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Dreamforce, the largest annual consumer-facing event from tech giant Salesforce, returned to San Francisco this year and celebrated 20 years of the event. With a reported in-person attendance of 40,000 (attendees are playfully known as "Trailblazers"), it was the largest trade event in the city since the onset of the pandemic. Dreamforce 2022—held Sept. 20-22 at the Moscone Center and produced by experiential marketing and design company George P. Johnson—spanned more than 1,000 sessions and 60 keynotes, including high-profile speakers like Bono, Jane Goodall, Matthew McConaughey, and Jennifer Hudson.

In 2020, Praytell suddenly did not feel like the best place to work (even though the New York public relations firm had just won a seventh Best Place to Work prize). When the pandemic hit, burnout was high, and employees began to leave. To deal with burnout, something had to give. While the four-day workweek had been on founder Andy Pray's radar for some time, it never seemed viable for a firm in the service industry. Now, it looked like low-hanging fruit. Seven months in, 98% of Praytell employees reported wanting to see the four-day week become permanent. And 90% strongly agreed that teams operate as “efficiently and respectfully” as before while still meeting deadlines.

The first wave of social media platforms—MySpace, Facebook, Reddit, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, Snapchat—created the landscape we all now live, work, communicate and play in. But more and more platforms have been popping up in recent years, outpacing their more established competitors in relevance and challenging the nature of how we experience social media. Another platform quickly gaining speed is Whatnot, the community marketplace app geared toward fans and collectors. “I think the rise of Whatnot is a great example of how culture is reciprocal—Whatnot is basically eBay livestreamed,” said John Higgins, CEO and chief creative officer at OS Studios. He explains that apps like Whatnot were created for mainstream culture to gain access into niche culture—rather than platforms that simply allow niche culture to connect, like YouTube and Twitch. “To that end, I think we are going to see how social media starts to trend into other realms, like the metaverse,” Higgins said. “In a few years, it will be normal to metaphysically explore someone’s timeline via headset or smart device.”

Advertising Week and Warner Bros. Discovery are thrilled to reveal the women of this year’s Future is Female Awards judging panel. Our 23 hand-picked judges come from a colorful scape of experience and backgrounds and represent the core values of the Future is Female Program. The panel includes Sharon Napier, Executive Chair & Founder, Partners + Napier.

Marketing and ad agency Motive, a member of the Project Worldwide agency network, welcomes Lixaida Lorenzo as the new VP Group Creative Director out of Motive’s LA office. The new hire serves as a catalyst for the agency’s business growth, offering current and future clients new perspectives on creative solutions that are in tune with what is happening in culture while remaining true to their brand.

In just 77 days from idea to execution, Destination Canada and Praytell brought one of the Great White North’s most iconic cold-weather experiences—the Aurora Borealis, or northern lights—to New York City. The immersive experience gave visitors the perspective of walking through the northern lights, thanks to a floor-to-ceiling mirrored light display that incorporated interactive visuals to emulate the mesmerizing beauty of the northern lights. The limited-time exhibit also honored the deep connection between the northern lights and the Indigenous population of Canada through native storytelling and an audio partnership with Inuit throat singing group, Tarniriik. A targeted local ad buy, social media campaign and win-a-trip sweepstakes complimented the immersive experience so New Yorkers couldn’t miss it.

Darkhorse co-founder and executive creative director Liam Taylor joined the podcast Today FM to discuss all the creative work they're doing in Australia and New Zealand.

Zoe Watson, Australia lead and vice president of global strategy at Praytell, shares how companies can set themselves up for success when growing their businesses in new markets.

Project agencies Praytell and Wondersauce are quoted within the lifestyle outlet InsideHook. Digital strategists Nate Jaffee and Casey Null provide examples on how brands can get involved with Web 3.0 and where the platform is headed.