This year at Advertising Week New York, we did things a little differently. We wanted to give brands insight into what makes a good creator concept, and at the same time, provide creators, regardless of their size, with an opportunity to pitch their idea to win a $25k brand deal.
Adobe, our long-term client in the UK and the US, is focused on the power of creators. A huge part of their global marketing strategy is based around creators, mainly because they are also the target audience for the product suite. The team at Adobe were keen to get involved as soon as we shared our pitch idea. They knew it was a place to meet creators in person, explore creative content ideas, and find new talent.
We chose Advertising Week New York to host the competition specifically because it brings in all types of audiences from the media industry – brands, agencies, and creators. Everyone attends to learn, and we knew that we could educate marketers in the space with this session.
How it worked
To launch the competition, we opened up an application form on the Advertising Week website, and promoted across our social channels – and Adobe did the same.
We had hundreds of applications, and so the next stage was to select 20 creators for the shortlist. We did this through a set of criteria, including content creativity, interests, and experience. Reach and follower count were not a priority; instead, we wanted to ensure alignment with the brief and the brand.
The brief
The shortlisted creators were tasked to create an engaging concept that drives awareness and excitement about Adobe Firefly’s new experience and flexible new offerings. The aim was to showcase Firefly’s evolution as the all-in-one creative partner.
Firefly is Adobe’s creative AI design tool. It brings Adobe and partner models together in one place for images, text effects, video, and audio on web, mobile, or inside apps like Photoshop, Illustrator, Adobe Express, and Premiere Pro.
Creators were given just one week to develop an idea before pitching it live to our 4 judges at the conference. They were not expected to develop a piece of content at this stage, but a concept that could be produced for a real Adobe campaign should they win.
On the day
On Thursday, October 9th, the creators came in for their pitch slot, and the judges were blown away.
Jenny has over a decade of experience working with creators and running campaigns for global clients. She knows the key to scaling creator partnerships and delivering content that performs, making her the perfect sounding board on the panel.
Jared is passionate about content, culture, community, and the relationships that bind these things together. He is interested in the transformative power of creative, AI, and emerging comms, social, digital, and content strategy and intelligence, providing feedback with passion.
Leah has worked across various roles at Adobe for more than 10 years. She has seen how the social space has evolved over this time, establishing that influencers deserve to be at the forefront. She knows exactly the type of creators that make the best Adobe partners.
Tejas is a digital-first content creator with a combined social media following of over 750,000. Not only does he regularly partner with Adobe on brand collaborations, but he also took part in the “Creative Showdown” we hosted with Adobe at Cannes, where digital creators and creative directors went head-to-head on the same brief.
We spent over 2 hours, giving each creator 5 minutes to pitch their idea, and 2-3 minutes were spent giving constructive feedback.
We welcomed creators at different stages of their careers, with different audience sizes, platforms, and perspectives.
Tamir had a creative, humorous idea that would engage and unlock a new Gen Alpha audience, whereas Dorian had a polished concept, example, and tagline on how Firefly helps business owners who wear multiple hats.
But at the end of the auditions, we announced the 4 finalists to go to the live session.
The Adobe team, however, wanted to work with everyone who came on the day. The auditions unlocked new talent that they saw as potential partnerships throughout the Adobe suite. Everyone who pitched gained an Adobe Max ticket and an introduction with their creator team!
On the stage
Between the auditions and live stage performances was just a short amount of time. Creators were refining their pitch, helped by on-the-day coach and creator Gigi Robibson, and the judges were creating feedback that could help the audience understand why a concept and idea would work.
Live show
The energy in the room was electric. Each creator again just had a few minutes to share their pitch, and the audience in the packed out room were on the edge of their seat, listening in admiration.
Isiuwa was crowned the winner; her humorous, powerful pitch mixed with an incredible idea swayed the judges to give her the trophy. Isiuwa will now receive a brand partnership with Adobe worth 25k, and you’ll see her idea come to life over the coming months.
Going forward
This unique and energetic session allowed creators to gain exposure with top brand executives, gave Adobe the chance to find new talent, and the audience to understand the creator economy first-hand.
Keep your eyes peeled for the next edition…
