TEDx Amsterdam isn’t just another conference, it’s an experience. And if someone knows that very well, it’s Marian Spier, Vice President of the TEDxAmsterdam Foundation. She’s also in charge of the Experience Team and strives to make TEDx Amsterdam one of the most impactful gigs to hit Amsterdam. Not just for the attendees, also for the folks who are watching at simulcast locations. “TED has become a game changer. With TEDx Amsterdam, we want to help attendees to become the world’s next game changers,” she says. Her secret? “Delegate, delegate, delegate! I give the Experience Team the opportunity to come up with their own ideas and concepts. I won’t ever restrict them. Instead, I’d rather help them to shape ideas and combine them in a perfect mix.”
All experience-related matters regarding TEDxAmsterdam (the website, book, goodie bag and so much more) are part of Marian’s remit. “I have to make sure our strategy is in place and we’re running like a well-oiled machine before and after the conference in November. Last year we focused on simply getting the word out that we’d arrived; this year our task is to explain what TED and TEDxAmsterdam is all about – think of it as a deep dive into the world of TEDx.”
“It’s a really multi-disciplinary team from a range of backgrounds – a melting pot of experience and insight. Everybody brings his or her unique background to the project, and it’s working so well as everybody’s enthusiastic,” says Marian.
The mission that bonds these creative folks? That must be ‘ideas worth spreading’ right? “Naturally,” says Marian, “but our Media Liaison James Veenhoff had a good take on it. He said it during a brainstorm – and I loved it right away – TEDx Amsterdam is about spreading ideas, not business cards.”
“TEDxAmsterdam Challenges is a great project we launched last week,” says Marian, “and it’s a great opportunity for our fans to attend the event this year without having to go through the invitation process – which is complex for an event like ours. TED’s slogan is Ideas Worth Spreading, but Challenges is about ‘Ideas Worth Doing.’ I’m very curious to see what kind of ideas will come up to help to improve the world. I’m expecting a quite a few ‘pearls’ from people who do great things.”
This ‘doing factor’ is is what makes TED conferences so appealing, says Marian. “During a TEDxAmsterdam talk, people present some really strong and well-thought through ideas. I’m of the opinion that we really don’t need to look to America or the UK for inspiration – wonderful things happen right here in Amsterdam.”
And what’s Marian’s vision on working with professionals who volunteer for TEDxAmsterdam? Marian: “I love working with highly passionate people who often just fell on our lap, either via via or through email – we get a lot of enquiries from people who want to be a part of the event. I don’t believe in turning to the ‘guru’s’ of marketing or advertising – we have a creative family who all work together to produce some great work to support the event.”
Marian has her finger in a number of pies, you could say, and ‘day job’ is as Manager of Amsterdam’s Institute of Interactive Media. She’s also a lecturer in cross media and is responsible for developing international programs and partnerships with universities and companies abroad. A few years ago, it was at this job that Marian first came in contact with TED. “It came from a British colleague”, she recalls.
“He told me and I watched marketeer and blogger Seth Godin talking about standing out. I immediately got the value of TED, also for my students. Because of TED’s extensive archive, they can look up almost any theme: marketing, design, how to pitch, how to succeed in their careers. It’s inspirational and makes them think.”
“One day, I asked my media students ‘What’s your ‘Purple Cow’?” That is, how can you stand out in the crowd with the current information overload, without irritating others. It’s a very relevant topic and TED makes it visible for everybody.”
What’s one of your core value’s of life? “I truly believe it’s hard work to reach your goal. The book Outliers: The Story of Success by TED speaker Malcolm Gladwell has been a great inspiration to me. Just working hard isn’t enough. Your environment and culture should also co-operate to help you succeed. But will people allow that? Like TEDxAmsterdam in 2009. A lot of people facilitated our success. Otherwise there wouldn’t be TEDxAmsterdam.”
Marian would like TEDxAmsterdam to enhance out of the box thinking, another value that she’s attracted to. “Whether you’re a marketer, designer, scientist, farmer or carpenter, we all work towards our goals: to improve life, our habits, our house, everything. TED is not about politics or religion, TED is a channel or platform to inspire change.”
Marian’s favorite TED talks are: Majora Carter’s tale of urban renewal, Isaac Mizrahi on fashion and creativity and Alain de Botton: A kinder, gentler philosophy of success, “Some are real eye openers and have changed the way I think. Those definitely stuck in my memory.”
One of Marian’s peculiar quirks is that she can paint in 17th century style. “I had never dreamed that I would be able to paint, or that I was even a creative being. But I have cultivated and nourished my creativity.”
As if that’s not enough, she’s almost finished her first book Nieuwe Geluiden (New Sounds). This book provides insight into the big changes in the current media landscape that affect the role of the consumer and advertiser. Any other professional ideas for the future? “Yes definitely, but I spoke to a TED speaker recently and he said that one shouldn’t mention ideas to soon [laughs], it’s scientifically proven that your ideas won’t come true! …So if you don’t mind I’ll stay silent on that one!”
Want to be part of Marian’s Experience team? There is currently an open call for a film-maker/editing team to shoot a special series of shorts as part of the communications program. Send Marian an email with your experience and portfolio links: marian@tedxamsterdam.nl
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