Filed under: 2026, A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Clients, Collaboration, Comment, Conformity, Consultants, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Curiosity, Delusion, Imagination, Innovation, Leadership, Management, Marketing, Marketing Fail, Marketing Practice, Marketing Science, Mediocrity, Packaging, Perspective, Process, Relevance, Resonance, Respect, Standards, Strategy, Systems, Technology, Transformation
One of the scariest, awesome things is starting a new project.
Especially a new project where you are given the freedom to take things to new places.
Scary, because there’s always the risk. you might fuck it up.
Awesome, because you can – in theory – go wherever the hell you like.
I love these moments.
I love exploring all the possibilities and then seeing where everyone’s energy is at.
I love the drama, the challenge, the breakthroughs and the crafting.
But most of all, I love the creation.
Seeing something come to life that wasn’t there before.
But to get to a place that excites rather than appeases, is emotionally draining and stimulating.
The process – if that is what you want to call it – is one that tests you more than tests the idea you’re developing.
And frankly we don’t talk about that enough.
Instead, we celebrate precision, perfection, optimization and logic.
And while there may well be elements of all that in all we do, they sure-as-shit don’t happen at the beginning of the process … and if you think they do, then you’re either kidding yourself or you haven’t tried hard enough.
But what’s scary is a lot of the way the industry is structuring themselves is to kid themselves or not try hard enough.
Too many people running our industry are people not from our industry – so they don’t understand how it works.
They see the rabbit holes we need to go down as a waste of time.
A costly exercise in the delivery of our ‘product’.
And while I appreciate you can take too long on things, you can also take too little time …
But that’s where we’re heading … where effectiveness is defined and determined by ‘delivery timelines’ or ‘fitting in’ to pre-determined definitions rather than trying to do something new … something different … something better.
Which is why it’s so funny so many brand and management consultancies talk about ‘brand transformation’ … because you can’t transform if you stick to predefined and predetermined rules, processes and logic. But then – as Lee Hill once told me – they’re not really transforming anyone or anything. What many are really doing is helping old and slow companies catch up with what everyone else in their category has been doing for an age. It means the consultancy can profit from articulating the learnings from the more progressive companies – rather than develop new possibilities and processes of their own – and wrap it up in expensive language that benefits both parties.
Or said another way … ‘catching up’ is sold as innovation and ‘duplication’ is sold as expertise.
OK, I’m being a little harsh there, but the point is … anyone who says creativity and progress can be delivered via a consistent, precise and stable process is either lying to themselves or lying to you. So don’t see the rollercoaster of the creative process as a cost, see it as people who want to make sure they do something really special for you.
Filed under: 2026, A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Agency Culture, Apathy, Aspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Cliches, Clients, Collaboration, Communication Strategy, Complicity, Conformity, Consultants, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Distinction, Diversity, Effectiveness, Efficiency, Egovertising, Emotion, Empathy, Entertainment, Experience, Fake Attitude, Focus Groups, Food For Thought, Fulfillment, Independence, Influencers, Integrity, Leadership, Loyalty, Management, Marketing, Marketing Fail, Marketing Practice, Marketing Science, Mediocrity, Perspective, Planners, Planning, Point Of View, Popularity, Professionalism, Provocative, Purpose, Relevance, Reputation, Research, Resonance, Respect, Strategy, Technology, Toxic Positivity, Work
I know, that’s quite the title isn’t it.
Some would even say it’s ‘clickbait’.
Well, while I readily admit it’s slightly exaggerated, hang in there …
So years ago, Jill rang me to tell me she’d discovered Otis – who was about 4 years old back then – had made a shopping list of things he wanted to order on Amazon through Alexa.
Loads of stuff.
Fortunately for us, this included a range of items even Amazon can’t source.
Stuff such as: Eyeballs … Polar Bears … “Poo Poos” … and countless other weird shit his mind decided would be fun to own.
Putting aside the fact this proved he was most definitely my son, hearing his little voice recite all the things that were on his ‘ownership bucket list’ was wonderful, which is why we have never deleted it.
Not just so we can forever relive his childhood curiosity, but because it will be brilliant to play it when he has his 21st birthday – hahaha.
I say this because I recently read another evil genius use – or should I say, abuse – of Alexa.
This.
Why the hell had I never thought of doing this before?
On the positive, it has shown how mature I have become over the years. On the negative, it has highlighted how I am a groupie for mischief because you can be sure-as-hell I will be finding ways to do this to people from here on in. No wonder the guys at Q-Prime called me ‘immune to maturity’.
And while you may shake your head and call me a ‘sad bastard’ for wanting to do this, think of it as an act of revenge against the tech-bro boys.
Because as much as Alexa may have many uses and benefits … it has also fucked humanity. Teaching us to expect instant gratification for whatever we want, whenever we want it.
No moment for pause.
No time for consideration.
No appreciation of nuance.
Where the only thing that matters – and you are judged on – is the speed of the response.
It’s probably why so many brands love influencers.
Not simply because of their audience.
Not simply because of their popularity.
But because they will say EXACTLY what they want … without challenge, opinion or rearticulation.
I don’t blame the influencer for this, because not only are they making bank out of it, why should they give a shit … for them, the relationship is purely transactional and what they’re selling is access, not authenticity.
But I tell you who should care …
Clients.
But in these days where the main topic of conversation seems to be about ‘shouting at scale’ – read: believing media is way more important than working with people who know what to say and how to say it – is it any surprise that despite spending over US$1 TRILLION dollars on advertising last year, the industry feels like one homogenous, barren contrived-as-fuck blob?
Or as a client of mine recently said, “we’re past the brand building age and now in the brand shrinking era”.
I get instant answers are convenient.
I appreciate having people push back on you can be a pain.
But we need to get back to normalizing the value of objectivity.
Because the point of it is not to frustrate, but to stop you shouting into an echo chamber and building something that people helps people become something.
__________________________________________________________________
Finally – as if it being Friday wasn’t good enough – I am away again for 11 days.
ELEVEN!!!
However it’s not all good news because if you’re in Perth, Western Australia … then Paris, France … then Beijing, China … I’m going to be in your hood so watch out.
Actually, it’s even worse for the people in Perth because I’m going to be shouting swearwords at the brilliant State Of Social conference.
That’s right, the wonderful, generous, kind idiots have invited me again … which means some people just never learn from their mistakes.
So have a good weekend/week. Unless you’re in Perth, Paris or Beijing.
See you around the 3rd Sept.
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.
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: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, Comment, Corporate Gaslighting, Creativity, Culture, Data, Emotion, Experience, Humanity, Management, Marketing, Marketing Fail, Marketing Practice, Marketing Science, Technology, Toxic Positivity, Transformation
Before I start, I want to acknowledge David, Dave and Andy because today is the 25th anniversary of 9/11.
And while I know that terrible, terrible day resides deeply in their everyday … it’s a significant anniversary and so the memories, pain and loss may feel even deeper to them today.
So know I’m thinking of you.
It was special seeing all of you.
I send big hugs to each of you.
Love you.
OK, let’s get on with the rant …
Years ago, I – and, ironically, David, Dave and Andy – worked for the founder of a very successful company who was obsessed with how his customers and lowest level employees felt, experienced and interacted with the brand.
He had seen far too many organisations manage senior leadership through pandering, toxic positivity and managing-up and was determined that was not going to happen to his company.
His view was the only way to keep improving was to know what’s going on … and the only way to know what’s going on is to ensure the people with the authority to change stuff, saw life from the perspective of the coalface.
Not occasionally.
Not via carefully orchestrated engagement.
But shoulder-to-shoulder and eye-to-eye with their people and customers.
It’s why his C-Suite were mandated to always travel economy, rather than business. Not because he didn’t care about the comfort of his most senior executives, but because he cared even more about the experience of his people abd customers as well as the standards and behaviour of his brand.
It’s part of the reason he saw the generous salaries he – and his C-Suite – were paid was about responsibility.
Not to the shareholders, but to their customers and employees.
Put simply, he believed the job of the most senoir management was to actively protect the standards, values and aspiration of the brand for the customers they serve and the people they employee.
His premise for it was simple. If you look after them, they’ll look after the shareholders.
It’s why he didn’t tolerate convenient answers.
It’s why he utterly loathed generalistic perspectives.
It’s why he vehemently rallied against outsourcing blame or responsibility.
And it’s why he demanded people spent time in the coalface, rather than looking down at it.
Over the years, I’ve had a few clients who behaved that way – and, unsuprisingly, they tended to command the greatest love and loyalty from customers and employees alike.
But these days it seems it is becoming less and less common, prefering – instead – to use data points to inform than actual experience.
And while it can be argued there are more ways to measure more things than there has ever been before, there’s 3 fundamental flaws with this approach:
1. It relies on people knowing what they’re measuring.
2. It relies on people knowing why they’re measuring it.
3. It relies on people knowing what the findings are saying and – more importantly – aren’t.
And while you may think this is obvious – which it is or should be – the reality is, it happens less than you think.
There are many reasons for this – from politics to convenience to different interpretations of industry language and definitions – but blindly accepting data-points without the counterbalance of real and raw human knowledge and experience means what you think is clarity ends up being commercial confusion.
A perfect example is from Sir Alex Ferguson, the legendary manager of Manchester United.
Back in 2001, Sir Alex Ferguson decided it was time for the defender, Jaap Stam, to leave Manchester United..
Stam was at his professional peak and considered one of the best defenders in the world, but Ferguson decided it was time for him to go.
The decision was made after Ferguson took look at Stam’s performance data.
On close inspection, Ferguson saw the then 29 year old defender was tackling less and less and concluded he was past his prime and now was the time to move him on. He was subsequently sold to Lazio.
And to be fair, the data was correct, Stam was tackling less … however it was not because he was past his prime, it was because he had got better at defending.
Put simply, Stam’s positioning had got so good he did not need to tackle so much … he was dealing with the opposition attackers before it got to a point where he needed to tackle them as a last-resort kind-of measure.
So while the data was right, it lacked context and Sir Alex Ferguson didn’t think to question it or challenge it.
In essence, he momentarily forgot what the objective of the defender is, because it’s not about tackling, it’s about protecting the goal … but the data had obstructed his view and resulted in him taking the information at face-value, resulting in him viewing the declining amount of tackles as weakness, when it was actually a symbol of strength and progress.
This is not to say data is not important. Of course it is. It helps provide light on issues and subjects that may otherwise pass unseen until far too late. But the problem is it temps us – and is positioned to us as – speaking directly to our needs.
Where the claim is it provides all the information we need to make simple binary choices or decisions.
Forget context.
Forget questioning.
Forget understanding.
And definitely forget anything that challenges or states otherwise.
Simply make your choice and the most effective and efficient outcome is yours.
That’s where we are folks … a cross between Stockholm Syndrome and group Gas Lighting … but at least it helps explains why there’s such reluctance for companies to actually engage and interact with real people.
The people who work for them.
The people who buy from them.
The people who give a shit about who they are and what they do.
The problem with the industry – every industry – is we are subservient to data. We treat it like the second-coming of Christ. We have started to believe it can bestow us with miracles, when half the time we don’t even know where it came from, let alone what it’s actually saying.
Again, I am not anti-data, but I am anti-data blinkeredness.
It’s why I wonder how many corporate leaders spend any meaningful time on the streets of the customers and/or the shop-floors of their employees … rather than spending hours sitting around a boardroom table commenting on sales data and focus group reports that they’ve not actually read, don’t really understood and never question how they were compiled or what they were trying to uncover.
At a time where every conversations around business seems to be about maximising optimisation and performance data points, maybe the most valuable form of AI any C-Suite can engage in, is the promotion and consideration of real Audience Interaction.
______________________________________________________________________________________
PS: I am going to be in the US for most of next week, so enjoy the weekend knowing you won’t have to read my clap-trap until probably Thursday. You’re welcome.