A PR creative with a strong sense of strategy, Miriam Wells was promoted to chief creative officer of Ogilvy PR ANZ in May 2023. Previously she was head of creative. The strategic creative has diverse experience spanning PR, marketing, corporate affairs, digital and social strategy, content, employee experience, culture and change management, planning and brand narrative. She is also known for her natural ability to bring out the best in teams and projects across all areas of the business, a results-oriented, collaborative creative leader, who is enthusiastic about big ideas that build brands and get people talking.
Wells’ experience covers a vast range of clients – Cochlear, Atlassian, WPP AUNZ, BHP, Mars Wrigley, Transport for NSW, HealthDirect, Department of Human Services, American Express, University of Newcastle, Equality Australia and Ikea. She brings a broad perspective as well as strategic insight to the MAD STARS 2024 jury room.
CREATIVE USES OF TECH & A SENSE OF THE NEW
In the MAD STARS jury room, Wells’ emphasis will be on impactful creativity and excellence in execution, she says, and ideas that bring something unique, that tap into culture and shift attitudes and behaviours. “With MAD STARS’ focus on the intersection of creativity and technology, I’ll also be on the lookout for innovative work that features creative use of new tech or even older tech but in new applications and formats, all in the service of the creative idea.” She believes that a juror needs to bring an eye for quality and a sense of the new to a jury room, rewarding not just good or great work, but work that shapes categories.
With eight years at Ogilvy PR, Wells’ insights into successful PR are particularly valuable:
PR has evolved in the last five years. How has this changed your approach at Ogilvy PR?
Miriam Wells: PR can best be described as restless. It is in a state of constant evolution – the nature of the work mimics the always on news[feed] cycle that we’re all plugged into as consumers. And while that has seen a multitude of changes take place, three things in particular stand out:
- Purpose is still paramount, but it’s also tempered by humour as a critical emotional shortcut for audiences given the world and the media need a dose of good news in their feeds where possible. So while it has been great to see brands increasingly take a stand on important issues over the past few years, it’s also delightful to see some fun back in mix with brands in on the joke.
- Earned creativity is increasingly at the centre of integrated work and is an exciting place for brands to play. The strength of ideas that earn their place in consumers’ lives, with the scale and craft of an integrated team behind them is a sweet spot for good work.
- Playing to the Minorstream (our approach to finding niche but highly engaged audiences) has become increasingly important given the splintering of the landscape into algorithm niches and devoted cultural fandoms. Highly specific target audiences can give you a better runway into creative tension, and striking a resonant chord with a small but highly engaged target group has ripples into the zeitgeist.
The ability to work within and address these changes can only come through deep understanding and insight into culture. As a result, Ogilvy PR is constantly tracking cultural shifts, ensuring our entire team is tapped into what’s next and how to apply it to our clients’ business issues. We are also lucky enough to work in an environment where creativity and strategic thinking is a vital part of the PR mix and where innovation is applied as a matter of course.
How important is local knowledge to a successful PR campaign?
Miriam Wells: The strongest campaigns tap into and earn a place in culture – so local cultural insight and nuance is absolutely critical. That’s why judging international awards is always so fascinating. It provides valuable insight into the cultural dynamics of different markets, and how brands navigate them with creativity.
Nearly 18% of the Australian population has Asian ancestry. Does an Asian festival and awards such as MAD STARS enrich local work in AUNZ?
Work is always enriched by colliding multiple points of view to engineer creative friction and applying different lenses to the challenge or opportunity at hand. Sometimes it’s about where we are in the world, the diverse heritage and experiences of our population, our identities and the communities we are part of. Sometimes it is about geography and cultural heritage, and sometimes it’s about other intersectional identities.
As an Australian juror at MAD STARS, I’m excited to get out of my local bubble and explore work that is resonating across the many diverse markets that entries are from. Like any shift of context, it will no doubt be good fuel for imagination and loads of inspo for my own work and for others attending from AUNZ.
