Why producers?

Budapest 29 MarchAlastair CreamerThe template for this slide show is all over the place (side as well as bottom strip).1

eyes wide opened

nurturing our expertiseBrandsWe collaborate with businesses to unlock the potential within brands through insight work, positioning and innovationWe create our own brands when we see a potential need includingGreat British Chefs and Eyes Wide Opened

Creative SkillsWe train people in applying creative skills such as storytelling and visual literacy to improve their brands and businessesWe refine our creative skills by ensuring were involved in projects outside the office

ExperiencesWe craft, stage and run events that have resonance and impact from launches to summits, blue sky conversations to deep divesTo keep us energised we devise creative interventions for the annual Bermondsey St Festival

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4everything starts with a business issueThe war for talentExploding social media and communications landscapeHow far can I collaborate?The need to tell stories, not exchange informationData overload less is moreTechnology change will never be this slow againDo good, do well - the rising star of mindfulnessBeautiful leadershipInnovation is a mindset not a departmentThe welcoming of authenticity (a culture of heart and head)Living with ambiguityOur approach to risk (in a risk-averse world)Environment and culture (belonging)

catalystCatalyst was created in 1999 and ran until 2007 across all of Unilever UKBased within the Human Resources functionObjectives were to bring two businesses together (Lever Brothers + Elida Faberge) and create a new culture and to help make this new business less insular and connect it to its consumersTo re-establish confidence in ideas, foster creativity and provide inspiring business solutions around brands, innovation and communicationsTo provide a skills edge to some of the leading brand managersMain programmes included: Words Matter; Live + Direct;Stimulating Reflection; artist in residence; 7th Heaven;Braver Conversations; Creative Courage; Unleashed

7Live + Direct

conversation

words matterLong term multi-layered programme for Unilever that helped individuals and teams write more creatively, engagingly and develop skills around editing.Language, and our use of it, is constantly evolving and people arent taught how to adapt and write engagingly for different audiences. We created opportunities including business writing workshops, sessions with the Royal Court Theatre, a new library and one to one coaching with a poet.

language9carnival: a new way of workingWe developed a transformative experience for a businesses top 100 global leaders.The challenge was to build stronger working relationships within a global team.We used the theme of carnival to give people an experience of a new way of working which relied on clear roles and responsibilities and absolute trust.The carnival company, Kinetika, role modelled the behaviour. We had 15 year old children showing business leaders how to do it.

transformation

Dr Hans HansenAssistant Professor,Texas Tech University

Narrative Theory expert working with legal teams on Death Row in Texas

Applied his expertise to helping a business tell its story in a new way

storytellingBurts Bees brand architecture

We worked with the company to help them reappraise their brand positioning and values and to build a more creative culture.

Within this we led a piece of work around storytelling and narrative to help them focus on the key messages of their brand in an increasingly competitive market.

storytellinghow several artists can tell one storyA set designer sourced images that distilled the idea of the brand into a single image

A decorative historian explored the look and feel of the brand within its historical context

A poet researched the language and stories of the worlds of tea and coffee

A historian researched the family and company story

storytellingMars - marketing skillsA one-year training programme for the Marketing department of Mars UK.

We focused on training them to develop better concepts, craft more inspirational briefs and judge advertising more effectively. We call this visual literacy.

It contained a mix of workshops and monthly stimulus to ensure the skills were being embedded.

visual literacyvisualisation

visual literacyspace to contemplate

We were asked to host and facilitate a 3 day event bringing together 60 experts from the worlds of science, art, religion and spirituality.

The goal was to discuss and build a route forward for a large scale public project focussing on experiencing the numinous.

Space to contemplate is now a movement, planning several sites and interventions around the world, staffed by high-powered volunteers who are carrying the idea forward. Were still involved.

conversationDJs learning from a parallel worldWe were commissioned to help a businesss brand managers approach their job in a more creative way.

We used DJs as a parallel world to illuminate what the best in brand building looks like:

Understanding context and appealHaving unique consumer insight and reaction to customer needsBeing at the centre of the actionBalance between creative vision and the specific occasionFeedback is immediate

inspirationCan we get a still from the film18

inspirationconcept storytellingGSK wanted to align their marketing team around a shared process for writing more inspiring, business-winning concepts. We developed a new approach for them which had, at its heart, stories and storytelling. We also started the journey towards a more consumer-focused language. We brought to the workshops the work of several writers, film pitches, the structures of stories and writing vivid consumer portraits in 6 words.

language/storytelling20the fragrance revolution

multi-sensorial

spiritedconfidentassuredpersonal(up close and)intimateconnectinggenerouswarmthrichnessintelligentsensuoustexturedepth (lower notes)authenticemotionalunpretentious

The brands sound ismulti-sensorial eyes wide openedcatalysing cultural change in businessLeaders must be actively involved in the programme, not just budget holders. In this way you establish a culture of genuine permissionAlways start with a specific business issue, not a creative aspirationIt is part of your learning agenda not just your creative agendaProgrammes should be multi-layered to allow people to engage at different pointsExpect a dynamic reaction from people both positive and negative. This is emotional territory that is engaging head and heartclosing thoughtsIts a lot to do with the quality of leadership / courage and

permissionpersonalperspectiveposition

the opportunity

You need someone to translate between the worlds of business and the arts both internally (explaining the relevance of an intervention) and externally (creating the relationship between a business issue and a creative solution)

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areas of expertiseBrandsWe collaborate with businesses to unlock the potential within brands through insight work, positioning and innovationWe create our own brands when we see a potential need includingGreat British Chefs and Eyes Wide Opened

Creative SkillsWe train people in applying creative skills such as storytelling and visual literacy to improve their brands and businessesWe refine our creative skills by ensuring were involved in projects outside the office

ExperiencesWe craft, stage and run events that have resonance and impact from launches to summits, blue sky conversations to deep divesTo keep us energised we devise creative interventions for the annual Bermondsey St Festival

28the producersWe were commissioned to develop a piece of work for a group of 400 top marketers to raise the standard and impact of their communication. They recognised that the quality of their work was being compromised by the way they were leading their creative process.

We selected some of the most prominent leaders within the creative industries. Their stories included: the development of Oscar-winning films; the most ambitious art commission at Tate Modern; creating a prize that changed the face of literature; the challenge of evolving the largest music festival in the world.

inspirationShekhar Kapur Achim Borchardt-Hume //Kevin Townsend David parfitt emily eavis

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