APG Battle of Big Thinking Blog

Spectator Sport

Want to join the battle? 

Date and Place: 11th October 2006 at the Natural History Museum

Price: Bookings before 11th August -- APG members £520; non-members £600.  After 11th August -- members £550; non-members £630.  (Add VAT to all prices, non member price includes one year's APG membership) 

To get your ticket: (edited to say...sorry, but we're sold out)

Fighting odds - comms thinkers

Who's your favourite for Big Thinking from Communication Agencies:

Krow vs Trevor Beattie (Beattie McGuinness Bungay) vs Chris Clark (Nitro) 

Fighting odds - planning thinkers

The gloves are off for Big Planning Thinking:

Jim Carroll (BBH) vs Russell Davies

Fighting odds - research thinkers

Who do you fancy for Big Research Thinking:

Gordon Pincott (Millward Brown) vs Roy Langmaid (Promise) vs The Nursery vs Justin Gibbons (Work)

Fighting odds - new media thinkers

Lay your bets for Big New Media Thinking:

John Owen (Dare) vs Mark Cridge (Glue) vs Andrew Walmsley (i-Level)

Fighting odds - media thinkers

Wagers for Big Media Thinking:

Christine Walker (Walker Media) vs Jonathan Durden (PHD) vs Ivan Pollard (Naked)

Fighting odds - brand thinkers

Three-way stand off  for Big Brand Thinking:

Helen Edwards & Derek Day (Passionbrand)

vs TBC

vs Moray McLennan (M&C Saatchi)

Fighting odds - marketing thinkers

Place your bets for Big Marketing Thinking:

Simon Thompson (Motorola) vs Greg Nugent (Eurostar)

What's it all about?

We all know what it's like at most conferences.  Too often they focus on narrow topics like communicating with five-and-a-half year olds, the invited speakers drone on for forty five minutes, and then we the audience shuffle nervously avoiding eye contact and sitting on our hands during the Q&A session.

(If you don’t think this, then maybe this event isn’t for you )

Have you ever thought: what about the big themes, the big subjects, the Big Thinking? The kind of thinking which changes our view of a subject forever, makes us see something in a brand new light, shakes us up, turns us around and turns us into something new.

Well, we did and that’s why we came up with the idea of a "Big Thinking" event.

We’ve invited nineteen (yes, nineteen!) of  the biggest thinkers in seven different fields (marketing, brand development, research, media, new media, planning and communications agencies) to talk about the latest, newest and the biggest things going on in their worlds. They’re all people who are at the top of the tree in their areas of expertise, and who have changed – or are changing – these areas forever. In just one day you'll have the chance to soak up today’s latest thinking, priceless ideas, and career-enhancing insight.

And our big thinking event has some more big twists. Instead of forty-five minute speeches, our big thinkers will wow you for just fifteen minutes on why they are the biggest thinker around. Forget uncomfortable Q&As with no Qs, you'll get the chance to vote on who is the biggest thinker using the latest push-button voting technology  That’s why it’s called The Battle of Big Thinking, or as some people are calling it: Pop Idol for the brain.

At the end of the day, we’ll crown the Big Thinker who has most captured the audience's interest, and received the most votes, as the 2006 APG Biggest Thinker Of Them All.

The Battle of Big Thinking is an APG one day event at the Natural History Museum on 11th October.  We’re running it with the big help of Campaign so big thanks to them for their help in organising it all.