Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, Brand Suicide, Brands, Business, Comment, Context, Corporate Evil, Creativity, Culture, Differentiation, Distinction, Honesty, Innovation, Management, Marketing, Marketing Fail
I saw these 2 brilliant cats starring each other down when I was in Utrecht a few months ago.
Look at them.
Focused. Determined. Pissed off.
Trying desperately to intimidate each other while obviously being scared of each other.
Maybe not in terms of size … or beauty … but in terms of one being able to pull off something better, quicker or smarter than the other.
Trapped in an endless cycle of statue paralysis or trying to micro ‘one up’ the other.
The cat cold-war so to speak.
And what is funny is this is often how many brands behave.
Looking sideways rather than ahead.
So lost in what one other brand is doing – or could be doing – they ignore what’s going on around them.
What others are achieving without them.
Sometimes this is not simply driven by a competition, but greed.
A desire to make sure nothing is left on the table.
Hoovering up every scrap.
Believing they are in control and in power so nothing can challenge or take them.
So lost in their self-belief that they fail to see they’re being left behind.
Blinkered by ego.
We saw it with Nokia when Apple launched the iPhone.
We saw it with Listerine when Wrigley’s positioned chewing gum as dental care.
We saw it with Kodak when they chose to protect their photo processing profits rather than launch their digital camera.
We have seen it over and over again.
And while sometimes, having a focused enemy can push you to greater heights than you would be able to achieve on your own … driving you to make things better, rather than to look for things never done before [because often, those things are stupid or self-indulgent] like most things in life, the key is knowing when this approach starts to be counter productive.
When the focus is pulling you back than pushing you forward.
Blinkering your view rather than opening your perspective.
Losing your edge rather than fuelling your ambition.
But sadly, too many brands act like those two cats in Utrecht.
Unable to look away but without the looks to make others still want to come to them.
Which is why as much as there’s a lot to be said for exploiting and optimising the failings and learnings of your numero uno foe, there’s also a lot to be said for remembering to keep looking up and out from your blinkered bubble.
Or said another way …
When you ensure you’re focused on where culture is heading, you don’t get lost following where your competition is staying.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Australia, Authenticity, Culture, Food, Friendship, Sydney
Last month I found myself in Sydney.
While I have spent a lot of time recently in Australia, it has been a while since I was in that city.
It felt a bit weird.
Part of that is because of the history I have with the place.
I lived there for almost 10 years.
My wife and her family are from there.
We still have a home there.
Overall, I enjoyed my time there – but I always felt I would have been happier in Melbourne.
I always found that city a bit more real. A bit less showy.
More NYC than LA.
But as I was walking to have dinner with a friend who has just moved to Australia from Amsterdam, I passed this place …
Harry’s is an institution in Sydney.
A food stall that is – or was – open 24/7.
A place that is covered in photos of all the World Famous people who have visited and eaten there.
Elton John. Pamela Anderson. Colonel bloody Saunders.
You name them, they’ve all gone on a trip to Wooloomooloo wharf at some ungodly time of the day or night to chomp down on one of their basic delicacies.
The entire menu of Harry’s consists of pies, mash, peas, gravy and hot dogs with many packaged up using different combinations of those ingredients and given ‘exotic’ names.
Not only that, they offered mint sauce as a condiment for people to use as much as they liked and they never, ever scrimped on the onions in a hot dog … which meant that for me, Harry’s was – or should I say ‘is’ – perfect in every way.
Cheap as chips. Tasty as fuck.
Anyway, when I lived in Sydney, there were 2 scenarios where I would find myself there.
1. When I had visitors in town.
2. New Years Day … around 4am.
For 10 years, I made those pilgrimages to gluttony and never once did I regret it.
Oh the people I saw there.
The sights I witnessed.
The stories I heard and wrote.
I was early for meeting my friend so I just stared at the place. Relived the memories. And I have to tell you, I literally had to fight with myself not to buy ‘a Tiger’ pie.
I really wanted to … but the impending dinner with my friend, my new-found healthiness and their ‘pay by phone’ feature being down conspired to stop me.
OK, it was the pay by phone feature being down that was the real issue.
And while I am sure some stuff has changed – it wasn’t open 24/7 for a start [though now I’m thinking that may never have been the case except maybe weekends] it was lovely to see the old place. Hell, it even made me feel good about the city again.
You see while people love to talk about Sydney for its beauty – which is fair, as it is gorgeous – I always loved it for its quirky character.
The corners.
The places hidden in the shadows.
The slightly questionable rather than glam.
And while so much of it all has now become gentrified, I do love it when I find places that are proud about not changing. Seems crazy, but in a world that always wants to run ahead, there’s something comforting about a pie shop who is stubbornly staying true to who they are.
Almost as comforting as the pies they feed you.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, Comment, Communication Strategy, Content, Context, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Effectiveness, Marketing, Marketing Fail, New Zealand, Nike
There’s been a lot written and said about brand assets over the years.
A lot of claims and over-promises.
Hell, careers have been made from being a cheerleader of it … even though it has also been responsible for a whole lot of terrible advertising.
Contrived, complicit and confused advertising.
That doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a value – or a role – but as I wrote here, the thing rarely talked about is that brand assets don’t happen by themselves. You can’t buy them off the shelf or make them happen by simply repeating their use ad-nauseum.
No, the only way to turn an attribute into an asset is through creativity.
It’s creativity that gives it meaning.
It’s creativity that gives it a purpose and role.
It’s creativity that imbues it with financial value.
I appreciate that might not fit the narrative of certain people, but that’s the reality of the situation … or it is if you want to do it properly. Unfortunately, it appears more and more people don’t. Preferring to outsource their responsibility – which, let’s not forget, they are paid to do – to generalistic and simplistic solutions that are focused on recognition, not value.
Nothing brought this home more than this ad I saw for a new Nike store in Auckland.
Look at this …
What the fuck? Seriously, what the fuck is that?
While they have used a number of NIKE’s ‘brand assets’ – namely the font and swoosh – it’s pretty obvious whoever put this together has no understanding or appreciation of what they represent or how to use them.
Mind you, it also seems they also have no understanding or appreciation of sport, art direction or design.
It’s like they’ve just taken a few pieces and shoved them wherever they like – like a terrible jigsaw puzzle that doesn’t show the picture they need to create.
Which highlights another thing rarely talked about brand assets …
Just because you’ve earned them, doesn’t mean you can’t lose them.
Treat them with distain and you’ll find all that hard work will be for nothing.
Moving from a brand asset to an attribute to a warning sign to stay the fuck away.
Brand assets are made and built over time.
They need nurturing, crafting and supporting.
They’re not something that once earned, can be used any way you choose.
It’s why the people who use them need to understand them.
What they represent.
The context they play in.
Their creative meaning and expression.
How to actually fucking use them in the right way.
Without any of that you don’t just fail to unlock their inherent value and power, you’re killing their credibility and the brand they’re tied to.
That doesn’t mean you can evolve them. Or expand them. Or play with them in different ways. Nike – of all brands – is very good at doing that. But that only happens because generally they’re embraced by people who have a deep understanding of what they stand for and represent … rather than random ‘colours and logos’ that they treat as a range of stickers they believe they can put wherever they want and whenever they choose.
It’s why I get so frustrated with how certain people talk about them. Acting they’re like ‘parts’ that can be replaced, exchanged, adapted or used however someone chooses … which ultimately demonstrates many of the people who talk like this don’t actually understand what a brand is, what it takes to build one or the difference between post-rationalising and creating.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Agency Culture, Apathy, Attitude & Aptitude, Collaboration, Colleagues, Communication Strategy, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture
My friend James sent me this pic a while back.
To say I feel seen is an understatement.
While I am a big believer in collaboration, the reality is it only works when you’re working with people who share the same level of experience, exposure and standards.
Or put more specifically, share HIGH levels of experience, exposure and standards.
That doesn’t mean they all have to come from the same discipline … or see the same outcome … but it does means they’re working up to the greatest opportunity rather than down to the lowest common denominator.
But that happens less and less.
One of the big problems is because companies think all their ‘partners’ are equal.
I get it, we all like to think we’re dealing with ‘the best of the best’ … but that’s sadly, rarely the case. Procurement … heritage … global alliances all contribute to who gets to be part of the ‘network’ and so the range of quality and experience in these situations is often vast.
That doesn’t mean they won’t offer something, but it does mean their frames-of-reference will be much smaller than everyone else and when this happens, they tend to pull everyone back down to their level rather than push everyone further up.
Or it gets even worse.
The people with the highest levels of experience [proper experience, not ego or delusion] get accused of trying to ‘own’ the situation when all they’re trying to do is create the best possible outcome from the situation.
The reality is experience should be seen and respected as a competitive advantage. Whether we like it or not, people who play at the highest level, tend to play at a higher level. It’s why I love the comment from one of the greatest football managers of all time when he said, ‘learn from winners, not players‘.
Put simply, winners take us to places we didn’t even know, whereas players only can go where they know.
And while the concept of ‘team’ is everyone progresses together, it still needs someone to lead them to the promised land which is why I think the biggest reason collaboration ends up underwhelming is not because there’s a lack of desire to work with others, but because there’s a lack of reality of who needs to be there and what collaboration needs to truly work.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Asia, Attitude & Aptitude, China, Comment, Context, Culture
A few weeks ago, I had the most bonkers week of my life.
MY. ENTIRE. LIFE.
Of course, it involved China – where bonkers is a beautiful way of life – but it was at a level I could never imagine, let alone imagine I’d ever get to experience.
But it happened and it is something I will treasure and remember for the rest of my days.
But this post is not actually about any of that, it’s about this …
And this ….
I know … I know … it’s a photo of a man cutting a hedge and an empty road which sounds especially boring given this post started with ‘the most bonkers week of my life’.
But the thing is, of all the bonkers stuff that happened [taster: dinner-for-2 with a global superstar in LA, dinner with editors of GQ and Vogue China, asked to bring another global superstar to China, conversations with the head designers of some of the hottest street culture and luxury brands on the planet] those were 2 of the moments that made the biggest impression on me.
It was on my first morning in Beijing.
I woke up very early because of the time zone change.
And because I’m on a health kick, I got up to go out for a walk.
It was light as it’s summer there and as I left the hotel, I saw the guy cutting the hedge and it kind of stopped me in my tracks.
I know that sounds dramatic and over-the-top but it is true …
Part of it was because it triggered Sunday morning memories, where I would hear Dad – or one of the neighbours – cutting the grass. A sonic symbol of family, safety and happiness. A guarantee that whatever happened later in the day, it was starting in a good way.
But it was more than that …
It was the joy of seeing a city literally prepare itself for the day ahead.
And not just any city, but one that is crazy in terms of scale and volume.
Bustling with kinetic energy and possibility.
There was something exciting and reassuring seeing the city actively create the conditions for people to experience and live up to.
All bathed in the warm golden glow of a summer sun, rising to bake us all in its intense heat within an hour or two.
And yet it would be so easy to do none of it.
Let’s be honest, each day tens – if not hundreds – of thousands of people pass through this area and I’m pretty sure few ever notice it.
And yet they do it.
Every day.
OK, so the area I was in was ‘posh’ – full of luxury brands and retailers – so there is an ‘image’ to maintain, but it felt a real gift to be there at that moment.
To experience pride in a job well done and calm before the story.
To welcome the day rather than fear it.
To see the people who make it possible rather than the people who take it for granted.
And while I appreciate you may be fearing for my sanity at this point … the thing is, for a country that cops so much shit for what it ‘does wrong’ from people/media/politicians who often have never even been to the country, they understand the importance of the environment we live and work in far more than many of the places that like to present themselves as having all their shit together.
I know China has a lot wrong with it.
So does every other nation.
But while there’s a lot they can – and need – to do a lot better in, there’s some things, they do miles better than the so called ‘first world nations’.
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Tomorrow we have the day off to celebrate Matariki.
It’s a very important day in New Zealand and if you want to know why, click here.
See you Monday.