The International Advertising Association (IAA), announced the dates for its upcoming annual Creativity4Better Conference, Brands: The Engine for Economic Revival – which will explore ‘why brands matter’ in times of crisis.
The virtual conference will take place on October 27-28 and will focus on why brands are so important to any economic recovery post-COVID-19. The event plays host to an exciting roster of speakers, featuring some of the biggest leaders from global companies including Facebook, Heineken, Google, Havas Creative as well as a keynote speech from Maher Nasser, the United Nations’ Director of DGC’s Outreach Division.
Maher Nasser will speak about the United Nations’ vision for post-COVID-19 and how governments, businesses and brands can help to ensure that recovery not only fuels an economic revival but is also sustainable and aligned with Sustainable Development Goals.
David Haigh, CEO of the world’s leading independent brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance, will also present its new report – Why Brands Matter – on the role of brands in driving growth for individual businesses and the global economy.
With speaker presentations, interactive workshops and virtual networking, the conference will centre around the opportunities to elevate the role brands play in improving the lives of people, businesses, and economics, particularly in the wake of the pandemic.
The event will bring together thousands of delegates including brands, governments, agencies, media owners, students, and academia from around the world. Some of the featured speakers include:
- Brian Solis, Global Innovation Evangelist, Salesforce
- Bram Westenbrink, Global Head Heineken Brand
- Bruno Bertelli, Global Chief Creative Officer, Publicis Worldwide
- Lisa Friedrich, Head of SMB, Europe, TikTok
- Michelle Klein, Vice President, Global Customer Marketing, Facebook
- Cecelia Wogan-Silva, Chief Evangelist of Creative Advertising and Purpose-Led Marketing, Google
- Tracey Barber, Global CMO, Havas Creative
- Gabor George Burt, Global Authority on Creative Transformation and Future-Shaping Strategy Founder of The Slingshot Framework
“In a year where a pandemic has frozen the global economy and stymied the advertising industry, we are committed to providing an engaging, interactive and rousing global conference to help drive change and recovery as we head into 2021. Despite the grave nature of this crisis, we must seek opportunities to showcase the strategic role that brands can play in fuelling our recovery, said Joel Nettey, IAA’s new World President and Chairman.
Joel Nettey added: “As the IAA, our role is to help guide the advertising industry. This year’s conference will showcase the importance of brands and inspire delegates to join our mission to work with governments across the world to support our industry, and in turn drive a global economy”.
David Haigh, CEO of Brand Finance, said: “Brands and intangible assets, in general, account for half of the total value of businesses globally. Their importance increases in times of crisis and their long-term resilience is absolutely key to economic recovery.”
David Haigh added: “We are delighted to support the IAA’s global conference and are looking forward to launching our new report – offering a unique insight into Why Brands Matter – on its opening day. We hope it will be a major stepping stone to deepening global understanding of brands and their role in value creation.”
Commenting on how brands can play a vital role in an economic recovery, Dagmara Szulce, Managing Director of IAA Global, said: “Governments don’t typically turn to our industry to help with an economic crisis, yet creativity and innovation are directly linked to a country’s GDP.”
Dagmara Szulce added: “Brands can play an educational role to help accelerate growth across geographic and cultural borders. They will also contribute significantly to the process of adaptation and growth of the new normal, which is crucial to the economy”.
