Nine has swung open the door on its sixth Big Ideas Store, launching a week of speakers, workshops, research, and an immersive pop-up taking over the Beta events space in Sydney.
Mediaweek will be across all the week’s sessions, bringing readers a rundown of evey idea – big or small.
Find out more about The Big Ideas Store here.
Pre-Presentation Briefing
By Tess Connery
Ahead of The Big Ideas Store kicking off for another year, Nine held a briefing for media at Sydney’s Beta Events.
Nicki Kenyon (director of Powered), Michael Stephenson (chief sales officer), and Toby Boon (director of strategy and client solutions, Powered) hosted the session, introducing what Big Ideas Store guests could expect, as well as the theme – Go Big Or Go Nowhere.
Speaking about how the theme came to be, Kenyon said that “There seems to be a lot of interest at the moment in creativity – is it what we need right now? Has it taken a little bit of a rest? Are marketers leaning into big ideas? What’s the most important thing in a time of post Covid economic stress and tension?
“We believe firmly as marketers and media professionals that big ideas can absolutely help drive our clients’ businesses further.”
Boon then took the congregation through the sessions and speakers that Big Ideas guests will be treated to throughout the week, before opening the floor to questions.
Speaking about the condensation of The Big Ideas Store this year from a fortnight to a week, Boon said that “Two weeks is a long time for us to keep the momentum, and it’s a long time when we’re asking people to come and spend time with us here physically in person. Even though the live stream is there, it’s a is a big ask to keep that up.”
Toby Boon, Nicki Kenyon, Michael Stephenson
Go Big or Go Nowhere: Why Brands Need Big Ideas in 2023
By Tess Connery
The first official session of The Big Ideas Store 2023 was named after the theme of the week, and dove into what big ideas are and where they come from.
Wavemaker’s Shivani Maharaj, Rethink Everything’s Mike Spirkovski, Westpac’s Annabel Fribence and Powered’s Toby Boon took to the stage after an introduction from Jack Bavin, Nine’s Melbourne head of strategy.
Up first, Fribence described a big idea as something that “is really all about emotion.”
“If it hits you in the gut, if it elicits an emotional response, there’s something in there. The power of emotion is unbelievable – it can drive strong commercial return, it can rewire perceptions and associations. For me, if an idea is driving that big emotional impact, that’s a really powerful idea.”
Fribence was in the spotlight again as the panel discussed Westpac’s new partnership with the NRL, pointing out that “sport is a direct mainline inte people’s homes and hearts.”
Maharaj then highlighted that “Australia is in a unique position, we are the most multicultural we’ve ever been, and I don’t think that as an industry we’ve embraced it as to its full potential,” before showing the room a campaign from Wavemaker India for Cadbury Celebrations. The campaign used AI to give small businesses the chance to have Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan advertise their brand.
The panel then shared what they were looking forward to in 2023, before answering an audience Q+A session.