Filed under: 2026, A Bit Of Inspiration, Confidence, Delusion, Linkedin, Marketing Fail
I’ve got to be honest, I’m getting fed up reading certain people’s sarcastic comments on other people’s posts on Linkedin.
I could maybe handle it more if they were responding to something offensive or idiotic.
I could maybe tolerate it more if the commenter had a long history of doing things that were truly special.
And I could maybe accept it more if they had a track record of posting interesting and well considered posts of their own over time
But in most cases, none of these ‘occasional acceptable’ filters are true, because not only is the only thing these people are synonymous with is trolling others posts … the issues they attack are, for all intents and purpose, harmless observations or a badly phrased updates.
But there they are, fulfilling their ‘main character’ delusions by going on the attack with a smug ferocity that makes you think they’re a fully paid-up member of the Andrew Tate fuckwit gang.
Talking of Andrew Tate … their responses always sound like they’ve been shaped by that manosphere twat.
You just know they’re convinced their retort is as sharp as a knife being plunged deep between someone else’s eyes, but to everyone else, we simply see their comments as blunt and missing the spot by a mile.
There’s one person in particular who seems to have all the sniper skills of a blind, drunk man … but that doesn’t stop him. Every day I see him make an attempt to churn out a sarcastic comment, even though his words always come across as inane and as confusing as the person he’s attempting to ridicule.
The funniest part is you just know they think this makes them look clever to others …
Or they hope they do, because that’s the characteristic they desire most in the world.
You can tell this by the other way they behave on Linkedin …
Crawling and fawning to people who have achieved the level of industry status and fame they crave … with the caveat, the people they aspire to be tend to all express themselves with the level of self-righteous arrogance that would put Nigel Farrage to shame.
Of course, many can respond to comments on Linkedin without ever looking stupid, arrogant or desperate for attention.
And there’s even a few who can pull it off while being openly sarcastic and confronting. [Albeit because they’re smart, experienced and their comments are actually addressing an issue that needs challenging]
But the individuals I’m talking about don’t fit either of that criteria …
So, while they may be fooling themselves into thinking they’re sharp, witty and successful-as-hell … they’re not fooling anyone else.
Which is why I love they keep posting.
Because the more they think it elevates them, the more it’s bringing them down.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Business, Clients, Communication Strategy, Complicity, Confidence, Conformity, Consultants, Craft, Creative Brief, Creative Development, Creativity, Experience, Fulfillment, Management, Marketing, Marketing Fail
I’ve been around.
I’ve been doing this strategy thing for longer than many who read this blog have been alive.
And of all the things I’ve learned, one of the most valuable has been to never doubt the importance of having a good client.
To be clear, a ‘good client’ doesn’t mean they never challenge you. Or place high expectations on you. Or resist the urge to add pressure to what needs to be done and by when.
The reality is good clients do all those things. The difference is how they do it and why.
Because a good client acts as a proper partner.
They take responsibility for what they need to make happen.
They calm and control the internal noise, voices and opinions.
They share your ambition for the work, not just for the desired impact of the work.
They welcome, encourage and invite truth and transparency.
They remove the barriers and fears that stand in the way of making something great.
The don’t blame, shame or complain – they stay the course and know when to get involved and, just as importantly, stay out the way.
They never dictate … because they’re always clear with what needs to be done and why.
And if things change, they tell you early and transparently.
Plus you know they will have done what they can before that situation occurred.
They always listen at least as much as they talk.
They brief with an actual document not just a casual conversation.
They give feedback that is objective rather than just subjective
They don’t let internal processes stand in the way of opportunities that come their way.
They trust you and your expertise and look for the best rather than seek out the worst.
And they never, never treat you like you’re a servant, commodity or low-level employee.
They do all those things.
All of them. All the time.
Which is why you can have all the processes in the world …
You can have all the systems, data, structures and efficiency tools …
But not one of those comes close to what a great client can deliver and do.
For the work.
For the business.
For the customers and employees.
And for making sure you do everything you can to given them the work of their lives.
We don’t talk about this enough.
And we certainly don’t teach it or train it.
Instead, we keep hearing how we must adhere to a singular process or format, regardless of category or context, even though it has often been created by people who have never made anything of note and if they have, in one area and one area only.
You can tell who they are because they love to sound like they are business liberators when – as I’ve said many times – they’re far more like insurance salesmen.
And that’s find if you want that sort of thing – but often that is never how it is sold. Now of course I understand there’s huge costs and risks associated with creativity and marketing … but there’s a major difference between playing to win and playing not to lose … which is why there’s a huge difference between a client who uses process and deliverables as a stick and those who operate via transparency, taste and trust.
And for those of you who don’t think one person can negatively – or positively – influence the output of a corporation, even if they have built an approach and format that has been tested over years, I refer you to the quote by the Dalai Lama.
“If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito”
We need more training from the people who have made great things happen and over again …
Actual things, not just theories, self promotion or
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Comment, Creative Development, Creativity, Distinction, Effectiveness, Emotion, Empathy, Marketing, Marketing Fail, Perspective, Planners, Planning, Point Of View, Relevance, Reputation, Resonance, Respect
As it’s Monday, let me start this post with some good news.
This is the last week of posts for a while as I’m flying off to Europe on Friday.
Not for a holiday.
Not for Colenso.
But for a stream of meetings in LA, London, Amsterdam, Milan and Berlin.
All in 8 days. Darrrrrling.
God, what an asshole humble brag. That isn’t even humble.
Which is why I am not asking you to feel sorry for me because [1] I’m not stupid and [2] 8 days or not, it’s a fucking dream gig. However – if it makes you feel any better – while all of these trips are at the invitation of a range of different VIP’s, I’m only going because they want me to be their cat litter tray rather than be a valued guest.
Did that make you feel less loathing towards me?
What about making the darkness of Monday morning feel a bit brighter?
No? OK … better move quickly on.
So not too long ago, I wrote a post about the brilliant Trevor Beattie and his brilliant analysis of the modern Specsavers creative work.
Specifically, the strategic shift from ‘what it was’ to ‘what it is’.
And while he didn’t say the current work doesn’t live up to the standards of the original work, his central point highlights – at least to me – why I don’t think it does, exemplified by this piece of work that I saw near our office recently.
I should point out this gives me no joy to say whatsoever, because:
1. Specsavers played a significant role in saving my sight by recognizing my disease early and then writing a referral letter for me to urgently see a specialist.
2. Specsavers has continually proved the commercial and creative power of s great idea.
3. The shift Trevor highlighted, may – for reasons I don’t quite understand – be deliberate.
But whatever is behind it … going from the comedic potential of not seeing properly to laughing at the incurably stupid … has potentially resulted in moving the brand from friend to foe.
Or worse, bully.
Now whether they meant this to happen or not is anyone’s guess.
I’m assuming not.
Which reinforces the need to always understand the nuance of an idea – because if you don’t do that, you don’t just undermine years of craft, care and rigor, you undermine the very value you are being paid to elevate.
See my recent post about the billboard for the movie, Devil Wears Prada 2.
There’s too much complexity in our business. But solving it with simplistic interpretation doesn’t help anyone either.
Which suggests every creative, strategist, suit and marketer may need to go to Specsavers to see how to do their job properly.
With craft.
With rigor.
With care.
With an ability to actually – ironically – see it.
And with an understanding of the nuance behind the idea so your work – whaever role you play – is always building the brand up rather than tearing it down.
Filed under: 2026, Advertising, Airports, Attitude & Aptitude, Birthday, Brand, Brand Suicide, Creativity, Culture, Customer Service, Effectiveness, Experience, Loyalty, Management, Marketing, Marketing Fail, Privilege, Professionalism, Reputation, Travel, Trust, Uncommon, World Cup
The next few weeks are big for me.
My birthday.
Jill’s birthday.
Paul’s birthday.
The World Cup starting.
Trips to LA, Milan, Berlin, London and Amsterdam.
Meetings and dinners with legends of film, fashion and music.
And a bunch of lovely planners in Germany, hahaha.
I’d love to pretend I’m nonchalant about it all, but that would be a massive fucking lie as I’m exited to fuck about it all – bar my birthday.
But this post isn’t about my impending weeks of mega-madness, it’s about the madness of dealing with British Airways.
I am in the incredibly lucky situation of having someone pay for all my flights.
Better yet, they are paying for them to all be Business Class.
I booked on Air New Zealand, who – because of the flight itinerary – also scheduled some of the flights on BA.
So far. So good.
Having chosen my seats on Air NZ, I went to BA to do the same with them … except my booking reference didn’t work.
I then tried logging into my British Airways Frequent Flyer account, but got the same response.
No problems, maybe they use a different booking reference, so I contacted Air NZ to ask – and they told me, they use the same number and so it should work.
So I tried again. Nothing.
So I tried calling. No answer.
So I tried their chatbot. No reply.
It was getting frustrating so I went on the website to see if there was another way to contact them and there was.
A customer service contact button. So I clicked on it and what did I find when I did that …
A postal address.
A fucking postal address!
They want me to write – from New Zealand – to work out why my booking reference number doesn’t work. Mind blowing.
But it gets worse …
You see, I went back to Air NZ and told them the situation and they said they would talk to BA on my behalf. And they did.
So after 3 attempts for the website to accept my login details, I go on there to choose my business class seats and what do I find?
Yep, they want to CHARGE ME for choosing a seat.
This on top of the fact it has already cost a fuck-ton of cash.
Now I appreciate this is a first world problem.
I totally get I’m incredibly fortunate to be able to experience this.
But it blows-my-fucking mind that BA wants to charge me even more money to choose which seat I fly in – especially when airlines like Air NZ, let you do it when you fly economy.
Now I should point out BA have said once check-in is open – ie: 24 hours before the flight leaves – I can choose my seat for free, but apart from that still being bollocks, I am pretty sure when I try to do it, they’ll tell me I have to mail in my request by post.
Uncommon have done some amazing work for British Airways.
They have elevated their standing and prestige with some beautiful work.
And the line they created – A British Original – sounds great, until you remember that the British Leyland Mini Metro and also one of those and was a fucking shit experience as well.
Filed under: 2024, A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Clients, Collaboration, Comment, Complicity, Conformity, Consultants, Culture, Marketing, Marketing Fail, New Zealand, Outdoor, Planes, Professionalism, Research, Strategy
So yesterday I wrote a post about Air New Zealand’s frequent flyer ‘air points’ promotion.
I pointed out how I don’t think they understand the real needs, wants and motivations of their top tier passengers and that it doesn’t matter how much data you have, if you don’t understand what it’s really saying, it’s useless.
Worse … it’s commercially dangerous.
Especially if you choose to ignore 2 consistent ‘hidden’ traits of humans:
1. All of us have areas of hypocrisy.
2. Most people tell you what they think will help protect their beliefs rather than reveal them.
I ended the post asking how the hell could they get so many key elements wrong for such an important relaunch … suggesting the research company they used looks like they spent too much time with the data and not enough – if any – with actual customers.
So imagine my surprise – and delight – when last night, I received this:
Not sure this is the best ‘ad’ for Kantor.
Or the research industry, to be honest.
And just before I get any hate, I have a lot of time and respect for the research industry – when it’s does properly and well. But frankly, we’re witnessing far too many focusing their efforts on how to ‘optimise’ their efficiency [read: using AI and bots] and redefine their position [read: being consultants rather than informants] the the work coming out ends up – ironically – making us ask more questions than have greater understanding.
Don’t get me wrong, I know research is not perfect – what the hell is?
I also appreciate that any research is better than none.
However when companies act like they – and only they – have all the answers, then they better be OK with owning their mistakes … because if they don’t, they’re no longer valuable to business, they’re a danger to it.
I get we live in a time of corporate hutzpah – where no one must show any weakness or vulnerability – but what that also means is we’re living in a time of Emperor’s New Clothes and we all know how that turned out.