On the closing day of Goafest 2012, Rishad Tobaccowala, chief strategy and innovation officer at VivaKi, shared his thoughts on the future of creativity in advertising, as well as the importance of storytelling. The theme of this year’s Goafest, “Let’s Talk Magic,” centered on the realization of ideas into successful marketing. Tobaccowala’s presentation entitled “The Future of Creativity” focused on connecting the four “dots” essential to creativity: words, sound, picture, and video.

In his presentation, he elaborated on these basic “dots” and a few additional, enhanced dots such as participation, mobile, and connection. Participation refers to consumer interaction with advertisements, including commenting or resharing with others in their network. Mobility refers to the consumption of media and advertising while on-the-move, and connection encompasses the social networks that connect every human being to one another.  Tobaccowala personally believes that “Creativity is connecting the dots in ways that resonate with people, culture and brands.” Most importantly, successful advertising revolves around creative and inspiring storytelling.

Tobaccowala cited several innovative examples of campaigns that are successfully connecting the seven dots of creativity. In 2011, Mercedes-Benz leveraged Twitter for its “Mercedes-Benz Tweet Race,” in which Twitter users abundantly and competitively tweeted about the luxury automobile brand to literally “fuel” Mercedes cars that were in the race. Tobaccowala also discussed how the Sweden-based band Kaizers Orchestra used free crowd-sourcing to spread awareness of their group and develop material for their newest album. Without spending any money on paid advertising and releasing only their sheet music to the public, the band managed to gain marketing exposure valued at 1 million USD.

During his closing remarks, Tobaccowala stated: “In my opinion, very soon creativity will involve connecting these seven dots on various combinations as per the brand’s requirement.”  He predicts that then next big “dot” will be the “Retail Dot”, in which physical retail outlets will need to devise creative strategies in order to remain competitive. For more information on Rishad Tobaccowala’s presentation at Goafest 2012, click here.

Starcom MediaVest Group had an outstanding showing at The Festival of Media Global Awards 2012, held April 15-April 17 in Montreux, Switzerland.  In total, SMG was recognized for its work across six categories and took home the revered “Agency of the Year” honor, which was given to Starcom Australia.

SMG Australia also walked away with the award for “Best Entertainment Platform” for its work with client Shannons Insurance on “Supercar Showdown,” a reality TV show that let consumers gain behind-the-scenes insight into the world of a professional V8 racing team.

SMG Mexico won “Best Use of Content” for its campaign “The castaway diary by Ciel,” an online video blog that promoted Ciel’s new environmentally friendly bottle design.

And the award for “Best Engagement Strategy” went to SMG United Arab Emirates for “Eyes of Arabia,” an Olay competition in which women submitted photographs of their eyes to be voted upon. The winners (the competition resulted in a draw) not only earned the title of “Most Beautiful Eyes in Arabia,” but also received a free trip to London and a professional photo shoot by photographer Charney Magri.

SMG companies also earned honorable mentions in the Highly Commended subcategory for several awards including:

• “Communications Strategy” -SMG US
• “Targeted Campaign” – SMG Australia
•  “Creative Use of Media” -SMG Norway

Congratulations to these SMG agencies and to all the agencies represented at The Festival of Media Global Awards 2012.

Publicis Groupe

Flip Media Acquired by Publicis Groupe. Wamda

Publicis Groupe Announces Buy-Back of 18 Million of its Own Shares from Dentsu. Publicis Groupe Press Release

Publicis Groupe Accelerates China Expansion with Acquisition of U-Link Business Solutions. Publicis Groupe Press Release

Team Sprint’s First TV Spot Stars Durant. Adweek

Publicis Groupe Acquires Indigo Consulting, Award-winning Indian Digital Marketing & Technology Agency. PRNewswire

Publicis Groupe announces the appointment of Anne-Gabrielle Heilbronner. Newsflash Publicis Groupe

VivaKi & VivaKi Nerve Center

VivaKi’s Hecht: Many Intermediaries Won’t Last. Digiday

InsightExpress Selected as Research Partner by VivaKi for “The Pool”. MarketWatch.

My Media Week: Marco Bertozzi. Brand Republic

If Real, ‘Mad’ Draper Would Succeed Klues At VivaKi. MediaDailyNews

Publicis Groupe Announces Sébastien Danet’s appointment as Chairman of VivaKi France. Publicis Groupe Press Release

Weather Channel Hires Another Ad and Tech Pro: Vivaki’s Curt Hecht. Advertising Age

New President Kurt Unkel Talks Vivaki’s Future. Adexchanger

VivaKi promotes Bertozzi to executive EMEA role. MediaWeek

Alex Saber Interview: VivaKi. ArabianBusiness.com

Connect dots in new ways that resonate: Rishad Tobaccowala – Video & Session report. Exchange4Media

Digitas & Digitas Health

Digitas appoints Olivia Yabsley as vice president of brand content. The Drum

Consumers Turn to Social Media for Presidential Campaign Info. The Financial

#YouGottaTryBoston: Digitas Launches New Campaign to Bring Top Chef to the Hub [Storify]. BostInno

Digitas’ Jordan Bitterman on the Current State of Social Media. The Makegood

Digitas Study Finds Security is Key to Social Commerce Growth. PitchEngine

Nationwide reveals campaign with Kitcatt Nohr Digitas to promote its Select credit card. The Drum

Digitas’ Stephanie Sarofian Honored as 2012 Content Marketer to Watch. PR Newswire

Digitas Teams with AOL, Hulu, MSN, Yahoo and YouTube in Video Marketplace. Huffington Post

Digitas Joins Facebook Preferred Marketing Developer Program. PitchEngine

AmEx campaign by Digitas and CP&B lands top Facebook Studio award. Campaign

AOL launches Pictela Enterprise ad publishing platform. Direct Marketing News

Digitas Grabs Top Honor in Inaugural Facebook Studio Awards. Adweek

BtoB Magazine Names Digitas a Top Agency. PR Newswire

Digitas Wins eBay Digital Account After Lengthy Review. Advertising Age

Kitcatt Nohr Digitas signs up to Creative Pioneers Challenge. Kitcatt Nohr Digitas Site

eMarketer Announces New Partnership With Digitas. eMarketer

Digitas India celebrates the success of Samsung Mobile campaign. Indiatelevision

Digitas Named Both Finalist And Honoree In The Webby Awards. PitchEngine

AmEx, Digitas win ACE Awards ‘Best in Show’. BtoB

Highway to Fame Series To Be Featured At Digitas NewFronts. PRWeb

Disney, Digitas Present NewFronts Today in NYC. tubefilter

Digitas Brings Together Hollywood and Ad Industry Leaders To Shape The Future of Digital Content. MarketWatch

Digitas Brings Together Hollywood and Ad Industry Leaders To Shape The Future of Digital Content. PrNewswire

Digitas Readies Out “Engagement” Tool for Brand Marketers. Beet.TV

Razorfish

Razorfish Emerging Experiences Group Authors Industry’s First Book on Developing Applications for the Kinect for Windows SDK. PR Web

Razorfish Talks NFC, Connected Cars and the Evolution of the In-Store Experience at the South by Southwest Interactive Festival, March 9-13, in Austin, Texas. SFGate

Razorfish Hires Andrew Davidson as Vice President of Search and Performance Marketing. SFGate

Razorfish Named Adobe Digital Marketing Global Partner of the Year for 2011. Seattle PI

Razorfish scoops Emirates social media business. Campaign Live

Razorfish Hires Phil Battat as VP, Business Development. PrWeb

Burger-Crowdsourcing At McDonald’s — “Pretzelnator” Is Giving The Classics A National Touch. The Sacramento Bee

Razorfish Hires Phil Battat as VP, Business Development. SFGate

Starcom MediaVest Group

Capital One and Microsoft partner for MSN UK campaign. M&M

SMG bags Dabur’s skin care, hair oils and home care portfolio. Best Media Info

Starcom MediaVest takes £4m Tetley media account. Media Week

Avis Taps Spark For Media Duties. MediaDailyNews

Starcom MediaVest Group Spins Off Spark Into Third Agency Network. Advertising Age

Starcom MediaVest wins $16 million in Australia business with Novartis, True Value Solar. Campaign

Leo Burnett, Starcom and OMD shine at MENA Cristals. Campaign Middle East

SMG strengthens South operations, elevates Sriram Sharma. Best Media Info

Most Gays Today Live Extraordinarily Ordinary Lives: Starcom MediaVest Group and Logo’s Beyond Demographics(TM) LGBTid Study. MarketWatch

Most gays today live extraordinarily  ordinary lives: Starcom MediaVest Group & LOGO’s Beyond Demographics™ lgbti Study PitchEngine

International and local experts to share insights on how to create entertaining branded content. mUmbrella

ZenithOptimedia

ZenithOptimedia retains Superdrug media. The Media Briefing

Clancy Takes Over at ZenithOptimedia. Ad World

ZenithOptimedia launches Performics UK. Campaign

ZO hires BMF’s Aaron Michie as chief innovation officer. mUmbrella

This Time the Co-Brand Makes It Into the Title. New York Times

Yatra.com appoints ZenithOptimedia as media AOR. Exchange4Media

ZenithOptimedia Forecasts Slow, Steady Growth in Global Ad Spend. Advertising Age

ZenithOptimedia China Names Digital Strategy Head. Asia Media Journal

ZenithOptimedia Group brings ‘Live ROI’ to the fore in global rebrand. M&M Global

Nick Burcher (ZenithOptimedia) Provides a Clear Framework that Decodes the Socially Connected Media Landscape in his New Book ‘Paid, Owned, Earned.’ Broadcast Newsroom

Mindshare and ZenithOptimedia wrestle it out in Nestlé’s Greater China media pitch. Campaign China

ZenithOptimedia Group Launches New Global Positioning. ADOIMAGAZINE

Starcom makes history in Montreux. Campaign Middle East

Today, ZenithOptimedia (ZO) launched its new global strategic positioning, ‘Live ROI,’ along with a comprehensive rebrand across all of its agency brands including Zenith, Optimedia, Newcast, Performics, Moxie, Ninah, Sponsorship Intelligence and Scoop.

Formerly known as the ROI agency, the new positioning reinforces ZO’s same rigorous approach to improving marketing effectiveness but also stresses its commitment to delivering state -of-the-art data analytics and breakthrough creativity in real-time.

“We were the first media agency to put accountability at the core of everything we do, and our pioneering expertise in this area has driven our success and underpinned our growth” comments Steve King, Global Chief Executive Officer for ZO Group. “Consumers increasingly live their lives in a digital world in which traditional ROI techniques no longer deliver everything our clients need. Live ROI does. It takes ROI to the next level and ensures a real time approach that identifies how and where budgets can be invested to deliver the best returns.”

The new positioning will be supported with cutting edge, world-class software, processes and development programmes including Touchpoints ROI Tracker (the world’s largest research database of relative consumer influence across paid, owned and earned touchpoints), Socialtools (a new proprietary software application that tracks the performance of brand pages in Facebook via live dashboards, showing trends in metrics), Adforecast.com (the world’s first online database of historical and future global advertising spend using ZO’s global advertising expenditure forecasts), Open (ZO’s source approach and philosophy for idea generation) and Live Academy (a robust, network-wide educational framework, which will also deliver comprehensive training to enable all employees to deliver the new proposition).

The new strategic positioning has been translated into a corporate identity rebrand that recently rolled out across all 250 offices worldwide, encompassing all ZenithOptimedia Group companies.

Be sure to check out the new logos and read more about the new positioning.

Let’s face it, it’s often easier to make a purchase once you’ve envisioned wearing your new clothes or had your close friends or significant other give you their approval (or lovingly ask you, “What were you thinking?”).

Luckily for all shoppers who value a second opinion, the Razorfish Emerging Experiences team has reimagined personal shopping. The team unveiled its innovative, new digital platform, which integrates five core technologies-devices, content, experiences, analytics and CRM-at the NRF Convention & Expo  in New York City this January. The team partnered with Microsoft and NEC to develop a prototype for the fictitious brand “Ravorfashion.”

Last year, the Emerging Experiences team collaborated with Microsoft’s Kinect for Windows to create KinectShop, technology that mapped clothes onto 3D models to see how the clothes would fit when worn by real people of various shapes and sizes. This year, the EE team at Razorfish spearheaded the customer-service, experiential component of the Kinect technology, creating their answer for a new approach to personal-shopping.

Code-named “5D,” this digital technology provides shoppers with an experience that, to merely label it as “interactive,” would be an injustice to the 5D product. “You have to come up with an experience that isn’t intimidating to consumers or the retailer,” said Jonathan Hull, the lead of the EE group at Razorfish.

Shoppers virtually “try-on” items and are actively engaged with the shopping experience as they swipe across screens: trying new colors, sizes, and products. Each item can be seamlessly integrated onto a smartphone or tablet, saving the products’ information as well as suggesting other items that would complement an outfit. Reviews from other consumers and product details are made readily available to assist the customer’s purchase decision. The goal is for consumers to make a purchase in-store, but a Bodymetrics Account stores a customer’s information digitally so that online purchases are also possible.

5D brings freedom and flexibility to shopping, allowing customers to purchase the items at a later time via the internet or their devices. Razorfish’s 5D product bridges the gap between browsing and buying, enabling consumers to purchase items they tried on in the store directly from their devices.

Forbes and MSNBC.com both recently published exclusive articles about Performics research initiative, “S-Net: A Study in Social Media Usage & Behavior.” The articles features the study’s key consumer insights about the social media usage and influential consumer behavior of “Social Moms.”

The most notable findings of the Performics study assert that moms are:

• - Approximately 61% more likely than other women to own a smartphone
• - 75% more likely than other women to trust information they receive from companies through social networking sites
• - 45% more likely to make a purchase as a result of a recommendation on a social networking site than other women
• - 16% more likely to visit Facebook daily and 46% more likely to visit Google + daily

“Moms continue to take advantage of the little spare time they have by utilizing all the tools at their disposal.  This includes their mobile devices and social networks,” notes Daina Middleton, Global CEO of Performics. “Increasingly, as a segment of the social networking population, moms’ perception is their voice can be leveraged to influence, participate with, and promote brands.”

An infographic from Performics highlights their findings concerning “Social Media Moms.”

VivaKi CEO Jack Klues today announced the appointment of Kurt Unkel  to president of the VivaKi Nerve Center. He was previously EVP/general manager of the Nerve Center’s global, addressable media buying practice Audience on Demand™  (AOD). He assumes responsibilities from 24-year Publicis Groupe veteran and former Nerve Center CEO Curt Hecht, who is leaving the organization to pursue a new role at The Weather Channel.

Unkel will report into Frank Voris, global chief financial officer for VivaKi. Rishad Tobaccowala, chief strategy and innovation officer of VivaKi, will serve as advisor to Unkel and the Nerve Center leadership.

“Curt Hecht has built a strong foundation for the VivaKi Nerve Center, and Kurt Unkel is just the right person to drive our vision forward,’ said VivaKi CEO Jack Klues in a press release announcing the appointment. “Kurt has shown great leadership in building and developing AOD from one of the first agency-led ad trading platforms with two clients and three employees to a world-class practice that has been replicated in markets all over the world, and leads the competition.”

Unkel has been a member of Publicis Groupe for more than a decade and was among the Nerve Center’s first employees. Prior to joining the Nerve Center, he created and led digital strategy, investment, analytics and ad operations teams across Publicis Groupe, with a special focus on General Motors (GM).

Unkel is supported by a seasoned leadership team that includes:  EVP/Product Development Doug Kofoid; EVP/Partnerships Sean Kegelman; Nerve Center EMEA Executive Managing Director Marco Bertozzi and EVP/Innovations Director Tracey Scheppach. He will also be supported by Chief Technology Officer Pradeep Ananthapadmanabhan, as well as Ken Wiesman, who leads Finance, and Barb Jobs, who leads Talent, for the VivaKi Nerve Center.

Wondering what a new electric cooktop would look like in place of that rusty old gas range? Jenn-Air’s new iPhone app, DesignVision, enables consumers to visualize what their kitchens would look like when equipped with the brand’s luxury appliances.  This free app, created by Digitas, allows users to select a Jenn-Air appliance, position it over their current appliance and snap a photo. The finished image then shows the selected appliance in place of the existing one. This app also allows users to choose different finishes, share photos with friends, get product specifications and find local showrooms.

The mobile app was introduced this year at the Architectural Digest Home Design Show, the nation’s largest exhibit of luxury home products and widely considered the pre-eminent event of its kind.

Brian Maynard, vice president of marketing for Jenn-Air, notes how target consumers “are very visual and enjoy the process of decorating and remodeling.”

DesignVision also ties into a four-page, print insert ad running in Architectural Digest magazine. The front page shows a silhouette of a range. Inside, a photo spread highlights a Jenn-Air range and includes a three-dimensional, die-cut piece. Readers are instructed to remove it, stand five feet back from the range in the kitchen, and then hold it at arm’s length to “eclipse the competition.” Architectural Digest has reported four to five times more interaction with the print ad than any others running in the book.

Chia Chen, SVP for Digitas’ North American mobile practice, remarks on the powerful personal experiences mobile marketing can help facilitate: “Mobile allows us to address moments in users’ lives that are authentic and organic.”

A strong showing at both the MENA Cristal Awards and the Dubai Lynx Awards has led to Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG) being named the most decorated media agency of the year in the MENA region, thus far.  “The honour of being the most awarded media agency of the year really sets the tone for the months to come,” announced Filip Jabbour, the CEO of SMG MENA.  This honor helped the agency kick off 2012 on a positive note that recognized SMG MENA’s ability to provide creative solutions for a diverse client roster.

At the Dubai Lynx Festival, SMG took away seven awards, including the highest distinction of “Most Awarded Media Agency of the Year.” The prestigious title of “Media Agency of the Year” was given to SMG at the MENA Cristal Awards, along with four Cristal Awards and the designation of being  “Most shortlisted media agency.” Three of SMG’s Gold-winning campaigns were achieved through partnership with its sister agency, Leo Burnett.

SMG’s achievements, as recognized by at these two prominent industry award festivals signal a change in the type of work being recognized . “Last year proved to be more favourable for creative agencies, but we’re proud to have taken the title back for the media category,” continued  Jabbour.

In addition to all of the Dubai Lynx hardware, SMG also enjoyed a number of firsts at this event, including:

• - Participation and creation of the agency’s first panel discussion at the MENA Cristal Awards.
• - Securing the first global VivaKi speaker on the agenda: Rishad Tobaccowala, VivaKi Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer.
• - John Sintras, CEO SMG Australia and Chairman of Global Product Council, became the first Global SMG Judge.
• - Sponsorship of a unique VivaKi MENA networking event that focused on mobilizing conversations with pioneers in the Social Media, Design and Content space.

Ad Age’s Best top 40 Places to Work list is out… and three VivaKi agencies made the list!

With a nod towards the agency’s “relaxed but driven” work ethic, Performics came in the highest at #8 on the list. The Chicago agency’s Rewards Program, monthly lunch and learns and flexibility with working from home were just some of the reasons cited by the publisher.

Not far behind, Digitas’s innovative and flexible culture helped it come in at #13. The various offices have their own ways to inspire their employees to stay on the cutting edge of digital and come up with creative and original ideas for their clients.

Rounding out the list is #36, Starcom Worldwide. The Chicago-based agency got major points for its various programs that encourage work-life balance, such as a universal month of paid time off at hire. The sense of community and rotation program were also noted.

Congratulations to all the winning offices and to sister-agencies Leo Burnett and Kaplan Thayer, which were also winners!