Leo Burnett Reveals The Language of the 21st Century at the 58th Annual Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity

CANNES, France, June 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Leo Burnett Worldwide introduced a new language – one that is centered on social media – at its Wildfire Seminar at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. "The Language of the 21st Century," focused on what defines a brand's effectiveness and discussed a new language of communication that has revolutionized the advertising industry.

Mark Tutssel, Global Chief Creative Officer of Leo Burnett Worldwide led the conversation along with Leo Burnett New York's Chief Creative Officer Jay Benjamin and Creative Directors Michael Canning and Kieran Antill.

At the Debussy Theater in front of more than 1,200 global advertising experts, Tutssel said, "To truly connect with people, brands must learn to 'speak human' and use a new language of communication, a language that doesn't just speak to consumers, but instead, speaks the language of the people. Brands that learn to adapt to this new language will lead the conversation of the 21st century."

Assembled on stage was the "Alphabet of Today" sculpture comprised of oversized alphabet blocks. Each letter represented key influential social media and communication technology icons. Curated by Leo Burnett New York leaders Benjamin, Canning and Antill, the new alphabet was inspired by the evolution of language, communication and technology in today's society. The blocks will be on display at Palais de Festivals for the duration of the Festival and can be seen at www.alphabetoftoday.com.

During the Wildfire Seminar Benjamin said, "Today, we speak with a new alphabet of communication. We use this new language everyday to have conversations, connect with people and share our experiences instantaneously. It's important to know and adapt to this alphabet of communication, to make sure what a brand is saying has a real human purpose thus, speaking human."

"What we're seeing today is that great brands are having more open and authentic relationships with people, because they have a clear focus on what their human purpose is, rather than just their marketing purpose, which leads to ideas that add real value in peoples lives," said Canning.

Antill further added, "when a brand lives its purpose, it does more than just communicate to the masses, you can feel it in everything the brand does. From the people who invite the brand into their lives, to the culture of the people working for the brand."

Additionally, during the seminar, Leo Burnett Worldwide discussed "The HumanKind Quotient," a new analytical tool that measures a brand's effectiveness and fluency. The HumanKind Quotient measures brands by People, Purpose, Participation and Acts, the four pillars of Leo Burnett's HumanKind philosophy, and further categorizes brands as Dreamy, Noisy, Lazy or HumanKind.

Tutssel noted, "the HumanKind Quotient is an entirely new way to measure brand equity through a HumanKind lens. It provides brands with a way to determine the ability it has to effect human change and predicts the ultimate demise or success of a brand in the marketplace."

To learn more about Leo Burnett's "Alphabet of Today," visit www.alphabetoftoday.com.

About Leo Burnett Company, Inc.

Leo Burnett Worldwide (www.leoburnett.com) is one of the world's largest agency networks and the parent company of Leo Burnett and its marketing services arm, Arc Worldwide. Leo Burnett, a HumanKind communications company, has a simple and singular approach: put a brand's purpose at the center of communications to truly connect with people. Leo Burnett, one of the most awarded creative communications companies in the world, creates "Acts, not just Ads," for some of the world's most valuable brands including The Coca-Cola Company, Kellogg's, McDonald's, Hallmark, P&G, Allstate and Nintendo.

SOURCE Leo Burnett Company, Inc.

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