Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Age, Attitude & Aptitude, Bands, Bangkok Shakes, Childhood, Culture, Music, Nottingham, Paul, Queen, Relevance, Resonance, Respect
When I was a kid in Nottingham, there were 3 independent record shops I continually went to.
WayAhead, Rob’s Records and Selectadisc.
OK, part of this was because there were no major record shops in Nottingham at that time – Our Price, Virgin and HMV all arrived [and left] years later – so unless you were happy with the extremely limited range available in Boots, they were your only options.
Not that they were a ‘lesser’ experience to the big chains. Far from it.
In fact WayAhead became my Mecca because it was a pure rock and metal store. The only one in Nottingham … a place that loved the music rather than just sold it. A place – when I look back – that not only helped forge my identity as a teen, but gave me a space where I could feel safe and supported in it.
It’s also the location where I queued up all night just to ensure I could get Queen tickets for their Works Tour. So the memories are deep and strong.
Rob’s Records was a second hand store up a small alley called Hurts Yard.
WayAhead used to be a few doors down, but they moved to a much bigger location when [1] metal music became mass in the mid-80’s and [2] the shop couldn’t fit customers in because too many people were crammed around the Pinball table and Track and Field arcade game that was in the front of their store. [See photo above]
But I digress …
To be honest, Rob’s Records was a shambles.
Messy … cramped … records stacked tight in big boxes and plastic bins placed literally all over the place. But it had cheap records so I’d find myself in there searching for some rare Queen albums or singles… normally after having a fried chicken lunch from the place that was a cut-price KFC in name, cleanliness and taste.
And then there was Selectadisc.
Set over 2 floors, it was the music lovers, music shop.
A dimly lit, warm cocoon that incubated you from the world outside.
In fact, it was considered an institution by record/vinyl fans all over the world thanks to its continued support for new and up and coming bands.
That said I didn’t love it … it loved The Smiths for a start … but it did have a lot of variety. It also had a great noticeboard where people could put up ads … especially for musicians for bands. We found our first singer, Rob Reid, from an ad we put up there … someone who helped give me some of the best times of my teens and who I am still in touch with to this day.
All of these places were like a wonderland to me.
I may have entered from the street, but I found myself on a different planet.
I would spend hours there on a Saturday… listening, talking, looking, reading. Occasionally even buying.
And while Rob’s Records and Selectadisc didn’t offer me the same community as WayAhead … they mattered to me. A lot.
Sadly, only Rob’s Records remain … but what caused me to write this post is because I recently saw a photo of the upstairs of Selectadisc and it stopped me in my tracks.
Not because of the memories it ignited.
Nor because of the state of it.
But because of its size.
Specifically, how small it was.
I appreciate when you’re younger you overestimate size … but this wasn’t when I was a child, I was in my teens.
And even though it wasn’t my fave record shop, I still remember it like it was a Cathedral of Sound.
Maybe it was because it was bigger than both WayAhead and Rob’s Records.
Maybe it was because it was on 2 floors where the others were just on one.
Or maybe it was because it offered me an escape from normal life to a place that was filled with sound and people who shared a similar love to it as me.
There’s never been a place like those record shops for me.
The closest was Funan Mall in Singapore – a whole building dedicated to selling electronics and gadgets.
A place where I could happily spend hours just looking at the latest new tech that had come in from China … where Jill sent me to after I’d proposed so I could calm down from the intense emotions of the morning.
But even then … even with all that … those 3 record shops in Nottingham will be where a part of my soul resides.
A place that was educational, recreational, and experiential.
Society is worse off without these places.
Yes, I know culturally they have been replaced by a bunch of other places – from the barbers shop to the chicken shop – but records shop were more than a place to hang and talk, they were a place where you grew.
So even though this photo of Selectadisc highlights how small it actually was … it’s impact on who I was remains huge.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, Audi, Authenticity, Brand, Communication Strategy, Corporate Evil, Culture, Honesty, Luxury, Management, Mediocrity, Metallica, Packaging, Premium, Resonance, Respect, Standards, Status, Strategy
A lot of luxury brands, invite a lot of mocking.
It might be what they make.
It might be the prices they charge.
It might be the way they look at the world.
But whatever your opinion, at least they commit.
Walk into a proper high-end luxury brand and you see high-end standards and experience.
Everywhere.
[The Netflix series ‘7 Day’s’ perfectly demonstrates this, as I wrote about here]
Innovation. Craft. Details. Service. Packaging. Training.
You might not like it.
You might not value it.
But you can’t say they’re not committed to it.
Now compare that to companies that like to position themselves as ‘premium’.
Sure, some live up to it … but my god, most don’t.
The only premium-ness is often only in their pricing and ego.
Big talking to the public, short-changing everywhere else around them.
Now I get you have to look after the pennies in business, but when you claim to be premium – it should mean you recognize the value of premium standards and service in those around you and with you. And if you don’t – or you don’t think the people you are dealing with offer that – then why the fuck are you dealing with them?
I’ve written about this before, but once-upon-a-time I was asked to work on a freelance project for a high-end German brand.
I submitted my estimate to which I was met with the following reply:
“Your fee is higher than other partners we use, please lower it”.
That was it. Not even an indication of the costs they were comparing me too.
Now while I value what I do, the costs weren’t excessive.
Infact they were a fraction of the cost of one of their lowest priced products.
But more than that, I’d agreed my fees with the CMO before I submitted them to procurement, so I thought., ‘fuck this’ and wrote the following response.
“Your products are higher priced than other brands I could choose, please lower it”.
I know … it was cheeky, but I just thought they were incredibly arrogant in their attitude, especially in the way they wanted to undermine my experience.
And guess what, almost immediately they replied with,
“We accept your rate and look forward to working with you” … which is the exact moment I saw through the hype.
Brands who value quality don’t benchmark costs against the lowest market rates.
I get it’s a negotiation tactic, but it also reveals their hypocrisy and insecurity.
It’s why my experience with Metallica was so shocking … despite the fact what they do and value all makes total sense but the way most business operates means it felt so bizarre.
Actually, Metallica are a great example of a brand that values who they are.
Everything they do is focused on respecting the quality of what they do.
For example, to make sure their vinyl is always of the highest quality – they bought the best vinyl printing press company in the world.
Same with their live shows …
To ensure their sound is of the highest quality, they had the highest-quality live speaker system in the world built.
Rather than approach investments in terms of ‘what can we get away with’, their attitude is to put highest quality first … which is why they buy stuff rather than lease it because not only does it ensure their creativity is given the highest possible quality [rather than the best they can get away with] it ensures they always have priority access to it. And when they don’t need to use it, they get people like me to work out how to make it pay for itself, which often ends up leasing it to other bands who don’t have the same needs/standards or values as them.
Metallica understand standards better than most brands.
But then they understand who they are better than most brands.
Which is why everything they do is focus up to the quality not down to the price.
That’s a proper premium brand … one who makes decisions that reflects who they are not who they are pretending to be.
Christ, I recently saw a rep from a coffee brand get into their gold Audi.
It stood out to me because it was a errrrrm, gold Audi.
And while some may look at it and say,
“If they drove a Prius, maybe their coffee prices were lower”
… not only are they unlikely to be people who buy their coffee, they are also unlikely to care about the difference of coffee.
That’s not a diss … I like Nescafe with Coffee Mate … but it also doesn’t mean that my taste is reflective of everyone else’s either.
Whether true or not, my impression of a brand giving their rep this choice of car was they had a different perspective on standards. Rather than give their reps the lowest priced car they could get away with, they found the most efficient car of the standards they live and operate in.
Of course many may slate or disagree with me for this view …
I also appreciate some may find their choice a reflection of their pretentiousness, which they find fucking annoying.
And in some way I agree with them.
However I feel a lot better about pretentious assholes when that’s who they actually are rather than those who do it to look like they’re premium when everything else highlights they’re anything but.
Commitment costs.
You might not want to pay it … you might not understand the reasoning for it … but at least you’re dealing with people who believe it rather than those who are exploiting you for it.
So someone slid into my DM’s recently.
I know … what the absolute fuck?
But it wasn’t a crypto scam … or someone offering to sell me insta followers … or a Russian beauty who is really a bot.
It was a lovely, kind and thoughtful message from someone I didn’t know.
LyonsOfScotland wrote to say they loved how I talked about my parents and how it made them think of their Dad, Peter, who had sadly passed away.
Then said that to honour their Dad, they had started a sweater company – Lyons Of Scotland.
But it was no typical sweater … this was designed to be something that lasted. Lasted so long you could pass it onto someone you love when you die, so they can stay close to you even when you’re not there.
Then they said they wanted to give me one as a gift.
If I’m honest, I didn’t know what to say. I was just so touched.
Touched that my feelings towards my family had moved someone in such a way. Touched that someone had done something so amazing to honour their parents. Touched that they wanted to give me something that they made with such love.
The one thing I knew was that I couldn’t accept the gift.
As you all know, I love freebies as much as the next person [especially when the next person is a obsessive freebie groupie] but this was not a corporation with squillions in the bank, this was a company doing something that was deeply, deeply personal … so I said I would buy one of their products instead.
Now it wasn’t cheap.
In fact it may have been the most expensive item of clothing I’ve ever bought.
But apart from the fact LyonsOfScotland kindly gave me a discount code to offset the price, it is a sweater made of the absolute highest of quality.
Of course it would have to be because it is made to be loved and last a lifetime.
And I’m excited to get it … but even more excited it will be something I can pass on to Otis.
Sure, I hope it’s a long time before I have to do that, but identifying some key items that allow him and I to stay connected when we’re apart is important to me.
And I think important to him.
Which is why if anyone else feels in a similar situation – or touched in the same way – the kind people at LyonsOfScotland have offered a discount code for you.
Simply go to lyonsofscotland.com … and when you order, use the word ‘rob’ as the discount code to get 25% off.
I love what they’re doing.
I love why they’re doing it.
Because while they say it’s made of cashmere, it’s really made of emotion.
Filed under: America, Attitude & Aptitude, Context, Culture, History, Prejudice, Racism
So today is July 4 – a day where lots of America go crazy celebrating freedom from the Brits.
And while I appreciate I descend from those Brits who stole lives, livelihoods and land, I hope America realises the day they embrace is only relevant to some.
Put simply, Independence Day is a white America celebration … and given the way they behaved to Native and African Americans, it’s not something I’d be treating as a national holiday, which is why I – like many others – believe the true celebration should be on June 19.
You can find out why here … but basically, I can’t understand how a nation can celebrate freedom when they know only some were free.
This is not an anti-American stance.
It’s a pretty awesome country, despite its issues. I also appreciate the role the day has in their national calendar. However for a nation that prides itself on being ‘the land of the free’, it would be wonderful if they lived up to that label rather than down to a stained tradition.
Filed under: Advertising, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Business, Innovation, Insight, Management, Marketing, Marketing Fail, New Product Mentalness, Planners, Planning, Relevance, Resonance, Respect
I recently read the credentials of a design/branding company who said their processes ‘guarantees’ to be effective.
GUARANTEES!!!
How the fuck do they do that then?
Unless they’re literally buying-up whatever it is their clients are selling, there is no way they can guarantee that … even if they have more data and knowledge than God.
Which means they’re talking utter shite.
Or – at best – aiming so low with their goals, that it means whatever they do is pointless.
But what is scary is clients buy this rubbish …
They buy into a proprietary systems – that often are only proprietary because of the name they have been given – and believe it somehow has the power to dictate how people think, feel and behave.
I am not saying we can’t have a good understanding of what is likely to happen.
I mean, that’s literally my job.
But increasing the odds of success and guaranteeing them are very, very different things.
This obsession with the process rather than the output of the process is one of the major issues companies are creating. Wanting to control every detail to such an extent that what comes out the other end is far more a reflection of their ego than the opportunity they can embrace.
Martin and I talked about this at our Chaos talk at Cannes for WARC back in 2019 … but it seems to be getting even worse.
Which leads me to this image I saw recently …
Of course it shouldn’t need saying that it’s correct …
But I have to because there’s companies out there ‘guaranteeing’ success.
Process is important … it serves an important role.
But as I said, too many people look at process development in isolation to what it is there to enable … and that’s when it all goes to shit. At best you end up doing similar things to your competitors. At worse, you end up with stuff that serves no value to your customers.
Now I get the allure of best practice.
Of following what others have found to be effective.
But the thing many forget is best practice is past practice … or said another way, it’s adopting a process that is looking backwards rather than ahead.
And while adding new elements adds a dimension of the unknown to what comes out the other side, the irony is its those who are willing to fail who are the ones who will end up creating the standards everyone else will end up following and chasing.