Filed under: 2026, A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Communication Strategy, Craft, Creative Development, Creativity, Marketing, Marketing Practice, Planners, Planners Making A Complete Tit Of Themselves And Bless, Planning, Process, Relationships, Relevance, Reputation, Research, Resonance, Rick Rubin, Rigor, RulesOfRubin, Standards, Strategy
When I spoke at the conference in Berlin, I talked about rigor.
The main reason for doing that was because while our discipline talks a lot about rigor, more often than not – it seems the emphasis is far more on the adoption of marketing science principals rather than putting in the time and effort to really get under the skin of our clients situation and the context and understanding of the audiences they need to embrace.
The obsession with ‘sprints’ is part of the problem …
Because it seems clients care more about having fast answers than they do right answers.
Oh, I know they claim to give us all the information we need to move forward, but – as Dan Lyons pointed out in his brilliant book, ‘Disrupted’ – too many companies don’t know ‘who they are, who they’re for and what they do’, so the result of that is we are encouraged to make work that appeals to who they wish they were, rather than who they are.
Hence the need for rigor.
To be given the time and space to understand what the hell is going on.
Now of course, I appreciate time is money … and what we do can cost a lot of it … but while you can definitely take too long to do things, you can also not take long enough, which is why briefs need to be more about what we need to change than what we want to say.
And while there’s more data out there than you could ever use, the reality is nothing – and I mean nothing – has the impact of spending time with the people who are deeply entrenched in the category/product/brand that you’ve talking about.
They’re the ones who know what’s going on.
They’re the ones who see the challenges and problems.
They’re the ones who evolve what and where things can go.
And while they may well be at the far edge of where the category is, more often than not – they’re also the people who bring the masses along with them.
Or said another way, they’re the ones who can help you listen and understand like a fan. An educated fan.
Because the more you do that, the more you are exposed to the textures and nuances that reveal the truth, power and possibilities of what you are dealing with. Truth, power and possibilities that – in the obsession with speed – often get overlooked or devalued in favor of quick wins and convenient answers.
It’s basically how Rick Rubin has always approaches his job …
Understanding the artist’s truth and pushing/elevating it, rather than simply having a singular format that he adopts regardless of who he is working with or the situation they are currently in.
And before you dismiss this, there’s 2 important things to remember:
1. What he is doing is basically strategy.
2. What he has achieved – by any criteria you want to measure him by – is beyond almost anything any strategist in our industry has.
Now it is important I point out that I don’t have a problem with marketing science …
It has a place in the strategic process and has lessons/considerations that are valuable and important.
My problem with it is far more about how it is presented, specifically by the people who have a vested interest in promoting their ‘methodology’ … because they suggest it is the only way to liberate a brand’s potential when that is not the case and – generally – it is designed to not go wrong, rather than to elevate how far you can go.
Which is why we need to stop confusing ‘marketing science’ as strategic rigor when it’s more strategic 101. Valuable, but foundational.
It’s also why, I have a sign in the Colenso ‘strat’ department that reminds everyone that true strategic rigor requires us to be …
Filed under: 2026, A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Collaboration, Comment, Communication Strategy, Confidence, Context, Craft, Creativity, Culture, Effectiveness, Emotion, Empathy, Focus Groups, Interviews, Leadership, Planners, Planners Making A Complete Tit Of Themselves And Bless, Planning, Resonance, Respect
One of the things that has always bugged me about some strategists is their desire to be academically victorious in every conversation.
To not just be ‘right’, but to be the ‘rightest of right’.
And then expect wild applause for their proclamations and declarations of self-appointed brilliance.
Putting aside the problematic nature of this behaviour, the irony is it stands in the way of them being able to properly understand – and connect to – how others feel, think, believe or behave … because they’re too busy telling others what they ‘really mean or think’.
And here’s the kicker …
The reality is people often do know what they want, think or think … they just don’t know how to express it clearly.
Which is why the key is the ability to listen rather than to judge. Or explain.
And by listen, I mean listen ‘hard’ …
Not just what is said, but how it is expressed … verbally, visually, contextually.
And while I appreciate we’re in a time poor, distraction rich world … the benefit of doing this is that not only will you have a greater appreciation of how they see the world, they will often reveal opportunities that ‘intellectual logic’ may never see, let alone get to.
Maybe that’s why I love that Lucille Ball quote so much … because in a few words, she articulates the difference between clever and smart.
And where strategy is concerned, smart trumps clever.
That doesn’t mean you don’t care about facts, details, knowledge or academic accuracy, it just means you appreciate that being emotionally resonant with others can achieve more than being academically victorious.
Or as my Dad used to say:
“If you need to show how clever you are, you’re probably not”
I say all this because I saw a brief interview with the singer Billy Idol.
In it, he demonstrates the importance – and craft – of emotional resonance.
The act of understanding what others need to be able to give them the space and place to express.
Not manipulation.
Not exaggeration.
But emotional consideration.
Which is why if a true Rockstar – who has lived the equivalent of 100 lives – can do it, then us poxy strategists should be able to, too.
Watch it, you’ll be a better person for it.
Filed under: 2026, A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Comment, Contribution, Craft, Creativity, Culture, Pride, Standards
Good enough.
Two words that trigger the fuck out of me.
Truly press every button I have.
Not because I’m some perfectionist who never gets things wrong.
Nor because I’m a myopic tyrant who only cares about what works for me.
But because I don’t have the time to waste on things – and people – who don’t share the same standards as me.
That sounds massively condescending, doesn’t it?
Believe it or not, I don’t mean it to be … but the fact is, time is precious to me. More precious than it has ever been. And – as I’ve written in the past – when you find yourself in this position, you realise you’re in a race.
That may sound over the top … exaggerated even … but I assure you it’s not.
For a start you know all the things you want to do won’t happen. Just won’t be possible.
Then to make matters worse … the more you do, the more you discover and that adds to the list of things you would love to explore and experiment with.
So you end up having to try and choose what matters – or intrigues or scares you – the most and when you have done that, you go into them like a freight train.
Hardcore.
Total commitment.
Focus on being as brilliant as you think it can be and you hope to be.
Or at least I do.
And that’s why when you find the people around you are in a different place in life … or have a different set of expectations or standards … that can be hard.
It’s not that they’re wrong, it’s just that they’re wrong for where you are at right now.
Because you have no time for casual.
You have no time for not being utterly focused.
And anything that shows a lack of consideration feels like a knife in your back.
I appreciate this may not be a popular perspective – especially on a Monday morning – but as a friend of mine’s father once said:
“If you haven’t got the time to do it right at the beginning, when will you?
The reality is standards are all that sets you apart in this industry …
That doesn’t mean everything you do has to be a hit … but it does mean everything you do has to feel you’ve pushed for it, cared for it and fought to make it as good as it can be.
Not simply outsourced to a system or framework.
Not simply doing what others have done quicker, cheaper or bigger.
Not simply following what’s popular or hyped.
But standards, efforts and taste.
Because the reality is anyone can be lucky occasionally, but real reputations are born from standards over time.
Where you are known and seen for continually making and pushing things to better and more interesting places, time and time again.
That’s what gets the calls from the clients and people who care as much about what they put out as why they are putting things out.
Of course it’s not easy, but it’s worth it … or at least worth more than churning stuff out you wish didn’t have your name attached to, even if others are OK with it.
Because when your time is running out – but your ambition, hunger and curiosity isn’t – the problem isn’t the fear of failure, the problem is giving your time to people who don’t value what you can do with it.
Filed under: 2026, A Bit Of Inspiration, AI, Attitude & Aptitude, Confidence, Conformity, Craft, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Independence, Individuality, Planners, Planning, Point Of View, Strategy
One of the many things I love about China, are their proverbs.
Whatever the subject, there will be an expression that captures the issue in a brilliant, wonderful way.
And there’s so bloody many of them … and each one not only makes you nod your head in agreement, but also makes you think and then look at things differently afterwards.
Anyway, I heard one recently that I love.
In fact, I love it so much I’m going to use it as the ‘final lesson’ in a presentation I’m writing for a talk in Berlin – more of that in tomorrow’s post.
The quote is this:
I love it.
I love it for a load of reasons.
One of them being that China tends to encourage conformity rather than individuality – so this is beautiful for simply challenging that convention.
But the other reason is that it sums up the heart of the presentation I’m writing.
Especially in a world where so many people are – rightfully – worrying about the impact AI will have on their job, career, livelihood.
Because to take that quote one step further …
If you spend years doing all you can to become a perfect, straight tree …
A tree who stands perfectly with all those other perfect straight trees …
Not only could you find yourself being chopped down and turned into boards, you may discover that’s all you were ever going to be allowed to be.
Or said another way:
When you blindly follow someone else’s definition of ‘best practice’, the result isn’t just that you get turned into boards … it’s that your career is spent being walked on and walked over by people who never cared what you could become, only what they could become.
Which is why if you want to increase the odds of living a bigger life, be the wild tree.
Because while others may mock your shapes, bends and scars … you’ll know they’re signs of a life well lived, not a life walked upon.
Filed under: 2026, A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Brand, Cannes, Comment, Communication Strategy, Confidence, Conformity, Craft, Creativity, Design, Details, Efficiency, Emotion, Empathy, Marketing, Marketing Fail, Marketing Practice, Martin Weigel, Planners, Systems
I met someone recently who said they bet I spent my money on crap.
To be fair to them, our conversation had probably led them to that conclusion based on something I did while I was talking to them.
But I still say it was because I was interested in knowing more about them, rather than just trying to avoid them – which I appreciate sounds like an excuse, but it’s not. Honest.
That said, I appreciate what I did could sound a bit ‘weird’ out of context and while I know many would suggest this is just one more bad purchase decision in a long line of bad purchase decisions [100 robot dogs and a windmill anyone?] … the reality is in both those cases, they – admittedly, amazingly – made me money, which means I’m a genius.
Or it would if they weren’t the exception to the rule.
But while I am sadly much more sensible with my spending these days [comparatively speaking] the reality is I do like buying things that appeal to me emotionally more than logically.
Not because I’m a psychopath.
And not because I have bottomless piles of cash.
But because I like going down rabbit holes of discovering what other people feel are important to do – even if I don’t initially understand why they would do that.
Which is my way of explaining my latest purchase. This …
Yep, it’s a book on toilets. Toilets from all around the World.
And why would I do such a thing?
Well, it’s not because it’s a book … it’s because it celebrates people who decided they wanted to do something special with the most functional room in their house or building.
At a time where efficiency and optimization are the most biggest influences in seemingly every decision being made these days, a book on magical bathrooms is – in some way – the politest way to say ‘fuck you’ to all of that.
A reminder you can be, to paraphrase Mr Weigel, functional as hell and not be boring as fuck.
We need more of that … especially at a time where even the Cannes Lions seems to have forgotten about the role and importance of creativity that sustains over time, rather than just communicates in the moment.
So here’s to a book of magical toilets all around the World.
It’s a greater reminder and educator on the value of creativity than almost 99.6% of the hot takes on Linkedin.
Including this one, haha.