Naoma Serna-Zahn’s Post

At Adirondack Studios, we’ve been making a scene with IP for decades. And through that process, we’ve learned a few things. Thanks to Jeff DuVilla, Creative Director, we've summarized those learnings into the “5 Tips for Developing IP-Based Attractions”: ✅ Have Real Appeal - Brands, shows, and even characters resonate differently – or not at all – based on where your attraction is located. As with any project, meet your audience where they are and ensure that your attraction and your IP are a perfect match. ✅ Measure the Size of Your Attraction Against the Breadth of the IP – Is the World of your IP large enough to support what you’re planning? Can you stretch the IP as needed while maintaining authenticity? And does your deal structure allow for you to expand upon the IP? ✅ Build Engagement (Literally) – Does the IP offer opportunities for guests to engage with characters with the same or greater level of impact than through a show, movie, or book? Do the visitors become a character in the story, or will they be a passive observer to the narrative? ✅ Design A Multi-Sensory World Through Rides, Shows and F&B – If you are working with a ride system, is the IP in harmony with the ride system and intensity, or will you have a “Sleepy Sloth High Speed Coaster”? Is your licensing agreement set up to leverage the IP or brand’s earning potential through merchandise, food and beverage? ✅ Size up the Competition – Are there other local or regional offerings of similar IPs? Are you really giving them something through use of this brand or IP that they can’t get anywhere else?   Need help answering these questions? Ready to turn your dream IP into a dream destination? Then be sure to chat with Brad Woods and Kevin Kalbfeld at this week at Licensing Expo! Email Brad at bwoods@adkstudios.com, and we look forward to seeing you in Vegas! Licensing International #LicensingExpo #makeascene #makeascenewithus #design #fabrication #IP

I attended the D&AD festival last week with TwentyFirstCenturyBrand and I initially came away a little nervous about the state of commercial creativity. Some of the judges shared that the creative was lacking this year. One judge noted ‘I rarely saw something that felt new and disruptive’, another talked about how contrived brand and artist collaborations had become. A few of the talks themselves were so shameless in their self/brand-promotion, I’m pretty sure A.I. had written them. Overall, it felt like the festival was not just a reflection of our uncertain times, but of our paralysing anxiety and fear of the uncertainty. I understand the feeling. I’m scared too. And I know it can be hard to go up on stage and offer a truly new perspective when all the balls are up in the air. The talks that stood out to me though were the ones that highlighted how to take advantage of moments like this. The people and brands who saw the swirl, conflict, and chaos as invitations to imagine something better. Like Lisa Smith from JKR and Leslie Sims from Impossible Foods, who repositioned plant based meat to ‘meat from plants’ and demonstrated how challenging dominant narratives in culture can unlock limitless innovation. Or Sinéad Burke from Tilting The Lens who questioned why ‘accessibility’ is even the end goal for brands attempting to be more inclusive. Why can’t products for people with disabilities function and deliver on craft, beauty, joy? Or the great Peter Saville who acknowledged the everlasting tension between commercial and creative, but urged us all to follow the brief, not the rules. We are undergoing a heightened amount of stress and trauma at the moment. These speakers (and many others) sought to remind us that we are all capable of creating awesome things in times of crisis. They instilled in me a renewed hope for the future of commercial and creative excellence, and I’m very excited to see where we go from here. #twentfirstcenturybrand #brandstrategy #creativeexcellence #marketing #commercialcreativity

Working together is powerful. Being able to do it consistently takes persistence. And making that one of our absolute priorities for #everyone is the best part about it! Appreciate April Summers and LBBonline - Little Black Book for taking the time to dive into the what and how of DOMO (of course there are more insights too).

If you're on social media, you know aesthetic dinner parties started trending a couple years and are stilllll living rent free in everybody's minds. I'm excited to share a venture I've been working on at MARISTI Creative— using brands and spaces as platforms for social good, putting the community first through experiences that matter. In June, we launched a series of Third Culture dinner parties in NYC. As a Third Culture creative (half Argentinian, half Indian), I intended to see how authentic cultural exchange resonated with our diverse community. We've been doing similar versions of this in Milan, Mallorca, New York, and Barcelona for the past couple years. Each project's deliverables varied, but the intention to use the brand's leverage and influence for community is always there. As Creative Director, I pitched, directed, and produced. One for a farm to table restaurant in Barcelona, one for Adobe in Milan, all strategizing with my team to enhance marketing efforts. The result? Sold-out pop ups that not only helped boost the brand / space's success but also made room for inspiring conversations and deepened connections among attendees. Multicultural creatives know how to tap into our community and reclaim and redefine that digital / physical spaces with intention. Being Gen Z also helps, because we also know how to take adorable recap vids that grew socials well over 1M impressions and grew an insane a global invite / mailing list. Here’s to creating impactful experiences that matter. Check out our recent projects at maristi.com Are you a brand or space that wants help using their influence for social good? Say hi at maya@maristi.com 🍷🌏💫 #BrandExperiences #Experiential #DinnerParty #CommunityBuilding #NYC

Yes You Cannes* In what is now a bit of a tradition, I typically write my annual "why its not a good use of time or energy to go to Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity for me." But, who likes predictability. So, I thought I would write this, my 6th edition of this note from a different perspective...which is....HOW IT COULD MAKE SENSE FOR YOU TO BE AT CANNES THIS YEAR: 1) If you are one of many brilliant creatives that poured their actual hearts into the work that is being in celebrated...it could make sense for you to be at Cannes this year. 2) If you can afford the trip/hotel/food as a company/division, and you are NOT at the same time scrimping on raises or promotions while sending executives to Cannes...then...it could make sense for you to be at Cannes this year. 3) If you did not have to go out to some trendy store that you googled "trendy clothes for Cannes" to find and now are obsessively looking in the mirror to see if your white pants seem natural....it could make sense for you to go to Cannes this year. 4) If you have a pure reason like learning, experience, wonder...that is deeply and sincerely rooted in curiosity...and you have an honest learning plan woven in between your drinking...well...it could make sense for you to be at Cannes this year. 5) If the top 10 meetings you are taking are not ones you could have had more affordably in NYC...well...it could make sense for you to be at Cannes this year. 6) If you are releasing news that is NOT about convergence, attention, cookie-less scary pants information, a random ad-tech feature that will blend with the other 1,000, or your hot take on retail media's growth....and you have something original to share...well, it could make sense for you to be at. Cannes this year. 7) If you are not going simply to be on a panel with 3 other people, that only 20 others will attend, 18 of which are there because your bosses boss made them come...but the photo op will be amazing, because it will be cropped and it will seem super important...cause you see the Cannes logo and the water and a super slick mini-stage...but its not....well, as long as that is not you....then it could make sense for you to be at Cannes. So, there. Don't tell me old dogs cant learn new tricks. After so many years of writing why I would not be in France, I figured, I had to ease off that stance a bit and help people find the lens by which they could:) To all those there, kidding aside, you are lucky. I hope its valuable. To those of us grinding away on client/internal work these next days, I salute you. To those of you warrior poets who did the actual work that is getting celebrated...you have killer talent I wish I had. To those of you younger and looking at all the pictures of people wearing white pants and looking super confident with a microphone in their hands....I can only share one piece of wisdom...they are not. Nobody is. This is a tough industry. Speak soon, Jared

Teach, your children well. UK will lose the creative industries unless we have Arts, Design & Technology education. "Design and Technology is dying out, as report finds that 20% of schools in England and Wales don’t teach the subject "Design and technology could disappear from the national curriculum within four years unless plummeting student and teacher numbers are reversed, business leaders warn. A report by organisations including the Design Council and Design & Technology Association to be released this week, found that about 20% of schools in England and Wales do not teach the subject. Pupils numbers taking D&T at GCSE level have fallen 68% in the last decade. D&T was a compulsory GCSE subject until 2000." -- https://lnkd.in/eKdujCg2 #designeducation #design #technology #innovation #education

In 2014, I sat in a college dorm with a simple vision: to build a creative community that could redefine how art and ideas come to life. Four years later, in 2018, that dream became Haus Of Creators, officially launched with my first major corporate client, Atlantic Records. Starting with creating stunning visuals for emerging talent, our agency quickly evolved into a powerhouse for storytelling, brand identity, and cutting-edge productions. Today, Haus of Creators has taken a leap into creative technologies, birthing A.I. SECTOR an innovative platform empowering artists and brands through AI-driven solutions. Recently, our efforts were recognized by BET, naming us one of the Top Black-Owned Tech Companies to watch! (Check out the article here). As we approach over 6 & half years of business, I’m filled with gratitude for every milestone, every collaboration, and every supporter. The future creator economy is electric, and I’m honored to be part of this journey. 🚀 As I look to the future, my passion is driving innovation at the intersection of creativity and technology. I'm endlessly grateful for the lessons, relationships, and opportunities this journey has brought me. Here's to what's next! www.hausofcreators.com #CreativeLeadership #MusicIndustry #CreativeTechnologies #Gratitude #Innovation

"Don't be a cynic." I was lucky in that I started going to Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 20 years ago as I was in the early phase of building a career. The event has gone from a festival celebrating the Work to one displaying the best (or the worst) of capitalism. Last week, I happened to be asked to speak on stage hosted by Whalar Group at Cannes. After my talk, I found out that there would be a panel with my friends Nick Law and Judy John along with Sir John Hegarty. It was moderated by a 21-year-old creator who did relatively well against the Titans of the creative advertising industry. I have to admit I’d become cynical and was a little skeptical of hearing anything new. But this is where I needed a piece of wisdom from the 80-year-old man. I met Sir John Hegarty, yes, at Cannes years ago when he was still active at BBH London as Creative Chairman. He wanted to recruit me. It was in my early years at another agency AKQA and I told him I wasn’t quite ready to make a move. At this stage in his life with the kind of success he’s had, he could have easily retired and cruise-controlled to the sunset. Yet, he keeps making things by helping creatives with his Business of Creativity venture and by writing daily doses of wisdom on LinkedIn. “Don’t be a cynic.” Keep making. Thanks for your sage wisdom, Sir John. 📩 Subscribe to my weekly newsletter on the future of brands through the lens of creativity and technology: https://lnkd.in/dErfctJC #creativemindset #creativity #canneslions #marketing #advertising #branding #design #agency #ai #artificialintelligence #technology #CMO

What do the movies Blade, Shrek, Con Air, and Starship Troopers all have in common? Aside from being some of the best films ever created, they are just a few of the projects that our team member, Stephen Sobisky, worked on under his creative agency, Sandman Studios. There’s an old saying that “a rising tide lifts all boats,” and it’s something I’m experiencing firsthand. Branding and marketing are subterms of what we’ve been doing since humans first discovered fire and learned to talk: Storytelling. There are plenty of agencies out there, but there is only one Stephen Sobisky. Working with us means working with a talent level that has had hands-on experience in creating million-dollar grossing projects and films that have shaped childhoods, teenage years, and adulthoods. Here are a few things I’ve learned or noticed from Stephen since working here: 1. The brighter the shoes, the higher your efficiency for the day. 2. He’s the first one in the office and the last one out. He leads by example. 3. He treats everyone as an equal. He collaborates and listens to all inputs while maintaining the expertise and experience in his opinions. 4. Liquid Death is the best daily drink for work. A brand and a company are so much more than just the logo. It’s the synergy of all the people working towards the culminating goal or ideal that the brand represents. That's why researching the team is just as important as case studies before deciding on a partnership. At Big Red Jelly, we find talent and give it room to grow. #BigRedJelly #Storytelling #Branding #Marketing #Webdesign #Shrek #Blade #ConAir #StarshipTroopers #SandmanStudios #StephenSobisky

A whopping 82% of Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity attendees feel that the festival has become more geared to tech companies than about creativity. "The overwhelming agreement that focus has shifted from creativity towards tech is, if not surprising, still a startling fact. I’d like to think creativity will always remain at the heart of the festival, and be the central tenant of what we do as a sector" - MullenLowe UK chief growth officer, Lucy Taylor. More insight's from MullenLoweUK's research here >>>https://lnkd.in/evcieU7r #advertising #creativity #marketing