#DK2023: Hot lecturers and a lot of inspiration

DK Festival is one of the few professional festivals we gladly return to. The organizers always worked hard to make the program enjoyable, but this year they outdid themselves. What impressed us most at this year’s lectures is presented below.

Strange ideas for the win

Rob Campbell from Colenso BBDO inspired us with his claim that only campaigns that alter the social paradigm are successful. His recipe for creating such campaigns is an openness to unframed creativity, which he sees as a platform where any crazy, strange, or funny idea that can shake up the established rules is welcome. In a nutshell, passion prevents laziness, and change could be meaningful.

Paul Holmes, a PR icon, underlined that because of today’s climate of intense activism and openness, younger generations must speak out on social concerns, whether they are in the role of customers or employees. Today’s marketing communication is purposeful, and the traditional meaning of reputation has been reframed. Paul explained that reputation is not what you say (or think) about yourself but what you do.

The return of humanity

Futurist James Whittaker tried to predict the future by comparing the development of software that accelerated the digital transformation of the last 30 years with the development of artificial intelligence, which, in his opinion, will mark the development of society and the economy in the next 30 years. The message is that we should be afraid of AI since it grows independently of humans and should be limited in this way by withholding delicate information from it. He also emphasizes the necessity of reclaiming humanity in everything we do and focusing on the values in which AI cannot replace us, and that is the development of interpersonal relationships and mutual interaction, credibility, and emotions, because, as he pointed out, “Being a crappy human will never make you a happy human”.

The most interesting message from one of, according to the Guardian, the most fascinating, influential, eccentric, and witty businesspeople – Rory Sutherland, is that creative people must always present their ideas to rational people (never the other way around) and that the need to rationalize everything often limits the space of potential solutions. He claims that there are many more good ideas that can be justified afterward than good ideas that can be rationalized in advance. It was also interesting to see how unexpected luck, sometimes attributed to a planned procedure, plays a part in creating creative breakthroughs.

The Canadians knocked us off our feet

Erika Wykes-Sneyd from Adidas said that the recipe for success in market communication lies in the active participation of creators in charge of the development of brands and products, the so-called creator economy. However, Thomas Kolster advocates an approach to communicating sustainability through positioning brands or organizations in the perspective of consumers, that is, reflection on what is important to them, what problems they have, and how you want them to feel after interacting with you.

The distinctive couple who knocked us off our feet was the creative Canadian directors-conceptualists whose brains do not stop working, Julien Vallée & Eve Duhamel, with their vivid presentation. They brought us their way of approaching the creation of communication and proved that there is nothing wrong with being different. We need to be open to the things surrounding us because unexpected details that can be used for inspiration can be everywhere.

We returned to Zagreb with full batteries and even more prepared for the challenges ahead. Well done, #DK2023!