The coherent pitch (making sense out of ambiguity)
A coherent pitch is much more attractive to clients than an extraordinary but unbridled creative idea. Making sense out of ambiguity.
Did I do a strategy?
Did I do a strategy? How can you tell? How do you make sure that your strategy behaves like one? This is a simple checklist for strategists and planners.
Brain surfee (why you should buy a copy of Brain Surfing).
There is an implicit disclosure in the title of this post. Here is the explicit version: I am the subject of Chapter 5 of Heather LeFevre‘s book called Brain Surfing. I have a small reputational (not financial) vested interest in this book doing well. But there are much more important, …
Google Firestarters 16 – The Magnificent Seven
I was insanely privileged to be invited to speak at Google Firestarters 16, as one of the Magnificent Seven CSO’s and Planning Directors curated by Neil Perkin. We each had ten minutes to talk about “The most useful thing you have learned in your career to date”, and to do …
The value of success depends on the degree of difficulty
Digital communication is a lot like Olympic diving. The value of success depends on the degree of difficulty. If I successfully execute an easy dive I get fewer points than I would for successfully executing a more difficult dive. There are lots of tempting easy dives in the world of …
Finding Nemo and why shared problems are better than specified solutions.
Jumping out of a window in a plastic bag filled with water, or feigning death in order to be flushed down a toilet doesn’t seem like much of a choice. But desperate times call for desperate measures and, if you are a wild fish trapped in a tank in a …
Why, How and Wonder. Planning’s role in creative quality control.
To say that I’m fascinated by how things work is a huge understatement. If something piques my interest I CAN’T STAND not knowing how it works. Is that down to nature, nurture or both? In the early 70’s, as I approached the ripe old age of 10, I read exclusively …
UX as USP
I worked in advertising long enough to know that nothing appears in a TV commercial endframe by accident. At the end of the last day of the shoot the 1st AD lets most of the crew go. The senior clients and the copywriting half of the the creative team bugger …
What is the point of manifesto ads?
Manifestos are full of points. They are pointful. Pointfulness is their raison d’être. But manifesto advertising feels pretty pointLESS in this day and age. I saw this across the tracks at Green Park. It’s a decent ad. Based on a strong proposition. Based on a point of difference. (Assuming it’s …