WFA lines up Hegarty, top clients and Google to headline 2014 Global Marketer Week in Sydney

Could the Cannes International Festival of Creativity have a rival next year?

On the face of it the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) Global Marketer Conference doesn’t seem a challenger to the annual awards and pink wine fest in the South of France but next year it’s in Sydney and it’s already lined up a top trio of headline speakers.

Unilever SVP Marc Mathieu and Diageo Reserve Brands global MD James Thompson are confirmed from the client side and Sir John Hegarty of BBH is also speaking. Since he stepped down as global CCO in favour of Brazilian Ale Gama last year, Hegarty has embarked on what seems a one-knight crusade to make the case for decent advertising in the face of a tidal wave of technobabble.

The Global Marketer Conference, on March 26, is the showpiece event of the WFA’s Global Marketer Week, which includes members-only events as well as sessions from global experts open to non-members. Confirmed events include a session hosted by Google and led by Contagious on the most engaging and innovative strategies over the past year in digital.

The event is being jointly hosted by the WFA and the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA).