Finding The All-Important ‘Why’ of a Great PR Campaign
One Green Bean founder and global chief creative officer Kat Thomas first judged at Cannes Lions in 2011, so she’s no stranger to the Palais des Festivals.
Having launched her PR agency in Sydney, Australia in 2007, where it held the title of PR Agency of the Year for over a decade, Kat moved home to Europe in 2015 to launch and run the London office. In her role as global CCO, Kat is actively involved in a range of UK, EMEA and global client relationships including Domino’s, Virgin Voyages, Tourism Australia, Porsche, TUI and the Singapore Tourism Board, delivering standout creative campaigns that achieve mass momentum editorially, experientially and online. And with over 100 award wins to the agency’s name, she’s more than qualified as jury president for this year’s PR Lions.
Ahead of the 2024 Festival and winners being announced, Kat catches up with LBB to speak about how she’s approaching the jury room and what she’s on the lookout for.
LBB> What are the current big debates within PR – or more generally across the industry – that you expect to see coming through in the jury room?
Kat> The biggest by far is AI. 2023 was the year it broke into mainstream editorial, with a number of visually-led stories grabbing headlines. Take the images of the royal family enjoying the coronation ‘after party’… they went global in seconds and opened the door for brands to test the editorial appetite for AI imagery. We jumped in, with a playful piece for Domino’s, which did pretty well. But it was very much a moment in time. Relevancy was high due to its newness and ability to drive clicks for online media outlets. I’d say that newness has faded quickly, along with its newsworthiness. But given the jury will review work from the last year or so, I’d be surprised if we don’t see a fair few creative ideas powered by ChatGPT and Midjourney.
LBB> How do you expect AI to impact the PR category?
Kat> Whilst it’s likely we’ll see creative work that has harnessed the cultural interest in AI, I’ll be more fascinated to see examples of where the creative use of AI has delivered game-changing business impact. Most brands and organisations, along with their agencies, recognise that AI has the potential to supercharge virtually everything. Right now everyone’s figuring out how to unlock the full potential of AI’s data analysis capabilities and all the ways that can be used to optimise the customer experience – be that a more personalised connection, a more authentic one, or both. Seeing how brands are creatively unpacking AI’s bigger picture potential is something I feel the jury will have a lot of appetite for.
LBB> There is a tendency in bad PR campaigns to drive buzz for the sake of buzz, without the relevancy needed to really further the client's aims. How will you try to cut through that in the jury room?
Kat> I’m not sure clients are investing in old school ‘just make noise’ briefs very much these days… tighter budgets and increased scrutiny on ROI means there’s a lot less of that. Jury room discussions tend to put a big emphasis on the ‘why’… the rationale that makes a well-executed PR idea truly brilliant. This could be a smart consumer insight or a tonally perfect cultural response. I guess the old ‘float it down the Thames’ approach ticks the ‘buzz for the sake of it’ box, but I’m not sure many jurors would consider that world class creativity in 2024, we’ll see.
LBB> Many PR campaigns will fit into a broader integrated campaign strategy. How do you separate the PR campaign from the other parts, which naturally drive earned media? Or does it not really matter where the advertising ends and the PR begins?
Kat> I’m pretty relaxed about the old PR versus advertising debate. As a child of the ‘80s I was obsessed with ads… I had the laundrette Levi’s guy plastered on my bedroom wall and I could sing along to everything from Shake n’ Vac to the Cornetto ad. I still can. Those creative ideas regularly crossed over into editorial… think about how much the tabloids loved the Bisto family or the Nescafé saga.
Good advertising has generated talkability for decades, and that’s because of quality storytelling and entertainment. Which is just as relevant today. Most of us know the difference between an integrated creative idea which has earned at the heart of it, versus an ad campaign with some PR matching luggage. For me, it’s about looking at a campaign holistically, recognising and respecting the scale that an integrated approach can bring, but being focused on whether it’s truly earning attention, versus simply reliant on paid media.
LBB> What's your all-time favourite PR campaign for a brand?
Kat> An almost impossible question given my 25 years in this game! But here’s one that has stayed with me since I first judged at the Cannes Lions in 2011. It was in the Crisis Comms category, which isn’t where you’d expect to see memorable creative. The brand was Aflac, an American insurance company, known for its ‘quacking duck’ character. The crisis came in the form of the comedian behind the quack getting cancelled and the public demanding Aflac fire him. You can imagine the panic that would hit most comms teams in that scenario. But instead of issuing a statement, Aflac seized the opportunity with both hands. They chose to kick off a nationwide recruitment campaign for a new ‘voice behind the duck’ with the CEO announcing it on the Jay Leno Show. They ran live auditions in eight states across the US. It was massive. Three things have stuck with me – the bravery it took to respond to a crisis with comedy, the way the media got behind it, and the impact it had for the business commercially.
LBB> Humour is the big new 'culture and context' sub category this year – how do you think comedy could be better leveraged, and specifically in the category you're judging?
Kat> I’ve always been a champion of humour as a connection point with consumers, I’d say most of my ‘greatest hits’ personally are entertainment based. So I’m thrilled to see it celebrated. There continues to be a big debate around the importance of purpose and its dominance of award shows in recent years. I don’t want to diminish that, as brands have a big responsibility to ensure they make a positive impact on the world. But that said, I’m very open about the value I place on commercial creativity, which is arguably a hell of a lot harder today than it was a decade ago. Comedy is harder too, tonally it’s a trickier time to try and be funny and humour is always subjective. So brands and creative teams that crack it deserve the accolades.
LBB> How do you think clients can enable their creative agencies to unleash better comedic campaigns and projects?
Kat> This comes down to a deep collective understanding of a brand’s personality, its connection with its consumers and the willingness to be authentic and culturally relevant. Which often requires a lot of courage. I also think a long-term view helps, building brand character doesn’t happen overnight. Look at Specsavers. I listened to a podcast recently with the brilliant Nicola Wardell, MD of the internal agency there and CMO Peter Wright. They talk about the importance of their commitment over many decades to building an ownable, instantly recognisable brand personality and tone of voice. I reckon ‘Should have gone to Specsavers’ is one of the best examples of a brand utterly confident in flexing the comedic side of its DNA.
LBB> Outside of the jury room what are you really looking forward to learning or doing at this year’s Cannes Lions?
Kat> Having spent 13+ years of my career in Sydney, it’s a treat to catch up with all the Aussies and Kiwis who make the trip to Cannes. That corner of the world always punches above its weight creatively and they know how to enjoy a few coldies on the Croisette. Shout out to Campaign Brief who always host a great gathering, though memories of it are inevitably sketchy. Beyond that, the privilege that comes with a jury invite is an access-all-areas pass to every single keynote, workshop and festival event. I will fully take advantage of that and urge other jurors to do the same, even if the 8:30am sessions are a bit of a punishment after a night on the pavement beers.
