Shared Beliefs on what makes great advertising

Hall & Partners – 20 April 2018

Source Hall & Partners

In 2002, in collaboration with the IPA, Hall & Partners’ founder, Mike Hall, interviewed industry luminaries and released the original Shared Beliefs: a seminal guide on how advertising works.

At that time only 9% of the world's population was online. It took 12 minutes to download a song on a home computer. High-street companies resolutely refused to open online stores. Most advertising was delivered on TV or in print. And neither Facebook nor YouTube existed. The world has shifted dramatically since then. Digital disruption is everywhere, creating new ways for people to experience and interact with brands. Traditional advertising models are no longer the norm. In today’s world campaigns are fast paced, adapted in real time, fully integrated and participative.

Although Mike’s original Shared Beliefs are still hugely influential within the advertising industry, with the media landscape shifting at such speed we decided it was time to review these principles to create a new set of beliefs, seeing which of the original ones still hold true and identifying new beliefs emerging from the new world. My colleagues and I have therefore spoken to some of the world's leading creative minds to understand how advertising is working and flourishing in this changing environment.

The list includes:

I’m thrilled that the collective wisdom of the industry’s big thinkers has helped us create a new set of Shared Beliefs for this new era. What leads to great creativity? How best to utilise technology and data? How to balance creative risk with business risk? This book will provide fresh insight into how the advertising industry is changing, what it can do to stay meaningful, and how brands can get that competitive edge among consumers. We’re hugely grateful for the support of the IPA and the 4A’s and believe this new set of principles will help shape the advertising industry for years to come.

Please get involved and keep the conversation going – share this content with your network using #OurSharedBeliefs and comment on the individual beliefs. Which principles do you think have made the biggest difference to advertising since the original book was published in 2002? What value does launching our new Shared Beliefs have in today’s world? Which belief resonates the most with you? In today’s world we can truly share our beliefs and would love to hear your thoughts.