Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Comment, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Insight, Perspective, Planners, Planners Making A Complete Tit Of Themselves And Bless, Planning, Relevance, Resonance
I know ‘insights’ aren’t in vogue these days – but I am still a massive believer in them.
Sure, I don’t think there’s ever a ‘one insight fits all’ solution and I appreciate that what many people/companies pass as an insight is anything but … however to dismiss them out of hand seems idiotic, especially when you see what people are using in their place.
Observations.
Generalisations.
Global human truths.
Of course, there are other ways you can understand the issues and viewpoints society has towards issues and categories [which I am also a massive fan of] but the power of insights is that it gives you understanding WHY people do things not just WHAT they do and used correctly, can open up opportunities and possibilities that would otherwise never see the light of day.
I say this because I recently saw something that made me smile for the sheer truth of it …
I mean, for something we all do, it is amazing how we all have a relationship with our own toilet seats. Of course it has a lot to do with it being located in an environment that is ours – one we only share with those we know and/or are related to – but the ‘pull’ of doing our business on our own seat is something many will relate to.
But what I particularly like in that definition is the word ‘trust’.
The idea our bums have to trust ‘the seat’ is fascinating to me …
Raising all manner of issues from hygiene to history to relationships and god knows what else.
That’s not just insightful, it ignites a whole lot of ideas that could work for all manner of brands and products … an insight that elevates how you see what you can be, not just what you do. A way to connect and engage with people rather than just be about them.
Oh, I know what some people would say about this:
“But if this could be used for a range of products, it means it’s not unique to a particular brand … plus it’s hardly positive, so it’s unappealing for use”.
And to them, I’d say they don’t understand creativity … because putting aside the fact this isn’t ‘unappealing’, even if it was it wouldn’t mean the work would be, because insights are there to allow the work to take lateral leaps not be literal expressions of it.
But that’s where we are these days.
Which is why companies want insights that are directly linked to their specific brand/product rather than the audiences and contexts they deal in … even though [1] rarely do they actually exist and [2] if they do, they’re boring or lacking any motivational appeal.
As I’ve said many times, my problem with the industry is we’re more focused on the process than what the process is meant to serve. Obsessed with saying what we want people to think is important than saying what people find important. Obsessed with pleasing our bosses than our audiences.
Which is why one of the most important lessons all agencies and client should embrace is something Mr Martin Weigel said about 10,000 years ago …
“You can be relevant as hell and still be boring as fuck.”
Don’t blame insights. Blame what people think is an insight.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Comment, Complicity, Confidence, Context, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Differentiation, Distinction, Effectiveness, Innovation, Insight, Linkedin, Marketing, Marketing Fail, Mediocrity, Planners, Planners Making A Complete Tit Of Themselves And Bless, Planning, Relevance, Standards, Strategy, Trust, Wieden+Kennedy
There is a lot of talk about a new term in marketing, called ‘UBR’.
UBR stands for Universal Buying Reason and there’s a lot of people seemingly wetting their pants over it. In essence, UBR is when a brand owns a position within a category that arguably, anyone within that category could have had, but they were first or the most consistent or invested in making it their or were simply, the biggest spenders behind it.
If you’re thinking this is not exactly new, you’d be right … but many people seem to be more obsessed with being associated with new terminologies or methodologies than actually making stuff that pushes brands and business to new places.
That’s why UBR feels like the next terminology trope in a long line of terminology tropes …
Brand Assets.
Brand Eco-Systems.
Global Human Truths.
Overly simplicitic labels that promote conformity under the guise of effectiveness or efficiency.
[And yes, I know Dan Wieden used to talk about Global Human Truths … and as I told him, he was wrong. Because while all Mum’s may love their kids, a Mum in Wuhan shows it in very different ways than a Mum in Washington, and to ignore that nuance is to ignore truth for convenience and complicity. And as anyone worth their salt will tell you, often it’s the nuance that is the difference between doing things for people or about them]
Of course, like all trope trends, there’s some value in what is being said about UBR – after all, its hardly a new concept given countless brands and categories have used this approach for literally decades, from alcohol to jewellery.
But what some of the people pushing UBR are seemingly forgetting – or not understanding – is that even at the most functional level of category marketing, it requires depth and consideration to fully release its potential … and frankly the lack of discussion about that highlights the industries obsession with providing clients with easy answers/solutions rather than encouraging/pushing/provoking them to appreciate the rewards [and shareholder benefit, let alone expectation] of putting in the hard work to identify how they can consistently build their value, role and position.
What scares me most is that some of the people ‘fluffing UBR’ – but thankfully not all – are in jobs where they’re paid to help clients with their business … and yet they talk in incredibly generalistic and simplistic terms about something that has context and complexity.
Where the hell is their objectivity?
Where is the understanding?
Where is the nuance?
It all feels like a desperate play to be seen as an industry thought leader, where the goal is to highjack whatever seems to be getting industry traction and then aligning themselves to it.
What’s worse is we’ve seen how this approach works as more and more people value and aspire speed and status over substance and experience … and I don’t really care that makes me sound old, because it actually has nothing to do with age, and everything to do with valuing what our industry can do when we do it with craft, understanding and ambition.
What sums it all up [for me] is how one of the brands the UBR advocates bang on about is Tesco’s.
I get why, because on face value, Tesco’s is a supermarket like every other supermarket.
But …
All it takes is a quick look at Tesco’s history – from their foundation in 1919 through to the many acts and actions they’ve embraced and led over 100 years, from the ‘computers for schools’ program to challenging EU law to give their customers access to products at the same price as their European cousins and a million things in-between – and they’d see the ‘Every Little Helps’ position is not something ‘anyone’ could say, but something far more specific to them specifically … something they’ve continually reinforced and invested in through retail, customer and cultural innovation as opposed to just the repetition of a category trope.
It’s yet another example of people needing to know their history before they can claim they’re creators of it.
Or – said another way – why clients and the industry at large, need to get back to valuing those who have DONE and DO shit, rather than just talk it … regardless how popular or well-meaning they may be.
[OK, ‘talking shit’ is harsh, but it sounded good in that sentence, so forgive me]
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for pushing knowledge and possibilities, I’m just not for people putting lipstick on a dead sheep and calling it Ms World.
And don’t get me started on how many of these people are ultimately downplaying someone else’s creative excellence to make it all about them.
Wow, that’s like a rant from 2010. Felt good. Thanks industry trope for waking me up.
Filed under: Comment
A month ago I was in Utrecht in Holland.
While my hotel room was a bit weird [it had a bath on a mezzanine floor that was above my bed … but the actual bathroom was on a separate floor below the bedroom] there was one thing I liked.
This.
To give you more information on what it was about about, read this.
I really like this.
Simple, easy, persuasive.
A way to make a difference without it requiring you to make much of a difference.
It’s similar to the hotel I stayed in San Fran … where they identifed little ways to innovate services that make a positive impression for the guest, the planet and for others in need.
From this idea of brilliance …
To this shower ‘egg timer’ to reduce water usage.
What I particularly like about their approach is that they’re seemingly adopting the attitude of trying stuff rather than waiting to ‘perfect’ stuff.
That doesn’t mean that there’s no thought going into what they do, more the realisation its better to start with something and evolve it over time than wait till you can perfect something.
[Which, let’s be honest, often goes nowhere as it ends up being caught up in the endless churn of organisational politics … which is why the Asian model of cumulative innovation is far more productive than the Western approach of delusional perfectionism]
Not that long ago, there was talk about Airbnb destroying the hotel business, but hotels have upped their game to fight back … helped by Airbnb charging so many ‘fees’ that in many cases, a hotel ends up being more cost effective and/or less hassle.
Which is a reminder that to be a true ‘transformational businesses’ there’s a couple of things you have to be able to do.
One. Be able to make a profit rather than just a big valuation.
Two. Resist the urge to become the beast you were meant to slay.
Filed under: Comment
We live in a place called Birkenhead in Auckland, NZ … not to mistaken for place in Liverpool with the same name.
We had no idea what it was like when we bought our house on an online auction one Sunday morning in December 2020.
At 2am.
In England.
Hell, we didn’t really have an idea what the house was like beyond some photos and a video from the real estate agent.
No mortgage organised.
No building check done.
No nothing of nothing.
But we absolutely loved how it looked and that was enough for us to take the plunge.
And while that might sound stupid – and probably was – it was peak-COVID, so getting anyone to see anything was almost impossible and we had moved countries enough times to know we could deal with pretty much any situation. Plus we’d done a similar thing before in Australia – which had turned out well – and acknowledged that given we were in the very privileged position of being able to buy rather than rent, if it fucked up, it would all be on us.
Which also sounds stupid and probably was.
But, as we hoped, it all worked out and we love our house more than any other place we’ve lived – and that’s saying something as we’ve been privileged and fortunate enough to live in a lot of lovely places we could call home.
Anyway, Birkenhead is on the North Shore of Auckland and when we told people in NZ where we’d bought, we were met with some shocked faces.
And a few judgemental comments.
Not in a nasty way, more a confused way …
Part of this is because the general attitude among some Aucklanders is if you live in the North Shore [which means going over a bridge] you’re basically living in another country. Hell, even Jill’s sat nav in the car announces we’re ‘approaching the border’ when we go over the bridge.
The other part is they thought we would want to live in a ‘posh area’ … which says more about their judgement and prejudice, than us.
Oh we heard it all …
“But the traffic is terrible”
“What will you do when the bridge closes in high winds?”
“You’ll regret it when you see how hard the bridge is to get onto at peak times”
And while some of those things are true, there’s 3 key points to note.
1. We’d already bought the house so what the fuck could we do about it.
2. The bridge has only closed 3 times since moving here. Mostly late at night.
3. The traffic is bad all over Auckland. [And so are the drivers, ha]
What was interesting – as has been wherever we’ve lived – is how many people focus on what they perceive as the inconvenience rather than the joyful bits. It’s similar to those people who try to talk others out of moving overseas by reiterating what they’ll miss, rather than what they’ll gain. Made even more ridiculous when they’ve never even lived overseas. They’re the same folks who get upset when someone not from there, questions some of the things being done. Not to be rude. Not to try and make their new place like their old place. Just because they see something that could make a big difference to others. And rather than listen to the perspective of someone with fresh eyes, they choose to attack … sensitive and fragile to a situation they know they are complicit in, but also don’t want to give up as it’s personally profitable.
I swear half of the planets problems is it’s full of big talking, small minded individuals. Daily Mail readers basically … though in my experience, it tends to be greater in people who have wealth/influence in their field and live in a nation that was either once powerful/influential and has lost their power/reputation or are located far from centres of political/financial/culture influence and are desperate for acceptance.
I generalise of course – but for someone who has lived in a lot of countries, they are the nations where I’ve experienced it most [hence NZ is not immune from these pricks, despite being a very special place] which is why I am reminded of something a friend of mine – who works for the UN – once said, which was ‘watch out for countries who always refer to the great things they’ve done, rarely the things they’re doing now’.
But I digress …
Within weeks of moving into Birkenhead, we found a place with a real community.
By that, I mean a place where everyone looks out for everyone.
The young.
The local shop owners.
The overall wellbeing of the people and the environment within it.
We’ve experienced this before – most notably Manhattan Beach in LA – but that felt more about exclusivity rather the inclusivity of Birkenhead.
Reinforced by the fact Manhattan Beach is very ‘rich white’ whereas Birkenhead is far more diverse in almost every way.
Anyway, recently I spotted something that – for me – reinforces the sense of togetherness Birkenhead has.
Not in a Pleasantville/Truman Show kind of fucked-up way, but terms of wanting to convey a spirit that is welcoming for all.
It was this …
Yep, painted electricity boxes.
I know … I know … it’s not a big thing, but for me, that’s the thing.
Someone chose to do this.
Someone decided to make them have a theme.
Someone wanted to do make something that enhanced the streets we live in.
I have no idea who is behind it.
I have no idea if more communities have this sort of thing.
The last place I saw anything like this was in Manhattan Beach where we saw things like this on the side of the kerb:
I don’t know who did that either … but I do know it was quite a revelation when I saw it.
And while communities are so much more than simply painting infrastructure, I do think it’s about having an attitude of welcoming things into the community rather than keeping them out. Or taking them for granted … whether that’s people, shops or electricity boxes.
It may be why we see more of a community spirit in areas that lack the luxury of the truly wealthy places.
Maybe that is a subjective view … but I know when I was a kid, collecting money for charity, it was always the more humble places that donated more than the rich.
A lot more.
Made even more noticeable by the fact you knew they could afford it the least.
So whether I am right in my thinking or going off on a tangent that even a protractor can’t measure, I just want to say thank you to the people of Birkenhead, especially the people who painted all those electricity boxes.
Because while we won’t be here – or NZ – forever, I’ll remember what this community has done for me and my family for a lifetime.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Comment, Creativity, Culture, Insight
A few years ago, the APG asked me to do a presentation about how to get to interesting work and I summed it up by saying, ‘live an interesting life’.
While I appreciate that is a relatively superficial answer, there’s truth in it.
Put simply, what you find interesting is directly related to the experiences you have and the people you meet. The more experiences – and people – you have, the more interesting the possibilities.
But when I look around, it can feel like a cultural echo chamber.
Everyone reading the same things. Following the same people. Commenting on the same issues.
Sometimes I wonder if people even look at life outside of work. Hell, there were people over the festive season who used social media to only talk about ‘ad issues’.
WHAT THE FUCK?
Look, I get strategy means everything can have some sort of professional value … but there’s a big difference between looking at life with ‘professional blinkers’ and just doing shit for the sheer curiosity and interest of it.
It’s why I think there’s huge value in the messy stuff.
The weird … the strange … the ‘makes no sense’ …
That’s where you find the new and the different.
That’s where you gain understanding rather than answers.
That’s where you learn about people not ‘consumers’.
Of course it’s rare these days.
Now everyone is looking for short-cuts.
From online surveys to AI driven chat bots.
Optimise … maximise … squeeze every inch of efficiency out of what you’re doing.
And while some of that has value, it’s no where near as good as running with reality.
It’s why Wieden – despite being all about the work – has always been so good at strategy.
Because they celebrate those who are more than just professionally curious, but culturally.
The people who have a hunger and desire to get ‘in it’.
To get messy and lost in the opinions, behaviours, actions, viewpoints and nuance of the communities and subcultures they’re exploring and working with. Which is why they value being among them as much as reading every possible book about them.
A commitment to authenticity over advertising.
A commitment to adding to culture not just stealing from it.
A commitment to finding the interesting rather than repeating the tropes.
A commitment to fucking around and finding out rather than playing where you’ve always been.
Sure it takes more work. Sure it takes more time. Sure it probably adds more initial cost.
But putting aside the fact this helps get to better work – that plays to where the culture/subculture is heading rather than where it currently is, or worse, was – there’s the simple fact of doing things right. Because, as my Dad once said to me, if you’re not interested in doing that, then what’s the fucking point of doing it at all?