Saatchikevin.Com Community Letter June 2005

FROM KEVIN ROBERTS, CEO WORLDWIDE
SAATCHI & SAATCHI, IDEAS COMPANY

* Global greetings to radical optimists
* The future of newspapers is to be inspirational
* Talking to Beijing, Cincinnati, Montreal, Auckland
* The paradox of constancy through the luxury market
* Myra Stark's State of the Consumer 2005 report
* Lovemarks goes to the four corners of the globe
* Inspirational consumer stories at Lovemarks.com
* The future of sleep and other media headlines
* How agencies and clients thrive together

Greetings to everyone. A special welcome to all the new people in our community of radical optimists. This newsletter gets to go-getters as far a field as Melbourne, Minneapolis, Moscow, Mumbai, Mexico City and Mirano in Italy.

I was last in touch at Christmas and have made several circumnavigations since. Right now I've just been in Seoul where I was invited to launch the Korean edition of Lovemarks: The Future Beyond Brands, and to speak to publishers and editors at the 58th World Association of Newspapers Congress. http://www.saatchikevin.com/talkingit/korea.html

THE FUTURE OF NEWSPAPERS IS TO BE INSPIRATIONAL

Arthur O. Sulzberger, Chairman of The New York Times Company, said "Since we know that our consumers have an incredible number of media options, we must find a way to become their daily indispensable choice. So how do we do this? In one-way or another, this fundamental question is the underlying theme of every presentation at this conference."

My response: As I offered to several US intelligence agencies earlier this year when I was invited to address them about how to connect emotionally, reflecting the worst parts of life leaves you with low positive equity. I proposed re-shaping "the war on terror" to "a fight for a better world." Move into an emotionally positive and inclusive space, where people can see they have a contribution to make and they'll love you forever. This doesn't mean you ignore the bad stuff. It does mean you make it part of a powerful story that leads us all to a better place.

So in the multi-mediated news-on-demand Consumer Republic, where almost everyone has access to the tools if not the desire to be publisher, editor and scribe, people are asking if the media will stand for a greater version of the human story. The newspaper model of the 20th century was production-driven. The newspaper model of the 21st century must be inspiration-driven. You can read the full text of "Shake, Rattle and Roll" at http://www.saatchikevin.com/talkingit/korea.html

TALKING TO BEIJING, CINCINNATI, MONTREAL, AUCKLAND

The culmination of a three-city launch of the Lovemarks book in China was a presentation to the business and marketing faculty of the University of Beijing. I'm awed by China's 5,000 years of culture, rich in philosophy, myth, story and practice, and the platform this sets for a deeply alluring marketing opportunity called Brand China. With 60% of the world's population in Asia, with a China-led ASEAN free trade zone by 2010, Brand China will set the course of the 21st century. Read "Hero" at http://www.saatchikevin.com/talkingit/beijing05.html

In Cincinnati USA, I helped business owners explore their region through the Love/Respect axis. Cincinnati is an all-together surprising place, an essential part of American enterprise and global commerce. My challenge to the emotional magician Steven Spielberg was to come back home to his birthplace and create stories about a city of progress. See "The Future Beyond Brands" address to the Greater Cincinnati Chamber Of Commerce http://www.saatchikevin.com/talkingit/gccc.html

At home in Auckland at the Thrive conference I had a blast rolling out ideas to inspire an abundant future for New Zealand - unleash emotion, make the consumer boss, bust through with Sisomo (more later), get your edge, and make the world a better place. See "Tomorrow Is Overdue" http://www.saatchikevin.com/talkingit/thrive.html

And in Montreal it was a chance to talk to Canadian retailers about activating the drama of the brand where it really matters - turning shoppers into buyers. Shopping is everywhere. It's pervasive, restless, and a paradox. Mystery, sensuality and intimacy have the power to go past this - to make you irresistible. See "Jumping Jack Flash" to the Retail Council of Quebec. http://www.saatchikevin.com/talkingit/quebec.html

THE PARADOX OF LUXURY

The more it changes the more it stays the same. Prestige and exclusivity move with consumer times, and yet they are timeless. They speak to the same lifestyle, tastes and aspirations everywhere. Uncompromised, they never go out of fashion. In May, Jim O'Mahony, CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi Asia, Australasia and South America, spoke to the Financial Times Business of Luxury Summit in Shanghai. Jim showcased our creative work on Lexus, Olay and The Ritz-Carlton. The presentation explored the paradox of constancy through the changing luxury market, highlighting the importance of staying true to one creative idea, strategy and equity that speaks to the same prestige consumer around the globe. http://www.saatchikevin.com/workingit/luxury.html

MYRA STARK'S STATE OF THE CONSUMER

For several years Myra Stark of Saatchi & Saatchi New York has published an astute State of the US Consumer report. Myra is a trend pioneer, who has made a career of researching and de-coding cultural movements in the wind, and translating them into stimulus for marketing, advertising and new product programs. Her 2005 insights into the modern consumer: we're seeing people driving change and at the same time yearning for the past; consumers are holding businesses accountable for their actions, and yet there's a growing culture of mass affluence (a compulsion to acquire things with bling); technology is helping us communicate and keep in touch in real-time, across time zones, and yet more people than ever before are living alone; and how do consumers cope with more choice than ever? Check Myra's pulse of America at http://www.saatchikevin.com/workingit/myra_stark_report2005.html

LOVEMARKS GOES TO THE FOUR CORNERS OF THE GLOBE

Two weeks ago it was China. Last week Spain, and Korea. This week Italy. New York publishers powerHouse Books (happy 10th anniversary Daniel and crew) and their co-edition partners have been rolling Lovemarks: The Future Beyond Brands off the presses around the globe. We're set to launch editions in Japanese, Russian and Hebrew - 14 languages published by year-end, with coverage extending to 30 countries. An expanded edition of the book comes out in September in the UK and US, with a chapter on Lovemarks and shopping - 'Diamonds in the Mine'.

powerHouse have two new Saatchi & Saatchi titles for release in October - Sisomo: The Future On Screen (consumers were once passive in the face of the mass market, now they are savvy individuals wired into the greatest information network the world has ever known. To cut through media fragmentation and connect with today's consumers, content must engage with sight, sound, and motion); and in November, Shapes In My Heart: Lovemarks In Action (the most engaging and insightful ideas and stories about Lovemarks in action from world thought-leaders, including the voices of Inspirational Consumers - the passionate, committed, and expressive people who freely share stories of their Lovemarks from shoes to scents, jams to jeans, cars to countries, movie stars to soccer players).

LIGHTING UP THE WORLD AT LOVEMARKS.COM

We've just clicked over 7,000 nominations/comments and nine million page downloads since we re-launched Lovemarks.com. Running hot right now are Villeroy & Boch, Lego, Tim Tams, The Rolling Stones, Dublin, Sonar 4 (what a passionate community for this digital recording software), the neat Xootr Scooter, Silicon Graphics, True Lemon, the omnipresent Shah Rukh Khan from Bollywood and two favorites from New Zealand - the Canterbury Crusaders and Vogels bread. Prizes this month for the best Lovemarks stories about your favorite products/places/people are fabulous Moleskine notebooks. http://www.lovemarks.com/

THE FUTURE OF SLEEP AND OTHER HEADLINES

Every two months I have fun writing a column for L'Espresso, the leading news magazine in Italy. They give me broad scope. This year has included the future of sleep (an unusually important topic - did you dream last night?); 20 ideas to make a difference in 2005; changing the language and actions of the war on terror; and coincidence. Do you believe in chance, probability, conspiracy, serendipity or synchronicity? As the world gets smaller, the questions around coincidence are getter bigger. And there's advantage in answering them. As Steve Jobs says "creativity is just connecting things."

http://www.saatchikevin.com/sustainingit/lespresso.html

And check out some personal stories and dreams with a very Australian magazine I fell in love with, "Dumbo Feather: Pass It On".

http://www.saatchikevin.com/media/72_DumboFeather_Mar05.pdf

The American Association of National Advertisers recently asked me and the Worldwide Creative Director of Saatchi & Saatchi, Bob Isherwood, whether we thought conflict with clients was a good thing. There is a short and obvious answer to that, but we took it a step further and asked 40 of our CEOs and Creative Directors around our network for their secrets about creating loyalty beyond reason in client relationships. We had 20 answers, starting with "passion".

http://www.saatchikevin.com/media/article-advertise-agencyevaluation.pdf

Summer's coming. Winter's coming. Wherever you are in the world, be hot, be cool, dream big and stay strong.

KR

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