Big Brains. Visionaries. Shift Disturbers.

Spring is in the air and there is that wonderful shift from cold to warm, dull shies to sunny skies and the return of “Shift Disturbers”. This has become the one event that now kicks off the “Spring Brain Cleaning”, an event that brings together visionaries from the worlds of advertising, art and design for a half-day of inspirational words from the gods of creativity, is coming to Toronto on May 25, 2010.
 

This year the speakers are truly a brilliant mix of exactly that, “big brains, visionaries, and shift disturbers”. With the ongoing “shift” and the need to create a “disturbance” that is now required in creative thinking. 

This years event includes keynote speaker Stefan Sagmeister, the über talented designer and founder of Sagmeister Inc, who will discuss achieving happiness through design and ensuring your work remains a “calling” rather than a chore. The very entertaining Nick Law EVP, CCO of New York’s R/GA, who will be speaking for the first time ever in Canada on the “ideas”, Cindy Gallop, founder and CEO of If We Ran The World, LLC will peer into the "The Future of Advertising" with some highly subjective and thought-provoking views and Robert Rasmussen ECD Tribal DDB New York will share his thinking on how to infuse “digitally lead thinking” into the message.

Nick Law EVP, Chief Creative Officer, R/GA

As Chief Creative Officer, North America, Nick Law is responsible for the overall creative vision of the agency. In his role, he guides creative teams consisting of visual designers, copywriters, and interaction designers, working in close collaboration across disciplines. He ensures that R/GA stays true to its legacy by fostering creative ideas in all team members, including those in technology and strategy. 

Nick joined R/GA in 2001 and has played a significant role in shaping R/GA’s creative vision. His background is extensive and diverse, spanning multiple marketing disciplines during 20 years at agencies in the United States and abroad. He began his career in design/corporate identity and then made the switch to advertising, working on both the traditional and interactive sides. 

Hear Nick Law and his story as a Creative Director on The Juice with Heidi Ehlers of Black Bag.

Cindy Gallop, Founder & CEO, If We Ran The World, LLC 

What is the future of advertising? Cindy Gallop, founder & CEO of IfWeRanTheWorld.com and former chairman, BBH New York, tackles the $64 million question with some highly subjective and thought-provoking views on the new marketing reality, the interface between creativity and technology, how ad agencies should be restructuring themselves. She explores what “social media” really means.  

Cindy Gallop took a risk when she entered advertising, and hasn't stopped taking them since. She began as a theater publicist in London, before she joined one of the fastest growing agencies in Europe, Bartle Bogle Hegarty. In 1998, she moved to New York, alone, and began building their US branch. Four years after that move, BBH US was named Adweek’s Eastern Agency of the Year.

In January 2010, Gallop will officially launch IfWeRanTheWorld, a simple, web platform designed to bring together human good intentions and corporate good intentions, and turn them into collective action.

She is nothing short of BRILLIANT.

I found this video of Cindy presenting at the “L2 Innovation Forum”. It is not only entertaining but it is extraordinary. Today, Cindy consults with luxury brands, but on a very selective basis. Her goal is make these clients not leaders, but owners. She demands that the client she works with be prepared to “blow shit up”. 

Stefan Sagmeister Founder, Sagmeister Inc.

Stefan Sagmeister formed the New York based Sagmeister Inc. in 1993 and has designed award winning work for clients as diverse as the Rolling Stones, HBO, and the Guggenheim Museum. 

In 2008, Stefan created a book titled “Things I Have Learned in My Life So Far”, which began as a diary under the same title. It includes statements such as “Complaining is silly. Either act or forget”. The book consists of 15 unbound signatures in a laser-cut slipcase. Shuffling the sequence of the signatures will produce 15 different covers and was published by Abrams. 

Robert Rasmussen Executive Creative Director Tribal DDB

He’s had a career that’s hard to categorize. He began as a designer, became an art director, and has worked at an envious chunk of the A List agencies – most recently as ECD of innovation at BBH New York, and prior to that, helming shift-disturbing projects like Nike Plus Human Race at R/GA. Along the way his contributions to the evolution of digital creative have been duly awarded, and his Weiden + Kennedy “Beta-7” Sega work was recently named one of the Best Non-TV Campaigns of the Decade by Advertising Age. 

Don’t miss the chance to hear Law, Gallop,Sagmeister and Rasmussen at Shift Disturbers 2010 as the share their unique POV on what you need to know now, and learn how to infuse digitally-led thinking.

Follow this link to order your tickets.