Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Apathy, Attitude & Aptitude, Business, Culture, Egovertising, Management, Marketing, Marketing Fail, Respect
Scale.
A single word that has become the barrier to so much.
How big can you get it?
How much can you make it worth?
How do you plan to expand, expand, expand.
Now I get it …
If you want – or need – investors, they want to feel their cash will grow.
But the by-product of this is that scale has now become the measure we define ourselves by.
If it’s not big, it’s not worth it.
If it’s not the largest, it’s not the greatest.
If it isn’t known around the world, it’s not worth caring about.
And I’m not just talking in terms of investment, but in so many fields.
Advertising is one of them.
And I certainly have been guilty of it.
Thinking working on global brands meant I was somehow better than those who worked on more local clients.
But thankfully, I quickly learned that was bollocks.
Because on top of everything else, far too often global brands are a shitshow of politics and hierarchy.
Wading through pools of treacle.
That are located inside a maze.
Constantly being moved around.
In the dark.
All in a bid to delay making a decision.
Because not pissing off your boss is more important than creating value for customers.
Which is why for all the NIKE’s, Spotify’s and Metallica’s there’s a whole lot more … well. let’s just say there’s a whole lot more of those other sort of global clients.
And while I’ve been luckier than most with the global clients I’ve worked with – which is fortunate given most of my career has been working with them – the reality is it’s got nothing to do with their scale and everything to do with the values and aspirations of the individuals you’re working with.
That doesn’t mean they don’t want to grow … of course they do and that’s what they’re paying you to help them achieve it.
However growth and scale are different things.
Growth is building, evolving, creating and changing.
Scale is power, speed, conformity and consistency,
And that’s why people focused on scale, can tend to get blinkered …
Focusing on speed and size rather than standards and substance.
And before you know it, they’re churning out all manner of communication landfill, because they believe being something for everyone is better than being everything to someone.
Which is why I love this small hole-in-the-wall store I saw not so long ago.
I have no idea how many people need a quick buttonhole service …
I appreciate the sign is a ramshackle mess.
And yet it made me so happy because the shop looks like it’s been there for a long time which suggests the owner has built a position and value within the community they serve.
Where ‘quick’ is more a by-product of their experience rather than the objective of why they’re in business.
Maybe.
And while I could be completely wrong about them, the reason I love it is because it reminds me that we should celebrate business who wish to live up to a standard not down to a scale.