Up, Up and Away – Rotary Newmarket

Tuesday, 2 April 2013 - Auckland, New Zealand

Rotary New Market

Presentation Summary

Kevin Roberts, CEO Worldwide of Saatchi & Saatchi, talks to the Newmarket Rotary Club about Winning in the Age of Now, and how to turn a brand into an irresistible Lovemark for the next generation.


“Winning isn’t everything, but wanting to win is.” 
– Vince Lombardi

You want to win as businesses, entrepreneurs, executives.
You want to win as Rotarians, humanitarians and leaders.
You want to win as families, parents, individuals.

I’m going to talk about how to win in a VUCA world.

Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous

A winner turns VUCA on its head; and reframes it as superVUCA.

Vibrant, Unreal, Crazy, Astounding

I’m a radical optimist. The only way is UP.

The 5 winning tracks to deliver a SuperVUCA world:

1.To Win Now, ENTER THE NOW

The context for winning in business has shifted from production to people.

Winning starts with Purpose.

Martin Luther King did not say: “I have a Mission Statement.”

And we live in the Age of Now.

ERA OF NEW AGE OF NOW
Strategy Purpose
Attention Participation
Inform Inspire
Interruption Interaction
Return on Investment Return on Involvement
Pumping Markets Creating Movements

“Winning is not a sometime thing; it’s an all the time thing. You don’t win once in a while; you don’t do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit.” – Vince Lombardi

In the Now, execution is the killer app.

  • Fail fast, learn fast, fix fast.
  • Drive the important not the urgent
  • Jeff Bezos: Customer Bar-Raiser
  • Blue Ocean: Eliminate – Reduce – Raise – Create

2. To Win Now, UP THE CREATIVITY

Velocity demands the unreasonable power of creativity.

1. Pour in Emotion

Creativity starts with emotion.

Emotion has always trumped reason, and it rules the world of the moment, because it’s fast.

Emotion is how to get action, and you are all in the action business. Donald Calne: Reason leads to conclusions, emotion leads to action.

2. Generate lots of small ideas, continuously

Big ideas are scarce, strung out over time, investment hungry.

3. Be a Disruptor

Evolution takes centuries. Revolution takes 30 years.

The Now demands constant disruption. It’s about reframing constantly:

  • Steve Jobs: Presence into absence.
  • Surprise with the obvious: ‘Space Pen’ – To develop a pen that could write in space, NASA spent millions on advanced technology. The Russians used a pencil.

4. Ask 3 questions of any idea:

  •  Will people want to see it again?
  • Will people want to share it?
  • Will people want to improve it?

3. To Win Now, INSPIRE OTHERS TO DELIVER

Continuously challenge yourself and coach others to achieve the Dream.

To inspire people today you must provide:

  1. Responsibility
  2. Learning
  3. Recognition
  4. Joy

4.To Win Now, CREATE A LOVEMARK

Revolution starts with language. To win, go beyond brands:

  • Brands are owned by companies, marketers, and stockholders. Lovemarks are owned by the people who love them.
  • Brands are built on Respect. Lovemarks are created out of Respect and Love.
  • Brands build Loyalty for a Reason. Lovemarks inspire Loyalty Beyond Reason.
  • Brands deliver performance, respect and trust. Lovemarks infuse Mystery, Sensuality and Intimacy, the stuff that matters.

Mystery: It’s what we don’t know that has most value. Storytelling is the richest vocation.

Sensuality enthralls the emotions, Vision, Sound, Scent, Touch, Taste.

Intimacy is empathy, commitment, passion.

Most organizations do Intimacy badly, or wrong, or badly wrong.

The secret is to put yourself in the heart of the audience. Not bringing them to you, but asking to be invited into their individual hearts.

  • Brands aim to be Irreplaceable. Lovemarks are Irresistible.

5. To Win Now, START WITH 3Es

  1. Enthusiasm: Be an ‘irresistible force of nature. Otherwise, in the words of Vince Lombardi: “If you aren’t fired with enthusiasm, you will be fired with enthusiasm.”
  2. Edge: Change happens at the margins, the fringes, the crazy edges. The further you are from conformity at the center, the more you can make things happen. This is where Kiwis rock, at the world’s edge.
  3. Everyone: Inspiration and love driven through business is the way to go.

Winning Ugly: Innovating in Times of Crisis

Speech

In this presentation at the Marketing Innovation Forum in Sofia, Kevin Roberts stressed the pivotal role that ideas and innovation will play to counteract the current downturn. “In the midst of catastrophe innovation is crucial. Your job is to reset your priorities…win now and you win for years to come.”

Experiences from the Corporate Trenches

Speech

Kevin Roberts’ recent address to the 20th Annual Leadership Congress of the ACEO in Athens “Smart Leaders Bad Decisions” looked at how to win in the new reality, and tackled “en passant” the issue of making and avoiding mistakes.

Straight From the Heart

Speech

Kevin Roberts lays down a challenge to make the leap from being Liked to being Loved, in this presentation at the 2009 Boarding Schools Association conference in Oxfordshire, UK. Roberts also discusses the concept of Peak Performance, which he believes is the second key to elevating boarding and Britain.

Ad Review Awards

Speech

In 2008 you had to be a radical optimist. 2009 demands the same. And more. In this keynote presentation at the South African Ad Review Awards in Johannesburg, Kevin Roberts serves up seven ways to Win Ugly in 2009 and talks about the importance of creativity and ideas to get through us these stormy economic seas.

Thunder on the Mountain

Speech

Although the food service industry is solid, nothing is guaranteed as we face tough choices in testing times. In this presentation at Boston Pizza’s annual franchisee conference in San Diego – themed “The best you can be” – Kevin Roberts shares six key ingredients to rise to this challenge.

A Time for Love

Speech

In this presentation at the IAA Forum in Zürich, Kevin Roberts speaks of the challenges facing advertisers everywhere in this frosty economic climate. He also delivers a call to action for marketers to push their brands into Lovemarks territory, in order to survive and thrive.

Livin’ in the Future

Speech

In this address to Saatchi & Saatchi clients and employees in Brussels, Kevin Roberts shares five ways to Win Ugly in 2009 by creating priceless Lovemarks value.

Loyalty Beyond Reason

Speech

Extraordinary upheavals throw up extraordinary risks, problems and of course opportunities. In Kevin Roberts’ recent address at the Expomanagement conference in Buenos Aires, he talks about creativity, optimism and Argentina’s role in the new world of ideas.

Walk Through the Fire

Speech

Kevin Roberts’ lecture at Syracuse University looks at the concept of brand loyalty, the importance of positive attitudes and the meaning of True Blue. Kevin explains that “these are times for emotional toughness. We have to push new limits and conjure new positions that take our emotions to places they haven’t been before”.

True Faith

Speech

Some of the most innovative ideas are generated during tough times. Kevin Roberts Presentation at the Insider’s Creative Forum in Manchester, focuses on five ideas to help transform MediaCity UK into a Lovemark and a creative hub. Kevin reiterates the importance of the creative community as a powerful tool against the current economic slowdown.