From the Jury President's Perspective: Emma Harman

Leading Eurobest 2023's Digital Craft, Social & Influencer Jury

We’ve spoken to the 2023 Eurobest Jury Presidents about their hopes and expectations as they get ready to lead their juries in awarding Europe's best creative work.

First up is Emma Harman, Digital Craft and Social & Influencer Jury President for 2023 and Whalar's Global Chief Client Officer.

We are seeing small brands eat market share from big brands through personality, influencer marketing tactics and leveraging the latest and greatest social platform tools.

Emma Harman

Global Chief Client Officer, Whalar

Digital Craft, Social & Influencer Jury President Eurobest 2023

What is the best bit of creative advice you’ve ever heard?

'Do interesting things and interesting things will happen to you.'

Sir John Hegarty

I love this quote as it is so important to pull away from your screen, immerse yourself into culture, music, books, art and everything in between, talk to people no matter who they are - connect with them, ask questions, be curious. Put yourself in places and positions that are interesting, say yes to things, and I often find that's where the magic happens. As John also says 'don't be ordinary'.

What moment in your career defined where you are today? 

My break into the TV world at age 22 working for Ynon Kreiz at FoxKids (he is now the CEO of Mattel, spearheaded the Barbie film). He was an inspirational leader and role model and set a high standard.  Creative storytelling is naturally at the heart of FoxKids (Disney) laid the foundation for a lot of my work today.

Is there a legacy piece of Social & Influencer and Digital Craft creativity within Europe you’d like to shout about?

I do think a lot of food brands have so much fun on social. I really enjoyed Heinz's collaboration with Absolut Vodka "Heinz Absolutely" which translated well on social. The collaboration was inspired by Gigi Hadid's viral Tiktok recipe and I loved how bold it was. Full of personality and fun - exactly as social should be!

CHEETOS MUSEUM FRITO LAY (2)

In your opinion, what creates the best conditions for creative success?

From a strategy perspective:  'The Freedom of a Tightly Written Brief', insight, time and a big idea.

And from an execution perspective:  Leverage social first creators to take the big idea out to communities and audiences in their language.

What does ‘creative excellence’ mean to you?

Remarkable business outcomes. Transcending audiences.

What’s the most common piece of advice or feedback you find yourself giving your teams regarding reaching ‘creative excellence’?

Accept the process will likely be dysfunctional. Information goes in through the heart. 

What’s the one piece of advice you would give to entrants entering work into the Awards?

Showcase the creative, cultural and emotional power in this work, and demonstrate contextual proof that it worked. 

Why does having your work benchmarked matter? 

It's amazing for your agency, team morale and career progression. It provides confidence to CMOs who are not fully embracing digital and social media. 

What’s the best bit of advice you can give to creative leaders looking to foster creative excellence in their teams?

Hire a diverse team, from every background and every lived experience.  Foster safety at work. Have lots of fun and laughs. 

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"Tap into who you are and experiences that have stayed with you."

Kervins Chauvet is Senior Creative at Wieden+Kennedy. With a background in the music industry in Atlanta, Georgia, he moved into advertising where his writing on racial injustice in America was the mainspring that premiered the Nike Equality campaign to the world. The evocative film was narrated by Michael B. Jordan, featured Lebron James, Serena Williams and other athletes.

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