Thea Skelton, Festival Director at Dubai Lynx International Festival of Creativity will be joining this year’s IAA Global Conference, taking place in Bucharest, on 24-25th of October. She has been running Dubai Lynx, the Middle East and North Africa’s sister festival to Cannes Lions for the past 18 months. The Dubai Lynx is the Middle East & North Africa annual must-attend event for the creative communications industry, awarding both MENA campaigns but also international ones. Thea loves her work with Dubai Lynx and has a fundamental belief that creativity is at the heart of all good business.
Creativity has many definitions, some said it takes courage, and others that it`s all about imagination. But that`s the beauty of creativity – it can be express through millions of ideas.
For Ingrid Viulet, Brand Manager at Ursus Breweries, creativity is looking at the world around us from a new perspective. It is doing things your own way, personal and unique as every individual is. And just like every one of us, it is influenced by our own experiences that form our outlook on the world.
Marketing around the world shows us how different creativity may be expressed and the fact that, indeed, it is an endless resource. In a specific cultural framework, influenced by the principles and values of the society, creativity always finds a way to innovate and take us by surprise. Intended to be locally relevant, there are broad horizons to be explored in every culture, and this is exactly what adds flavor and makes campaigns memorable.
Some of the world's most impactful campaigns receive recognition at Dubai Lynx, and as festival director, Thea Skelton has the privilege of witnessing top creativity in the Middle East and North Africa. Further, Ingrid asked Thea to share her view on creativity, industry trends, and most interesting, the new generation of creative people – the millennials.
You organize one of the biggest creativity festivals in the world. What do you think drives creativity?
The idea that creativity can be such a positive force for business change and good in the world is so compelling; it inspires people to come up with better and more original ideas all the time. That inspiration is fueled by passion – and it’s that passion for ideas which sits in the heart of every creative person. What I think is really exciting is the developing definition of creativity.
What do judges at Dubai Lynx appreciate most in the creative work?
As normal, our juries are looking for original ideas, flawlessly executed strategies and beautiful craftwork. It’s fascinating to see how the region puts its own spin on the global creative trends. This year at Cannes Lions there were lots of examples of a new type of creativity taking home awards.
It’s a new breed of creativity we call the ‘New Work’, and it’s produced by the new generation of creatives. They innovate, incubate and think outside marketing and advertising norms. It’s about culture-shifting messages that break open standard channels and I can’t wait to see how the MENA region interprets this ‘New Work’ philosophy.
If you would give one piece of advice to young talents taking part in Dubai Lynx, what would it be?
Bring your A-game because the standard is so high. But don’t let that put you off… competing against your peers is the best way to develop your own skills. Just being at the Festival gives you great exposure to some truly remarkable people.
We hear lots of stories from people who got to meet their creative heroes, or even discover some new ones, at Dubai Lynx. The people who enjoy Dubai Lynx the most are those who completely immerse themselves in the experience – they go to the talks, speak to as many people as possible and study the work closely.
What would your all-time favorite advertising campaign be and why?
I’m not allowed to pick favorites as I have to be neutral about this sort of thing, but it was great to see an Egyptian campaign for Coca-Cola pick up so many Lions at Cannes this year. It was called ‘The Line Up Song’ and it’s very catchy. It’s always really inspiring to see regional creativity win big on the global stage.
The line-up Song, Coca-Cola
This Coca-Cola campaign was developed by FP7, part of McCann Worldwide, to increase awareness on the Egyptian football team.
Ursus - A teaser on Creativity series is part of IAA Global Conference – Creativity Can Change the World, the event will take place on October 24-25, at The National Opera House in Bucharest. For more information please visit www.creativity4better.com.
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