The second annual Global Media Festival just wrapped up Tuesday night. It was 2 days of focus on the future of media. The organizers are C Squared the group behind Cream Magazine , which is dedicated to regularly celebrating the best of global media achievement. And although the organizers opted not to name this conference, for me the resounding theme was one of juxtaposition.

From the outset I was struck by the juxtaposition of a conference dedicated to the digital future of communications being held in the ancient city of Venice. There was plenty of juxtaposition of old and new. From featured speakers like advertising legend Sir John Hegarty to dot come millionaire and MySpace co-founder Brett Brewer… Venice was often a study in contradictions.

There was the juxtaposition of the shortage of natural and human resources and a healthy discussion about the industry need to address both. On Day 2, Peter Seligmann, the CEO of Conservation International addressed the conference on the issue of sustainability. He implored all of us in the communications business to use our considerable influence to make a difference. It was certainly a proud moment for PHD when the efforts behind PHD Sustain were recognized. I also learned that PHD has just recently entered into a pro bono relationship to work with Conservation International, which is great and inspiring news.

Other interesting juxtapositions that became apparent in Venice:

With the juxtaposition of the old mass communication model of one-to-many migrating quickly to become one-to-one (with the rise of social media and peer-to-peer communication) there was a very interesting observation that suggests … in the heyday of mass communication, brands used to tell stories to consumers. In the new digital age of communications, consumers will tell stories about brands.

There was the juxtaposition that Sir John Hegarty alluded to that revolves around experience. His thought for the new age is that we all come from a world where we learn and then do. He believes that we need to alter our behaviour for the new reality to “do and then learn”… and hey … who wants to argue with a man who has achieved knighthood?

There was also the juxtaposition of content and context. For years we have heard the mantra that “content is king”, but in an age where technology is enabling smart messaging to receptive audiences, we are quickly moving to an era where context is king. This is a major leadership challenge for us as media practitioners and there was certainly a resounding spirit of readiness from the media throng in attendance.

One final note on Venice … it was truly great to see PHD so dominant on the world media stage. Beyond the aforementioned sustainability initiatives, our ETNA planning interface was featured in one of the breakout sessions on Media Creativity, and our Global CEO, Mike Cooper, addressed the conference most eloquently on the future of the media business.

Like Venice once proved, it is quite possible for a culturally significant (albeit small) body to make a big and lasting impression on the world… we should all be very proud.

Magazines Canada’s third annual Best on Page event, an exhibition of award-winning magazine ad creative from around the world.

Best on Page featured 170 award winning concepts from the Cannes Lions Festival, Epica Awards, Canada ’s own Marketing Awards, Créa Awards and Anvil Awards.

Attendees had the opportunity to vote on the creative execution most deserving of Best of Show honours. The competition was fierce as 143 of the 170 ads captured votes.

And the winner is: Sony PlayStation from TBWA\Madrid in Spain.

Second place honours go to Bazooka Bubble Gum from Duval Guillaume Brussels in Belgium and third place is an ad for the Breast Cancer Welfare Association from Saatchi and Saatchi, Petaling Jaya in Malaysia .

Best of Show winners are a testament to the creative potential of the magazine medium. These ads stop, engage and influence readers in powerful ways.

For your own personal exhibition of each of the winning 170 creative concepts from Best on Page, click here. Enjoy the show!

Other things you could be doing with your time if you choose not to participate in Toronto’s :20 minute makeover this Friday at 2pm:

• Shutdown and restart your computer (average time :20 minutes - 1 hour)
• Sing “99 bottles of beer on the wall.”
• Calculate your age in days
• Re-write your to-do list (again)
• Try to fit your to-do list on one post-it note
• Eat your lunch with chopsticks
• Reprogram this week’s PVR schedule
• Do the :20 minute workout at your desk (just getting the leg warmers on could take :13)

Join us this Friday, April 18th at 2pm for 100% participation in our community cleanup.

For more information on this important initiative:

http://www.toronto.ca/litter/clean-up/20minute.htm

A message to everyone working in a marketing related field - expect to fail.  Why?  Because if you do not fail, you will not learn and will become complacent.  Companies and people need to embrace this notion.

Here is a quick case study on how expecting to fail can lead to success…

In the early ’90s, the BBC was getting killed in the market by the competition, funding was being cut, staff were leaving for bigger and better opportunities, and the near future was very grim.  Enter a new CEO with a pioneering spirit who created a “Gambling Fund”.  No, this did not mean creating a bunch of successful Texas Hold ‘em players, but a fund that would only be given to projects that were destined to fail.  In a time where budgets were short, they recognized that they first had to fail to become a success and focused financial effort to do just this.

Guess what came from it?  Only the biggest hit in BBC history, now a world-wide phenomenon, and one of my favorites:

Catch a clip or two here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/theoffice/

Creativity week is almost here and we will have another opportunity to rejoice around our mistakes, I’m looking forward to it.

We recently pitched the business of a client who has very strong values when it comes to health and the environment.  We felt we needed to cater as much of the media plan with sustainable media as possible and thus was born “The Living Board”.

Don’t get the wrong idea - the board is really not alive, it is not organic in anyway.  The concept is simply that the material is a recyclable vinyl and then transformed into shopping bags and given out to consumers when the campaign is over.  It is also bio-degradable for the time down the road when the shopping bag is no longer needed.

Great idea Michelle and Jonathan.  No word yet on if we won the assignment, stay tuned.

I just stumbled across this on Trendhunter, which follows the above to a degree - recycled movie posters.  And no, I don’t nor do I ever plan to own one…

These pretty bags will delight many environmentally conscious women and if they happen to be film buffs, they will be doubly delighted. The bags are made of recycled movie billboards. Films such as Mission Impossible, The Bourne Ultimatum, Pride and Prejudice and a whole lot more, are featured on these unlikely canvases.

Outfitted with an inside zippered pouch and an elastic-over-metal closure, the Billboard Bags are one of a kind according to Ecoist. They sell for $48.00 and if you’re curious about which movies are represented in the gallery, here’s the breakdown:

1. Thunderbird
2. Pride and Prejudice
3. Bourne Ultimatum
4. Superbad
5. Mission Impossible

How will you be reducing the carbon footprint of your next marketing campaign?

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