The Musings Of An Opinionated Sod [Help Me Grow!]

The urgent need for an immediate solution to enable a brand or business to move forward.

Except it’s not true is it? Not really.

I mean – I get that there are occasions where circumstances demand an extremely quick response.

A terrible event.
A moment of opportunity.
An act forced by an aggressive client.

But in the main, these ‘sprints’ have nothing to do with that.

They’re for a new product launch.
A brand campaign.
An annual event.

If they need a sprint for those, then surely that means they haven’t [or just as likely, their bosses, bosses haven’t] got their shit together because those things don’t ‘just happen’ do they? It’s not like the Paris authorities are going to wake up on the 1st of July and suddenly realise they have to hold the Olympics in a few weeks time so need construction companies to engage in ‘a sprint’ to knock up a few stadiums in time.

Now if my Dad was alive and found himself in this situation he would say – as I often heard him tell clients who had failed to plan appropriately – “your emergency is not my problem” … however in adland, we tend to jump in and try to help.

Yay us!

Except quite often, when we do this, we’re made to feel like we’re the reason they’re in this mess and so rather than see us as someone trying to help, we’re seen as someone holding them back.

It’s so weird.

Even more so when they then question our hours and fees.

Which is why my attitude is that unless there is a real reason for the urgency – and a respect for what you’re asking people to do – you should probably say no. I get it may be unpopular, but you’re not going to win in this situation.

And don’t get me started when companies brief agencies before a major holiday.

OH MY GOD.

I used to see this in China a lot … and we [as in Wieden Shanghai] would always say no.

Sure, if it was a client of ours who was in a pickle for legit reasons, we’d do all we could to help them … but if it was about ego or mismanagement, we’d politely decline.

And yet, from what I see and hear from others – and occasionally experience – this situation seems to be happening more and more often … the defecto rather than the exception.

What’s even more bizarre is that the supposed urgency for a solution gets more and more delayed as additional contexts, mandatories, and approval processes get added to the list of deliverables … resulting in you wondering how urgent this really was as a supposed ‘sprint’ turns into a marathon.

Of course, the reality of these situations is it’s actually about money and time.

Or said another way, the desire to reduce it.

I get it, developing work can be time-consuming and expensive … but here’s the thing, shortening the time doesn’t automatically mean it makes it the work better.

Cheaper, maybe.

But not better.

In my experience, there are 3 main reasons this situation continually and persistently occurs:

1. The client doesn’t value creativity.
2. The client doesn’t understand creativity.
3. The client doesn’t actually know what they want or need.

For far too many, creativity is seen as expressing what you want people to know about your brand/product before adding ‘some wrapping paper’ around the messaging to make it ‘creative’.

I’ve talked about the folly of this ‘wrapping paper’ analogy before … but that perspective continues to grow. Worse, some agencies actively reinforce it in an attempt to show ‘they get the client’ or they ‘get business’, all the while undermining their single most valuable asset.

Which means that maybe they don’t know business as much as they think.

Don’t get me wrong, it is entirely possible to spend too much time on something. But there sure-as-hell can be too little. And when you’re dealing with someone who doesn’t know what they want – so use creativity to try and work it out and then judge it as if its your fault – then any length of time is too much time.

And yet it feels like ‘quality’ has now become defined by the speed it takes to create rather than the effect it creates … often reinforced, as I said a couple of days ago, by ‘for profit’ research companies and gurus who focus on clarity not interest.

No wonder so many clients are asking agencies about what their AI approach is.

Now as I said at Cannes, I think AI – and tech as a whole – offers a whole world of possibilities and opportunities for brands to evolve, grow and connect. Hell, we just did it with our Pedigree Adoptables campaign that literally wouldn’t be possible without it. But that’s not what a lot of clients mean when they ask that, they’re looking for cheaper and quicker output. Optimising the optimized.

The great irony of this is that when you talk about AI affecting their business – especially if the competition embrace it against them – many react like you’ve just tazered them.

They’ll say there’s no comparison.

That their product price-point is based on the value of their expertise, craft and innovation.

And for some, that’s true. But it’s some … not all.

Which is very similar to the post I wrote a while back about how many brands like to think of themselves as premium, but their actions and values are all about how cheap they can be.

A while back I spoke to someone who is one of the most influential luxury expert in the world.

They own, invest and consult with the best of the best … new and old, classic and innovative.

And they said to me they believe the future of luxury will be about recognizing the value of humanity.

The custom, craft and care.

Because in a world that is increasingly about speed, scale and optimization, the brands who will command the greatest value, influence and price will be the ones who offer their customers the most human interaction, engagement and service experience.

It’s a fascinating thought … one that could separate the real from the wannabes.