Ever Heard of Aspen Ideas Festival?

By on June 27, 2012

Unlike Davos, Cannes, and TED, Aspen can fly under the radar…unless you’re in an elite group of thought-leaders who convene in the mountains to discuss the world’s biggest issues (sounds cool, right?). Each summer, roughly 300 speakers assemble to prompt discussion around diverse topics such as the pressures of an exploding population, the roots of societal values, and America’s obsession with sports and athletes.

Aspen Ideas Festival, sponsored by the Aspen Institute and The Atlantic, has a decidedly more DC-infused scene than TED, and holds strong root in politics. Over the next week, great minds will leverage this less pressurized, mountaintop destination to tackle issues relevant to DC and the world. Welcome inside the gates of the intellectual illuminati.

So how did a PR-focused-creative-gal get mixed up in this mile-high world of idea convergence? The answer is simple: the pursuit of timely, topical, relevant insights to leverage for Ketchum clients. We’re in the business of thinking—smart, insightful thinking. Our work rests on thinking that resonates with global needs and that translates societal (and corporate) priorities into dialogue that the consumer and public can understand and relate to. Having a presence at Aspen helps Ketchum foster this conversation.

Over the next week I’ll be attending a wide range of talks with the goal of gleaning insights on issues that are most relevant for the upcoming year. As always, I’ll be on the lookout for the “sticky stuff” – that fodder and material that we can grab onto and use in our programming, such as trends in healthcare, finance, food, and technology. I’m excited to see Aspen provide the suffocating issues of today a healthy dose of fresh air!

You can follow the festival here: http://www.aspenideas.org/

About Sarah Unger

Sarah is a Creative Catalyst in Ketchum's New York office, providing creative and strategic counsel. She works closely with team leaders to catalyze the creative process and evolve program concepts from idea to execution, developing key research-based and target-relevant insights that help lead to clear strategic vision. A committed cultural enthusiast, it’s hard to find something that doesn’t interest her. You can follow Sarah’s random musings on Twitter @sarahjane047 and her blog, So Five Minutes Ago.

All posts by Sarah Unger