Simon Takes New York

The chill in the air on this beautiful spring day reminded me of the intensity of New York City…I went to the gym at 6:00am and as always it was jam packed with New York executives…then I went out and breathed in the crisp New York air, had a hot Starbucks coffee, broke out the wall street journal and saw many of my old comrades from my days in New York…all with the excitement of knowing that one of our own would be keynoting the Advertising Age Digital Conference in downtown Manattan. I love living in London, and theres many things that London offers that NY cant, but these kinds of moments are quintessential New York and almost a perfect morning as far as im concerned.

Our CMO, Simon Clift keynoted the Adage digital conference…one of the biggest advertising events of the year…and without exaggeration, he quite simply “rocked the apple” ("big apple" is ny citys nickname). With a great narrative that intertwined our approach to the economy, emerging media, the environment and globalization all with a sense of humour and humility that is uniquely Simon, he captivated the standing room only crowd.

Video - Simons Opening:


He themed the whole thing Mad Men 2.0…after the popular TV show about the glory days of advertising…when brands were first pioneering in television.. He made the analogy that we’re in another period like that now…where we have the opportunity to truly re-write the rules of communications..but we must act…otherwise, someone else will play the lead in this space..

Rather than opening with a slew of charts depicting the dramatic changes in the media landscape, he told a great story about his grandson in brazil and how his behaviours alone typified the changes…he then talked about how we will continue to support our brand despite the economy as historically brands that do so come out much better when the economy recovers, he used case studies both internal and external to bring to life some of the best work in the business and he linked some our CSR work around the globe with social media.

Simon Talking about the future...


Overall, he positioned us a media pioneer, a caring and responsible global company and one that will stay the course during these tough times. The following outlines some of the tweets that were posted during his speech:

mcutler: Simon Clift from Unilever: recession will being real scrutiny on established bastions of trust. Word. #aadigi

seekoh: Love how intellectual property goes out the window when it comes to presentations. #aadigi

seekoh: Veet "Goodbye Bush" ad a great example of a local ad that exploded on the net. Probably helps that it was hilarious. #aadigi

markfishkin: Clift: If its poss. to become famous on a $ and a dream (Julia Allison) imagine what we can do with the resources brands command. #aadigi

mcutler: #aadigi Simon Clift/#UniLever: Dove Evolution of Beauty at 140 million views? Must be True Reach, else it is the #1 YT video of all-time.

mzkagan: Simon Clift, Unliever: "There's so much inertia in the old model that as marketeers, we behave as if that's how things still are." #aadigi

TMTYL: great content and presentation by simon clift. best of the conference by far. #aadigi

executivemoms: Unilever's Simon Clift quoting Sam Walton: "Recession? I thought about it... And decided not to take part." #aadigi

gkravitz: Wider consumer concerns can hijack the message of the brand - Simon Clift CMO Unilever #aadigi

markfishkin: Clift: Consumer influences... brands are now 2-way conversation platforms, ie NIke (just do it), convo turns to sweatshops #aadigi

executivemoms: Good perspective from a top mktr on digital: "We may be ahead of some competitors, but we are most definitely behind our consumers."#aadigi

cosguru: "Some brands wont survive the natural survival of the fittest" during this digital time - Simon Clift CMO Unilever #aadigi

mcutler: #aadigi: Clift/#UniLever: showing Lynx/Axe 'Get In There' campaign. Check out their latest The Fixer campaign at thefixer.com. Solid.

bannermonkey: Looking at BBH lyxn mobile effect mobile campaign #aadigi

djbhorner: #aadigi Ben & Jerry’s: half million fans on FB in 1st month.

cosguru: "new media is being used like old media. when radio appeared it was used like newspaper" - Simon Clift CMO Unilever #aadigi

kenwheaton: They told me it was sold out, but damn there are a lot of people at #aadigi

mrosen: amazing start to day 2 AdAge Digital Conference. Simon Cliff best speaker yet. Lots on social responsibility. #aadigi

markfishkin: Clift: Distrust in business has risen... but that's an opportunity for brands to fall out on the side of "good" and "trustworthy" #aadigi

DigitalSteph_BE: Cmo of unilever simon clint is on at conf and has been the best speaker thus far. Great insights. #aadigi

executivemoms: @pblackshaw Social media has irrevocably changed the relationship betw consumers + brands. Have to embrace vs fear them jumping in. #aadigi

brklyngirl: #aadigi the dove onslaught also seems at a disconnect from what Lynx/ Axe ads portray

mcutler: #aadigi clift/#unilever: Showing Dove Onslaughter vid from Greenpeace. No one ever question that Simon has stones. :) Smart & savvy.

bannermonkey: Greenpeace Dove onslaugt(er) very good spoof #aadigi

mcutler: #aadigi clift/#unilever: odd to show a pieced together YouTube page. Video plays, scrub bar doesn't move. Looks less authentic. Easy 2 fix.

susanmaggard: Clift: Brands can promote aspirational change. ##aadigi

mcutler: #aadigi: Clift/#unilever: 'We save lives by selling soap'... connecting cleanliness to child mortality in developing world. Word.

cosguru: great presentation for top Marketing Exec on digital. Loved the slide designs/delivery - Simon Clift, CMO Global - Unilever - #aadigi

gkravitz: Fantastic Presentation by Simon Clift and start to Ad Age Digital Day #2 #aadigi

babs26: #aadigi simons presentation was incredible...jonah just told me it was one of the best he's ever had from a cmo!!!

spatrizi: Sounds like I missed a great presentation by Simon Clift - dagnabit! #aadigi

mcutler: Day 2 of #aadigi kicked off with a bang courtesy of Simon Clift/#unilever. Thanks to @amklaassen pulling everything together. :)

mktgwithmeaning: Dove sales growth slowed due to too many new category entries and not enough support #aadigi

executivemoms: S. Clift (great presen) quoting his mum, but SO me: "how come future is so hard to predict when all my worst fears keep coming true?"#aadigi

taraaverill: #aadigi okay, simon clift at unilever has inspired me to join the peace corps

davehonig: Does S.Clift comments on FatMedia Budgets making people lazy a surprise anyone? If he thinks it,i bet other CMOs are thinking same. #aadigi

@paryshnikov how has Unilever supported cause marketing efforts via social marketing channels? #aadigi

markfishkin: Pace of Kring's presentation is much slower... sad he had to follow an excellent Simon Clift from Unilever. #aadigi

wmartino: Duty called so I got to #aadigi late this morning. Sounds like I missed a killer presentation from Unilever's Simon Clift