Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Comment, Daddyhood, Family, Jill, Mum, Mum & Dad, Otis, Parents
As I wrote yesterday, this is a big week in our household as Otis starts school.
Proper school.
In fact, he starts it in a few hours time.
Yes, today!!!
And while this is going to be a journey that will be filled with excitement and drama … tears and cheers … [and that’s just how his Mum and Dad will be when we wave him off later today] I had a glimpse of what might be in store for him in a way that took my breath away.
A few weeks ago, I wrote about how Otis has graduated from preschool.
Well from that day, Otis had this photo taken.
I saw it for the first time recently and I don’t mind telling you it stopped me in my tracks.
Not just because he is in full graduation gear – something his old man didn’t come close to achieving – but because of how much I see traces of my mum and me when we were young.
I wish Mum could see it, she would be chuffed to bits.
Just like I am.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Dad, Daddyhood, Family, Fatherhood, Jill, Mum, Mum & Dad, My Fatherhood, Nottingham
As I wrote a while back, we are looking to buy a family home.
Well the good news is we have found one – and while we don’t move into it till December – we’re already getting excited about it.
But as I also wrote, to help us buy it, I was going to sell the house I inherited when Mum died.
The house that was my home for my entire childhood and early twenties.
Well, it has been sold and while I know my Mum would be incredibly happy the proceeds have helped her beloved son buy a home for his family, it’s still quite an emotional wrench.
I absolutely think I’ve done the right thing.
The street I grew up on all those years has changed beyond recognition.
Neighbours have gone.
The college at the end of the street has been knocked down.
My connection to the area is no longer what it once was.
But despite that, it will always hold a special place in my heart … a place that represents ‘childhood’ … a place where it was just Mum, Dad and me and I will treasure that forever.
Anyway, one of the things we have been doing while the purchase goes through has been to visit the house.
Part of this is my way of saying goodbye.
Part of this is to take some flowers so we can plant them in our new place and have a bit of my history in my present.
Part of this is just to let Otis feel a connection to a place that was so important to his Dad and – for a period of 3 weeks in 2015 – was where he also lived.
And while just spending a few minutes there every odd weekend may seem very small, I cannot tell you how much it has helped me reclaim some connection to my roots.
The picture at the top of this page, is one of those connections.
Seeing Otis in the garden I used to play in was wonderful.
The garden my parents absolutely treasured and loved.
It brought back all sorts of memories … from hiding under those fern trees playing ‘hide and seek’ through to running through a small gap that existed between the garden and the street [right behind where Otis is standing] that meant I could have a quick getaway when playing British bulldog or simply wanting to get to the ice cream van before anyone else.
That home will always be special to me.
That garden will always remind me of my parents.
The memories created in that house will always be previous.
And while I will soon say goodbye to it [though I have had it written into the contract I can visit it once every 5 years] I will forever be grateful for all it gave me … from a childhood home filled with happiness and love, through to giving me the chance to buy a house where my family can create the sort of memories that will be as precious to Otis as Nottingham was to me.
Thank you Mum and Dad, you keep on taking care of me.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, Comment, Communication Strategy, Crap Campaigns In History, Family, Health, Marketing, Marketing Fail
A brand name can make a huge difference to the success of a brand.
Don’t get me wrong, the product has to be good or none of it matters – but the brand name does have an impact on performance.
Maybe this is why I have seen so many companies talk about their ‘naming strategy’ process … even though most of them then come back and say their first stage of the process has resulted in 10,000+ names.
TEN THOUSAND!!!
What sort of strategy – a process designed to ultimately create sacrifice – delivers 10,000 options?
But I digress.
While names can evoke all manner of feelings and emotions, there is a whole host that shows the imagination of a dead badger.
I wrote about how Singapore in particular is good/bad with their ‘say what you see’ approach to naming brands, products and stores … but there is a type of brand name that drives me even more crazy than the obviousness favoured in Asia and it’s the crash-together name.
Crash Together?
Yeah … where a brand takes 2 separate words roughly associated with the category and smashes them together.
There’s a bunch of these, such as Playtex, but I saw one recently that was bottom-of-the-barrel scraping …
Pregnacare.
PREGNACARE!!!
Christ, is that really the best they could do?
I get being pregnant is both wonderful and fearful, but Pregnacare is the most clinical name you could get.
It captures none of the wonderful and just hints of the fearful.
Plus it doesn’t – in any way – explain what it actually is, which given they’ve decided to go all mechanical in name choice, seems a rather ridiciulous situation.
I get naming is hard.
I get naming isn’t the be-all and end-all of a brands success.
But if you want to be seen as some sort of friend to anyone who is pregnant – which, judging by the photo, Pregnacare do – then you might want to choose 2 words that when smashed together, don’t sound like a visit to an upmarket gynecologist.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Brand Suicide, Comment, Corporate Evil, Culture, Empathy, Family, Happiness, Love, Management, Marketing, Marketing Fail, Minimum Wage
So a few weeks ago, in a Starbucks in Epping, I saw this man …
For those who don’t know who he is, it’s music icon Rod Stewart.
I appreciate his best days as a singer are over but the fact he’s 74, still has hit albums and sold out concerts and looks pretty much like he did 40 years ago, means he can look back on his life as pretty bloody successful.
There’s lots of stories about Mr Stewart.
His love life.
His happy feud/rivalry with Elton John.
His tightness.
But what isn’t talked about much is his love of his family.
I saw it when he walked into Starbucks.
In came his wife and a bunch of his kids – young and old – and they all sat together, chatting … laughing and sharing coffee and croissants.
I know this is something we see everyday, all around the World, but there was something lovely in seeing an international Rock Star act like the doting father and husband he obviously is.
I’m not denying he has made some pretty shit mistakes in the past … but without wishing to defend that … sometimes good people make bad mistakes and whatever happened in the past, at least he seems to remember what is truly important.
Nothing says this more than an interview he gave this year …
I don’t know about you, but I think this is wonderful.
It’s also weird his brothers and sisters are NINETY YEARS OLD.
But what I love most is that it is apparent for all his wealth, he feels his family is what truly makes him rich.
Even his ex-wife, Rachel Hunter, doesn’t really have a bad word to say about him.
Their divorce wasn’t because of infidelity, it was because she was young and after 13 years of him being a doting husband, she felt she wanted to go out and live more.
And even then, she – and he – made sure everything was both amicable and respectful.
The reason I’m saying this is because work/life balance is under greater pressure than ever.
Sure companies are talking about it more than ever before, but in the main, what they really mean is ‘it’s important to have a home life but make sure you do your work first’.
I also accept, it’s much easier to have work/life balance when you’re a multi, multi millionaire because when Mr Stewart was starting out, he was so in debt, his manager and record company pushed him to go out on tour so he missed a lot of his oldest kids early years.
But here’s the thing.
If we all appreciate that work/life balance is important [even if that is simply because it makes you more effective at work] and mental health has become an issue that has been accepted as a real issue, how come this isn’t included in any procurement demands from clients or agencies?
Maybe it is, but I haven’t heard about any.
I have heard of contracts that demand female representation.
And I have heard of contracts that demand people of color inclusion.
But nothing on mental health or work/life balance.
Don’t get me wrong, I am happy that issues of gender and background are being forced into contracts [but I’m so sad this is what it took to have it happen] but what about making sure these people are looked after once they are there?
Why isn’t that part of the deal?
Why is that not a key criteria of what we are all talking about?
Why is that something shareholders don’t demand of the companies they invest in?
I think we can all guess, but if you’re still not sure, head over to Corporate Gaslighting and read what some people have discovered are some of the reasons why.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Comment, Communication Strategy, Culture, Daddyhood, Family, Friendship, Jill, Love, My Fatherhood, Otis
Dear Ring Doorbell marketing people …
If you want your product to have more emotion in your communication, stop talking about stopping thieves and start talking about how your product can capture spontaneous moments of family love and happiness.
This picture of me with my son is one of my all time favourites.
Caught by your product as we waited for his Mum to open the door.
Imagine the instagram account you could have of happiness, love and family …
A much nicer association than the fear-mongering you tend to peddle.
You’re welcome.