“Advertising Matters Again”: The Impact Tamara Greene’s Looking for at Eurobest
As managing director for global brands at Havas Creative Network, Tamara Greene oversees some of the network’s biggest global relationships.
In her career she’s worked on iconic brands such as: 3M, Diet Coke, Sprite, Durex, and Belvedere Vodka. She is the executive sponsor of Havas London’s ‘Black Plaque Project’ that swept the 2021 awards circuit after commemorating the many contributions that Black Britons have made to the UK through the installation of black plaques in their name.
Tamara is also a founding member of Havas UK’s executive DE&I committee: driving the UK group’s plans and programmes around diverse representation, recruitment, and retention. She helped create DE&I tools that are open source for the industry such as Havas’ Press Pause Policy and its Talent Casting Principles.
This year Tamara is jury president for Eurobest’s Brand Experience & Activation and Creative Commerce categories. Having already served on the jury last year, she’s intimately acquainted with what it takes to win. LBB’s Alex Reeves caught up with her ahead of the judging.
LBB> What is it about Brand Experience & Activation that really excites or interests you?
Tamara> What I love about this category is how open it can be. Brand Experience & Activation in particular can be any type of solution that gives you an experience of the brand. It can be an event, it can be a piece of tech, it can be a piece of utility, it can be an installation, it can be so many different things. Also, because the category is about actually creating something – that’s what’s really interesting and exciting to me. This category is about action and engagement. And the film, well that’s the story of what you've actually done or created.
LBB> Looking at last year's Grand Prix winners in your category at Eurobest, what collaborations do you think will have been most important to ensure that they became Grand Prix winners?
Tamara> I had the pleasure of being in the jury room for this same category last year. The Grand Prix winners used tech in really clever ways that created tangible value and utility.
Back Market created a super coordinated brilliant airdrop hack inside Apple stores – encouraging people to consider refurbished models while driving them to the Back Market site. It forced people to consider their own auto-pilot, their purchase behaviours. It was category defining work that used tech in a really innovative way to create a unique brand experience.
LBB> Brand experience and activation is often tied up in tech and the latest UX doctrine. But so much of it is eternal. What’s a great example from history that you think underlines the principles that are still true today?
Tamara> In recent years, yes, tech has become an enabler for experiences. I think what’s eternal is creating memorable, meaningful and truly valuable experiences. And if it’s bold, if it creates impact or change, even better.
Carrefour ‘The Black Supermarket’, the 2018 Grand Prix winner is a great representation of this. It used its own retail stores to create an experience: access to restricted fruits and vegetables. Beyond in-store traffic and impressions, the most impressive outcome was the regulation change it created. Memorable, meaningful and valuable brand experience work.
LBB> What are the most exciting current developments in creative commerce as of right now and how do you expect them to pan out in the future?
Tamara> I think what’s interesting is creative commerce work and moments that use digital and tech but not necessarily only to drive to e-shop. What I loved about Volvo ‘Configurator’ is that it enabled you to have an immersive commerce experience with the brand. Ideas and ways that make the commerce experience truly interactive and engaging is what I think we’ll see more of in the future.
LBB> Creative commerce is often more associated with performance than brand marketing. What does great brand building look like in a commerce context?
Tamara> Work that seamlessly blends both together. Work that creates so much desire or demand for a brand that consumers aren’t even overtly aware that it’s encouraging you to make a commerce decision. Work where the commerce aspect is organic, engaging and part of the whole brand experience.
IKEA’s ‘Trapped in the ‘90s’ is a fantastic example of this. Part branded content, part brand experience but all in service of commerce.
LBB> Eurobest happens towards the end of the year and is a good way to reflect on the industry's year. What defined advertising in 2023 for you?
Tamara> I think advertising matters again in 2023. A lot less looking back and much more looking forward. AI and how it impacts our industry has been a discussion that’s hard to miss. There’s been a lot less doom and gloom in the work tonally, thankfully. It’s nice to see more fun and the return of humour. I’m personally encouraged to see meaningful diversity and inclusion in a lot of efforts, work that’s not just box-ticking representation. However, there’s still a lot more work to be done there, and I look forward to that. A great sense of momentum as we look towards 2024.
