Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Brilliant Marketing Ideas In History, Chaos, Creativity, Culture, Emotion, Innovation, Marketing, Music
There’s a brilliant documentary on the band The KLF.
For those who don’t know who they are/were, they’re a band formed in the late 80’s who wrote some of the early 90’s biggest selling singles.
Except, if truth be told, The KLF were more artists than musicians.
I don’t mean that in terms of them having many different business interests …I mean it in terms of them expressing their creativity in ever-more dramatic, provocative and intriguing ways.
From burning a million pounds to sampling without permission to firing a machine gun full of blanks at an audience live on television to delisting every song they ever made … and a whole lot in-between.
It’s a truly fascinating documentary, where you realise that everything they did – while not planned – was definitely deliberate.
But there’s one quote about them that stood out for me.
Not just because it captured who they were, but because it revealed what is missing for me in so much of the work the industry is producing.
I love that.
I love it so much.
But sadly, many in my discipline of strategy – and all the self-proclaimed marketing gurus – have killed that in the quest to flatter their own ego.
And it gets worse.
No, I’m not talking about the clients who value function, logic and attribution over shaping or changing cultures opinion, attitudes and feelings – though I could definitely talk about that – but the agency creative departments filled with people who want to make ads rather than use creativity to push boundaries.
The KLF may have been seen by the industry as anarchists … but for a band who had a few – albeit massive – hits in the 90’s, their work still is remembered, stands up to scrutiny and can be directly associated with cultural change which is more than pretty much anything our industry, or most industries for that matter, produces these days.
Of course, given the untold billions brands spend to have culture know them, value them and want them … this is pretty ironic.
Oh I get these brands still make a ton of money.
More than even The KLF could burn.
But this isn’t about distribution, habit or media spent, but influence, change and ambition.
This doesn’t mean the talent isn’t there to make something like this happen.
It is.
But it means nothing if the role it’s used for is to give clients what they want rather than what culture can never forget.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Brilliant Marketing Ideas In History, Colenso, Confidence, Content, Context, Creative Brief, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Emotion, Empathy, Equality, Experience, Innovation, Insight, Internet, Marketing, New Zealand, Premium, Relationships, Resonance, Singapore, Sunshine, Trust, Truth
One of the reasons I always loved Colenso was their approach to advertising.
Rather than always make the ‘ad’ the solution – or worse, use ads to promote the problem – they used creativity to solve the challenge in front of them and then created brilliant advertising to amplify awareness of whatever solution they’d come up with.
I’d talked about this approach in a presentation I did way back in 2008 for PFSK in Singapore.
We had just launched Sunshine and I was talking about the difference between solutions and ad solutions … all while Colenso had found a way to bridge both.
They used this ‘double dipping’ creative approach for everything.
Treehouse Restaurant for Yellow Pages.
Asscam for Levi’s.
Play for Spark.
Tally for State Insurance.
X-Ray Cast for Anchor.
Speed Dial for Volkswagen.
MyHooman for Pedigree
Brewtrolium for DB Export.
K9FM for Pedigree.
There’s too many examples to write about, and now I’m at the agency that did all this brilliance.
Since I’ve been here, I’ve seen this approach in action almost every day.
Of course it doesn’t always work … and it doesn’t always get bought … but the idea of bringing audacious solutions to problems rather than just audacious advertising is something pretty infectious.
There are a few really exciting things on the table, but recently we launched something – with our client Spark – that doesn’t just excite me, but makes me so proud I’m going to break my habit and actually write about it.
I know, who am I?
Beyond Binary is our way to create a better internet. A more inclusive internet.
In conjunction with our client, Spark – and working alongside rainbow communities – we developed a piece of code that anyone can download and easily add to their website.
What this code does is change the field formats on websites so they no longer only offer Male or Female options.
While to many this may seem a small thing, to the Trans and Non-Binary community – of which we are talking millions – it is important. Not simply because it represents them being seen and valued by organisations, but because it stops them being forced to misidentify who they are to fit in with established internet protocols.
In addition to the code, we made a film [see below] to help communicate why this is important for the non-binary community and business … as well as a website where you can download the code, learn how to add it to your existing site, hear stories from people who are affected by this situation every day and even access a pre-written presentation you can use to show your bosses why they need to do this.
A lot of people spent a lot of time working on this – which is why I was so thrilled when Campaign Asia wrote such a lovely piece about it.
I am not saying this because they used a competitor campaign to highlight how good ours is – though that helps, hahaha – but because they got it.
The understood exactly why we did it and how we did it … and that’s important because we sweated this. A lot.
Obviously we’re very proud of Beyond Binary but the key is getting companies to take part … so if you read this blog and work for a company with a website, please can I ask you to get involved. The more inclusive we make the internet, the better it is for everyone.
Thank you Colenso for being stupid enough to bring me over.
Thank you Spark for making this actually happen.
Thank you to the communities for helping and trusting us to do this right.
Thank you to anyone who takes part.
This is why it’s so important …
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Brand, Brilliant Marketing Ideas In History, Confidence, Context, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Diversity, Gaming, Imagination, Inclusion, Innovation, Insight, Marketing, Perspective, Relevance, Resonance, Standards, Technology
For all the talk about diversity and inclusion being spouted by companies, I don’t see much diversity and inclusion.
I still see companies mainly filled with people like me and where there is diversity, it tends to not be at the management level.
And on the rare occasion that it is, you then see the media go after these people with a zeal rarely seen towards anyone white. Or male.
Of course, diversity is more than simply heritage … though companies often use that as a convenient excuse to not hire People of Colour, ignoring that – SHOCK HORROR – People of Colour can also come from low income areas, have physical disabilities, be members of the LGBTQ+ community and/or have any other number of ‘minority’ characteristics you wish to throw at me … which is why I am so excited by a new video game that deals with diversity head on.
Forza Horizon 5 is a brilliant racing game on XBox.
The graphics are amazing.
They’ve introduced a ‘story’ mode to the game.
And the world you get to explore is almost limitless.
But … and it’s a big but … the really brilliant thing is the level of customisation they allow you to make of your character.
Look at this …
And this …
How amazing is that!
You can customise your identity and add prosthetics.
No doubt, this will cause huge offence to presenters on Fox News for succumbing to ‘wokeness’ which makes it even better … but they’re missing the point in 2 fundamental areas.
1. Being called woke means being called someone who considers the context and needs of others so they can live a similar life in terms of opportunity as you. For me that’s a compliment, not an insult.
2. The option is not to get headlines – though it does, because of its rarity – but to allow people who are minorities, feel seen and valued and celebrated for who they are, not who they aren’t. Anyone who thinks that’s a bad thing to do can basically go fuck themselves.
The gaming industry has a bunch of issues – from how it operates to the storylines of the games it makes – however they seem to be far more committed and focused on making change than so many of the companies who talk about their D&I programs on social media and in magazine articles.
People can accuse Forza Horizon of jumping on the woke bandwagon all they like.
They can shout that they’re only doing it because they don’t want to alienate potential customers.
They can say it’s a ‘one off’ and should be treated as such.
People can say what they like … it’s still more than most have done and will mean far more to the millions of people who have been ignored by companies for decades for no other reason than simply being a bit different to supposedly ‘common’ characteristics.
And I can tell you, that will mean more to them than some press release about a companies D&I program that doesn’t change a damn thing.
___________________________________________________________________________
Thank you to James Whatley for letting me steal his screen shots, even though I own the game myself. THAT’s how lazy I am. Not that you didnt know it.
Filed under: Advertising, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Brilliant Marketing Ideas In History, Colenso, Comment, Communication Strategy, Creativity, Culture, Imagination, Insight, Point Of View, Relevance, Resonance, Wieden+Kennedy
This is an unashamedly big plug for the agency I am going to work at.
The wonderful Colenso.
And the best way to do that is to talk about a client I had when I was at Wieden.
When I was getting to know her, I asked why she had come straight to us rather than pitch the business like every other client seemed to do.
She said it was easy, if we could find a way to make people interested in butter [Lurpak] and milk [Cravendale] then she wanted to work with us.
What’s funny is when that piece of business first came in, it was not something that stoked the interest or passion of the creative department.
Butter? Milk? Pah!
And yet, because of the way they saw the creative opportunity for the brand, the openness of the client towards doing something new and the incredible way the idea was shot, it changed … to the point it is one of the campaigns people are hungry to work on.
I say this because Colenso recently did a campaign for Pedigree about dog adoption.
Now I get dog adoption may be more favourable to work on than butter or milk would be, but it probably would not be the first choice for many creatives.
And yet, like for Lurpak, it has become something special. A creative opportunity everyone wants to have a crack at. A client who now has a long history of great and effective work under their name. A category of advertising that has literally been turned on its head.
One of my favourites is this …
How lovely is that eh?
Well they recently launched a new campaign … however instead of this being about replacing kids, this was about preparing people for them.
In essence, they discovered a huge percentage of millennials were delaying parenthood.
While there are a whole host of reasons – all valid – the lovely folks at Colenso thought this was a great way to tackle their challenge, which was to position dog adoption as a great way to get you ready for being a Mum or a Dad.
Yes it’s tongue-in-cheek, but as a cat adopter, I can say it’s also true.
Though what really helped me get ready for Otis was running a strategy department in China.
I know I like chaos, but that was something else.
That aside, I love this work, and it’s another reason why Colenso just won agency of the decade for the 2nd time in a row.
Once is amazing.
Twice is incredible.
But twice in a row? Unprecedented.
I can’t tell you how happy this makes me.
Not just because I want to work at a place that loves creativity, but it means they hold, value and nurture their standards.
At a time where that is often the thing people will let go of to get money in, those who are stubborn to what they will let out the door are the places where everyone wants to get in the door. Because as the old adage says, it’s easier to get to the top than stay there.
Filed under: Advertising, America, Apathy, Apple, Attitude & Aptitude, Audio Visual, Authenticity, Brilliant Marketing Ideas In History, Comment, Communication Strategy, Confidence, Consultants, Creative Brief, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Customer Service, Differentiation, Distinction, Emotion, Empathy, Experience, Fulfillment, Great Ads In History, Innovation, Insight, Internet, Management, Marketing, Marketing Fail, Nike, Packaging, Perspective, Positioning, Prejudice, Purpose, Relevance, Resonance
I’ve been very fortunate in my career to work with challenger brands.
Some were overtly challenger … some were more in terms of their internal attitude and approach … but in all cases, they were up for a fight and were happy to take it straight to the competitor they wanted to play against.
Now forcing people to pick a side is not a new strategy … it’s been around for ages.
From religions to rock bands to sport to almost everything in-between.
And while some of the challenger brands I’ve worked with over the years became the beast they were created to slay, what united them all wasn’t just their ambition, but their dedication to doing something that fundamentally challenged the convention.
I’m not talking about an ad that said they were different.
Or a single product ingredient that claimed they were different but were still exactly the same.
I’m talking about a fundamental, distinctive alternative to what has been there before.
From features, to behaviours, to values to standards to design.
All in commitment.
Shit or bust.
Now we have a lot of brands today that claim to do that and be that.
Brands that go direct to the customer.
Brands that offer their services on the internet.
In the majority of cases, they’re not real challengers.
They might like to think they are.
The people who led the change probably are.
But having an internet bank that claims to be different but offers exactly the same products and services – albeit with a ‘cool name and choice of ATM card design’ – is not challenging much.
Nor is the 15th razor/toothbrush/haircare company who go direct to their customers.
They’re definitely an alternative, but they’re not a challenger.
In fact, given in many cases, they offer no distinctive element to their product or service to build something bigger than simply supplying razor blades/toothbrushes/haircare products to people at the lowest rate possible, all they’re doing is commoditising themselves to oblivion.
No, challenger brands don’t enter the market with an attitude of ‘minimal viable product’ – which basically translates to “we’re interested to see if it works, but if it doesn’t – no biggie”, they enter it with fully focused, fully engaged commitment.
You can read a lot about these in Adam Morgan’s brilliant book Eating The Big Fish … though, because of when it came out, it only refers to a challenger brands from a certain period of time rather than the ones of the modern era … whether that’s Tony’s Chocolonely, Fenty, Fortnite or even Greta.
But the reason I’m talking about this is because of that picture at the top of the post.
The iconic ‘we try harder’ announcement by Avis.
Maybe the first example where marketing embraced being a challenger.
We forget how impactful this campaign was when it came out in the 60’s.
Back then, the industry was all about superlatives … the biggest, the most successful, the most loved etc etc.
For a brand to come out and say, “we’re not the first choice”, was a big thing.
But this was not a mere marketing trick, Avis did indeed have big ambitions and knew that the only way they stood any chance of making it was if they indeed, ‘try harder’.
From making sure every car was washed before it went out.
Checking that the glove boxes and – because this was the 60’s – ashtrays were emptied.
Customer service people trained to help, not just take your money.
Not having to wait for ages to get given your rental.
All sounds the standard now, but back then? No way.
And on top of that, they then ran ads telling people to complain if they found the experience didn’t match the promise … because they never wanted to be seen as having the passive attitude of a number 1 brand – where their goal is to protect their revenue rather than reward their customers.
Which leads to the point of this post.
This.
Yep, it’s a continuation of the We Try Harder campaign.
Though, calling it a ‘campaign’ cheapens it, because it was their purpose. I don’t mean that in the wank way it is being used today. At no point were Avis saying. ‘We Try Harder To Make The World Better’. No, this was all about them trying harder for them. Which is not only more believable, it had a genuine benefit to the people who used them.
Which leads back to the ad.
Specially, the ad that features the President of Avis’ phone number.
So you can complain.
Directly to them.
Imagine that today?
You can’t can you, because not only do companies – including Avis – give customers who wish to complain the absolute runaround with endless email forms, faceless processes and protocols – all while claiming this is a more ‘helpful and efficient’ process for their customers – but because you don’t feel many companies are really trying harder at all.
Now it’s all about efficiency.
Removal of friction.
Basically making you do it all yourself but charging you as if you weren’t.
Now I have to admit, I don’t know if this ended up being the real President of Avis’ phone number … even though I really hope it was … but I know this ethos drove that brand to continued growth for decades.
Sadly, at some point, it went from purpose to a tagline and then Avis as a cultural force was done.
Which is the big lesson for us all.
Because while few would ever start a company to be like everyone else, the reality is many end up doing just that.
And while we hear people all talking about being the next Apple or Nike, they have to understand you don’t get there with a playbook, you get there with a singular focus on what you believe, what you value and what you are going to destroy to create.