My reflections on how to make the best of procurement
Category Archives: Creativity
Why all marketers should get out of the office more
A show all marketers should see is Martin Parr’s photos at the National Portrait Gallery If only to see the original artwork for the excellent “Oneness” idents for BBC 1, a fine example of that classic thing – a great creative idea executed in a fresh way. The idea – like the best ideas –Continue reading “Why all marketers should get out of the office more”
Sir Martin Sorrell: adman to his fingertips
Simon Jacks, BBC business correspondent, said, on the 10 O’Clock news, that Sir Martin was thought off more as “a money man than an adman”, thus repeating some of the snooty and hoary old remarks that were said against him by the likes of David Ogilvy years back . Jacks seems to me to haveContinue reading “Sir Martin Sorrell: adman to his fingertips”
Brave
was the big idea of this year’s Marketing Society conference. It proved an inspirational platform. A great conference theme- credit must go to new CEO Gemma Greaves and her team. This being an individualistic culture (and age) stories were often told as personal triumphs over fear, especially in extreme sports (a big theme of theContinue reading “Brave”
More from the insights treasure trove
Beats by Dre won a gold in the APG awards with what, I think, is a great piece of advertising thinking. The brand and the agency (R/GA) may be super hip, yet the thinking is classical. The brand found a fresh, simple and easy to understand emotional promise and dramatised it brilliantly – the ideaContinue reading “More from the insights treasure trove”
An insight treasure trove (that all strategists should read)
Top news. The 2017 APG awards book is out. Reading it is one of the best “strategy workouts” that a planner can do. So, that’s what i am going to do – and i am going to use it illuminate what we mean by that much used word – “Insight”- and how it helps unlock greatContinue reading “An insight treasure trove (that all strategists should read)”
“Knowing what’s important”
Was how Charles Handy defined “wisdom” at a recent event- it has stayed with me It is particularly needed at the moment – as many in marketing are transfixed by new technologies and have persuaded themselves of two things a) change is pervasive and b) change getting quicker. This second statement has been taken axiomaticContinue reading ““Knowing what’s important””
My favourite Christmas campaign is not John Lewis
The Columbian govt used Christmas trees to persuade FARC guerrillas to give up the fight.Nine 75-foot trees along paths the insurgents used were decorated them with Christmas lights and a message encouraging them to come home. The operation was deemed a success; 331 guerrillas demobilized while the campaign was active, a 30% increase from theContinue reading “My favourite Christmas campaign is not John Lewis”
APG Strategy V Robots
Another excellent conference and excellent value Here are a few things i took away Steve Hilton may sound modern (took his shoes off in public/wore T-Shirt etc) but his ideas are really a reworking of ideas launched by the levellers in the 16th Century, and developed by Romantics in the 19th century- he wants thingsContinue reading “APG Strategy V Robots”
How Getty could have predicted Trump and Sanders
Getty sell their images to agencies who are designing campaigns and so what buyers search for reveals something of the zeitgeist.Agency creative teams have well developed instincts for what is fresh and current. Forget the focus groups, analyse Getty search tends. “Stand out from the crowd”,”rebellious” and “bold choices” have spiked in search on theirContinue reading “How Getty could have predicted Trump and Sanders”