A very interesting panel gave their opinion today in Cannes at the McCann Worldgroup & MRM Worldwide session on which next technologies will have the biggest impact on people’s lives and how these will inform and shape their experiences and enable them to shape their own. Nick Brien, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer – McCann Worldgroup was leading the conversation. Black Eyes Peas’ Will.i.am was clearly in his element entertaining the audience with his thoughts on how creativity should inform technology and vice versa whilst Tod Machover (Composer, Inventor and Educator) had a word of warning as well as advice.
Will.i.am and Tod Machover on stage at Cannes Lions 2011
Will.i.am (who is ‘“director of creative innovation at Intel) says that the ways he used to create music, communicated with the record company and broadcasted were not connected back in 2000. Today you can make, send and experience music on the same device’ He jokes that the invention of radio was nothing in comparison as you can’t –after all – make music on a radio. His idea of how technology should shape experiences is clearly about connected experiences: ‘This microphone I’m wearing is so old school, so nineties – I should have my phone to speak, broadcast and record. ‘And I can tweet with it whilst I’m waiting backstage’ he debates ‘'In the past I was backstage twiddling thumbs – now I tweet while I wait it was as if I knew that one day I would tweet’.
Technical confidence is good but get creative ideas away from the computer
Tod Machover is composer but has also invented many new technologies for music, such as ‘Hyperinstruments’ which uses smart computers to enhance musical expression and creativity. Tod observes how young people are growing up with an enormous amount of technology to hand. ‘Although it is good they feel confident using technology they may want to get their creative ideas away from computers as tools can shape and restrict ideas’
If we take technical and creative ideas together there will be movement
Will.i.am recommends not to wait for other people to solve your problems but to take your own first steps ‘if we all do this together there will be movement’. On communities he says: brands & agencies can turn the consumer into agents that add value to the community, how to do that that's the real puzzle.
Todd: ‘I would say the same thing: everything is changing so fast. You want to help people find their passion. For people with messages there is so much demand and so much competition that you can’t be conservative. People are bombarded with information so much – you want to keep attention for longer. Draw your audience in. Be bold and keep people inside a message for longer.
Johan Jervøe (Vice-President, Sales and Marketing Group, Director of Creative Services and Digital Marketing at Intel) concludes confirming that we (the creators of music, marketeers, private individuals) should definitely not take no for an answer from technology companies and that the public instead should keep coming with creative ideas to feed this change.
Have a look here if you like to know more about connected experiences at Microsoft Advertising or contact our sales team.
Be sure to follow all our Cannes Lions 2011 coverage.
Best, Simone
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