One of the things that frustrates me is when companies talk loudly and proudly about their ambition but then follow it up with, “but we have to take baby steps to get there”.
The only thing that annoys me more is when agency folk say the work they’ve made isn’t great, but it does, “push the client a bit further than they were before”.
Look, I get it … there are many implications to what we do, but as much as this ‘softly, softly’ approach may sound like it makes sense, it often ends up being counter-productive.
Being slightly better than where you were means nothing if everyone around you is taking huge strides forward.
But of course, just blindly rushing ahead often ends up with people getting burnt … just like planning your progress while constantly looking through the rear-view mirror.
At some point, you have to take a leap.
A step-change from what is known and established to something that changes how you, your audience and your competitors look at what is possible.
For me, this is what innovation truly is about, not micro-improvements designed to keep a company or product up to date with what the category and their competitors are doing.
I get for the company involved, that may feel like a big step – and for them, maybe it is – but it’s not really moving them ahead, it’s just keeping them closer behind the people leading – and owning – change.
To make it worse, culture don’t really care how big a step it was for you, they care about what’s in it for them – so if it’s not done to move them forward, you’re basically putting the ‘no’ in innovation.
So how do you leap forward without falling?
Well, on one level, you can’t.
Innovation of any kind runs the risk of failure … that is inherent to anything that is trying to dramatically move forward.
However you can improve the odds of success.
I’m not just talking about having an open attitude towards failure … where you look at it as a way to learn and progress rather than to lose due to unnecessary risk.
I’m talking about the power of insight.
Insight gets a bad rap these days.
Some of it is because a lot of things people claim are insight are anything but.
However I have been noticing an increase in the number of people using the Henry Ford quote of, “If I asked people what they wanted, they’d say a faster horse” … to basically try and undermine the value of insight.
But as I’ve talked about for years, if someone couldn’t tell from that quote that people wanted to get from A-to-B faster than they currently are able to do, then they’re a fucking idiot.
Sure, there is a lot of work to do to get from ‘speed of mobility’ to the creation of the motor vehicle, but the foundation of what people are looking for is right there for all to see.
Or hear.
Contrary to what many say, I personally believe people do know what they want … they just don’t know how to express it.
It might be said in hidden ways.
Or through actions written off as stupidity.
Or via behaviours that push against tradition.
Or with associations that feel random or misunderstood.
Or simply the core of a subculture inventing their own approaches.
It could be anything.
Which is why I believe our job is to listen, explore and investigate … recognize the clues culture expresses through their secret codes so you can work with your creative friends to translate this into something that defines something new.
Creates step change not a degree of change.
Reveals a new possibility rather than remakes something old.
And while that may indeed still fail or just require a shitload of hard work to evolve the idea into something infectious or – eventually – inevitable, it means you are leading change rather than being shaped because of it, which has the potential to change your future in ways no one could ever imagine.
Of course, the problem is not just that many people claim to want pragmatism but insist on micro-progress based on established behaviours, rules and habits … there’s the issue that some people evaluate something that challenges convention by the standards of what is already in place – ignoring the fact the idea they are evaluating it against has been given literally decades to hone their offering and establish their role.
Or said another way, some people happily kill something before it has been given the chance to be something, because they’re basing it on what they think rather than translating the codes of what culture want.
Like Blockbusters, who passed on Netflix.
Or Nokia who dismissed the threat of the Apple iPhone.
Or VW who basically laughed at Tesla and their electric car.
And while I accept anyone who wants create the future – rather than have it created for them – has a lot of obstacles to jump, there is good news.
Because for those who have competitors who believe progress only comes through refining and optimizing what they already have, they have been given the gift of time to create something that redefines the rules.
Leapfrogs established behaviours.
Create a new set of standards and expectations.
Because the only way to counter money, heritage and distribution is to innovate past it, in the knowledge that you know you’ve found something interesting when everyone feels the impact of your pragmatism …
Like a lightbulb compared to an optimised candle.
___________________________________________________________________________
Before I go, to ensure I leave you in the Valentine’s Day spirit, here’s what love is in the modern age – as described by the wonderful Amelia – who DID give me permission to post this, so keep your insults to yourself.
Got to be honest, I’m glad I am married because if I wasn’t, I’d either end up single or in jail.
And yes John, I did say prosperity instead of posterity. Deal with it!
Now maybe it’s just me, but when I think of Jimmy Choo – I think of expensive women shoes, so when I think of Jimmy Choo as a male fragrance – I think of an expensive scent that smells of women’s feet.
I’m not sure this is the product expansion they went to do. Yet.
Another thing they shouldn’t have done is use the words, URBAN HERO.
No offense Jimmy Choo … but they are the least appropriate words that could ever be used in connection with your brand.
Urban?
URBAN????
You have spent years banging on about how the Jimmy Choo universe is one filled with galas and fashion shows.
Even the image shows the bloke [cut off at the ankles I note] sitting in front of some pristine, clinical ‘feature’.
Sorry, but you’re about as urban as Prince Andrew claiming he had Pizza Express in Woking.
And then there’s the word hero.
Hero?
Hero of what exactly?
Pretentious pricks?
Put them together and you get more evidence that many – but not all – who operate in the fashion world are more out of their head than any member of the Happy Mondays at their musical peak.
I hate everything about this ad.
EVERYTHING.
But then given they have made it about a man who smells of women’s feet and called him an urban hero, I don’t think I will have to worry about it being around for too long.
Full of festive cheer or headaches and disappointment.
Bet you’d swap it all again for today wouldn’t you.
Even when you like your job, coming back to work after the holidays is hard.
Getting up early.
Transport hell.
Going through the same conversations with everyone at work.
Thinking about what you were doing at that time just a few days before.
Why do we do it to ourselves? Oh I know … to pay the bills.
Well fortunately not only did I have a lovely time in Australia, I ended 2019 winning the inaugural R/GA London Planner Pie-Off competition with my [surprisingly] delicious Great British Bake Off Fry-Up Pie, so you’ll understand why I have high hopes for this year – with one of the biggest hopes being we might actually move into our new home after 6+ months of legal nightmares. We shall see.
But as we are back at work and no one wants to be here, I thought I’d start by writing a post that captures a sense of optimism for the new year.
It’s 2020.
TWENTY TWENTY!!!
That means we are post Blade Runner times … which has to be cool, doesn’t it?
No.
Don’t blame you … just typing that is enough to give me heart palpitations and it’s only Monday. So to calm us down and to get back to an issue I’m passionate about – especially in these client optimization obsessed times – here is why brand building is not a luxury, but a critical investment in building a sustainable future, especially in these highly competitive, increasingly turbulent times.
Or to quote a Chinese proverb, “a successful farmer plants their seeds and nurtures them in the knowledge that when it comes time to harvest, their crop is bigger and healthier. It takes time, but it is always worth it.”
Said another way … if you’re always trying to harvest, there won’t be anything left to grow.
Given the amount of brands who are openly admitting their focus on short-term sales has hurt their long term business, there may be hope for us all to get back to making work that builds rather than just takes.
I know you had got used to peace and quiet but bad luck.
Not only am I back, but I’m pissed off.
So recently I came across this company …
Enjoy unsold food …
Eat at a time that is inconvenient for you.
Pay for something that could have been sitting there all bloody day.
Seriously, what the hell?
OK, I can just about accept that there is an audience who might find this idea appealing, even though I would still prefer it if the food went to the homeless rather than the cheap … but to claim ‘they’re ending food wastage’?
Come on …
I get purpose is a big thing for brands these days.
I get there is an audience who want to deal with brands that give a shit.
We all like to think we do work others appreciate.
Work that others are compelled to tell us how it affected them.
Whether that’s a word of thanks.
Or a pat on the back.
Or a nod of appreciation.
Well, I recently saw a ‘review’ that has to be the best show of appreciation ever made.
How about that then?
As compliments go, that is outrageously good isn’t it.
Especially the bit that says, “Above and beyond anything that is yet to be written”.
That’s right, the reviewer is saying this book is better than anything that we will ever read for eternity.
ETERNITY.
Even Donald Trump doesn’t have confidence like that.
Now we all know reviews – or positive word-of-mouth – are very important today, so the question is, did the best review of a book ever made make me buy the book?
Nope … because the irony is when someone is too positive about something, it’s more likely to make you suspicious of their tastes than desperate to investigate their passions.
And that’s why I still love planning after so bloody long … because part of it is investigating the madness of humanity rather than selling the sensibleness of robots.
Even if clients would rather it was the other way around.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Agency Culture, Anniversary, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Brand, Brand Suicide, Comment, Communication Strategy, Confidence, Corporate Evil, Crap Campaigns In History, Crap Products In History, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Differentiation, Experience, Focus Groups, Food For Thought, Imagination, Innocence, Innovation, Insight, Marketing, Marketing Fail, Perspective, Planners, Planners Making A Complete Tit Of Themselves And Bless, Planning, Point Of View, Relevance, Resonance, Standards, Valentine's Day
One of the things that frustrates me is when companies talk loudly and proudly about their ambition but then follow it up with, “but we have to take baby steps to get there”.
The only thing that annoys me more is when agency folk say the work they’ve made isn’t great, but it does, “push the client a bit further than they were before”.
Look, I get it … there are many implications to what we do, but as much as this ‘softly, softly’ approach may sound like it makes sense, it often ends up being counter-productive.
Being slightly better than where you were means nothing if everyone around you is taking huge strides forward.
But of course, just blindly rushing ahead often ends up with people getting burnt … just like planning your progress while constantly looking through the rear-view mirror.
At some point, you have to take a leap.
A step-change from what is known and established to something that changes how you, your audience and your competitors look at what is possible.
For me, this is what innovation truly is about, not micro-improvements designed to keep a company or product up to date with what the category and their competitors are doing.
I get for the company involved, that may feel like a big step – and for them, maybe it is – but it’s not really moving them ahead, it’s just keeping them closer behind the people leading – and owning – change.
To make it worse, culture don’t really care how big a step it was for you, they care about what’s in it for them – so if it’s not done to move them forward, you’re basically putting the ‘no’ in innovation.
So how do you leap forward without falling?
Well, on one level, you can’t.
Innovation of any kind runs the risk of failure … that is inherent to anything that is trying to dramatically move forward.
However you can improve the odds of success.
I’m not just talking about having an open attitude towards failure … where you look at it as a way to learn and progress rather than to lose due to unnecessary risk.
I’m talking about the power of insight.
Insight gets a bad rap these days.
Some of it is because a lot of things people claim are insight are anything but.
However I have been noticing an increase in the number of people using the Henry Ford quote of, “If I asked people what they wanted, they’d say a faster horse” … to basically try and undermine the value of insight.
But as I’ve talked about for years, if someone couldn’t tell from that quote that people wanted to get from A-to-B faster than they currently are able to do, then they’re a fucking idiot.
Sure, there is a lot of work to do to get from ‘speed of mobility’ to the creation of the motor vehicle, but the foundation of what people are looking for is right there for all to see.
Or hear.
Contrary to what many say, I personally believe people do know what they want … they just don’t know how to express it.
It might be said in hidden ways.
Or through actions written off as stupidity.
Or via behaviours that push against tradition.
Or with associations that feel random or misunderstood.
Or simply the core of a subculture inventing their own approaches.
It could be anything.
Which is why I believe our job is to listen, explore and investigate … recognize the clues culture expresses through their secret codes so you can work with your creative friends to translate this into something that defines something new.
Creates step change not a degree of change.
Reveals a new possibility rather than remakes something old.
Basically resonates with the speed and direction of culture, rather than tries to be relevant to the present rules.
And while that may indeed still fail or just require a shitload of hard work to evolve the idea into something infectious or – eventually – inevitable, it means you are leading change rather than being shaped because of it, which has the potential to change your future in ways no one could ever imagine.
Of course, the problem is not just that many people claim to want pragmatism but insist on micro-progress based on established behaviours, rules and habits … there’s the issue that some people evaluate something that challenges convention by the standards of what is already in place – ignoring the fact the idea they are evaluating it against has been given literally decades to hone their offering and establish their role.
Or said another way, some people happily kill something before it has been given the chance to be something, because they’re basing it on what they think rather than translating the codes of what culture want.
Like Blockbusters, who passed on Netflix.
Or Nokia who dismissed the threat of the Apple iPhone.
Or VW who basically laughed at Tesla and their electric car.
And while I accept anyone who wants create the future – rather than have it created for them – has a lot of obstacles to jump, there is good news.
Because for those who have competitors who believe progress only comes through refining and optimizing what they already have, they have been given the gift of time to create something that redefines the rules.
Leapfrogs established behaviours.
Create a new set of standards and expectations.
Because the only way to counter money, heritage and distribution is to innovate past it, in the knowledge that you know you’ve found something interesting when everyone feels the impact of your pragmatism …
Like a lightbulb compared to an optimised candle.
___________________________________________________________________________
Before I go, to ensure I leave you in the Valentine’s Day spirit, here’s what love is in the modern age – as described by the wonderful Amelia – who DID give me permission to post this, so keep your insults to yourself.
Got to be honest, I’m glad I am married because if I wasn’t, I’d either end up single or in jail.
And yes John, I did say prosperity instead of posterity. Deal with it!