During the Loeries Creative Week broadcast this November, the women featured in the three most inspiring, powerful and authentic stories will be invited to chat with Dr Rebecca Swift, global head of creative insights at Getty Images and an authority on the evolution of visual trends in advertising.

Her research has focused on commercial creativity and her work has received more than 30 international awards including a Glass Lion. Besides serving as a visual brand consultant to global corporations and lecturing at universities, she has served on judging panels for photography, design and advertising at a number of prestigious European awards.

Particularly passionate about evolving visual representation, Swift drives change in visual language depicting women and girls. As such she has rewritten the Getty Images visual standards for commercial imagery submitted by contributing photographers.

Listed among the “20 Women to Watch” in 2020 by AdAge, she is also Campaign magazine’s Female Frontier award honouree. Not least, she is global head of creative insights at Getty Images and leads its diversity and inclusion initiatives (D&I).

Robyn Terbrugge, Gallo Images general manager sales and marketing, says it is hoped the Creative Week session will inspire brands and agencies to access content from gettyimages.com that authentically reflects women's lives and experiences.

"Our customers increasingly want more authentic content. Imagery that everyone can easily relate to because audiences respond best to visuals that resonate. Notably, the image search term 'real people' has increased +192% over the past year; 'diverse women' by +168%; and 'strong women' by +187%. Clear evidence of a demand for a more realistic portrayal of women.”

Gallo Images has long hosted all the Loeries social content on its website where it is freely available.

Terbrugge adds: “As we gear for the Covid-induced new normal, we are introducing the #GetReal session as added value. We want to create awareness, share creative insights and identify regional nuances. Besides steering our photographers to produce relevant content we want to empower African and Middle Eastern creatives to respond to the global demand for brands that commit to change.”

She also acknowledges the importance of taking client budgets into account while providing content that resonates with today’s brand audience. “This is why we are dedicated to producing content that marketers can use to address the cultural and socio-demographic differences that abound on our great continent and in the Middle East. “

Loeries CEO Preetesh Sewraj, an innovation analyst, views the Gallo creative focus on women achievers as an innovative initiative with strong potential for societal change. He says: “Images are not only a powerful tool in capturing the human experience but can also serve to challenge stereotypes. The #GetReal campaign will allow us to work with Gallo Images to unlock inspirational stories from women across Africa and the Middle East. Through this, we will ensure that creatives, and broader society, will be exposed to real stories and real images from real women – this should serve as an important step in promoting representation in a world that needs it now more than ever. ”

To find out more go to www.loeries.com to submit your story.

^{About Loeries Africa Middle East}

The Loeries, a non-profit company, is Africa and the Middle East’s premiere initiative that recognises, rewards, inspires and fosters creative excellence in the brand communication industry. As the highest accolade for creativity and innovation across our region, the Loeries promotes and supports creativity by helping marketers, agencies and consumers appreciate the value of ideas and fresh thinking.

Culminating in the biggest creative gathering across the region, Loeries Creative Week brings together the best innovative minds from our industry for a festival of networking, inspiring minds and recognising great work.

The Loeries is the only award across Africa and the Middle East that informs the global Warc Creative 100, a showcase for the best creative work in the world. Successor to the prestigious Gunn Report, Warc collates the most important advertising awards from around the world to produce a global list that ranks the most creative companies and campaigns.

Partners of the Loeries

Gearhouse, AB InBev, Barron, Brand South Africa, Facebook, Tractor Outdoor, Vodacom, Woolworths

Additional Partners and Official Suppliers

AAA School of Advertising, Aon South Africa, Backsberg, BEE Online, First Source, Fresh RSVP Guest Logistics, Funk Productions, Gallo Images, Ludus Post Productions, Mama Creative, Newsclip, Paygate, Rocketseed, Shared Value Africa Initiative, Shift, Unstereotype Alliance, Vega School, VQI Communications Nigeria, Xneelo

Endorsed by

Association of Communication and Design, Brand Council South Africa, Commercial Producers Association, Creative Circle, EXCA, IAB, South African Institute of Architects, IID

Official media partners

Between 10and5, Bizcommunity.com, Book of Swag, Brand Communicator Nigeria, Business Insider by Pulse, Campaign Middle East, Film & Event Media, IDIDTHAT.co, Modern Marketing, MarkLives, The Redzone