THE UNITED STATES OF MANIFEST
A GLOBAL 3 DAY DIGITAL EVENT FOR 55 MISFITS ☺
THE MANIFESTIVAL IS NOW OVER - THANK YOU TO YOU ALL FOR MAKING OUR FIRST (AND HOPEFULLY LAST) ALL-DIGITAL MANIFESTIVAL TRULY SPECIAL.
WE HOPE YOU FOUND IT AS INSPIRING AS OUR PREVIOUS MANIFESTIVALS AND ARE READY TO TAKE ON THE WORLD. WE’VE ALSO DECIDED TO KEEP THIS SITE UP BUT HAVE UPLOADED ALL OF THE CONTENT FROM THE SESSIONS BELOW TO COME BACK TO WHENEVER YOU WANT.
EACH DAY’S CONTENT IS BROKEN UP INTO SEPARATE VIDEOS WITH FULL RECAPS AND TAKEAWAYS. WE’VE ALSO INCLUDED A FURTHER READING SECTION WITH LINKS TO ALL OF THE PUBLICATIONS MENTIONED IN THE TALKS. ENJOY!
DAY ONE
UNIFYING OUR SERVICES
Welcome to Manifestival
The 2021 all-digital Manifestival opens with an intro from our managing partners across the globe.
Our hostess with the mostess Rosanna lays out the plan for the next three days, energising us all.
Founder + CEO Alex Myers takes us through the Unification Propostion, followed by Chief Design Officer Martin Farrar-Smith and his vision on what a Unified Brand should look like.
Our keynote speaker is the iconic Sir John Hegarty who courteously spent an hour of his time talking about creativity and answering some of ours questions.
We end the session with the first of our 5x5 sessions and find out what we can learn from The Romans, Prince, Country Music, JFK & Michael Jordan.
Finally, we held a bonus Would I Lie to You? Fika with some of Group ExCo and host Ian Hambleton (our Group Non-Exec) — have a watch and see if you can spot who's the biggest & best liar...
video: welcome to manifestival
VIDEO: The uniTED STATES OF MANIFEST EXPLAINED
Alex Myers, Founder + CEO
video: WHAT DOES A UNIFIED BRAND EVEN LOOK LIKE?
Martin Farrar-Smith, Chief Design Officer
VIDEO: FRESH MEET LIVE WITH SIR JOHN HEGARTY
Hosted by Julian Obubo, Brand Strategy Director
video: 5x5 part one
— The Roman Empire
— Prince
— Country Music
— JFK
— Michael Jordan
VIDEO: WOULD I LIE TO YOU Group exco edition
Hosted by Ian Hambleton, Non-Exec Director
DAY TWO
UNIFYING OUR TEAMS
TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK
Director, Helen Kenny & Managing Partner, Jessica Becker took us through how to find our element.
Alex taught us that unified teams are built through Insight, Imagination, Instigation & Implementation. We then held workshops facilitated by the wonderful Karel & Ambika.
Brand Strategy Director, Julian Obubo presented his thoughts on Diversity of thought and communication styles.
The second part of our 5x5 sessions taught us what we could learn from Rupert Murdoch, Cubism, Conspiracy Theories, Vikings and Margaret Thatcher.
We then wrapped up day 2 with a team dinner, awards & some very interesting comedy (the comedians we booked were pretty funny too).
video: WELCOME TO DAY TWO
VIDEO: FINDING YOUR ELEMENT
Helen Kenny, Director & Jessica Becker, Managing Partner
video: BUilding a unified team
Alex Myers, Founder + CEO
VIDEO: KICKING THE SHIT OUT OF CREATIVE UNIFICATION
Workshops facilitated by Karel Kumar, Senior Creative Strategist & Ambika Makin, Account Director
video: Powering creativity & collaboration through diversity of thought and communication styles
Julian Obubo, Brand Strategy Director
VIDEO: 5x5 part two
— Rupert Murdoch
— Cubism
— Conspiracy Theories
— Vikings
— Margaret Thatcher
video: Manifestival Awards & entertainment
DAY THREE
UNIFYING OUR FUTURE
Laying out the manifest constitution
Our final day kicked off with an incredible B—Corp update from Mark Swainson, Finance Director & Lucy Peacock, People & Operations Director.
Alex then delivered the Manifest Constitution — a call to arms to every one of us on how we can deliver our best work moving forward.
Part three of the 5x5 sessions covered what we could learn from The Sydney Opera House, The Large Hadron Collider, Angela Merkel & Wu-Tang Clan.
Closing the Manifestival was a very special version of What Rocked featuring a whistle-stop visual history of Manifest.
VIDEO: WElcome to day three
video: Building a group b—corP
Mark Swainson, Finance Director & Lucy Peacock, People & Operations Director
VIDEO: the manifest constitution
Alex Myers, Founder + CEO
video: 5x5 part three
— The Sydney Opera House
— The Large Hadron Collider
— Angela Merkel
— Wu-Tang Clan
VIDEO: WHAT ROCKED — Manifestival edition
+ History of Manifest (abridged)
FURTHER READING
The Art of Participation: 1950 to Now
Boris Groys
On the New
boris groys
Out of Our Minds: The Power of Being Creative
KEN ROBINSON
Life: Keith Richards
Keith Richards & james fox
Leonardo Da Vinci
Walter Isaacson
Manifestival award winners
Imagination Award
→ AAron Maughan
Innovation award
→ Lee Benecke
INSPIRATION award
→ Lauren Kaufman
BEST NEWCOMER Award
→ NINA GAGO
BAD B*tch award
→ Lauren preece
who rocked award
→ Isabel Thomson
global connector Award
→ Lucy Peacock
most manifest award
→ elsa druiett
manifest icon award
→ thom myers
The Manifest Constitution
WE THE PEOPLE, OF THE UNITED STATES OF MANIFEST, IN ORDER TO FORM A MORE PERFECT UNION…
United in Purpose.
We build brands that change the world. Don’t expect the brief to ask for it.
Make it happen.
A campaign has to be ‘for’ something, not just about something.
Don’t sell a product, start a revolution. It’s your job to change things.
IF IT AIN’T BROKE, BREAK IT.
United in Creativity
Keep your feet on the ground and your head in the clouds.
Creativity comes from ‘yes, and’ not ’yes, but’.
A good idea will send a shiver down your spine. A great idea will scare the shit out of you. Get used to it.
Be interested. In everything. Information is oxygen for creativity. Breathe it in.
STOP CALLING YOUR WORK BRAVE. THE RISK IS IN STANDING STILL.
United in Community
Difference is power. Our unity is defined not by how much we agree on, but what we agree on.
Never forget that it’s not ‘I’, ‘you’ or ‘me’, it’s always ‘we’.
Work is what we produce, not where we go to produce it.
Bring down the fences wherever you can. Trust your gut. Don’t let anyone else tell you what a good idea is. But always let them help you make it great. Because they always can.
Stretch yourself. But don’t overstretch those around you. Even though we are all moving in the same direction, we still have our own path to follow.
THIS ISN’T FOR EVERYONE. AND WE’RE OK WITH THAT.
United in Legacy
Always stand on the right side of history. But don’t confuse that with sitting on the fence. Have a voice. Find your place and your value will speak for itself.
Don’t try to be everything - try to do something.
Be in the band.
Success is short term, significance is forever. Look to the horizon to see the bigger picture.
Never let anyone tell you your job is not important.
ALWAYS GIVE A FUCK.
Oh, Just one more thing...
We want to know what you thought about manifestival 2021. What rocked? what could have worked better? what was missing?
Send us your thoughts at the link below.
SEE YOU AT THE NEXT MANIFESTIVAL!
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