adliterate

Are our start ups a let down?

Sun, 04 May 2008 09:15:03 +0000

Image courtesy of Fiat Luxe

The start up plays an almost mythical role in the world of advertising. Start ups are not simply an outlet for the professional and material ambitions of the best in the business, they are absolutely essential to the health and vitality of the industry. If advertising has managed to adapt to the changing business, consumer and communications landscape over the past century it has been largely because of its start-ups.

Even faster strategy

Fri, 02 May 2008 21:06:37 +0000

Image courtesy of Liquidrosephotography

Monday this saw the IPA Strategy Group's fast strategy conference here in London.

All in all a rather splendid occasion.

The high point was the victory of the marvellous Richard Storey in a live head to head fast strategy challenge from the UK Government on Dog Registration. It was a good reminder, if anyone needed it, that Richard is one of the most accomplished creative strategists in adland. The Planning for Good team (Mark Earls, Jon Leech, Ian Tait and Chris Forrest) came second and were outstanding, if not quite as sharp as Richard's M&C team (here is the wiki they built that morning to help them). CHI was rather out-classed and brought up the rear.

Anyway, the event made me think about my top tips for getting to strategy fast so I thought I'd share them with you. I've done 17 since it seems such an unfashionable number. Some stuff will be familiar to regular readers - but when you are creating fast strategy it doesn't do to reinvent the wheel.

Fast Strategy

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 11:41:35 +0000

Image courtesy of Combined Media.

This is a little piece I did to publicise the Fast Strategy Conferencethat the IPA Strategy Group is running in a couple of weeks. It's about the need for us to think faster if strategy is to be of continued value and about the death of the ponderous planner.

Three years young

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 11:32:18 +0000

Image courtesy of Below Zero.

Forgive this self indulgent post but I just wanted to say thank you to everyone that has helped adliterate stay the course for three years this month, whether commenting, linking or reading. Self evidently I couldn't do it without you.

In particular your comments that offer a thoughtfulness and intelligence often lacking in the original post! And at best they not only get the debate going but take us somewhere new and far more interesting.

Incidentally looking at the 2420 comments so far, the first was from Rob Mortimer as was virtually the last. That deserves the blogging equivalent of a carriage clock.

Loyalty my arse

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 19:49:59 +0000

Image courtesy of Simon Lord

Every morning as I meander to work in Charlotte Street I fortify myself for the day ahead at the Caffe Nero on Tottenham Court Road.

And every morning as I hand over the cash they parrot the same old question ‘do you have a loyalty card’. And every morning I mumble a 'no' and move onto the next question which is always about muffins or other items from the pastry selection.

The four I's

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 20:11:24 +0000

United London's anti-salt campaign from last year. The four I's in action

I have been giving a bit of thought to a planning approach recently. Something that reflects they way I do it at the moment but nothing too heavy and contrived.

Naturally it involves alliteration and specifically the words ‘interesting’, ‘instinct’, ‘insight’ and ‘idea’..

New work from new home

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 07:36:34 +0000

Charlotte Street, spiritual home of London's ad land. Image courtesy of Chaz Folkes

Thought I'd put up two new bits of work from Saatchis in London. Visa is hot out of the edit suite, you may have clocked Carlsberg already.

Be careful what you wish for

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 20:18:04 +0000

Image courtesy of mytopography

I owe my career in advertising to an ad.

Not to an ad that inspired me but one that I responded to. It was placed by a long gone and deservedly forgotten direct marketing agency trying to find graduate recruits many months after the above the line shops had employed all the good ones. The ad read ‘By the year 2000 90% of marketing will be direct marketing’ and I was sold.

Naked briefs

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 23:08:54 +0000

La Danaide by August Rodin. Image courtesy of Jahsonic.

It is one of the least edifying characteristics of planning directors that they spend alot of time creating a new briefing format for the agency or network. It is what my old boss Jim Kelly would call "displacement activity".

Ecosystems update

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 21:48:16 +0000

Image courtesy of Hans van Reenen

A while ago I introduced the idea of brand ecosystems. These are a group of mutually reinforcing brands, usually from different sectors that co-exist and often co-operate with a high likelihood that a customer of one part of the ecosystem will become a customer of the rest of its members.

Well I have been thinking about this a little more recently.

Advice for young planners - Skunk Strategies

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 20:38:09 +0000

Never surrender to lacklustre thinking, always know you have a better idea. Image courtesy of asboluv

I like Skunk Strategies.

Or rather I like them in the absence of anything else. And you might find the approach useful especially if you are working in a difficult sector, on a difficult piece of business or at an un-inspiring agency.

The Workers Plea

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 23:31:54 +0000

My father and I were talking recently and he suddenly produced a note he has carried in his wallet for the last 30 years. And this is it, 'the workers plea', in all its typewriter written glory.

I thought you might be interested in it whether you are an employer or an employee. It seems to encapsulate a basic code of conduct between people and hell it might even work in other relationships. For what it is worth the conversation we were having was actually about the relationship between the governed and the state.

Boring people know the most interesting things

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 20:26:11 +0000

Image courtesy of boo cru

This is my first NMA column for the year and its about measuring the effectiveness of digital campaigns. Obviously there is quite a tongue in cheek theme about bringing the digital geeks and the research geeks together but the serious points are about looking beyond intermediate metrics, the folly of accountability and need for greater ambition in digital campaigns.

As ever, enjoy.

United we fell

Sun, 20 Jan 2008 19:48:40 +0000

Image courtesy of Casual clicks

Now that I am safely ensconced in my new advertising home I thought I'd put up some stuff from United London - the short lived but rather fun shop that closed its doors in April last year. While it bore very little resemblance to HHCL, the agency from which it was formed, one of its key qualities was that it retained a ferocious commitment to top draw planning that was one of the reasons that HHCL was so good in its day.

The Advocate - January

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 20:19:18 +0000

Image courtesy of Threeminds.

Ah yes, the advocate. I have let it fall a bit by the wayside recently but the new year seems a good time to get it going again and on Cadbury’s of course because we can now start to get a feel for whether the work was strategic folly or enormously well endowed in the selling department.