Today was sadly the last day of the festival, and it started with a chocolate croissant and coffee as every other day did. I started my day at the Palais Interactive stage to learn how Al is being used in the fashion industry. The talk centered around the creation of the first 5g digital supermodel, Shudu. Shudu was a creation by a British fashion photographer, but then was used to bridge the gap between fans at home and the stars on the red carpet. With the collaboration of many companies, Shudu was turned into a hologram that could interact with celebrities on the red carpet, and then share their looks on social media. Shudu helped users find outfits that resembled the celebrities’ red carpet looks for a cheaper price. I really enjoyed this talk, and my mind was blown for most of the event. It’s crazy to see how technology continues to evolve.
Next I attended a talk entitled How Collaboration Created YouTube’s Greatest Hits. I was looking forward to this event, but I was kind of let down. The talk was about how three companies collaborated to release a record-breaking music sponsorship campaign. Apparently the company broke records for YouTube with 6.6 million views and 22.5 million impressions, but that’s all I really learned from the talk. They did not do a great job explaining the reason for releasing this campaign or what the campaign meant. Maybe they did not go into much detail because they thought people knew the campaign, but I didn’t because they were companies from Ireland. Though their results were impressive, I did not learn the true meaning and strategies of the campaign which left me confused.
I spent my afternoon at the Palais stage where I listened to representatives from Adidas share about how they are maximizing digital while articulating culture. Their strategies in doing this include putting their customers first, being data driven, efficient, and scalable. They also shared some of the ways they are doing this within their company. For example, a photo booth database system that is placed for consumers to use while they are in the store waiting, which can be shared on social media quickly. Another example was a data based program that triggers content on a screen when a certain shoe is picked from the showcase wall. I really enjoyed their presentation and hearing about their strategies to connect to today’s culture.
Later, I attended Apple’s talk about how being simple is hard. The Vice President of Marketing Communications shared that the defining characteristic of Apple’s brand are simplicity, creativity, and humanity. Throughout the talk he discussed Apple’s ads that convey these three characteristics, but mostly simplicity. For example, the ads “Shot on Iphone” and “Behind the Mac” showcased how Apple products are used in daily life to capture and help create great things in the world. My favorite point made throughout the talk was that Apple believes in quality over quantity in advertisements. For example, where and when an ad is shown compared to throwing ads anywhere and anytime. I believe this is an important aspect in advertising for any company. Advertising is an art that requires much thinking and strategy, therefore it should be treated like it.
The last event I attended of the festival was hosted by Tommy Hilfiger. Here I learned about their new clothing line called Tommy Hilfiger adaptive, which is a clothing line for people with disabilities. According to their CMO, one in five people have a disability, and there isn’t a clothing brand that has done anything for this community. Therefore, the company took the line that everyone loves, and modified it to help the disabled community. I appreciate how they made the comment of modifying the clothing brand rather than changing it, so the community didn’t feel segregated. Tommy Hilfiger is wanting to start an inclusion revolution, and I know from attending Target’s talk the other day that they are on board too! I love seeing big clothing brands doing things like this to help make everyone feel seen and included.
I ended my day at the closing party where all creatives gathered to celebrate an amazing week. This week has been an eye opening week that makes me very hopeful for my future career. One day I hope to return to this inspiring festival, not as a student but as a creator. I am leaving inspired, and cannot wait to take what I have learned and use it to grow into the creator I am meant to be.
Keeping up with Katherine 