Champions Breakfast No.18 : THE TASTE OF THE FUTURE

As the year draws to a close, we are trying to read the tealeaves to forecast our future and to dig around in our roots. As always, our “chef,” Andris Rubīns, served up three very healthy stories that can help us better to prepare for the coming year.

We started with a strong aperitif. Associate Professor Daunis Auers from the Department of Political Science at the University of Latvia discussed analysis of political risks. What can we expect in 2015? There are things that are impossible to predict – Russia’s military appetite, for instance. Here at home, by contrast, we can be fairly safe in saying that the same old thing will happen – nothing. One of the biggest problems in Latvia’s political environment, Auers argued, is that there is a shortage of new ideas in the political environment. Perhaps that is good news for us in the creative industries?

The main course came from Tatjana Baranovska, a strategic planner at DDB Consulting. She talked about the latest trends in marketing and consumer issues. When talking to people, she said, interests take the upper hand over belonging to a demographic group. People seek to improve themselves in physical and spiritual terms, and these are areas in which help from other people is far more important than help from technologies. It is no secret that it is hard to surprise people with brands these days, so we must allow people to surprise themselves by, for instance, purchasing a cat in a bag!

Dessert came from the boss of the Valmiermuiža Beer brewery, Aigars Ruņģis. He talked about his experience in developing a small, but strong brand with deep roots in Latvian culture. Being a small company in a small country is actually a luxury thing, he said. Not everyone can do that. A small company can achieve a great deal. Instead of advertising on TV, a small company can offer authentic experiences, meet and greet its clients, learn about their desires, and improvise in terms of implementing a big pile of new ideas.

If you want to treat your eyes, you can look at the photo gallery from the breakfast, but for a full taste, definitely watch the video or the presentations from Daunis Auers, Tatjana Baranovska and Aigars Ruņģis.

See you at the next Champions Breakfast in 2015!