Crank the Amp

Lucy Macdonald is Hampton’s Marketing Manager and member of the Marketing Society.

There are few reasons I would brave the busy crowds of Edinburgh during August, and the Marketing Society Scotland’s Amplify Festival is one of them. (It did seem especially apt to me after battling through crowds on the Royal Mile that the theme this year was Cutting Through the Noise). Yes, as a member I might well wax lyrical about the benefits of their conferences, but there is always a lot to love at this annual celebration of marketing and creativity. And for me personally, this was the best one yet.

We started the day with the annual Ogilvy Lecture, the Society’s ode to the legacy of “father of advertising” David Ogilvy. This year, System1’s Orlando Wood explored the history behind the two schools of advertising; showmanship and salesmanship. System1’s pioneering research is defining how we measure and understand creative impact in advertising and the only thing more impressive than Orlando’s extensive knowledge on this subject is his incredibly personable and humorous delivery.

The argument that we have become so obsessed with our audiences, we rely too heavily on data to make ‘safe’ and bankable creative choices, is one I am on board with. I have long believed that we should be informed, not led, by our data. But have we gone so far down the salesmanship road, so reliant on data, that we are unable to make big creative decisions? Are we becoming too risk averse? Have we lost the ability to put on a show?

Orlando reminded us that in the 1900s the world was obsessed with science and technology. Sounds familiar. The Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts movements were a deliberate move back towards artistry. Adverts created by visionaries like Toulouse Lautrec and Theophile Steinlen are revered as works of art, things of beauty. Looking at adverts today, we see lots of close-ups on the product, ultra-targeted messaging, and a sea of sameness. If Orlando is leading the charge in a new creative revolution, then I am right behind him.

Next up, the Amplify Debate. These are a real highlight for me because although the subjects are serious, they are delivered with a lot of joy and laughter. On the table this year, whether marketing should lead the charge back to the office in a bid to improve company culture and performance. The panel, chaired by the brilliant Ian McAteer, made compelling arguments for both sides and in the end I think a fairly close result (maybe closer than the ‘for’ side expected).

We were spoiled for choice across the afternoon workshops, from The Battle of the Best Beer Ads to Nation Branding with Brand Scotland (although we already learned a lot about that from Claire Prentice last year...). Ultimately I opted to continue the culture conversation with Denholm Associates and Lane at the Employer Brand of the Year Launch. One thing I have always believed very strongly is that everyone in a business has to be fully embedded in their company brand. All too often we find this isn’t the case. Brands are something we showcase outwardly, for everyone else to see. Company values become bland and performative, not something people can really believe in. But if your own team doesn’t believe in your brand, how can you expect anyone else to? It was refreshing to hear Barry Fearn talk so candidly about the mistakes they were making with their own employer brand, and how they rectified them to earn Lane Employer Brand of the Year 2024.

Next up, another Amplify regular, the Cannes Lions Review with Julian Boulding and Franziska Gregor. Julian confirmed a couple of things I had heard about Cannes this year (where was all the knockout creativity?), which backs up Orlando’s point that we might be growing short on big ideas.

He talked about the challenges we’re facing in the industry right now but reminded the room that marketers are the eternal optimists. And crucially, we’re human. We live in this world and experience it, something that AI does not. Which led beautifully into Franziska’s presentation on culture. Looking at her work I felt completely inspired, I love the way she is looking at things, it feels genuinely innovative and fresh. She talked about leaning into the cultural armies and fandoms and how they can grow, carry and transform our campaigns. Another marketing truth I’ve always stood by is get your audience to do the hard work for you. (A really fantastic example I saw of this recently was Born Social’s “Pint of View” beer mats for Guiness, but that is for another day.)

Wrapping the day up was Celebrating Craft with the brilliant Gerry Farrell, who served up copywriting advice by the bucketload. And with such a side helping of laughter I could barely scribble it all down. But his angle reflected the feeling of all the speakers I experienced this year. Creativity is being stifled by our over-reliance on data and strategy (although strategy is my favourite, so it does pain me slightly to write that). I’ll finish with one key (and excellent) piece of advice he offered us. Don’t be boring. Which brings us full circle back to David Ogilvy. After all, we cannot bore people into buying our products.

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