Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Brand Suicide, Business, Comment, Communication Strategy, Confidence, Content, Context, Corona Virus, Corporate Evil, Crap Campaigns In History, Creativity, Culture, Customer Service, Differentiation, Emotion, Empathy, England, Experience, Honesty, Hope, Human Goodness, Loyalty, Management, Marketing, Marketing Fail, Positioning, Purpose, Relevance, Resonance
Throughout COVID, we’ve been inundated by companies saying they care.
Banks.
Supermarkets.
Pharmaceutical companies.
At the beginning, it made sense … we were in a new reality and everyone was trying to work out what the fuck was going on, let alone what we should do.
But now, coming up to 6 months into this thing, we’re still seeing companies say the same thing.
We care.
We really, really care.
Honest, we really do care.
And frankly, it’s all becoming shit.
Because while we always suspected it was empty words, now they are proving it … because the fact of the matter is this is the time they need to put up.
To do stuff.
To actually show they care.
Which, contrary to the multinational who is spending a lot on advertising right now, does not mean you can consider yourself a kind and generous organisation simply because you make and sell a large range of disinfectant products that are especially important right now.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not expecting charity.
Making money is not a bad thing – and right now, companies need to do it to help keep employees employed. But adding something extra … something that can genuinely benefit the people you rely on would go a long way.
Not just because a lot of people need it right now, but because investing in your audiences wellbeing is investing in your own.
Take Timpson’s.
It’s a family-owned business in high streets and supermarkets up and down the country.
While they do a bunch of things, they’re most widely known for key cutting and shoe repairs.
That’s right, KEY CUTTING AND SHOE REPAIRS!!!
Of all the companies around the World, I would say this Key Cutters have led the way on how you should treat your people and customers in a crisis.
First of all, they made the decision to close all their shops – over 2000 of them – when COVID took hold. They wanted to ensure their staff were safe as not only do they deal directly with the public, all their stores are very small so social distancing would be almost impossible.
However, rather than making people redundant or putting them on government subsidised furlough, they covered the wages for every employee.
In full.
Every employee. Full salary.
To add some more texture to that, Timpson’s employ 5,500 staff … of which 650 come directly from serving a prison sentence … and their weekly wage bill is £2.5 million.
That in itself is amazing.
But then they’ve done something else.
Something aimed at their customers … specifically the one’s who have not been as fortunate to work at a company that takes care of their staff like Timpson and may now be struggling due to redundancy or loss of pay, hours, opportunities.
And what have they done?
This …
How amazing is that?
A genuine investment in their past and future client’s wellbeing.
Not empty words, something that will cost Timpson’s money – both in terms of time and cash.
Maybe it’s not a huge amount, but when you have all these huge corporations shouting their empty words in an attempt to look like they care, Timpson’s actions shows them up for who they are.
A long time ago there was a Michael Moore documentary called ‘Roger And Me’.
It was about the General Motors car company and them pulling out of Detroit.
There’s one bit in it that sticks in my memory.
On the production line, there were people being interviewed about what they’ll do when the factory closes. One guy – who was making one of GM’s most expensive cars – said this,
“What I don’t understand is if companies keep firing their workers, who do they think will be able to afford their cars?”
While I know there are many issues companies face, I know this.
The actions of a key-cutting, shoe repairer has resulted in me having more emotional connection and loyalty to them than I‘ll ever have towards multi-national organisations, spending millions of pounds on ads that attempt to show they care [read: express their designed-by-marketing ‘purpose’] but are so obviously self-serving, you can almost see them rubbing their hands in greedy glee.
Not because they want to make money to protect their workers.
Nor to look after the employees of their supply chain.
But to look after themselves and their shareholders.
And to them, I say this.
Your real ‘purpose’ is showing.
Try harder.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Brand, China, Chinese Culture, Comment, Context, Creative Brief, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Differentiation, Embarrassing Moments, Insight, Management, Marketing, Planning, Point Of View, Relevance, Resonance, Shanghai, The Kennedys Shanghai, Wieden+Kennedy
I have always loved pitching.
I love the drama, the nervousness, the tension, the creativity.
I also love that it’s a chance to reinvent how the agency is seen every single time.
Because of this, I’ve always embraced using a pitch to try new ways to present your work.
I’ve done a lot of stuff over the years.
Some has – without doubt – been an unmittigated disaster, but far more often, it’s been successful.
Not because we’ve used gimmicks or theatre, but we’ve found an interesting way to get our point across without [hopefully] repeating what every other agency they’ve seen has said.
Some of my favourites have been when we won the launch of Disneyland Shanghai when we were the 18th agency to pitch and I had inadvertently insulted the head of procurement when I accidentally wrote ‘retards’ instead of ‘regards’.
Mind you, they got their own back when they fired us after 2 years – and just before some truly amazing work was going to be made.
Then there was the time we won the SONY global business based on a photo I’d taken of a sign they had in their HQ.
It was an arrow pointing to the right to show you where reception was … and I used that as the basis for our pitch which basically said SONY spent so much time looking at what their competitors were doing, they’ve forgotten the need to forge their own path.
And then there was our winning pitch to Virgin when they were going to start their F1 team.
The reality was they were unlikely to ever win a race – or maybe even a point – given the gulf in investment and technology between them and their competitors.
So our strategy was to model themselves on tennis player Anna Kournikova … because even though she never won a grand slam, she was one of the most recognised, supported and wealthy tennis players in the tournaments.
That was fun.
But recently I found a photo that reminded me of a time we were pitching for BEATS by Dre.
I was at Wieden Shanghai and we had a meeting to talk about the China market.
Instead of a presentation about culture or music or fashion, I had one slide that said, “If You Don’t Define Who You Are, Someone Else Will’ and then I gave them all a set of the fake headphones that are the photo at the top of this post.
And we won.
Some say what we did was ballsy … but it wasn’t really.
When you realise the client is going to be sitting through a bunch of meetings that often say the same thing – or worse, just talk about the agency rather than the client – you realise having a strong POV that can form the foundation for work that will resonate with culture is the most sensible thing you can do.
Of course it takes just as long to come up with that as it does writing the 1000 page decks of boredom, but when it comes to delivery … it not only helps you stand out, it helps ensure they remember your point of view rather than get confused with countless pitches that talk a lot but say nothing.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, America, Attitude & Aptitude, Audio Visual, Childhood, Comment, Creativity, Culture, Dad, Emotion, Empathy, Experience, Love, Music, Queen, Relationships
OK, full disclosure, this is a post about Queen.
It’s also a post about parents, love, death and sentimentality.
So in some ways, it might be ‘peak-Rob blogging’.
But it’s not about me, it’s about a story I read recently that I just thought was beautiful.
OK, so it kind of reminded me of the time my Dad surprised me by buying The Works, Queen’s 1984 album, but most of all it just reminded me how music and memories are so deeply entwined that it has the capacity to act as some sort of temporary time machine.
And that is pretty wonderful.
With that, here’s the story …
For what it’s worth, my dad took me to see Queen at the L.A. Forum in’77.
I was 10.
This band Thin Lizzy opened for them. I remember thinking, “Who is this Lizzy chick?!?”
Then the lights went out, and Jailbreak began. I’ve never been the same …
All this is the introduction to one of the greatest moments of my life.
If ya have a moment, here’s the story …
I was 9 when I saw the full page ad in L.A. Times Calendar.
My parents had just divorced.
The Forum show was on my 10th birthday.
I called Dad …
“Hey Dad, um, Queen is playing on my birthday …”
“Yeah, I know. I tried to get tickets, but they’re sold out.”
[Damn!]
So Dad picks me up on March 3rd, and says “Let’s go to Sizzler for your birthday.”
“Okay, Dad, sounds great.” And it did, because I was thrilled to be with him.
So on the way to Sizzler, we ‘happen’ to pass The Forum.
In HUGE flashing lights: QUEEN TONIGHT!!
I thought ‘Oh man, what a dick! How could he torture me like this?!?’
I said nothing about that and we ate.
Afterwards on the way back home, we pass The Forum AGAIN.
Dad says …
“Oh, can you grab something out of the glove compartment for me?”
“Sure Dad,” I reply.
I open it and there – on top of the papers – is an envelope.
“This, Dad?” I ask.
“Yeah. Open it for me, will ya?” he says.
Guess what.
2 FUCKING TICKETS TO SEE QUEEN TONIGHT!
I will NEVER forget the sheer joy of that moment.
I still have the tour program.
Dad passed away, and at his memorial, I jammed all my brothers and nieces and nephews into my van and BLASTED Bohemian Rhapsody.
When it ended, there was complete silence.
It was freakin beautiful.
Thank you for reading.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Business, Comment, Communication Strategy, Confidence, Content, Creativity, Culture, Differentiation, ECommerce, Emotion, Insight, Management, Marketing, Packaging, Positioning, Relationships, Relevance, Resonance
I have a confusing relationship with Amazon.
I use them a lot.
I admire what they do.
I appreciate how they operate.
But I don’t know if they’re a great brand.
Without doubt they’re a great company and have created a clear role in people’s lives … but in terms of brand, I’m not so sure.
That’s weird, because in many ways, they have achieved all the things a great brand requires, but at the end of the day – I have no emotional relationship with them, it is entirely functional.
Does a brand need to have emotional value to be great?
No. But I think it is the difference between being seen as a great transactional brand and a great brand.
But what surprises me most is Bezos understands business and brands better than many.
Not just CEO’s, but marketing folk … exemplified by this statement he made.
Which leads to the point of this post.
Brands.
As I’ve said a billion times, I’m an unashamedly huge believer in them.
If done well, they enable differentiation, cultural connection and economic power.
But the emphasis is ‘done well’.
And frankly, I don’t see a lot of that.
What I do see is a lot of companies spending of an awful lot of time and money on what they want to talk about.
What they think people should care about.
What audience should buy their product.
What they want their product to be used for.
What they want people to discuss about them.
What words they want people to associate with them.
What they want people to view as a threat or a competitor.
Them. Them. Them. Them. Them.
Now don’t get me wrong, you have to know what you stand for. What your values are. What your role is and why you do what you do, well. Not to mention what your point of view on the World is.
But you don’t just churn them out like some political manifesto brochure. Boring people into submission.
And yet that is the practice of so many … minus the point of view, which would at least make it relevant to culture instead of using a ‘proposition’ that is like a cement block, standing firm regardless what the headwinds that surround it are.
But it gets worse.
Because often what they do is wrapped up in some contrived ‘purpose/manifesto’ message in an attempt to make it look like it’s not all about them, which doesn’t convince anyone because it’s all about them.
Everything.
And it comes across exactly like that.
Self serving. Self indulgent. Self important.
Because the people behind these campaigns live in a bubble of corporate complicity.
Where ‘real life’ is closer to a sitcom sketch than anything resembling reality. Where families are always perfect and together. Where there is no problem that can’t be solved with [insert brand here] and their [insert meaningless ingredient]. Where the undertone of the work is to scare/shame/blame audiences into purchase submission – regardless how happy the soundtrack is or how saturated the images. All backed up and reinforced by a research report that has been specifically designed to fit in with the clients processes than representing truth.
Welcome to the world of marketing truth – a parallel universe to real truth that exists next to the Marketing solar system.
And that’s why, love him or loathe him, you have to respect Bezos.
Yes he has a world of data. Yes he has a universe of information.
But he knows it’s what people say when you’re not watching or listening to them that really reveals what they think of you.
At a time where so much work is done behind the desk, there’s never been as important a time as to get out, talk to real people, understand the texture, nuance, and chaos around the category … so we can help our clients with the most important foundation you can have in getting to great work.
Truth.
Of course, it is not always easy for clients to swallow.
Of course, they may prefer agencies that pander sweet bullshit to them.
But as Mr Bezos knows, you don’t get culture to truly buy into you, if you don’t know what culture really thinks of you.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Apple, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Chaos, Comment, Communication Strategy, Confidence, Context, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Differentiation, Emotion, Experience, Imagination, Innovation, Insight, Management, Marketing, New Product Mentalness, Point Of View, Premium, Relevance, Resonance, Technology
Have a look at that article.
It’s not that long ago really is it, and yet the fortunes of Apple are beyond comprehension.
Probably even beyond what Steve Jobs imagined … though I doubt, if he was alive, he would admit that.
But while the iMac was much more successful than the journalist suggested it would be … its greatest achievements were re-introducing Apple to the world, positioning them as a real alternative to Microsoft and creating a platform for the brand and products to keep rising.
Now it would be easy to laugh at how wrong the journalist was with their article, but the reality is most people in the industry at that time thought that about Apple.
However the reason had less to do with the launch of the iMac and more about the recent history of the brand.
The choices.
The decisions.
The products.
But in doing that, they highlighted four of the great mistakes so many still make:
1. Immediately skeptical of anyone trying to do something new.
2. Believed the standard for success had been set by the market leader.
3. Evaluated products against current audience needs, not future audience needs.
4. Forgot how much truly great marketing can make people give a shit.
I say this because our industry often operates like this journalist.
Basing our point of view on ‘facts’ that reflect what has happened rather than what is going to happen.
Now I get why … what we do costs a lot of money and has a lot of implications and so clients rightfully want to minimise their exposure to risk as much as they can.
But despite this focus on certainty, we still see missteps and failures every single day, largely down to us – and clients – evaluating everything by the same 3 mistakes the journalist did towards iMac back in 1998.
This is not to suggest we should ignore what clients need.
Nor is it that we should disregard costs.
It is simply a reminder that if we only judge/plan/justify/execute through the lens of the rear-view mirror, the only thing we can be certain of is we will be going in the opposite direction to culture and success.