Sam Conniff: purpose within business - Dots 2015

Sam Conniff: how can purposeful business affect innovation and create impact?

By Brilliant Noise, August 2015. Posts

Dots speaker Sam Conniff is co-founder of revolutionary youth marketing agency Livity. For the past 15 years Livity has worked with clients including Google, Barclays and Save The Children to create socially innovative, award winning work whilst providing opportunities for young people to transform their own lives.

Sam-blog-image Brilliant Noise: What can we expect from your talk at Dots? Sam: Some really honest reflections. I’ve been thinking a lot about purpose v. profit, why are business life cycles getting shorter at the same time the overall number of businesses are exploding, and what’s the right focus for strong, lasting organisations. I’m preparing some honest thoughts about how the trend towards finding purpose within business can affect innovation and create impact. I’m asking what’s the macro global picture, what’s the micro local picture, and what do I think it can teach us all? And, after 15 years of success, why do I think my organisation is about to face its greatest challenge yet?What is youth marketing? It could either be selling stuff to kids they do or don’t need, or it could be a renaissance in creativity, opportunity, mobility and democracy for young people. It could be an enlightened, deeper and more responsible approach to the relationship between brands and their fans.What would you say has been your career highlight so far? We share our office every day with teenagers and young adults. We’re a marketing agency with a youth club in the middle of it, we’re an unusual launch pad for young talent, and an intersection of enterprise, insight, imagination and effective marketing. We see preconceptions and prejudice dissolve on a daily basis and we see young people unlock their potential and transform their life chances on a regular basis. Those are my career highlights, and I’m very lucky to be in a space where they happen all the time.Are there any of the other Dots speakers that you’re particularly looking forward to? I’m biased, but I think it’s a pretty excellent line up. Anything entitled Say “yes” to the mess (Steve Chapman) sounds good to me, the Everybody! Transform! panel also sounds excellent and I’m very much looking forward to the FT and BBC Earth perspective. But if I had to pick one, I’m looking forward to hearing Ciara Judge, a 17 year old scientist putting data and decisions about business and ethics into people’s hands is pretty exciting to me.Buy your ticket for Dots 2015 to see Sam and a whole host of other fantastic speakers talking about the transformative power of ideas.