Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Agency Culture, America, Attitude & Aptitude, Comment, Creativity, Culture, Deutsch, Emotion, Empathy, Insight, Perspective, Planners, Point Of View
When I first joined Deutsch, I wanted to understand what the hell was really going on with American youth so I sent 3 of my team – Maya, Armando and Leigh [along with Sarah, a photographer and co-supported back at HQ by the wonderful Kelsey] – backpacking across the US to spend about a month in some of America’s most opposite cities.
Specifically the richest/poorest … fastest growing/shrinking … most/least diverse.
No nice hotel rooms.
No fancy travel.
Just a month hearing and learning from America in The Raw.
As you can see from this little text exchange below, it left a mark on the guys …
In all seriousness, while they loved it, there were some things they saw and went through that challenged them deeply on a personal level. So deeply, that I honestly believe they have all come back changed for the experience.
And yet overall, what they found was a nation full of young people who wanted their country to be the one they had been brought up to believe in.
A country that lets anyone succeed.
A country that cared for their own equally.
A country where it led by taking on the big challenges and issues and crushing them.
Now of course, you could argue America was never really any of these things – just a master of PR – but that aside, the country they have found is not the country they want and so the way they are approaching their life is basically one of survival.
And what do I mean by survival?
Well in essence, it’s how they can cope with what’s going on until it stops.
Their overall view is “I can’t control the future, but I can control the present”.
And while their behaviour is expressed in multiple ways, we believe they fall into 4 distinct territories …
Protect: Keep safe what you have and don’t risk anything to get what you want.
Disguise: Define your relevance by the topical things you want to associate with.
Escape: Physically create a [momentary] world you want to live in.
Fight: Push against the unfairness you face.
Of course it’s way more complex and complicated than that – and we have spent a lot of time exploring and uncovering the influences, attitudes and behaviours that drive it and define it – but it does seem those 4 lenses are consciously and subconsciously influencing how people are starting to behave.
In all honesty, this adventure has been fascinating – not just in terms of understanding what is starting to happen, but how the issues of race or equality are reaching points where you can feel major change is on the way. Whether that change is instigated by government or the people is still anyones guess, but what we know is that it won’t be able to be swept under the carpet as easily as it has in previous years.
They won’t let it, especially with the current administration doing all it can to prod and provoke them.
The implications for society and business are huge – both in terms of positive change and negative potential – which is why we have created a [coffee-table] book and a presentation and – when we get some breathing space – a short film to truly define and explain what we heard and discovered. But as much as all those things are exciting, the bit I love the most is my team have given a voice to those who are rarely heard in the purest and most unfiltered way you can get.
There’s a lot of things I’ve done in my career that has made me proud.
This is most definitely one of them.
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If you’re interested in seeing/having a copy of the ‘America In The Raw’ book, let me know. I can’t guarantee we can accommodate everyone, but we’ll try.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Creativity, Culture, Perspective, Planners, Standards
A few weeks ago – after being away on a business trip – I found the above note on my laptop.
I have no idea who wrote it and – to be honest – I’m not sure if it was meant as a reminder of what I should be doing or a report on what I do … but either way, it’s a pretty good standard to live up to.
Many years ago, a magazine asked what my job was. I replied …
“To ensure no one gets complacent, whether that’s the team, the agency or the client”.
I used to think what that meant was to ‘keep pushing, prodding and provoking so we would stay focused on making the biggest difference in the most interesting way rather than settle for good and easy’, but now I know a better interpretation is this.
Be great.
Fuck shit up.
And do it again tomorrow.
We all win if we all want higher standards.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Confidence, Craft, Culture, Insight, Planners
OK, full disclosure, I don’t really like Tom Hanks.
Sure, I’ve enjoyed some of his movies but for some reason – maybe due to overexpose of his movies in my early 20’s – I think he has a face I want to smack.
But recently I read an article on him that changed my opinion of him.
To be honest, this ‘change my opinion’ thing is getting annoying.
First is was my ultra-nemesis, Morrissey – though he seems to behaving like a twat again.
Then it was Johnny Marr.
And now Tom Hanks.
Who next … Todd Sampson? That would literally make me want to kill myself.
Good job I know that will never, ever, ever happen.
But back to Hanks.
In the article, Hanks covered a huge range of subjects … the roles he’s taken, his approach to parenthood, the mistakes he’s made – it was all very interesting, vulnerable and honest – but the bit that caught my eye was this:
“I learned a long time ago that you don’t have to like the people you work with. If someone wants to be a dick, it’s OK, but if their dickishness means everybody else doesn’t get to work at their best level – if you being a dick means you’re going to encroach upon my process – there’ll be a slug fest in the parking lot. There will be words exchanged I’ve worked with men and women where I’m like, ‘Are we going to have to go through this again?’ And, well, yes, because that’s what’s called for. On rare occasions, people are insane – but those are really rare.”
The reason I like this is because one of the biggest issues many face in agencies is working with others.
OK, in the majority of cases, as Mr Hanks states, it’s all good – but occasionally you find someone who is especially difficult – not because they are pushing for the best work, but because they think they are the only one’s capable of doing the best work and don’t value anyone else’s contribution or process to get there.
In other words, they’ve become the office egotistical dick.
We’ve all seen them.
Prancing about like they’re gods-gift.
At best they’ve done something genuinely good in their time. At worst, they’ve only done something good in their mind.
What I like about Hanks advice is that it ultimately helps you work out when you should or shouldn’t act.
In other words, if the person isn’t affecting your standards negatively, then let it pass.
Life is too short and ultimately, your engagement with them is not going to achieve anything.
However if their actions are impeding the work you do to the standards you hold, then it’s time to strike.
I should point out that when I say ‘strike’, I don’t mean it literally, but the key point is that the moment you feel your process/standards are being limited because of this other persons actions or behavior, you need to speak up.
To them.
Directly.
I wish I had known this earlier in my career.
When I think of all the energy and time I wasted taking on issues that were just annoying rather than damaging, I want to kick myself. But the good news is that working in advertising means I’ll be able to use this advice properly in the very near future.
And it’s important.
Not just because you should never let someone negatively impact your standards and process, but because – as fellow actor Michael Keaton pointed out – even if you’re just an employee, you’re still in charge of the direction of your career.
So thank you Mr Hanks. Damnit.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, Brilliant Marketing Ideas In History, Creativity, Cunning, Education, Experience, Innovation, Insight, Marketing, Planners, Planning
Yes it’s a national holiday in America and yes, I said there would be no post today … but the thought of you not having your daily dose of my blog joy broke my heart so I am doing this for you.
I know, I should be knighted.
Ahem.
Anyway, the wonderful Mark Sareff has written a book.
I’ve written about Mark before because apart from being whip smart, he’s also one of the nicest people on the planet.
[Though I appreciate being being one of my friends and mentors may undermine that declaration a bit]
Anyway, while Mark may not be the best known names in planning, he is – in my opinion – the best planner in the industry and so anything by him is going to be interesting and useful and that is exactly what his book is.
It’s full of fantastic strategy nuggets of awesomeness based on real-world experiences.
It’s fun and quick to read and best of all, it’s free so if you are at all interested in smart thinking without the intellectual bullshit, then download it here … it just may be the first useful thing I’ve ever done for anyone on here.
Right, back to my holiday.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Brand Suicide, China, Comment, Crap Marketing Ideas From History!, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Deutsch, Differentiation, Food For Thought, Goodbye China, Hello America, Insight, Internet, Interviews, Marketing Fail, Martin Weigel, My Fatherhood, Otis, Paul, Planners, Planners Making A Complete Tit Of Themselves And Bless, Planning, Point Of View, Positioning, Pretentious Rubbish, Relevance, Resonance, Social Media, Standards, The Kennedys, The Kennedys Shanghai, Unexpected Relevance, Unplanned, Unprofessional Professional, Wieden+Kennedy
How is your 2018 going so far?
I know it’s still early days – but is it looking good or bad?
Well, if it’s looking positive, I’m about to ruin it for you and if it is looking dodgy, I’m going to help you solidify your opinion.
Why?
Well, a few weeks ago, a nice guy called Paul McEnany asked if he could interview me about my career.
While I’m sure his reasoning for his request was to help planners learn what not to do, my ego said yes even before my mouth did … and while the end result is the bastard love child of rambling randomness and base-level swearing, it’s the perfect way to justify your pessimism for 2018 or to ensure your optimism for the new year doesn’t get too high.
So go here and errrrrm, enjoy [if that’s the right word for it, which it isn’t] and after you’ve heard my crap, listen to the brilliant interviews with people like Gareth Kay, Russell Davies, Richard Huntingdon, Martin Weigel and the amazing Chris Riley because apart from being hugely interesting and inspiring, you’ll get the added bonus of [1] undeniable proof I’m a massive imposter and [2] the knowledge that if I can have some sort of semi-successful career in advertising, you certainly can.
You’re welcome.