Saatchi & Saatchi Health hosts Brainyyak event in The Rocks last night with presentation from Zenith Optimedia’s Aaron Michie

Last night, Saatchi & Saatchi Health hosted a cutting-edge Brainyyak event. The Brainyyak series, launched earlier this year, provides the opportunity for healthcare marketers to hear from the leading minds in the communications industry at the inspirational venue of the Saatchi & Saatchi office in The Rocks, with views over Sydney Harbour.

The event featured a presentation from Aaron Michie (pictured), chief innovation officer at Zenith Optimedia and attracted over 30 marketing and advertising professionals from the pharmaceutical and health sectors.

Says Marc Law, creative director: “Our passion for what we do is not just driven by our belief in big ideas but also by the fact we’re working on brands that are improving health and transforming lives. As what we are doing is important, we’re determined to keep doing it as well as possible. It’s in this spirit that our management team came up with the concept of hosting a program of talks that inspire. Sharon Howard-Butler, Head of Copy, and I worked together and came up with the name Brainyyak.”

Says Louie Skinner, general manager: “We spotted an opportunity. To my knowledge, no other advertising agency offers a brain tingling event like this. Brainyyak is a masterclass taking the agency team and clients to a whole new level of thinking.

“We’re very aware of the challenges of today. It’s a constantly changing landscape, we know how important it is to equip our people (on the agency and client side) with the right information so that they can understand the terrain and think in a way that will give us the edge when it comes to communicating with our target audiences. We’ve had a great line up of speakers and there are many more to come. These are exciting times, and this is an exciting initiative.”

Debate at Brainyyak was driven by Michie’s presentation. “Everything is changing in the media landscape and the only future is digital…or is it?” Michie warned against simply leaping on “the next big thing”.

Michie joined media agency ZenithOptimedia as chief innovation officer earlier this year. He has spent the majority of his career in digital and creative agencies. He holds degrees in microbiology and biochemistry and has a special interest in the chemistry between people and brands.

The next Brainyyak event will be held in September. The Saatchi & Saatchi Health team is inviting marketing professionals from companies who offer health related products and services to register their interest by contacting Louie Skinner, general manager via email here.