EXCLUSIVE: Wrap up of AdForum Worldwide Summit from Johanna McDowell

Back in South Africa, Johanna McDowell, founder and CEO of IAS and partner for Scopen Africa, wraps up the AdForum Worldwide Summit that took place last week in London.

Johanna McDowell, founder and CEO of IAS and partner for Scopen Africa, reports back from the AdForum Worldwide Summit. Social, she says, is rising in importance

The final agency the delegation visited was BCCP, which she says was the highlight of the Summit.

She touched on some of the trends she picked up on, which include the growing importance of social, from social media to content, and how integrated campaigns are working with creative and media, as well as social.

Then she also learnt some new things about charging for work, with some of the start-ups they visited looking at different ways of charging.

She highlights that we are not alone when it comes to economic uncertainty, as this is also something the UK agencies are concerned about (although for different reasons).

There is also a lot of talk about the Omnicom IPG merger and how that will reconfigure agencies.

The Summit also had a session with IPG Media Brands on how AI is making such a difference and how it can and should be used.