Now in its sixth year, Nine‘s Big Ideas Store wraps up its 2023 event on Friday, bringing to an end a week of speakers, workshops, research, and an immersive pop-up taking over the Beta events space in Sydney. This year’s theme has been Go Big, Or Go Nowhere.
Throughout the week, names that have taken to the stage include Amiee Buchanan from Group M, Mike Rebelo from Publicis, Wavemaker’s Shivani Maharaj; Josh Faulks from AANA; Colin Glynn from McDonalds; PHD’s Gemma Dawkins; Mike Spirkovski from Rethink Everything; and Channel Nine names including Karl Stefanovic, Russel Howcroft, Osman Faruqi, and MAFS star Sandy Jawanda.
Ahead of The Big Ideas Store 2023, Mediaweek caught up with national director of Powered, Nicki Kenyon, and director of strategy and client solutions, Powered, Toby Boon, about what goes into putting the event on, and what they hope people get from the sessions.
How has The Big Ideas Store evolved since it was first launched?
Boon: “At the start, we didn’t know what would work. We had done thought leadership events, but the idea of taking over a space and putting together a whole programme was new. There was a bit of impostor syndrome in there as well – who am I to determine what the industry wants to hear about?
“But it’s just gotten bigger every year. I think the thing I’m most proud of is the way that the content has evolved from its earliest days – where we probably did lean into Nine’s assets – to actually seeing that the sessions that had the best engagement were the ones that took a broader industry lens and said, ‘what do our clients and our agency partners actually want to be talking about and want to want to hear from us?’”
Kenyon: “What we don’t want it to be has evolved just as much. This is not just a sales pitch for Nine, this is not just a one way soliloquy of Nine people talking to the audience. I joined Nine two and a half years ago, and I came in having first experienced The Big Ideas Store as a client, and thinking, wow, this surprises me, because I’m not being beaten over the head by what Nine is and what it can do, but I’m seeing a different dimension of what Nine is, and what Nine can do through thought leadership conversations.
“Our courage has become even stronger, our confidence that we’re delivering content that people are responding positively to has grown over time. We’re on the right track with this.”
What goes into putting on an event of this scale?
Kenyon: “After we finished one, we’re starting to think about what the next one’s going to look like. We think about what worked, what didn’t work, we look at the length of time, we look at the format, we looked at the audience’s uptake, the conversation, the repeat viewings of the sessions.
“We have a trade marketing team that is best in class, we couldn’t do what we do without our trade marketing team. It is a cast of thousands.”
Boon: “I joke that I spend the first six months of the year talking about what’s going to be in The Big Ideas Store and the second six months talking about how it went.
“Things like the research, those are major pieces, we start planning them six months out and the fieldwork starts in January every year. We’re trying to think about not only what people are wanting to talk about, but what we think people are still going to want to talk about by the time we get to May.
“We’ve got an incredible, absolutely amazing team. I’m really lucky that with my team, every single person is involved in one way or another. Be it running sessions, writing scripts, presenting, finding speakers, or finding a place where we’re going to enjoy the catering – it’s a massive team effort.”
When you’re planning an event that far out, how much is it playing on your mind that the economic landscape could shift very quickly?
Kenyon: “I’ve been on the client side – marketing budgets are often the first things that get cut, but there is always a business need for growth. If marketing can be positioned – advertising more specifically, but marketing in general – as a critical tool for future business growth, then we think there is a role for us to play.
“Belts might be tightened, and things might be tough in the next six or 12 months, but brands still need to grow. What we do here is give marketers the tools, no matter what circumstances, no matter what the economic climate, to still be thinking about how the job still needs to be done.”
What do you hope people take away from The Big Ideas Store this year?
Kenyon: “I want them to be inspired and to be feeling good about being in this industry. There are lots of distractions, there are lots of day to day challenges and hoops to jump through and KPIs to meet. But at the end of the day, anyone that’s in this industry, we genuinely love what we do and we are making a difference. I come to work each day to make a difference, and if I wasn’t feeling like I was doing something to make a difference for my clients, for my team, and for Nine, I may as well stay at home.”
Boon: “Be brave. Be smart. Be creative. Go big or go nowhere!”
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Top Image: Nicki Kenyon and Toby Boon