow brands to build audience segments in a privacy-safe way through Natural Language Processing and the predictive power of algorithms. 

“And the benefit of a contextual approach is that the data is highly relevant, because media buying is based on what the user is interested in at a given moment, rather than in the past.

“Most importantly, because contextual targeting relies on what the user is browsing at any given moment, it is much more relevant when compared with strategies based on behaviours and interests from the past. 

“That’s why marketers can confidently look at contextual as a valuable alternative, ready to be used at scale throughout 2023.”

Sid McGrath, CSO, Wunderman Thompson

“2023 has to be when marketing earns its stripes in the boardroom by fighting for the money brands need to weather the economic storm. 

“The tendency to slash budgets, focus on short-term tactics and shift funds into performance marketing has problems: it’ll erode brand equity that’s been built up in previous years; the brand experience will fracture if only bit parts rather than the whole are focused on; whatever the brand does in the short-term, will have to be lived with for the long-term because this recession is going nowhere fast. 

“We predict a period of intense economic chaos where marketers will need to embrace unpredictability and use its momentum to make smarter, brand-enhancing solutions, demonstrating a longer-term duty of care.”

Alex Young, Managing Director, We Are Futures

“Going into 2023 the driver for marketing success will lie in the ability of brands to make deeper connections with consumers.

“Those that are seen to be responding to the ongoing crises will fare better, and those that keep that elusive ‘purpose’ at the heart of their communications and activities will come out on top.

“Consumers want to feel a connection with the brands they are spending their carefully saved earnings with, so messages that don’t just speak to the hardship but do something and give something back will win.

“That might be supporting communities with products or donations, or activities that help people retrain or upskill to improve their employability and prospects.

“However they go about it, brands must strike the right tone and be sensitive to the stresses on people’s everyday lives to avoid alienating them.”

Adam Goodman, Founder ACA Live

“We know from the latest IPA Bellwether report that events was the only category to see growth in Q3, which shows a confidence in and commitment to a sector that suffered so badly through the pandemic.

“Consumers will be spending less in 2023 but will be making more careful choices. Many will still do what they can to get out and have fun so I don’t see there being a drop off in people attending festivals or ticketed events, they might just choose to attend less than usual.

“There are fewer more powerful ways to connect with consumers than through live events, with the opportunities for multi-sensory, immersive moments, so brands would do well to commit marketing budget to the sector and simply scale their activity up or down accordingly.” 

Daniel Todaro, MD, Gekko

“Inevitably next year will be dominated by the need for brands to understand a campaign’s Return on Investment (ROI).

“With so much pressure on the bottom line, ROI will become the single most important driver for marketing in 2023. 

“After all, the ability to demonstrate the value of every pound spent and the weighted impact of your marketing efforts, leads to the only barometer that matters, sales. 

“And in a period where 60% of consumers are prepared to switch brands based on value, the customer journey must be re-understood to be curated effectively”.

Jo-ann Fortune, Head of Content, iCrossing UK

“The key ambition marketers should keep front and centre for 2023 is to be helpful.

“Whether that’s by offering expert guidance or improving the customer experience so it’s easier for users to complete a task.

“Brands need to pinpoint the opportunities for them to make their customers’ lives easier, by identifying gaps and digging into their unique expertise on specific subjects. 

“Being conscious not to simply add to the noise on saturated topics, which could detract from more authoritative sources.

“With finite resource, the greatest skill marketers can nurture in 2023 is prioritisation – weighing up opportunities to drive value and visibility through content, against the effort involved.”

Elliot Hill, CMO, VeraViews

“In the new year, we hope the industry will take a stand against ad funded crime.

“This is why we joined the founding advisory team of the newly created UK Stop Ad Funded Crime (UKSAFC) initiative.

“It’s important to increase trust and value in the media ecosystem. Every year, hundreds of billions of pounds are lost to fraudulent advertising. 

“British businesses and the government itself are unwittingly paying millions for invalid traffic (IVT) and much of this is orchestrated by criminal gangs. 

“Thanks to a new, multi-stakeholder approach, we can make a difference, with a world-leading initiative that drives people to action.

“I look forward to progress in this area. After all, whether you’re a brand, advertiser or publisher, IVT is one of the greatest threats to the success of a digital ad campaign.”

Owen Hancock, RVP, Marketing EMEA, impact.com

“In 2023, we expect to see brands turn to innovative partnerships for more trusted and personalised interactions especially in tough market conditions.

“Partnerships can offer a more authentic call to action, through reviews sites, bloggers or influencers and they are a creative and and cost-effective way to turbocharge campaign impact. 

“What’s more, we expect to see a shift towards technology platforms that help to find those creators and partners with the best fit. 

“There’s an enormous volume of new talent in the partnership economy, but it’s tough to find those efficiently (which is what technology can support with).”

“Meanwhile, automation can free up time for marketers to focus on strategy. 

“For instance, automatic link updates for retailers ensure content remains relevant, up to date and profitable, while integrations with e-commerce platforms such as Shopify can give small and medium business owners access to global partners in just a few clicks. 

“In 2023, macroeconomic pressures will make these types of efficient integration priceless.”

Roger Barr, Chief Digital Officer, iCrossing UK

“Search trends tell us that there’s been huge changes in consumer behaviour, and that is only going to continue into 2023.

“Whether that be searching for inflation busting deals, products to help reduce energy use or simply ways to manage finances and reduce the daily cost of living.

“Brands therefore need to double down on creating and leveraging customer insights so that customer experience marketing is more human and sensitive to their economic realities. 

“With customer retention a key challenge for 2023 brands will need to stay ahead and proactively intervene based on customer signals.”

Rachel Peace, UK MD, Hearts & Science

“In the coming year, focusing on the relationships between agencies and clients will become even more critical. Notably, we’ll need to help CMOs make a case that marketing is a business investment not a cost. 

“As such, agencies need to speak the language of the boardroom, to place marketing spend in the context of long-term growth and the P&L.

“Clarity and context will become all the more important. We will need to justify every decision in order to keep all stakeholders onboard and be transparent on how spend will drive sustainable and measurable impact. 

“The challenge will lie in fixing variable budgets – but it pays to be reactive in uncertain times and so makes sense to allocate more to the variable list.”

Bhavin Balvantrai, Chief Market Analyst, Omnicom Media Group UK

“Economic headwinds will continue to increase scrutiny on all media investment. The focus will be on measurement and attribution to ensure marketing spend is efficient and effective. 

“This will dovetail with the need for a progressive approach to privacy, ethics and compliance. One thing that is becoming clear is that video is the consumer format of choice. 

“We’re seeing a decline in appetite for text-based social media, applying pressure to Meta and Twitter as audiences migrate to TikTok. 

“And the fight for streaming ad pounds begins as ITVX, a rebranded Channel 4 and an IP-delivered Sky services take on commercial solutions from previously subscription-based platforms.”

Mike Fantis, VP Managing Partner, DAC Group

“Marketing budgets are going to be cut in 2023. This will place greater emphasis on personalisation to generate cut through and gain attention. 

“In practice, this means bringing genuine value to audiences through earned and owned content that is closely aligned to their particular needs – and across all touchpoints. 

“Success will be contingent on understanding those audiences of course, but at this stage most brands will have the data they need to do so. Now they need to work out how they can use it to benefit their customers over pushing their own agendas.”

Hugh Stevens, Head of Strategic Growth, LiveRamp

“Data collaboration will continue developing into one of the backbones of modern digital advertising, and in 2023 brands will continue to find different ways to connect their customer data sets strategically. 

“The ability to unlock profiled new audiences, improve campaign planning and to improve measurement will provide a great deal of value for media owners and the brands or agencies they work closely with.”

“For example, if we look at the retail customer journey, e-commerce data often exists separately from data generated by in-store purchases. 

“However, merchandisers have the technology available to them to analyse transactions across the full customer journey, enabling  strong insights that power more efficient and personalised consumer interactions.”

“Marketers who know their audiences thoroughly, through the use of sophisticated data collaboration strategies, will be one step ahead when the economy stabilises.”

Predictions 2023: Marketing

Mark Johnson, Media Shotz

The cost-of-living crisis, Russia’s war with Ukraine and soaring inflation mean we’re all a bit done with having more in 2022, as we struggle to get by day-to-day on our already stretched personal budgets. 

Times are clearly tough for many right now, which means brands have had to think hard about what message they want to send out in their Christmas ads.

And as Alex Young, Managing Director at brand and social impact agency We Are Futures, explains, some brands have shifted their campaign strategies, which could mean we’re at a turning point in how the big names we all know respond to the difficult times we’re all going through…

I think it must have been somewhere between Coca-Cola’s Holidays Are Coming Truck and John Lewis’ Monty the Penguin that Christmas TV ads became such a big deal. 

And today, as soon as Halloween is done and dusted, our ad breaks come alive with fake snow, iconic songs and cute bobble-hatted kids as every big high street store does its best to win the coveted accolade of Best Christmas Ad of the Year.

As an ad-man I enjoy this annual unveiling of each creative team’s best ideas. It’s harmless festive fun, it signals the start of the season and, let’s be honest, there’s a small part of me that likes to mentally rank the efforts of all the major retailers.

That said, how many do we actually remember? Can we accurately marry creative with brand, assigning the right Mariah cover to the right retailer? 

While we all love a Christmas ad for the music, maybe some humour, or a celebrity star, there’s something quite forgettable about the usual focus on tables laden with crazy amounts of food, acres of fake snow and unrealistically happy families gathered for good times. 

Which means the work and its message are easily – and rightfully – forgotten.

Then came winter 2022, with its cost-of-living crisis, its political upheaval, war in Ukraine and endless, unrelenting rain. 

And with all that there’s been a noticeable shift in many of this year’s Christmas ads. 

This year’s work will, I think, be remembered – and for the right reasons.

Brands changing tack 

M&S has put out an ad that focuses on giving, set to the song ‘Treat People with Kindness’ and featuring real UK-wide community groups. 

John Lewis has opted to showcase a people not product angle, with its emotive storyline about a dad preparing to welcome a foster child.

The Co-op has abandoned a TV ad altogether and instead ran a live stream on Big Zuu’s Instagram feed promoting its support for a membership-based food scheme and community hub called Your Local Pantry.

Authentic purpose

Much of this work speaks to the issue of brand purpose, and does so in an authentic and powerful way. By driving a community or charity-focused message those businesses will have signalled their intent to do and be something more meaningful, and the public will recognise that. 

This should earn those brands credit with consumers from now on. Life is tough at the moment and brands that play their part in not just acknowledging that but in taking action to positively respond to it should be congratulated.

More than doing the right thing

But it’s not just about Doing The Right Thing. While that should be the moral driver, there is also a strong business case for taking this approach. 

In these difficult times the public are primed to connect with brands that are making a positive difference to their lives. The mood of the nation has changed. 

Even those who are not feeling the financial effects of the energy crisis are appreciative of brand messages that do not focus on spending and indulging and splurging, but instead turn their attentions to helping others, looking to something bigger and driving a community feel on a local level.

Every consumer who recognises that message will be more likely – not less – to support that business in the future. And I don’t just mean next week or next month. 

Think of all the teenagers and young adults watching these ads. They may not be spending much money with supermarkets or other high street retailers today, but in ten years they will be the ones doing a weekly grocery shop, opening a bank account, taking out a phone contract and a whole host of other ‘adult’ tasks.

They may not be the target consumer for many businesses but they should never be disregarded. They are the consumers of tomorrow and brands who don’t put in the effort to get them on side now, will fail going forward. 

Every marketer today is focusing on the latest sales figures or the most imminent set of results, but the savvy marketer will be keeping an eye on the long term plan and there is no doubt that this should revolve heavily around getting young people on side now to future proof the business.

Young adults see, they hear and they are all too aware of the current financial situation their parents are facing. 

Many will be going into Christmas quietly worried about what next year looks like for their family, and they will remember any brand that they can see making a positive difference, either directly or indirectly.

And while the creative direction this year might be dictated by the cost-of-living crisis, I sincerely hope it marks a sea change in Christmas advertising. 

Let this time of year no longer be about the volume of gifts under the tree, the quantity of food on the table or the number of calories consumed in one sitting, but about looking outside our own front doors to see how we – and the businesses we spend money with – can help make a positive difference in our community and the wider world.

Let 2022 be the year Christmas ads shifted from having more to giving more

Dani Gibson, The Drum

Members of the jury for The Drum Awards for Social Purpose walk us through the main themes that emerged from this year’s entries, including rooting environmental campaigns in hard data, and the rise of technological solutions to do good and authentic storytelling.

What trends did judges of The Drum Awards for Social Purpose see?

Ahead of the awards, we caught up with jurors for the Social Purpose awards to find out their thoughts on this year’s entries.

Whitney Dailey, executive vice-president, purpose, Allison+Partners

I loved the work I saw coming out of the Best Environmental Cause Campaign category this year. There were two things that struck me. First was how many of these campaigns brought to life eye-opening environmental data points that are not part of the mainstream understanding of sustainability issues – like the fact that whales contribute as much carbon capture as all the rainforests on land. It’s critical we root environmental campaigns in hard data that can not only help inform our narrative, but open our eyes and minds to complex environmental realities in an easy-to-understand way.

The second aspect that jumped out to me was how many of the campaigns really leaned into creativity. So often, the world’s environmental issues can seem insurmountable, bewildering and even dire. Yet many of these campaigns led with creative and compelling activations that helped audiences understand how sustainable action can be exciting, engaging – even easy.

To solve the complex and critical environmental challenges we face as a globe, we need to lean in on this type of game-changing, creative thinking that disrupts routine behavior and allows for scalable solutions with accelerated effects. These campaigns brought to the table not only persuasive activations rooted in strong insights, but an impressive impact that goes far beyond impressions.

Carole Diarra, global vice-president marketing, UGG

The standout entries leveraged exceptional creativity and new technology to galvanize communities and solve pressing and often complex problems. The key trends were related to the creative use of new technologies such as augmented reality (AR) to break through and mobilize people for a worthy cause; new approaches to diversity and inclusion that used clever ways to cut through the noise and make their voices heard; and simple yet provocative campaigns that used the digital medium to stand out and make a point for the greater good.

The rigorous judging process centered around the value these campaigns have made in the world and the ‘multiplier effect’ they had on others beyond the immediate target audience. The Grand Prix was an important decision because the recipient should produce the most inspirational work for other brands and organizations that are looking to use creativity and media to make an impact in the world. At UGG, we are consistently looking for like-minded partners who authentically connect with their communities and use their voices to champion others. Many entries served as powerful examples, with campaigns focused on inclusion and the amplification of underserved voices.

Hanisha Kotecha, chief client officer, Creature

There will always be societal problems that need the public’s attention. The challenges are pretty rife out there. From the war in Ukraine and the lack of justice for Grenfell victims and survivors to the seemingly never-ending challenge around inclusion and representation, there’s a lot to be mad about. Through judging, I get to see how people have turned that hate into powerful stories that make us stop and stare for a moment.

One significant difference this year was the rise of technological solutions to do good. From fighting political misinformation to turning hate into funding to capturing lost heritage, the ideas that have stayed with me are those that made me feel grateful for their existence. Grateful that someone (especially a brand) took the time, energy and money to grab attention on behalf of a group of people or cause that otherwise would have their story untold or forgotten.

Weaker entries were those that stopped and started with a stunt, fleeting in their limelight and impact. The best found the right balance between story-telling and societal impact, and are measuring the longer-term impact on their brand too so they can continue to meaningfully champion the cause they have chosen.

Lisa Merrick-Lawless, co-founder, Purpose Disruptors

I was struck by the diversity of ideas and thinking around some of the most pressing social and environmental issues of our time. These are the most important briefs around – the ones that create real and lasting change in the world. Our vision at Purpose Disruptors is an industry transformed in service of a thriving future, and it is incredibly exciting (and reassuring) to see live work in this area.

As a judge, I was looking for real-world impact. Yes creativity, yes clear thinking, but above all, is it going to create real, lasting change? It was interesting to see entrants still missing the mark, wanging on about brand affinity and brand awareness, rather than basing success on doing good in the world. Also for those brands trying to do it all on their own, find partners already doing some of the hard work. Support them to create sustained change on the ground rather than pursuing fleeting fame for PR stunts.

I was blown away by some of the winning submissions that combined real creativity (thinking and output) with unique approaches to solving problems in the world, some with new tech or innovative partnerships thrown in for good measure. We need everyone in every agency to be creating this work above all else. The winners here set the bar for others to follow.

Mark Fawcett, chief executive officer and chairman, We Are Futures

The strongest theme this year has been the pre-eminence of real ‘Story Making’ rather than just Story Telling. The best entries, and the strongest award winners, built their activities on the firm foundations of making a real, strong and positive impact on their audience and communities first. They identified a real social need and then went out into the world using their own corporate strengths, skills and people to tackle that need. It was only after that that they focused on their storytelling to engage wider audiences and customers. Today’s audiences can so easily see through stories that are not backed up by substance.

And the best of the best were those campaigns that were characterized by bravery and ambition, and totally relevant to the brand.

To be a leader and drive real brand and social impact, focus first on making real, relevant and bold stories happen – then on creatively telling them second.

https://www.thedrum.com/news/2022/11/22/data-tech-and-real-world-change-what-impressed-the-drum-award-social-purpose-judges

Mark Fawcett, Honey I Blew Up The Business Podcast

In this episode, you will hear about purpose, getting up and moving on, and thinking beyond money and profits. Discover over two decades of practical insights from Mark Fawcett an adventurous entrepreneur, trustee of the British Exploring Society and previously a captain in The British Army, as well as Founder & Chief Executive of We Are Futures. Learn ways to create your perfect company culture, silence your doubts and breathe creativity into your business.

When Mark started his business venture, failure soon stared him square in the face. How does he survive? Listen in and find out! 

Listen to the full episode here

Apple: http://bit.ly/3UTA21e 
Spotify: http://bit.ly/3tS0X1X 

https://www.honeyiblewupthebusiness.com/e/lnqv07z8-purpose-beyond-profit-mark-fawcett