Re-branded as FFWD Advertising and Marketing Week for 2013, this time, we're dutifully covering the people you missed if you hadn't booked your week off. It helps to recognise your mentors. Highlight appearances from Jamie Byrne, Rory Sutherland, Judy John, Tyler Brûlé, Eli Singer, Joel Cohen and Steve Levy made the week pop. Educated theories vs crystal-gazing hooked the audience as speakers presented what we feel were the first concrete rounds of sound, big data from social media. Meanwhile, heavyweights such as DDB, Cundari and Anomaly took it home at the Cassies.
There was a paradigm shift in the search for 'What do consumers want?' to 'What can consumers use?' Yet, thankfully, the old classic of 'Content is King' prevails, and still outperforms any statistic or cat video out there [unless it was cut by John St, where they do just about everything right].
Anything epic? Quite. We can't help but comment on the fabulous turn-out this year at Ad Ball [so there was still a giant party]. Something was in the punch, or perhaps it was the new venue. Filled to the nines with young and/or sexy people and the immortal, the difference this year was all in the attitude. Compared to soirées prior where bigwigs kept to themselves, this party saw cards change hands. It was an excellent networking event, and lasted far beyond the prescribed witching hour of midnight. Whoever organized the guest list [we suspect Gillian Graham of ICA] knew what they were doing.