Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Collegues, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Cynic, Management, Marketing, Marketing Fail, Nike, Planners, Planning, Point Of View, Professionalism, Relationships, Reputation
So this is the last post till next Thursday.
I know … I know … I’ve only just come back from China but now I’m off to the US, so you get 3 more days free from me. Given this month has had an alarming lack of posts given I’ve found myself in Fiji, Australia, China and America, you should consider October my early Christmas present to you all.
So to make up for that, here’s a relatively long post.
Which by my standards, means extra long.
So recently I caught up with an ex-colleague from cynic.
Given they were a bloody nightmare when we worked together, I’m still in shock how they are now a very senior figure in a very high profile company.
Damn them, hahaha.
Anyway, we were chatting and they said how bad they thought agencies were in pitches.
Specifically, their desperation to be liked.
They said they thought the business plan for many agencies is to out-pander the competition.
It got so bad that apparently in a recent meeting, they asked the agency:
“If we’re so good and doing so well, why would we need you?”
Aggressive?
Provocative?
Yep … but they have a point.
I remember once being told to not challenge the clients previous work as someone in the room might have made it … even though we were literally in a pitch to reinvent the clients work.
And while it was an exception in my career [which I ignored and – guess what – we won!!!] the reality is I am hearing this happening more and more, which is why my friends commentedjust seemed to underline its validity.
Which leads me to some questions …
What do agencies think our job is?
What do agencies want to do and change?
And for the companies that buy into this, what do they want their agencies to do for them?
I appreciate I have been incredibly fortunate throughout my career by working with/for/under people, agencies and clients [not to mention my parents] who deeply value debate and provocation to get to better places. I also acknowledge there is an art to HOW you challenge … rather than go in with fists and elbows.
But the idea of pandering rather than provoking seems insane to me.
Sure, you have to have a point of view rather than just have a desire to be controversial … but while you can’t be blind to the good stuff people are doing, neither should you be to the bad.
I swear part of the problem is this attitude we are part of the ‘service’ industry.
That our job is to serve.
To stay silent.
To satisfy needs.
And while we are there to serve our clients … it’s in the quest of helping them be better, not be subservient to. But increasingly it feels that is what a lot of people are expecting – and why a lot of agencies are pandering – which is why I will always treasure something my brilliant ex-NIKE/FFI client and friend – Simon Pestridge – once said to me:
“Middle management want to be told they’re right. Senior management want to know how to be better”.
He’s right.
He’s never been more right.
It’s why the people who worked for him are also great clients … because he set great standards, of which one of them was understanding that transparency, truth and challenge are ultimate signs of respect not confrontation.
Debate isn’t bad.
In my mind, it means you both want to get to somewhere better.
Where you’re holding each other to standards and ambitions you hold dear.
Of course, to do this properly you need to share ambition, standards and trust … not just philosophically, but in terms of the actual work and change you want to create together.
I mean … if you can’t be provocative during a pitch – when a client is literally looking for new ideas – when the hell can you be?
Which all reinforces something my parents used to say to me …
Everyone wants to be liked, but you go further when you’re respected.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, Nike, Sport, Wieden+Kennedy
Back in 2016, I was invited to Paris to meet with Nike’s senior leadership and talk to them about where the brand is going.
Given I was the only person invited from Wieden to do this, I felt really honoured … so you can imagine the attendees surprise when I said they were in danger of becoming ‘the beast they were meant to slay’.
They took this pretty well.
Mainly because it was true.
We then spent the afternoon discussing where we’re making mistakes and where we should be doubling down.
And while it had a teensy bit about me – and a lot to do with Wieden – I feel there were a few years where they got shit together.
Then things changed …
Leadership.
Politics.
Chasing the cash.
Which may all explain this …
First you all they call people ‘consumers’ rather than athletes.
I mean, that’s bad enough … but to then go on about how they constantly evaluate the best way to serve their audience, before announcing they’re leaving NZ, is mind-bendingly mad.
Given a few weeks ago they chose not to make a retail version of West Bridgford born, Women’s England goalkeeper – and World Cup ‘Golden Glove’ winner – Mary Earps, I can’t help wondering what the hell Nike have against Nottingham, let alone NZ?
While back in 2016, they had made some decisions that led me to that presentation, I never imagined they could go this off-piste, and it breaks my heart because I love the brand and loved working with them.
But now?
Seems they misunderstood ‘dream crazy’ as act stupid.
But I’ll tell you something even worse …
Despite all this, they’re still better than most brands and that is terrifying.
I hope NIKE rediscover their love of the athlete and sport soon.
Not just for their sake … but for every little kid who needs to discover the power of sport to discover who they are and who they can become.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Apathy, Attitude & Aptitude, Australia, Brand, Brand Suicide, Comment, Communication Strategy, Creative Brief, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Distinction, Effectiveness, Embarrassing Moments, Emotion, Empathy, Fake Attitude, Government, Insight, Internet, Management, Marketing, Marketing Fail, Mediocrity, Nike, Planners, Point Of View
OK, I’m back.
Again.
And this time, I’m not going to be going away for …. hmmmmm, actually let’s not go there.
Let’s move on shall we?
So before I start, there’s 2 things to say.
1. Some may have seen this before, because I accidentally put the wrong publish date on it.
2. This is a week of long and – for me – serious posts. So don’t say I didn’t warn you.
The good news is that on Friday, you’ll be rewarded for it, with some news that benefits you as much as it does me.
Kinda.
Maybe.
OK, so one thing that drives me nuts is when brands talk in totally different voices to different audiences.
But there’s something that gets to me more, and that’s when the brand in question has tried to position themselves as some sort of ‘brand of the people’.
Case in point, Reddit …
I really like Reddit.
I think their ‘front-page of the internet’ is a brilliant place to play.
And then I saw this …
‘Where Engagement Meets Results’.
What the fuck is that about?
Oh I know what some will say …
“They’re trying to reach business people who discount Reddit as a commercially valuable platform”.
And maybe they are. But the irony is the easiest way to discount Reddit as a commercially valuable platform is having clients on there who only can communicate in the corporate monotone of the meaningless mission statement.
How insincere is a brand who speaks to their customers one way and business another?
How crazy is it that some think business people are a different species to ‘normal’ people?
How badly will Reddit’s audience react to work from companies who only speak business?
Now some may think I’m going over-the-top … they will remind me that we all ‘change’ our tone and personality dependent on who we are talking to.
And that’s true … to an extent.
But this isn’t a tonal change, this is character.
I read that and it’s a brand I don’t recognise …
Feels more like they should be called Beigeit rather than Reddit.
The ability to adapt your voice to different audiences shouldn’t mean changing who you are.
People who play golf have a dramatically different view to sport than those who play football … but Nike still do it in a way where you know and feel it’s them. Just like CTO’s in major corporations has different requirements to those who want a laptop for home … but you never feel Apple changes who they are to communicate with them.
Brands who fundamentally change their personality in a bid to engage different audiences literally don’t know who they are. Worse, their customers may start to question that too.
Reddit are amazing.
Their audience is diverse, engaged and productive.
And while I appreciate some in business may not understand that, if you have to alter who you are, do you want them anyway?
Years ago I was doing work for Triple J … a government funded, youth radio station in Australia.
Unlike other ‘government funded’ media, Triple J was someone with real credibility, driven by championing and breaking new artists, discussing topics commercial radio wouldn’t touch with a barge pole and absolutely no advertising.
So when they came to us asking for help, we knew straight away that whatever we did had to ensure their current audience didn’t feel Triple J was selling out by advertising for more listeners.
While you may think this meant we went niche, we did the opposite.
Built off an idea we called, ‘enemy of the average’ … we went into mainstream media with messages that challenged audiences about the mediocrity they were engaging with.
Radio.
Newspapers.
Cinema.
Magazines.
Nightclubs.
Television.
Wherever mainstream audiences were, we were there too.
And while many hated our work [it was even discussed in Australian Parliament] it not only attracted the largest audience increase in Triple J’s history, it reinvigorated their existing audience because they saw the brand they love stay true to who they are, despite wanting what they didn’t have.
I get we’re in different times.
I appreciate the idea of any risk is unpalatable for so many.
But nothing is as dangerous as changing who you are to attract people who aren’t your audience.
The brand voice is more than how you talk. Or look. It’s how you look at the world … and if you’re consistent with that, then you can express yourself in a million different ways and always be yourself.
But too many brands, despite what they say, don’t want to be distinct.
They see it as having the potential to alienate an audience.
To which I say this …
While you may think being something to anyone means you can engage more people, the fact is, the most power to build the value of your brand is when you are everything to someone.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, China, Chinese Culture, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Effectiveness, Film, Nike, Sport, Wieden+Kennedy
So the posts this week have been quite emotional.
Well, they have for me …
And – if you watched the hostage negotiation film in yesterday’s post – probably for you too.
And given I’ll be writing an emotional post on Friday – in preparation for what would have been my wonderful Dad’s 85th birthday on Sunday – I thought I’d take a bit of a lighter approach to today, because frankly, I’ve cried enough for this week.
This post is about case study films.
Specifically case study films by agencies for award submissions.
To be fair, there are some that are truly great. Mainly the ones that actually have the work to back it up rather than those that crank up the cliches and superlatives because they haven’t.
Even though I’ve made more films than Spielberg, this is one of my faves … even though it blows my mind it’s 11 years old now.
But even that … even with all it’s success is no match for what I’m about to show you.
A film that trumps 95% of all Cannes/WARC/Effies case study films.
Not just because it is clear, entertaining and informative.
But because it demonstrates more human insight than all those others put together.
Enjoy.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Communication Strategy, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Nike, Sport
My 8 year old, Otis, loves Rubik’s Cubes.
LOVES THEM.
Not only that, he’s bloody good at them.
To give you an idea of how good, take a look at this …
I know he’s my son, but that’s pretty amazing.
Hell, even when he shows me how to do it – move by move – I fail, and yet he can do it blindfolded!!!
Now it’s not just him that loves cubing, it’s back in a big way. A whole subculture that is thriving and evolving.
From Youtube influencers like Cubehead – with almost a million followers on Youtube – to more types of cubes than you could ever imagine.
From heat activated.
To shape-shifting.
To digital screens.
To a whole host of customisable cubes in different sizes and shapes to increase performance for competitions … competitions, that are literally being held in every country around the world.
Hell, even Nike have just released a shoe in cube colours to connect to its growth.
This last point is particularly interesting to me because I see more and more sports brands moving away from ‘competition’ to promote participation in an attempt to connect to a generation who are walking away from physical sports.
Except they’re missing the point …
You see recently I took Otis to a speed-cubing completion in Auckland.
It was packed. Full of kids, parents and adults … all messing with cubes at different standards and speeds.
But while they were all supportive and encouraging to everyone around them, be under no mistake they were competitive. More than that, they wanted to be more competitive.
And here’s what the sports brands are getting wrong.
Kids aren’t afraid of competition, they just want to beat their own limits rather than loudly and publiclly trash someone else’s.
Of course there’s exceptions.
Of course there’s contexts and situations.
But they be in a much better position if they stopped promoting passive participation and got back to what they were always about … just understood the best victory is when you out-compete yourself.