Contagious is returning to ADFEST this year to help you kick-start the year in the best possible way by attending their ‘Contagious Briefing’, which will uncover the most defining trends of 2018.
Presented by Paul Kemp-Robertson, Co-Founder of Contagious Communications in London, the session is a must-see for creative and marketing executives.
What can delegates expect from your session at ADFEST this year? My session is called ‘
How to Win in 2018’. It’s a Contagious Briefing, designed to inspire and equip people with some key knowledge to succeed in the year ahead. I’ve distilled some of the biggest and most important trends happening in the world of marketing, based on research done by the
Contagious editorial team throughout the previous year.
Can you tell us more about the themes you’ll be exploring? Transparency: In a world where trust in business is at an all-time low, smart companies are strengthening bonds with consumers by being more open, honest and transparent. I’ll explain why this approach is an imperative for brands, and I’ll highlight the wave of startups that are setting new benchmarks in transparency – benchmarks that brands will now need to meet.
Modern Masculinity: Masculinity is evolving and many brands are failing to keep up. I’ll discuss how forward-thinking brands are championing progressive notions of masculinity and connecting better with their customers. By celebrating behaviours that aren't traditionally seen as ‘manly’ and showcasing alternative male identities, brands are generating positive responses, greater engagement and are exploring what it means to be a man today, across all kinds of cultures.
Politicised Brands: Over the last 18 months, culture has become increasingly politicised. I’ll look at how brands can resonate with and integrate into culture, outlining the opportunities, the pitfalls and how other marketers are approaching it successfully.
What’s your approach to unearthing trends? Contagioushas always taken a very rigorous, filtered approach. If we look at 1,000 case studies, chances are we will choose to write about less than 100 of them. This means that our approach to trends tends to go deeper than a lot of typical ‘trend watchers’. Our focus is on innovation and effectiveness, rather than chasing the latest shiny thing and sticking a badge on it. If we have developed a knack for identifying the trends and movements that matter, it’s because we take a longer-term, intelligent approach and only join the dots between bigger picture cultural shifts and creative ideas that are proven to be actually working in the marketplace.
Can you tell us a little about the history of Contagious? Contagious Magazine launched in 2004, in the middle of a marketing maelstrom. It was a time of ferment. Mobile was beginning to get smart, social media was primed to explode and people’s relationships with brands were becoming a whole lot more interactive. New media formats and behaviours meant that the audience had run ahead of the advertiser, so we figured that the communications industry needed a fresh guidance system to make sense of this brave new future.
We wanted the purpose of
Contagious to be way beyond the mere reporting of news. We sought to be an instruction manual for the future of the business, occupying the intersection of marketing, consumer culture and emerging technology.
When you're not identifying trends, what else inspires you? Nature, old buildings, brilliant novels and weird stuff on Netflix.
* ‘How to Win in 2018: Contagious Trends for Future-Proof Brands’ takes place on Saturday 24 March, 2:30 pm. www.contagious..com
