* lightbulb moment *

OMG. I think I just figured out what I want to do with my life. #winning!


Peter McGuinness is the CEO of Gotham, a NY advertising agency.  He graduated from RWU in '91 with a business degree and presented "Advertising Evolution and Revolution" to current students.  Advertising Age called Gotham "the firm to watch out for" and the "#1 standout." 


He had great insight and provided so much knowledge about how advertising is evolving and how we need to consistently grow and transform with technology and social media in order to be successful.  McGuinness described advertising field as digital, mobile, and hyperconnected.


I learned that social media is NOT a fad - it's a fundamental shift in how we communicate, which can be called "socialnomics."  Social media is not going away, it's here to stay and we must embrace it.  This gives us so many more opportunities to express ourselves creatively. Now, consumers are in control with many choices - brands are porous and democratized so brands have to "earn" our time.  They need to be creative and interesting so that consumers won't want to fast forward through the message.  


Advertising is changing the ways of communication.  We must make it personal so there is a connection with the consumer.  As in any long lasting, rich relationship, there must be reciprocity between a consumer and a brand.  Advertising looks at ideas differently - the brand promise is delivered in a real way.  


Denny's "America's Diner is Always Open" openness campaign, Chobani's "Nothing but Good" campaign, and the Mandela Day "Make an Imprint" campaign were some of McGuinness' favorite most successful projects he worked on.  


In class, I learned that in order to get a reaction, advertisers must inform and inspire consumers to drive them to participation.  You can, in fact, change behavior.  People respond positively by an experience rather than information and facts being thrown at them.  In order to do this, we have to combine the real world with the digital world, seamlessly.  


Perhaps the most important lesson that I was able to take away from the presentation was the final video clip.  Words matter whether they are spoken, visual, or in written form.  CHANGE YOUR WORDS. CHANGE YOUR WORD.  Wording is everything; the same message communicated in a different way is able to create extremely different reactions.  


McGuinness finished by saying that advertising is a characteristic; it can't be learned.  In order to be successful in this industry, you must be curious, knowledgeable, hyperconnected, curious, and creative. Emotion always trumps logic in advertising because everyone can relate to emotions.