Filed under: Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, Context, Creativity, Culture, Insight, Marketing, Marketing Fail, Planners, Planning, Point Of View, Positioning
… but I love this chart.
Like all good conspiracy theories, there’s definitely enough to make you think it could be true. And it could be. Maybe not entirely, but definitely an influence … because the smartphone has become the modern day cigarette … where any moment of pause is a moment to scroll and I can’t think of any moment of pause like queuing up at a supermarket till.
I love this sort of thing.
Yes, I appreciate some are utter bollocks, but when they hit – they really hit.
Like the guy I met who started a TV shopping channel … who told me his goal was to ensure his channels were never anymore than 3 channels aways from sports, because he knew during breaks in the game, men would flick up or down 3 channels from where they were. He then ensured the products being sold during these times were sport/male relevant, which he said gave him a disproportionate opportunity to drive incremental sales.
Was he right?
He thought he was … and given he became a billionaire, there’s a good reason to believe him. Or at least not dismiss him out of hand.
Insight is getting a bad reputation these days. I get it … a lot of what is passed for insight, isn’t. Plus there’s rarely one insight that drives the whole business and it’s very rare to find something unique that others can’t claim. [Though there’s always the option to use them in a way that’s different to how others have interpreted them … which far too often, is literal translation]
But that doesn’t mean we should just dismiss the value of them … because when you do find them, the impact they can have on understanding or igniting a creative point of view is far more powerful than all the eco-systems, models and processes put together.
So here’s to the insight.
Rare, but worth pursuing or at the very least, remain open to them …
As long as you don’t fall for intellectual fiction or conveneient generalisation.
Filed under: Advertising, Apathy, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Brand, Crap Products In History, Creativity, Culture, Marketing, Marketing Fail, Tiffany
So recently I saw this from Tiffany …
It costs US$3500.
Now don’t get me wrong, I appreciate Tiffany are trying to shed the ‘Breakfast At Tiffany’s’ stereotype … and I’m all for brands exploring and experimenting … but this feels so wrong.
An attempt to be cool without understanding what is cool.
The equivalent of a Goldman Sachs CEO thinking they’re a DJ and because they’re rich, people just nod at them. Oh yes, we have that too don’t we. Ha.
The problem classic luxury brands have is its street culture driving the luxury category – especially in fashion – not the other way around and most definitely not in this sort of overt and contrived way.
Sure some classic luxury brands have managed to do this, but they’ve done it with more deliberate, committed and authentic acts and associations, not just some random drops in scale categories.
Will the Tiffany ball sell?
Of course and some will say that’s all that matters … but the real question is at what cost?
It all feels like Ducati a few years ago when they sold their name to everything. Including a USB drive.
Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate a fast USB transfer rate as much as the next sad bastard, but the only thing a Ducati USB said about you was you were a next level twat.
I remember interviewing Ducati owners to ask them their opinion and the people I talked to, hated it. As one rider said to me [and I’m paraphrasing as it was a long time ago] … while the brand marketing people probably thought this was a way for fans to express their loyalty, Ducati owners thought it was a way to cheapen the value of their investment.
Or said another way, winning over a new generation who only associate with the superficial while alienating those who appreciate the craft.
Now I get the Tiffany situation is slightly different – because they were getting seriously weighed down with their age – but we’re seeing this sort of thing everywhere at the moment.
Attempts at quick wins.
Superficial not substance.
Misunderstanding the difference between being needed and looking like the one in need.
Where brands – and based on something that happened this week, also people – think having what they call ‘an asset’ means they can do whatever they want with whoever they want.
It’s a new level of brand arrogance.
The era of Trump brand [mis]management.
Which means if can only be a matter of time before we see the Tiffany x Wish collab.
Oh … and before I forget, today is Sir Dr Brian May [CBE] birthday.
For a guitarist in one of the biggest selling rock bands of all time, he’s done alright hasn’t he.
Happy birthday Mr May, you’re a legend to me and countless others.
Filed under: Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, Colenso, Comment, Communication Strategy, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture
So our office is being renovated which means for the last few months, we’ve been crammed into a couple of rooms while a building site envelops us.
It also means we’ve been severely impacted by space for meeting rooms which is why recently, when we had a pitch, we felt it was only appropriate to let the prospective client know that we knew that we’re in the most uncreative space on the planet.
Hence the sign above.
And you know what, we won.
OK, the work was bloody awesome … but at a time where so many clients seems to choose agencies for reasons beyond the actual work, it’s nice to know this client not only recognised the quality of the ideas put in front of them, but actually rewarded it, because there was no other bloody reason to choose us. Unless they were a building company.
Filed under: Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Childhood, Context, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Marketing, Prejudice, Resonance, Respect
Recently I watched a fascinating documentary on the Pez community.
For those who don’t know what Pez is … it’s a confectionary that came with a dispenser that had a ‘flipping head’ to access them.
This ‘flipping head’ came in all manner of shapes and sizes, which is what made them collectable, despite them being cheap … cheerful … and absolutely everywhere.
Not only did the documentary, The Pez Outlaw – on Netflix, reveal there was a community of collectors … not only did it show how obsessive and passionate they were … but it highlighted how we, as humans, have an inherent need to feel ‘we matter’ while companies long to feel constantly in control.
I know that sounds like a massive overstatement for a documentary on Pez sweets, but I assure you it’s not and here’s the trailer to whet your appetite.
But that’s not actually why I’ve written this post.
It’s because I saw something in the doco that stood out for incredible reasons.
Not for the price it’s being offered at – which, I admit, is a lot – but for what it represents.
It’s this.
Yep, a Black Santa.
That may not seem much to write about, but remember it’s only in the last few years we’ve seen the first magazine dedicated to little boys and girls who are Black, Fenty launched a foundation that catered for African American skin [rather than expecting people to work with foundation that was designed for white skin] and a medical journal showed a Black fetus.
In other words, a sweet company was more progressive about diversity and inclusion than the vast majority of organisations. In fact, they probably still are.
Or should I say, the international division of Pez was because it appears the US subsidiary – who don’t come out of the documentary well at all – vetoed the variant.
It blows my mind we’re still at this stage of societal acceptance.
It blows my mind that some people still don’t want it to go further.
And while many would like to suggest this is just an American problem, they’re wrong.
It’s not that long ago that I heard families in Fulham complain that the Santa the school had brought in, was Black. I remember listening to them and not being able to compute what they were saying – especially as the school had a high proportion of Kids of Colour attending there.
Eventually I lost my shit and asked why they were being delusionally protective about a mythical figure … a mythical figure who supposedly wants all kids to feel happy and seen and yet, until the school did this, there was a high chance any kid who wasn’t white had felt Santa was never really for them and so they were always experiencing it from the outskirts rather than the middle.
Of course People of Colour know this because they face this bullshit every single day … which is why, for all the twists and turns of Pez, they knew how to make every one of their customers feel they were for them, not just about them.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Childhood, Colenso, Creativity, Culture, Emotion, Empathy, England, Friendship, Humanity, Jill, London, Love, Loyalty, Martin Weigel, Mercedes, New Zealand, Otis, Paul, Paula, Perspective, Planners, R/GA
So I’m back.
Did you miss me?
Nope?! Don’t blame you to be honest.
But the past 10 days have been very special for me.
There was a couple of very hard moments, but being able to be there for it, was also special.
Another reminder that while I don’t have many mates, the ones I have are top drawer.
And our presentation appears to have gone down well.
I’m so happy about that … mainly because I got to do it with Paula and Martin and I adored it.
That was a very special feeling. Something I hope we can do a hell of a lot more of, very soon.
It was also so good to catch up with so many old faces I’d not seen in years.
While I actively stay in touch with people, I’m not the most social of humans … so seeing people in the flesh [so to speak] was pretty wonderful.
As I’ve said before, COVID was good to me.
I absolutely loved staying at home with my family and having breakfast, lunch and dinner with them every single day.
Of course, I appreciate we were very privileged in our situation … but that still doesn’t take away the specialness of the times.
At least for me.
But seeing all these people I knew … and hanging out with the people I love … acted a bit like a reset to me.
A reminder of how I feed off the energy of others. That it makes me feel better and happier and hungrier to do good stuff.
To be honest, that was one of the reasons I wanted to come to Colenso.
Yes, part of it was because they are one of the great creative agencies of the times.
And yes, it meant I could finally repay Jill for her generosity in following me around the World by bringing her closer to her Mum after all these years.
But another part was that the idea of being surrounded by a talented team was so enticing.
Put simply, I love it.
I love building a gang.
I love creating our own strategy identify on how we see the world and create for it.
You see after I got made redundant from R/GA, … I was fortunate to be given work that immediately made up the salary I had lost. Better yet, I could do that without having to leave the house as the clients funding me were mainly based in China and America.
I was, as they say, sorted.
But working on your own, is hard.
Even more so when you live in a village surrounded by nothing.
And even more so when you live in a village during COVID so you can’t meet anyone even if you wanted to.
Yes, I get compared to the issues many people face, it’s nothing – but it doesn’t mean it’s not real. At least for me.
Of course I could work on my own if I needed to. The reality is I’ve always done side projects through my career, so there’s been lots of times where I’ve done just that. But moments of working on your own is very different to always working on your own … so when Colenso reached out – knowing I’ve always loved them as I almost joined them in 2016 – the idea of being a member of something was immediately appealing.
Trouble was I loved the projects I was doing … working directly with music, gaming and fashion royalty.
Basically, doing stuff I’d never done before that was incredibly exciting, challenging and creative with people who were incredibly exciting, creative and demanding.
So being a greedy bastard/only child, I asked if they’d be open to me doing both.
And they said yes.
There are many reasons for their decision – from knowing there would never be a conflict with the day-to-day work Colenso do through to knowing the timezones I’d be working in, would require my time at night, not during the day – but I am eternally grateful to them for being so open-minded and encouraging, because right now, I feel I have the best of many worlds.
To be honest that’s been a rare feeling for me.
My life seems to have either been great personally or professionally but rarely both at the same time.
And right now, I’m having that.
This is all coming across like I’m a smug-bastard and that’s the last thing I wanted to do.
It was more a reminder that if you want to do something, you should ask rather than assume and being with people – whether friends, family or colleagues – is a special thing.
Yes, I appreciate that should be obvious, but it wasn’t for me … and this past few weeks, similar to the year before … has reminded me of that.
Of course it highlights what an idiot I must be, but I’ll take that for the lesson it’s just given me.
Which is why I both understand and am confused by those who actively don’t want to work in an office again.
I get it from a balanced life or health perspective – especially if you’re spending a lot of time and money on commuting – but I don’t from the benefits of people and connections.
Of course there are a million reasons that can influence this, but while technology does allow us to be close when we’re not … physical space enables happy accidents and incidental conversations to happen which aren’t just sometimes great for the work, but also the soul.
And mine is full for now.
So thanks to all who helped remind me – and refilled me – over the past couple of weeks.
Let’s see how long it lasts before the grumpiness comes back.
Though, sadly, the long posts are definitely going to remain.