Stream - The Highlights Package

The rest of Friday afternoon was spent getting to know more of the other attendees before Craig Davis’s talk on “The World’s Top 10 examples of Digital Creativity”. Craig is an absolute legend. He grew up in a small Australian town of 27 000 people and 35 000 kangaroos and is now the Worldwide Chief Creative Director of JWT. I also had a bit of a chat with him whilst roasting our marshmallows later that eveing and what struck me was not so much how brilliant he is, but what a down to earth and genuine guy he is.

After dinner on Friday night we had the Extravaganza at the Club Med amphitheatre. It was a crazy evening with everything from Diabolo juggling, to Greek dancing, a mentalist, a guitar hero show down and finally Maestro Itay Talgam leading the entire audience in a massive rendition of a multi-lingual Frère Jacques. Quite an experience.

By 11:30 the Extravaganza was over and I think after a long day everyone was feeling a little sleepy - but that didn’t mean it was bed time. On the contrary, the night was just beginning! My good friend Caroline Morgan had organised the Midnight Cooking Madness which saw us all feasting on a variety of weird and wonderful foods. We even had an opportunity to decorate our own cupcakes.

Being the last night, Friday turned into a bit of a bender and the open bar was beaten to within an inch of its life. I eventually got to bed at about 5:30 after having some awesome conversations with some truly remarkable people, particularly Jacob Septimus from Berlin Cameron, another legendary guy.

On Saturday morning I dragged myself out of bed at about 10, determined to catch a few discussions and make the most of the final day. I did manage to listen to some interesting stuff but I’d by lying if I said I was on top form. Sleep depravation from the last 2 days was dragging me down and only the help of a talented espresso-wielding barman got me through the day.
 
I rounded off my stay in Greece with a swim in the sea which was lovely and the salt water definitely went some way to curing my lingering cold. Whilst malingering in the ocean I had another chat with Daryl Arnold, Group CEO of Profero. Daryl is a great guy and it seems we have a lot in common. Not only do we both run eMarketing agencies, but it turns out we both saw the opportunity in South Africa’s first democratic election in 1994, and made some money off the queues by selling them drinks and snacks. What a coincidence!

My favourite thing about the whole experience was the people. I was truly blown away by the levels of talent and intelligence at the conference. But the thing which really struck me was how cool everyone was. I kind of expected a certain amount of aloofness given the power players in attendance, but I experienced absolutely none of it.
The people of WPP and its clients and suppliers are a magnificent bunch and as down to earth as you could wish for. I would like to really thank WPP and all the organisers for inviting me and making this possibly the most memorable business experience I have ever had. I will not stop thinking about it for a long time to come.

So that was Stream and my trip to Athens in a nutshell. I could literally regale you with tales all day but I’d better get some work done.
To check out more about Stream 2007, visit the site or search on Flickr for photos tagged with Stream2007.