Saturday, February 28, 2015

Andrew Robertson Lecture on 2/23/15

Andrew Robertson, worldwide CEO and President of advertising agency BBDO spoke at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication Monday as part of the Reed Sarratt Distinguished Lecture Series. His lecture was geared toward talking about the "Immediate Future."

He said when he first got into the advertising business, he wanted to be the first to do everything. He quickly learned that being first wasn't a important as learning fast. The future is happening each and everyday, and as media professionals and communicators we must be aware of the new and improved modes of communication.

Robertson predicted that in the future all screens of our lives will be connected from refrigerators to watches to cellphones to television sets. This future, I believe is closer than we think.One thing that will never change is the emotional effect that people get when they watch something like a commercial on T.V. Emotions drive profits, behaviors and business.

The goal of a commercial or advertisement is to create this emotional effect by producing either dopamine, which is a molecule associated with confidence and winning and Oxycontin, which is associated with love, trust and bringing people together.

With these molecules in mind advertisers, marketers and communicators can get people to do a lot of things, such as buying a product, joining a group or using a service. I've learned that people will associate themselves with anything that makes them feel good or will empower them. I think feeling is the most important thing in advertising. If a communicator can make his or her audience feel what he or she intended for them to feel then their job has been done. That includes photos, stories, advertisements, videos, etc.

Let the outpouring of dopamine and Oxycontin drive the world of communication! 

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