AME's Grand Jury members include some of the world’s most creative and strategic minds in advertising, marketing communications, and brand building from agencies around the globe. The executives on the AME jury panel are respected worldwide for their awarding-winning campaigns and commitment to ground-breaking effective work.Their global reputaton as innovators and their ability to deliver distinctive and effective results for global brands ensure that the entries they judge are reviewed with attention and with an international perspective of industry standards and trends.
2023 Grand Jury member Juie is a Strategy director at DDB Chicago working on the US Army account. Originally from Mumbai, India, Juie grew up in a melting pot of rich cultural diversity. The fascinating environment of socioeconomic, cultural, religious and gender differences were a perfect habitat for birthing curiosity about the human condition, something she continues to find an anchor in through her decade long career. In her last seven years at DDB, she has worked across insurance, telecom, beverages, QSR and the government sector. Juie spends her weekends collaborating with her Bonsai-artist parents to set up India’s first Bonsai e-commerce platform.
Keep reading to see Juie's perspective on future trends, influencer marketing, and why effectiveness competitions are important.
AME Awards: What future forward trends and innovations are brands embracing for 2023
Juie Shah: To me, 2023 is a wild portal that connects the past to the future, and the trends and innovations that brands are embracing are representative of this dichotomy. I have been noticing four phenomena rising to the top – The comeback of nostalgia, the powerful application of AI & Machine learning, immersive branded experiences, and social accountability.
Emotionally, nostalgia is winning. Brands are reinventing legacy taglines and simple brand identities for modern times. The US Army brought back their “Be All You Can Be” tagline from the 1980s but redefined it for a new generation of Americans.
From a tech innovation standpoint, the unprecedented success of ChatGPT has opened new realms for personalization and customer satisfaction. AI definitely feels like the next big thing after the industrial revolution. Brands like Shopify and Carrefour are starting to scratch the surface by using AI generated content to provide better services, more competitive products, and unique inspiration to consumers. I am excited to see innovate brand applications of AI over the next few years.
The post-pandemic world has a fierce craving for true immersive experiences. In the last year itself, brands like Cheetos, Tinder and Airbnb have showin up in unexpected facets of pop culture with tactile, tangible, and emotionally involving experiences. Immersive experiences are allowing brands to go beyond the limitations of traditional marketing.
Socially, 2023 will test brands’ commitment to social responsibility. Walking the walk is now table-stakes. You can’t just be taking a stand on issues; you must show how your operations mirror what you stand for.
AME Awards: How is influencer marketing evolving? What avenues are most successful? How are brands utilizing UGC, UGC creators, micro influencers or embracing in house influencers?
To me, the word ‘influencer’ is a bit passé. The BS radar is getting sharper, and nobody wants to be made to feel like they need ‘more’ to feel complete. While major influencers can reach larger audiences, we’re quickly learning that larger audiences aren’t always better. Micro-influencers, or what I like to call curators are meeting needs in a more authentic manner, reaching the smallest most viable audience, and creating resonance through their expertise. In the last year I have seen Nike and Canon both using this approach and sparking connection by tapping into niche passions and values, through the right curators.
As a strategic creative, what stand-out attributes do you recognize in award-winning creative effective advertising?
Clarity – The most important aspect of communication is comprehension, and clarity enables comprehension. As consumers we’re always inundated with brands trying to get our attention and we seek mental shortcuts that allow for effective decision making. Getting to the simplest, most distilled version is a hard strategic challenge, but always pays off in the most memorable and effective outcome.
Radical Honesty – Honesty is critical to building trust, and building long-term relationships, and long-term relationships come with higher market share.
The power to elicit emotion – The world is torn about this one lately, but I believe that emotion is paramount. Even the most rational products serve a deeper emotional need, and not getting to that emotion is disservice to the value the product or service is bringing to your life.
AME Awards: Why are effectiveness competitions like the AME Awards important?
Creativity is a means to an end, and the end is effectiveness. Creativity without effectiveness is just art without an objective. Awards like AME keep our focus on the problem we’re trying to solve, and to ultimately make our work and our creativity matter.