Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Agency Culture, America, Attitude & Aptitude, Business, Communication Strategy, Creativity, Culture, Egovertising, Embarrassing Moments, Marketing, Marketing Fail
This headline came out in AdAge not that long ago.
For me, it says more about the state – and ego – of advertising than it does about the state of the environment.
Don’t get me wrong, a company who is doing something positive is a wonderful thing.
But when that company uses their action to promote themselves in an industry mag … well, that kind-of takes the shine off it.
Then again, when an agency is in the press more for what they’re doing – or plan to do – than what they’ve actually done or made, then you can’t help but feel their strategy is more to distract from the truth than to celebrate the good.
Or maybe that’s just me.
I am still a cynic after all.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, China, Communication Strategy, Crap Campaigns In History, Culture, Hong Kong, Marketing, Marketing Fail
I appreciate I am the last person who should be writing a post with a title like this one, but recently – when I was in Hong Kong – I saw this billboard …
Now I get that once upon a time, HK was indeed a gateway to China and … in some categories, like law and, to a degree, international finance, it still has a significant role … but China is not this closed off country anymore, in fact I could argue it’s more commercially minded than HK so it seems this is the worst headline you should use to try and attract clients.
Without doubt there’s a role for advertising in HK airport for people traveling to China – especially Chinese tourists – but it’s not because they don’t have options there, hell they have more options that any other place in the World, it’s that you might help them want your option more than the countless others they’ll have available to them the moment they land.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Comment, Communication Strategy, Confidence, Creative Brief, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Deutsch, Emotion, Empathy, Imagination, Insight, Planners, Planning, Point Of View, Positioning, Resonance, Social Commentary
So we’ve recently had some interns join the Deutsch planning mob.
They’re smart, passionate and enthusiastic as hell.
Far smarter than I was at their age. Arguably, smarter than I am now.
So I met up with them to see how they were going and they told me how they were getting to grips with things because initially, it was so overwhelming that they found themselves going down a lot of rabbit holes.
I get it, it was super daunting to me when I started too but the one thing that concerned me was their belief that rabbit holes were a negative.
As I pointed out to them, if they don’t go down rabbit holes, then they’re no use to me.
Rabbit holes are an essential part of the planning process.
Not just in terms of exploring possibilities to tackle the problem you have been given … nor to pressure test the strategy you have identified … but to also reveal if there is are more interesting ways to tackle the problem than you may have originally considered or identified.
Rabbit holes are as much about opening possibilities as they are closing them which is why if you don’t embrace them, all you’re doing is screwing yourself – and the client – over.
Sure, focusing on what you think the client will buy may get you quicker approvals and client compliments, but allowing your brain the space and time to wander can help you get to somewhere new … somewhere exciting … somewhere that allows creativity to take you to places no one saw coming … places that will attract rather than chase … and even if you don’t end up somewhere more interesting than where you started, at least you can be sure the strategy you’re recommending has been pushed and prodded, which is why I passionately believe rabbit holes aren’t a waste of time, but a key deliverable of what we do and have to do.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, Communication Strategy, Crap Campaigns In History, Creativity, Embarrassing Moments, Marketing Fail
Now I appreciate I am a social media whore and have posted all sorts of rubbish in the past, but even I would never do something like this …
I honestly don’t know who is the bigger idiot …
Nescafe for thinking this is a good idea.
The agency for coming up with this idea.
The couple – who occupy that unique space of un-influential, influencers – who decided to commemorate their engagement by selling their souls for a few quid and appearing in a social media post for an international coffee brand while pretending [1] it’s totally natural to commemorate your engagement by appearing in a social media post for an international coffee brand and [2] it’s totally believable to have a staged photo of you in bed, despite the fact there was a photographer in the room with you..
Some other questions are:
+ Why are they not looking at each other?
+ Why is he so, so, so brown?
+ Judging by how tensed up his arms are, just how heavy is that cup of coffee?
+ Why is he cradling his cock?
Seriously, this might be the most z-grade version of Hello magazine that ever lived.
Everyone involved in this – and I mean everyone – needs a bloody big smack in the head.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Audio Visual, Brand Suicide, Comment, Communication Strategy, Content, Context, Creativity, Culture, Emotion, Empathy, Entertainment, Honesty, Imagination, Insight, Marketing, Marketing Fail, Social Media
A few months ago I wrote a post about the shit that passes for ‘branded content’ these days.
Well after reading it, my friend King Adz [global street art/fashion expert, author, film director] sent me something a friend of his had written about how to make good content.
His friend has a right to do this because he started a YouTube channel last year that has turned him into one of the most interesting and fastest-growing content creators in London.
They’ve done a streetwear show [PAQ] and a food show [Bad Canteen] all aimed and consumed by the youth and from these experiences, he has identified twelve pointers for creating credible and infectious youth content.
To make sure this post isn’t the longest post in the history of this blog, I’m, going to split it into 6 today and 6 tomorrow.
I know, I’m so kind.
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LESSON ONE: Be Transparent
The first thing we learnt when we tried to make money and integrate brands into our content was this audience doesn’t mind being advertised to. They are smart and they enjoy consuming content. They understand that the content doesn’t make itself and it isn’t cheap aden they understand the pay-off.
Because of this, don’t try and fool them. You will get called out.
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LESSON TWO: YouTube is a direct substitute for TV
In the same way I would come home when I was younger and switch on the TV and binge on Nickelodeon or MTV until I got called for dinner, this generation is doing exactly the same thing.
They finish school, college, work … they come home they open their smartphone or laptop and sit in front of it until they are either told to turn it off by their parents or it’s time for bed.
The behaviour is identical.
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LESSON THREE: But the content isn’t the same as TV
Yes, consumers’ behaviour may be the same as TV behaviours, but the content that they’re consuming is completely different.
Content on YouTube doesn’t need to look like TV content to be successful.
In fact, one thing we’ve learnt is that in some cases it’s quite the opposite. Some of the most successful channels are self shot.
Self shot, hand held and more vloggy style content has a feeling of intimacy and authenticity that TV never offered its viewers.
That’s not to say that high production can’t work, we just learnt not to overlook the intimacy that this generation desires from content.
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LESSON FOUR: This audience wants to be entertained
Dude Perfect, The Slo Mo Guys, Lele Pons…
What’s their commonality?
They are all centred around humour and entertainment.
Exactly like TV.
We have to realise, 90% of people are watching it to kill some time, wind down a bit and escape their day-to-day life.
If we are being honest with ourselves, YouTube audiences respond best to lighthearted entertainment. Making meaningful, purpose-led content is great but there’s nothing to be ashamed about in creating content that simply entertains.
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LESSON FIVE: This audience left Facebook ages ago
Look I don’t have anything concrete in terms of statistics to back this up.
And honestly it’s just my experience.
I work with hundreds of young people every single week and I can categorically tell you that I have not spoken to one in the past year that actually uses Facebook.
NOT ONE.
There’s lots of industry speculation right now around this subject and the potential decline. I just want to say from my real world experience, that for this audience Facebook is long gone.
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LESSON SIX: Instagram is LIFE
In the same vein as the last point, this is also my personal experience.
But Instagram is by far the most powerful social media network the world has ever seen.
Speaking to these young people, it is jaw dropping how much weight is put on Instagram by this generation.
The Instagram profile [hard posts] is the definition of a person’s identity.
Instagram stories are an ephemeral window into a person’s life, in a slightly less controlled, more organic way.
Followers and likes are a direct measure of how relevant, popular and important somebody is. And look, I’m not here to pass judgement on if this is good or bad, but I will say to everyone reading this: take note, Instagram is a really, really big deal and it’s so much deeper than just posting photos.
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So there’s the first six …
Some you may know, some you may question but some may give you food for thought.
Remember this is specifically around youth orientated content, but for all the expertise out there, it’s funny how the most popular social content has not come from anyone in our industry.
Maybe this 2011 video from PHD can shed some light on that …