Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Agency Culture, Apathy, Attitude & Aptitude, Comment, Communication Strategy, Confidence, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Standards
I’m seeing a lot of work these days that feels like it’s been designed to band-aid a problem rather than actually solve the problem.
Or said another way … does what the client wants not what is needed.
And while I appreciate why that may be seen as an easy win, it’s the opposite.
Because doing stuff clients want, means little if it bores the hell out the audience.
Where they ignore it, overlook it, don’t believe it, makes them feel the only thing the brand cares about is the audience’s cash.
And I know some will say I’m being unrealistic … naive … ignoring the realities of business … but my response to that would be that my whole career has been working with brands who believe in continually earning their audience rather than just expecting it.
And by earning it, I mean investing in it.
Not doing good enough, but respecting who they’re doing it for.
Sweating the details. Knowing how their audience live and think, not just how they use or choose their product. Pushing standards rather than mirroring category best practice. Doing things for the audience rather than just about them. Understanding the context they’re playing in, not blindly thinking they’re the most important thing. And proving they’re worth caring about, not just thinking they’re enough.
And while that might sound like a lot of effort, money and time … it’s the difference between being a brand that creates, defines and drives culture rather than is chasing it.
Like everyone else.
Which is why people who see this about creative indulgence are missing the point.
Because it’s not about creativity, it’s how creativity can drive the level of your ambition.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Age, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Birthday, Comment, Communication Strategy, Creativity
I cannot believe it is the end of June.
How did that happen so fast?
The problem with the year going so quickly is that so is my mortality.
When you’re in your thirties or forties … hearing someone has died at 73 seems centuries away, but when you’ve just turned 52, it seems like a week.
I’ve written how much turning 50 has affected me before.
From looking wistfully at photos of people who look a bit like my son, albeit much older … through to how much I love my wife … to finally appreciating a good garden … to talking about my career.
The reality is, if you’re still in adland at my age – or probably any industry – you definitely feel you’re approaching the end of your journey.
And you are …
That doesn’t mean you don’t have a shit-ton to offer or that you’re not doing exciting work … the reality is the industry has always valued ‘new’ over experience – or even creativity for that matter – so it’s just how it goes.
However from a pure ego perspective, it can still sting a little … especially when many of the people getting the acclaim have not done anything of note, other than play the self-publicity game very, very well.
Repeatedly shouting their reframed arguments, judgement on others work or modern takes on old behaviours and then – just as you’re about to turn into a bitter bastard – you realise that’s probably what the previous generation of adfolk thought about you and your mouth – and suddenly things look very different.
And as much as that revelation is a metaphorical kick in the face brings, it also is pretty liberating.
Because while it’s nice to be noticed – and there’s some people out there doing things that truly deserve to be because they’re trying to take the possibilities of creativity to new places, from POCC to Ivy Huang at Tencent to Mr Hoon Kim at Gentle Monster [and I know I’m biased given he’s a client of mine] to the usual suspects like Nils etc to name but a few – the reality is not being defined by your job or your title or your employer is far better for your health, happiness and creativity … and yet that is the opposite of what the industry promotes.
Your value is based on your title.
Your talent is linked to who you work for.
Your reputation is decided by how well known you are rather than what you’ve done.
I get it. I felt that way for a time. But it’s also a bit insane.
I cannot tell you how differently people listened to what I said when I was at Wieden than when I was at Cynic, despite that on many occasions, I was saying EXACTLY the same thing. It happens now with Metallica. People who wouldn’t give me the time of day before suddenly think what I spout has value because some heavy metal musicians treat me as their cat litter tray. But the reality is success is as much down to good fortune as it is talent – even though talent is still very important – so to play to what you think someone wants you to be rather than who you actually are only ends up undermining you.
You may not realise that till later, but at one point you’ll look in the mirror and know.
Let’s be honest, turning 52 is pretty pants.
Even more so when you find a photo of yourself at 22.
Yep, that’s really me … from my passport photo.
Hair, youth and serial killer stare.
But at 52 you ache.
You look older than god.
And you’re made to feel the industry you’ve pretty much given your working life to, is trying to leave you behind purely based on your age.
And despite me having so much fun and doing so much exciting stuff with bands, I still adore adland.
I may not like where it is going or what it now values, but it’s given – and continues to give me – so much and I’ll always be grateful for that.
And while my time in the industry is different to what it once was, it still gives me so much … with the latest gift being the realisation their issue with older people is their problem not mine.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, Awards, Communication Strategy, Creativity, Culture, Effectiveness, Marketing, Marketing Fail, New Zealand
Free newspapers.
Yes, they’re free.
Yes, they’re made of paper.
But news?
Most of the time I take them from the letterbox straight to the bin. And then I saw this …
A local, free newspaper that called itself ‘a rag’.
And do you know what I did?
I went and got it and then read it cover to cover.
15 years ago I talked about ‘unplanning’ … which is basically, the power of truth.
[Though in 2006, I also wrote a post about the commercial value of a single banana at Starbucks, so maybe the idea of ‘product loneliness’ had something to do with me picking up a copy of the paper. And you thought my posts were bad now, hahahahaha]
It was my reaction to an industry drowning under the weight of it’s own bullshit terms, techniques and approaches. Well you know what, it’s got worse.
So while calling a local newspaper a ‘rag’ is hardly a strategy … it makes more sense than so many of the strategy submissions I judged around the World over the last few years.
Oh my god the claims.
An item of food that reignited a culture.
A sales promotion that brought families together.
An alcohol company that inspires artistic diversity.
No … those examples are not a joke, they were real submissions … so with that in mind, a local, free newspaper that made a bloke pick up a copy, read it cover-to-cover then blog about it because they labelled themselves ‘a rag’, should be considered a Grand Prix winner.
Or in submission speak:
How a small plucky local, free newspaper become the most influential entertainment channel for international tourists.
Transformation. Disruption. Purpose. Blah, blah, fucking blah.
OK, I think I need to go and have a lie down … and lucky for you, it is going to last 4 days as I’m off to Melbourne so there’s no post till Wednesday.
You’re welcome.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Distinction, Emotion, Empathy, Imagination, Insight, Marketing, Planning, Wieden+Kennedy
A long time ago, I met a prospective client who absolutely loved Wieden.
They were besotted with them.
I was at W+K at the time and asked them what it was that they liked about us – expecting them to talk about NIKE or some other global work.
Instead they said this:
“Any agency that can make me care about a brand of milk is genius”.
The ad they were talking about was this:
Now while that was nice to hear, there were 2 things that led to them that point of view.
1. They worked in a different market and category to milk, so the fact they saw this, reinforced the stretch of great creativity.
2. They looked for the brand of milk in their local supermarket … which reflected the stickability of great creativity.
Of course, what they were really saying was the secret to great creativity … and that is it changes how you look at the world.
I say this because I recently saw a great example of it.
It may not have the charm of If Cats Had Thumbs.
And it certainly doesn’t have the budget.
But it’s up there with making you stop, think and reassess.
Isn’t that great?
A simple statement that has changed what I think of door handles and the importance of door handles.
Or said another way, it’s made me care – possibly for the first time in my life – about something I use every day of my life, without fail.
When you consider the ad is simply a photo of a bloody door handle, you not only realise how brilliant the idea of equating it to a ‘good’ handshake is, you realise how shit so much advertising must be when they’ve got tens of millions to spend and they still can’t make something you remember.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, Brand, Business, Comment, Context, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Distinction, Emotion, Empathy, Fashion, Honesty, Management, Marketing, Marketing Fail, Perspective, Relevance, Resonance
So the cosmetic empire, Revlon, has gone bankrupt.
It’s a brand I remember from my youth with their big ads featuring big stars selling big statements.
But like Woolworths of old [how’s that for a linkage] they thought that was enough.
They thought they were enough.
But tastes change.
Evolve.
Hell, in just the past few years we’ve seen all manner of movements in the cosmetics space … from the nude look to the pastel and playful, both leveraged by brands like Maybelline and Glossier.
And then there’s Fenty …
Who came in and offered a foundation that had varieties specifically for African American skin as well as white – which shouldn’t be a surprise until you realise that until then, all major cosmetic companies excluded African American skin and expected them to use a foundation designed for white customers.
Seriously, what the fuck.
Of course, the success of Fenty saw many of the big players try to follow suit … but when actively you’ve ignored millions for 60+ years, you’re not going to convince them you suddenly care.
Which comes back to Revlon.
Who forgot the way you build a brand is not by communicating yourself over and over again, but doing things that earn loyalty.
Or at least prove you are working for it.
So many companies forget that. Either spending millions on what they want to say or ‘innovating’ with things that are what they want people to care about, rather than the things people care about.
It’s amazing how many brands fall for this.
But then, ego has that effect on people.
Causing them to place boundaries and blinkers around the comments that scream what people want you to do better at. What they want you to change.
But instead, companies choose to maximise short-term opportunities, rather than build things for the future. I get it … it costs a lot and there’s the argument it risks a lot.
Except it doesn’t cost or risk anything near what happens if you don’t do it.
And playing catch up never works because when you finally follow suit, you find out the others have already moved on.
Even the companies that promise ‘disruption’ never really go all in.
Often just focusing on one element the establishment do wrong rather than reimagining how they could completely evolve an entire category.
Function over benefits.
Product over brand.
That said, there are some out there who do it right.
Not just in the ‘cool’ categories, but in things like finance, health and paint.
Yes, paint!!!
Doing things where it shows they are truly watching and listening to culture.
Not just in what they want, but what is affecting who they are.
Once upon a time this was the norm. Now it’s all about promoting the condiments rather than focusing on the steak.
And while that can work in the short-term … giving you a few PR headlines you can leverage in the press … the brands who count succeed because they perpetually evolve culture – or evolve with the leading edge of it – rather than just keep them where they already are.