On October 16th 2008, the Art Directors Club of Germany (ADC) e.V., Germany´s most important creative club that brings together the leading creative minds in the German-speaking region (more information) hosted the 1. ADC BRANDS AND IDEAS CONGRESS (BIC). More than 300 participants came to the very hip and historical »Umspannwerk« (a former electrical generator hall) in Berlin to meet over 27 international speakers and experts to discuss the future of brands in the digital age.
Among them were Colleen DeCourcy, TBWA Chief Digital Officer, Chuck Porter, CEO of the award-winning Crispin Porter + Bogusky agency and Marko Ahtisaari, director of brand & desing of the Finnish MTS-revolutionist blyk.
An excellent line-up of creative executives, art directors and investors spiced up the agenda, among them for example Morten Lund, Albert Edward Kelly, Jean-Remy von Matt, Amir Kassaei or Sebastian Turner.
The ADC BIC is oriented particularly towards those responsible for the management of companies and brands from the communications sector and commerce. In contrast to the plethora of Web 2.0 conferences, the ADC approach is that creative, revolutionary ideas, combined with pioneering innovations in communications and marketing, form the basis for successful brand management.
The following issues were discussed in 2008:
- How are consumers’ lifestyles changing?
- How is the way of using media changing?
- What are the roles of brands and marketing?
- Where can digital marketing provide added value?
- Which challenges does digital marketing bring?
- What are the opportunities for the brand communications of the future?
- Which current models of creative brand management are already pointing the way forwards?
- How can creativity become a driving force behind innovation in the Digital Age?
More than 20 speakers, including leading experts from the fields of innovative research, Web 2.0 and new forms of marketing, plus international top creatives, visionaries, academics and media professionals, presented their strategies and concepts for tomorrow’s brand communications, extending far beyond advertising and into social networks, blogs or podcasts.
