Welcome to the 2024 AME Grand Jury Spotlight Interview featuring AME's illustrious jury populated with some of the most pioneering strategic leaders from around the world. Journey into the minds of industry luminaries as we unveil their perspectives on the ever-evolving landscape of advertising and marketing. These seasoned strategists, with their wealth of experience and strategic award-winning perspective, serve as the backbone of the AME Awards judging panel. Join us on this insightful exploration of the intersection of creativity, strategy, and effectiveness that defines the excellence celebrated by the AME Awards

2024 Nieves Duran is Chief Strategy Officer for VMLY&R Spain brings years of strategic experience to the AME Grand Jury, and poseses a mixed profile as strategist and managing director, which is fothe perfect sweet spot for leveraging her passion for strategy and business. Nieves has held her position at VMLY&R  for 4 years, making brands and businesses stronger by connecting them to people in a meaningful way. Through the course of her career she has worked with  incredibly inspiring local and global brands,including Coca Cola, Vodafone, Heineken, Santander, BBVA, LEVIS, Campofrío, Iberia, Movistar and P&G. Her superpower is asking the right questions to unlock truths, briefings, ideas or a business opportunity.

Nieves is curious and passionate about people, human behaviour and about how social dynamics impact us. I believe in the power of brands and technology to shape up culture and create more sustainable world.  

In the interview below Nieves shares her perspective on how data and AI has impacted effectiveness, how emerging technologies are shaping the industry, how brands effectively communicate their values and societal contributions in their marketing strategies, and much more.

AME Awards: Why are effectiveness competitions like the AME Awards important?

Nueves Duran: Competitions like AME prove that people chose brands that have something unique and interesting to say; that can make a difference to the world through their actions or the perspective they offer on a given matter.  They show that great creativity is the best vehicle to convey a powerful message or value proposition. This is what our industry is about, explaining to our customers what our point of view as a brand or a business is or what we bring to the world and helping them choose what is most relevant for them and consistent with their values.

AME Awards: As a creative strategist, what stand-out attributes do you recognize in award-winning creative effective advertising?

Nueves Duran: I see as key attributes the ability to disrupt social stereotypes and helping society move forward through innovation. But also, the capacity to transform commercial communication into real entertainment.  To grab people’s attention and have them come back for more once they have experienced our brand or product is the greatest attainment in a context of divided focus and loyalty. I expect that in the next year we will see how AI, technology and data will enable heightened Human brand and customer experiences. This will be the great challenge, being personal - rather that only personalized - and more human through tech, data and AI.
 

AME Awards: How has the use of data analytics and artificial intelligence impacted the effectiveness of advertising campaigns?

Nueves Duran: Data analytics and artificial intelligence can help us enhance product visibility and increase conversion rates. They can shorten the customer journey bringing the moment of transaction closer to the awareness stage, since consideration and reserach stages can be reduced or skipped all together with the in-depth knowledge of each customer thanks to data and the possibilities that AI offers to create personalized content fast.

We are already capable of turning customized interactive content into a seamless personalized shopping experience, as in campaign “I see Coke” which combines Coke’s pop culture reach  with in the in-home TV watching experience and  Alexa’s capability

AI and Data can also play a much more significant role following the agreement between Meta and Amazon as targeted ads will reach a new dimension.

AME Awards: How are emerging technologies such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and interactive content shaping the landscape of advertising effectiveness?

Nueves Duran: The convergence of disruptive technologies that are not yet “speaking” to each other yet will open unseen possibilities to respond to consumer needs. We have largely been using technology to replicate offline interactions in online environments, as it has to great extent happened with Metaverse so far. But there will be an exponential movement, in which the convergence of AR, VR and AI, will allow us to overcome multiple limitations in interacting with brands and will enable unprecedented levels of personalization. I can see this happening in all sectors of activity, from baking to education, many audiences will have the ability to have access with services and contents that were not at their reach before.
 

AME Awards: With an increasing emphasis on corporate social responsibility, how do brands effectively communicate their values and societal contributions in their marketing strategies?

Nueves Duran: I believe that social responsibility should be an intrinsic part of brand’s purpose and translate into their everyday activity, not something they add on the side to compensate for their business operations.  Brands such us Patagonia or Volvo, with the E.V.A initiative, seem great examples to me, because they were already born with social responsibility in their DNA. In the same way Google’s goal is already purposeful and makes a societal contribution, thus by communicating what they do they are already taking about their corporate responsibility actions.