Inside Day Two of AWARD’s This Way Up Festival

The second day of AWARD’s This Way Up Festival started off with Kim Pick, group ECD of VMLY&R New Zealand, breaking down the importance of creating a career that is sustainable. 

Kim touched on the notion of ageism within the industry when she revealed that the percentage of those aged 35+ in the New Zealand industry drastically decreases to make up less than half of those working within this creative field. 

She made a note that as communicators, the industry has a responsibility to reflect culture and appeal to all audiences, but asked how that can be achieved when the industry is so skewed towards a younger generation. 

Kim took the audience through her own career, from a journalist at 16 burning the midnight oil until she could no longer sustain her career at 19. Learning from her early mistakes, she took her dedication and turned it into a career that has spanned three decades and five continents. 

She encouraged the younger members in attendance to enjoy the work that they are doing,  understand their limitations and be dedicated to fulfilling their needs, while also providing insight to those older on how to keep the wheel turning. 

The take-home message was that creativity knows no age; it needs space to grow and manifest, and that its journey is ever-evolving. 

The day then moved to Ben Keenan, a strategist, creative director and technologist who believes in the value of an idea. “You don’t think of ideas, you recognise them,” was the recurring theme throughout his presentation. 

Ben surprised those in attendance with examples of innovative tools made in a German prison, including a cigarette lighter from a battery and a toaster from a mattress and old lamp cords. He noted that sometimes the best ideas come from a place of scarcity, urgency, and a shift in perspective. 

Commenting that creativity is all about connecting the dots or seeing value where others don’t, Ben encouraged agencies to ensure clients that creativity isn’t a risk - it is a resource. 

He also touched on the ever popular topic of AI. He noted that prompting AI won’t be the most important skill, but rather seeing the value in the initial choices that it provides, comparing it to a librarian presenting the information needed for the homework, but unable to do the homework for you. 

“Our job is to give data a soul,” he said. 

A behind the scenes look into two award winning campaigns was next. The two campaigns, ‘Flipvertising’ by CHEP and ‘The First Digital Nation’ by The Monkeys couldn’t be any different, however, both followed the notion of ‘de-risking’ creativity. 

The group spoke about the process behind each campaign, the uncertainty of the final outcome, and the perseverance needed to see it through. 

Authenticity was then thrown into the mix with a talk between actor, writer and director, Mirrah Foulkes, and executive editor of Vogue Australia, Jessica Montague. Mirrah emphasised the importance of trusting oneself and offered reassurance that she is still constantly grappling with the answer to authenticity. 

She observed that the only thing that can be controlled is the input and placing a small part of oneself within a project, something truthful and vulnerable will lead to a sense of authenticity. 

And finally, the afternoon concluded with Nick Law, creative chairperson of Accenture Song, and his presentation on how to be interesting and useful when everything is changing. 

He broke it down into five points. 

Nick compared the era of generative AI to that of the first photographs, when the new technology was introduced, when you had to be a chemist in order to develop and display the photos taken. It wasn’t until after this knowledge became more accessible and easier that people were able to truly capture the art of photography. 

He believes that AI will be similar, and that eventually there will be a craft to be learned and will be just as valuable as an artist and their paintbrush or a writer and their pen. 

The festival continues today with more insights into the industry, and will conclude with the awarding Gold Pencils in the evening