Manipulation of public conscience is not a trepanation of the skull

Igor Ganzha:

Manipulation of public conscience is not a trepanation of the skull

PanARMENIAN.Net - Member of the Russian Advertising Academy, Vice President of the Russian branch of the International Advertising Association, mastermind of advertising campaigns for Merсedes-Benz, Bosh, Sun Microsystems, IBS, Philip Morris, Optima, Electrolux and many others, Igor Ganzha, believes that advertisement is not art but a technology. Although his unpublished book titled “CreaCtiv” is cited by ad specialists, Ganzha doesn’t think of himself as a guru of advertisement. As a part of POPOK International Advertising Festival, Igor Ganzha will give a master class in Yerevan on October 30.
It’s a pleasure to get into your brain, a hero of Frederic Beigbeder’s 99 Francs used to say. Is it a pleasure for you to get into the customers’ brains?
99 Francs should not be viewed as a book about the working days of ad men. I am not a novel hero either. So, my answer will be a bit more boring than you expect. Manipulation of public conscience is not a trepanation of the skull. It’s a method of persuasion. You should understand the customer and empathize with him. Only in this case you can find the right words. People are not fools to be orchestrated with a kind of mental whip.

What can POPOK do for the development of advertising industry in Armenia?
The quality of advertisement depends on economy development, proper activity of advertising agencies and their clients. The festival will hardly help accelerate the economic growth but can have a role in creating high standards for those involved in the field. It can serve as a mechanism to create a workshop, a community of ad men. It can also outline the boundaries of the industry and allow each ad man to feel a part of a group of people united by common interests. This feeling facilitates formation of corporative standards and other professional conventions which can improve the quality of advertisement and moral atmosphere in the country.

Why did you agree to take part in the festival?
This festival is undoubtedly a good idea. And good ideas should be supported.

Which brainchild of yours are you specifically proud of and why?
An ad man can’t be proud of one certain work. You either produce worthy projects and your clients are happy and you have no time to sleep on a pillow filled with laurels or you are not in shape, not qualified for market and have nothing to be proud of. So, it's ridiculous to be proud of prizes, even festival prizes, even the prizes of POPOK festival, excuse my blasphemy... Anyway, I am a member of the jury, so I can't get any prize and I will have nothing to be proud of.

They say you do not announce the theme of your master class in Yerevan. Is it a marketing move?
No. It means that the theme is not ready yet; or just an attempt to pick up an urgent topic for the workshop. It's important for me not to repeat my last year's seminar. I must summarize the newly gained experience, think over the context and tell about new projects to provide information useful for professionals. The discussions will focus on marketing communication goals.

Can one acquire creative thinking or is it an innate ability?
Why “or”? It’s certainly an innate ability the individual can develop or kill. But each one is born with it, although Darwinists can disagree with me.

You are the chairman of POPOK festival jury in Marketing Efficiency nomination. Which will be the main criteria for your choice of winners?
Criteria are always determined by the festival regulations. On my part, I will assess the ingenious solution, innovation and logically predictable or documentary confirmed effectiveness.

Gayane Mirzoyan / PanARMENIAN News
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