Ian Pierpoint has worked in Marketing, Research and Planning for 30 years. To celebrate he posted 30 lessons on Linkedin over 30 days and people seemed to like it.
The market research industry is broken. We think spending more and real time with people, researching those never researched before and talking to people with a story tell might just save it.
Keynote Address by Marc Stoiber - Ready! Fire! Aim!Social Media Camp
Ready! Fire! Aim!
No, social is not going to save the world of marketing – no more than online, ambient, guerrilla or content did. Social is just a tactic (albeit a very good one). Unfortunately, marketers have a penchant for new tactics - many have jumped wholeheartedly into social without thinking it through, and many have paid a high price.
What will save marketing is refocusing on why your product deserves to live, and why consumers should care. Call it the brand, call it the essence, call it what you will. It’s the stuff that sets you apart from, and above the competition.
So how do you build an effective brand, and then use social to amplify it properly? That’s what I’m here to discuss.
Human-Centric Storytelling in BusinessKubo Finland
9 tips: how to put your excellent content strategy into action by creating great stories. Presentation at Content Strategy Forum 2013 http://csforum2013.com/
Here's a presentation to motivate copywriters, art directors, visualizers, film makers; everyone in the creative profession to keep at it. Some interesting perspectives here. At Ethinos, we were glad we had this session!
9 Things I Wish I'd Known About B2B Social Media Before I Started - Scot McKeeBirddogB2B
Presentation given by Scot McKee, Managing Director, Birddog, at the Bunzl Social Media Training Day, London, 2013.
For businesses just starting out on Social Media, McKee explains the 9 things he wish he'd known before he got started with Social Media and Content Marketing. Tackling some of the main objections he hears in Social Media for B2B and sharing his tips on how to get the most out of your efforts.
McKee’s books on the subject of Creative B2B Branding and Business Marketing are available from Amazon - http://is.gd/mckeebooks
The market research industry is broken. We think spending more and real time with people, researching those never researched before and talking to people with a story tell might just save it.
Keynote Address by Marc Stoiber - Ready! Fire! Aim!Social Media Camp
Ready! Fire! Aim!
No, social is not going to save the world of marketing – no more than online, ambient, guerrilla or content did. Social is just a tactic (albeit a very good one). Unfortunately, marketers have a penchant for new tactics - many have jumped wholeheartedly into social without thinking it through, and many have paid a high price.
What will save marketing is refocusing on why your product deserves to live, and why consumers should care. Call it the brand, call it the essence, call it what you will. It’s the stuff that sets you apart from, and above the competition.
So how do you build an effective brand, and then use social to amplify it properly? That’s what I’m here to discuss.
Human-Centric Storytelling in BusinessKubo Finland
9 tips: how to put your excellent content strategy into action by creating great stories. Presentation at Content Strategy Forum 2013 http://csforum2013.com/
Here's a presentation to motivate copywriters, art directors, visualizers, film makers; everyone in the creative profession to keep at it. Some interesting perspectives here. At Ethinos, we were glad we had this session!
9 Things I Wish I'd Known About B2B Social Media Before I Started - Scot McKeeBirddogB2B
Presentation given by Scot McKee, Managing Director, Birddog, at the Bunzl Social Media Training Day, London, 2013.
For businesses just starting out on Social Media, McKee explains the 9 things he wish he'd known before he got started with Social Media and Content Marketing. Tackling some of the main objections he hears in Social Media for B2B and sharing his tips on how to get the most out of your efforts.
McKee’s books on the subject of Creative B2B Branding and Business Marketing are available from Amazon - http://is.gd/mckeebooks
The DOs and DONTs of Web EntrepreneursDaria Shualy
A 5 minutes presentation I gave at Jeff Pulver's Founders Day, at Tel Aviv, Israel. These are a few of my lessons from 4 years of web entrepreneurship, as former founder and CEO of www.senseofashion.com
More to come in my future book on starting a startup, in which I interview dozens of fellow entrepreneurs, investors, experts etc. and share my own experience
Once Upon A Time At The Office: 10 Storytelling Tips To Help You Be More Pers...Steve Sorensen
Once upon a time, in a faraway kingdom, there was a salesman who traveled the countryside, peddling his wares. Everyone loved his product except the evil king, who wanted to do away with it. One day the king said, “This product is ruining my kingdom and I want to destroy it.
Business Storytelling by Cynthia Hartwig of Two PensCynthia Hartwig
Anyone familiar with the Bible and Aesop’s fables already knows that stories are the oldest persuasive tool since the dawn of time. And now everybody from the The Wall Street Journal to LinkedIn is saying that storytelling will be the number one business skill needed in the next five years. That’s why you should run, don’t walk, to see the hands-on business storytelling workshop with Cynthia Hartwig, fiction writer and co-founder of Two Pens.
Over the course of her career in advertising and social media, Cynthia Hartwig has honed the act of telling stories into a fun and practical art. She’ll lead you in a series of practice-makes-perfect exercises that will help you to persuade, excite, sell and sway people to your point of view.
You’ll see how stories can be used in all kinds of business settings to communicate and connect with employees, customers, colleagues, partners, suppliers, and the media.
You’ll learn the mechanics of telling a story with a beginning that hooks you, to a middle that builds tension, to a satisfying end.
You’ll learn how to weave rich information (even numbers) with personal insights and emotional power and then experience the thrill of having an audience remember what you’ve said. Many writing exercises are included to help you tap into the mind’s unique hard-wiring that can create a story out of almost any experience.
I was recently asked to go back to my alma mater and present to final year Marketing students on my experience of getting into the industry.
This deck is colourful enough to have not put anyone to sleep during a 9am Monday lecture and succinctly balances personal trials and tribulations with the ultimate list of tips and helpful resources.
How can you become more relevant to your audience? You can start by moving away from feature/function/data conversations and toward effective storytelling. We hear statistics. We FEEL stories. It's how we're hardwired as humans.
The original newsletters that served as the foundation of the best-selling book, The MouseDriver Chronicles: The true-life adventures of first time entrepreneurs. Great for anybody thinking about or in the process of starting their own company! Find more about the story at http://www.mousedriverchronicles.com
10 ideas to get your creative side thinking. Tips for forgetting about the competition, doing your own thing and enjoying yourself. Simple tools with humour to get your juices flowing. Balls to boring.
I have a big idea: What if we could design our life?
Just like we create maps for our cities, designs for our homes and plans for our gardens, why can’t we:
- Create maps for our goals
- Designs for our dreams
- Plans for our success
So, I decided to take the science of goals and the research about long-term happiness and turn it into a planner. Specifically the: Life Design Workbook. Take control of your goals, your happiness and your success.
Want to learn how to be a brand ambassador? Better yet, one of the best?
Join us at Promo Rockstars and we can help guide you every step of the way!
(And for those with experience, there is always something we can learn. We are here to coach our community and help provide resources, no matter what experience level. We will help you get to the next level, beyond brand ambassadorship even)
http://www.promorockstar.com/group
The advertising interview is not like other job interviews. It's special. It's different.
And often times the importance of it is overlooked, especially by students and juniors.
Over and over again you're told that the only thing that matters is your book so it's not completely surprising that students sometimes neglect the details that would make a good interview great.
The truth is, having a great book is paramount. However, having a good interview will make your work shine that much brighter and a bad interview will have the inverse effect.
The internet is a tad short on resources dedicated to this particular topic though. So even if an eager young creative was savvy enough to look up tips for acing an interview with their dream agency, they would probably come up short. Sure, there are loads of documents out there that'll help you get ready for an interview at a bank. Or an accounting firm. But instances are probably far and few between of Creative Directors asking applicants to list three of their strengths and three of their weaknesses. The advertising interview is a special kind of beast.
Fortunately, some of the brightest in the business agreed to share their tips for acing your next agency interview, beyond just having a great book. So good luck and remember: you've been warned.
An insider's view of creative agency - principles, agency roles, big ideas, brainstorming, beliefs.
Part of Saatchi Circle - online advertising academy - http://in.thecamp.me/camp/Saatchi-Circle/4Z2SvK0B/campcollections
* ad agency self-promos are used in the presentation
Preview of the Persuasion Note Cards. Drawn from the sciences of behavioural economics and social psychology, the 52-card deck is a collection of the best persuasion techniques and principles, used for centuries by the greatest marketers, salesmen, product designers, politicians and womanisers. www.grapho-persuasion.com
The DOs and DONTs of Web EntrepreneursDaria Shualy
A 5 minutes presentation I gave at Jeff Pulver's Founders Day, at Tel Aviv, Israel. These are a few of my lessons from 4 years of web entrepreneurship, as former founder and CEO of www.senseofashion.com
More to come in my future book on starting a startup, in which I interview dozens of fellow entrepreneurs, investors, experts etc. and share my own experience
Once Upon A Time At The Office: 10 Storytelling Tips To Help You Be More Pers...Steve Sorensen
Once upon a time, in a faraway kingdom, there was a salesman who traveled the countryside, peddling his wares. Everyone loved his product except the evil king, who wanted to do away with it. One day the king said, “This product is ruining my kingdom and I want to destroy it.
Business Storytelling by Cynthia Hartwig of Two PensCynthia Hartwig
Anyone familiar with the Bible and Aesop’s fables already knows that stories are the oldest persuasive tool since the dawn of time. And now everybody from the The Wall Street Journal to LinkedIn is saying that storytelling will be the number one business skill needed in the next five years. That’s why you should run, don’t walk, to see the hands-on business storytelling workshop with Cynthia Hartwig, fiction writer and co-founder of Two Pens.
Over the course of her career in advertising and social media, Cynthia Hartwig has honed the act of telling stories into a fun and practical art. She’ll lead you in a series of practice-makes-perfect exercises that will help you to persuade, excite, sell and sway people to your point of view.
You’ll see how stories can be used in all kinds of business settings to communicate and connect with employees, customers, colleagues, partners, suppliers, and the media.
You’ll learn the mechanics of telling a story with a beginning that hooks you, to a middle that builds tension, to a satisfying end.
You’ll learn how to weave rich information (even numbers) with personal insights and emotional power and then experience the thrill of having an audience remember what you’ve said. Many writing exercises are included to help you tap into the mind’s unique hard-wiring that can create a story out of almost any experience.
I was recently asked to go back to my alma mater and present to final year Marketing students on my experience of getting into the industry.
This deck is colourful enough to have not put anyone to sleep during a 9am Monday lecture and succinctly balances personal trials and tribulations with the ultimate list of tips and helpful resources.
How can you become more relevant to your audience? You can start by moving away from feature/function/data conversations and toward effective storytelling. We hear statistics. We FEEL stories. It's how we're hardwired as humans.
The original newsletters that served as the foundation of the best-selling book, The MouseDriver Chronicles: The true-life adventures of first time entrepreneurs. Great for anybody thinking about or in the process of starting their own company! Find more about the story at http://www.mousedriverchronicles.com
10 ideas to get your creative side thinking. Tips for forgetting about the competition, doing your own thing and enjoying yourself. Simple tools with humour to get your juices flowing. Balls to boring.
I have a big idea: What if we could design our life?
Just like we create maps for our cities, designs for our homes and plans for our gardens, why can’t we:
- Create maps for our goals
- Designs for our dreams
- Plans for our success
So, I decided to take the science of goals and the research about long-term happiness and turn it into a planner. Specifically the: Life Design Workbook. Take control of your goals, your happiness and your success.
Want to learn how to be a brand ambassador? Better yet, one of the best?
Join us at Promo Rockstars and we can help guide you every step of the way!
(And for those with experience, there is always something we can learn. We are here to coach our community and help provide resources, no matter what experience level. We will help you get to the next level, beyond brand ambassadorship even)
http://www.promorockstar.com/group
The advertising interview is not like other job interviews. It's special. It's different.
And often times the importance of it is overlooked, especially by students and juniors.
Over and over again you're told that the only thing that matters is your book so it's not completely surprising that students sometimes neglect the details that would make a good interview great.
The truth is, having a great book is paramount. However, having a good interview will make your work shine that much brighter and a bad interview will have the inverse effect.
The internet is a tad short on resources dedicated to this particular topic though. So even if an eager young creative was savvy enough to look up tips for acing an interview with their dream agency, they would probably come up short. Sure, there are loads of documents out there that'll help you get ready for an interview at a bank. Or an accounting firm. But instances are probably far and few between of Creative Directors asking applicants to list three of their strengths and three of their weaknesses. The advertising interview is a special kind of beast.
Fortunately, some of the brightest in the business agreed to share their tips for acing your next agency interview, beyond just having a great book. So good luck and remember: you've been warned.
An insider's view of creative agency - principles, agency roles, big ideas, brainstorming, beliefs.
Part of Saatchi Circle - online advertising academy - http://in.thecamp.me/camp/Saatchi-Circle/4Z2SvK0B/campcollections
* ad agency self-promos are used in the presentation
Preview of the Persuasion Note Cards. Drawn from the sciences of behavioural economics and social psychology, the 52-card deck is a collection of the best persuasion techniques and principles, used for centuries by the greatest marketers, salesmen, product designers, politicians and womanisers. www.grapho-persuasion.com
Rediscover and reconnect with your brand in our SynergyHSV Branding Workshop. We’ll solve your biggest brand strategy challenges.
Learn how to establish you own brand and critique others. Come with questions and a hungry mind. Suitable for new & established businesses, marketing staff and serious design students.
A Planner's Playbook - Everything I learned about planning at Miami Ad School...Sytse Kooistra
After being in advertising for 4 years, I needed some new guidance and inspiration as a strategist. And that is exactly what I found: I spent the summer of 2013 with 17 other (soon to be) planners from all over the world attending the Account Planning Bootcamp at Miami Ad School New York.
Thanks to the 38 industry heroes and instructors that shared their knowledge and coached us in those 3 months, I learned more than I ever could imagine about planning.
'A Planner's Playbook' is my attempt to summarize all that wisdom in 30 short nuggets (or plays, to stick with the metaphor of a playbook) and share it with you. I left out all the difficult frameworks and models and kept in simple by just stating, in my opinion (and in that of my instructors), what a planner should be and do.
Enjoy reading.
Career Advice for Advertising, Design, Marketing & LifeJulie Kucinski
Those who may have not done (enough) teach.
Gave this presentation to a class at the University of Minnesota and quickly realized I really wrote it for myself! Friends and co-workers liked it so here it goes.
What do you think?
Apologies to the many Flickrites - all the images are theirs and they are fabulous, but I lost the links. If your image is here, please tell me, I'd love to attribute it!! Thanks for reading, look forward to feedback.
Most small businesses struggle to see marketing results. In this session, we will eliminate any confusion about what to do next, solving your marketing problems so your business can thrive. You’ll learn how to create a foundational marketing OS (operating system) based on neuroscience and backed by real-world results. You’ll be taught how to develop deep customer connections, and how to have your CRM dynamically segment and sell at any stage in the customer’s journey. By the end of the session, you’ll remove confusion and chaos and replace it with clarity and confidence for long-term marketing success.
Key Takeaways:
• Uncover the power of a foundational marketing system that dynamically communicates with prospects and customers on autopilot.
• Harness neuroscience and Tribal Alignment to transform your communication strategies, turning potential clients into fans and those fans into loyal customers.
• Discover the art of automated segmentation, pinpointing your most lucrative customers and identifying the optimal moments for successful conversions.
• Streamline your business with a content production plan that eliminates guesswork, wasted time, and money.
The digital marketing industry is changing faster than ever and those who don’t adapt with the times are losing market share. Where should marketers be focusing their efforts? What strategies are the experts seeing get the best results? Get up-to-speed with the latest industry insights, trends and predictions for the future in this panel discussion with some leading digital marketing experts.
Digital marketing is the art and science of promoting products or services using digital channels to reach and engage with potential customers. It encompasses a wide range of online tactics and strategies aimed at increasing brand visibility, driving website traffic, generating leads, and ultimately, converting those leads into customers.
https://nidmindia.com/
Monthly Social Media News Update May 2024Andy Lambert
TL;DR. These are the three themes that stood out to us over the course of last month.
1️⃣ Social media is becoming increasingly significant for brand discovery. Marketers are now understanding the impact of social and budgets are shifting accordingly.
2️⃣ Instagram’s new algorithm and latest guidance will help us maintain organic growth. Instagram continues to evolve, but Reels remains the most crucial tool for growth.
3️⃣ Collaboration will help us unlock growth. Who we work with will define how fast we grow. Meta continues to evolve their Creator Marketplace and now TikTok are beginning to push ‘collabs’ more too.
First Things First: Building and Effective Marketing Strategy
Too many companies (and marketers) jump straight into activation planning without formalizing a marketing strategy. It may seem tedious, but analyzing the mindset of your targeted audiences and identifying the messaging points most likely to resonate with them is time well spent. That process is also a great opportunity for marketers to collaborate with sales leaders and account managers on a galvanized go-to-market approach. I’ll walk you through the methods and tools we use with our clients to ensure campaign success.
Key Takeaways:
-Recognize the critical role of strategy in marketing
-Learn our approach for building an actionable, effective marketing strategy
-Receive templates and guides for developing a marketing strategy
Most small businesses struggle to see marketing results. In this session, we will eliminate any confusion about what to do next, solving your marketing problems so your business can thrive. You’ll learn how to create a foundational marketing OS (operating system) based on neuroscience and backed by real-world results. You’ll be taught how to develop deep customer connections, and how to have your CRM dynamically segment and sell at any stage in the customer’s journey. By the end of the session, you’ll remove confusion and chaos and replace it with clarity and confidence for long-term marketing success.
Key Takeaways:
• Uncover the power of a foundational marketing system that dynamically communicates with prospects and customers on autopilot.
• Harness neuroscience and Tribal Alignment to transform your communication strategies, turning potential clients into fans and those fans into loyal customers.
• Discover the art of automated segmentation, pinpointing your most lucrative customers and identifying the optimal moments for successful conversions.
• Streamline your business with a content production plan that eliminates guesswork, wasted time, and money.
Financial curveballs sent many American families reeling in 2023. Household budgets were squeezed by rising interest rates, surging prices on everyday goods, and a stagnating housing market. Consumers were feeling strapped. That sentiment, however, appears to be waning. The question is, to what extent?
To take the pulse of consumers’ feelings about their financial well-being ahead of a highly anticipated election, ThinkNow conducted a nationally representative quantitative survey. The survey highlights consumers’ hopes and anxieties as we move into 2024. Let's unpack the key findings to gain insights about where we stand.
5 big bets to drive growth in 2024 without one additional marketing dollar AND how to adapt to the biggest shifting eCommerce trend- AI.
1) Romance Your Customers - Retention
2) ‘Alternative’ Lead Gen - Advocacy
3) The Beautiful Basics - Conversion Rate Optimization
4) Land that Bottom Line - Profitability
5) Roll the Dice - New Business Models
The digital marketing industry is changing faster than ever and those who don’t adapt with the times are losing market share. Where should marketers be focusing their efforts? What strategies are the experts seeing get the best results? Get up-to-speed with the latest industry insights, trends and predictions for the future in this panel discussion with some leading digital marketing experts.
The What, Why & How of 3D and AR in Digital CommercePushON Ltd
Vladimir Mulhem has over 20 years of experience in commercialising cutting edge creative technology across construction, marketing and retail.
Previously the founder and Tech and Innovation Director of Creative Content Works working with the likes of Next, John Lewis and JD Sport, he now helps retailers, brands and agencies solve challenges of applying the emerging technologies 3D, AR, VR and Gen AI to real-world problems.
In this webinar, Vladimir will be covering the following topics:
Applications of 3D and AR in Digital Commerce,
Benefits of 3D and AR,
Tools to create, manage and publish 3D and AR in Digital Commerce.
In this presentation, Danny Leibrandt explains the impact of AI on SEO and what Google has been doing about it. Learn how to take your SEO game to the next level and win over Google with his new strategy anyone can use. Get actionable steps to rank your name, your business, and your clients on Google - the right way.
Key Takeaways:
1. Real content is king
2. Find ways to show EEAT
3. Repurpose across all platforms
Mastering Multi-Touchpoint Content Strategy: Navigate Fragmented User JourneysSearch Engine Journal
Digital platforms are constantly multiplying, and with that, user engagement is becoming more intricate and fragmented.
So how do you effectively navigate distributing and tailoring your content across these various touchpoints?
Watch this webinar as we dive into the evolving landscape of content strategy tailored for today's fragmented user journeys. Understanding how to deliver your content to your users is more crucial than ever, and we’ll provide actionable tips for navigating these intricate challenges.
You’ll learn:
- How today’s users engage with content across various channels and devices.
- The latest methodologies for identifying and addressing content gaps to keep your content strategy proactive and relevant.
- What digital shelf space is and how your content strategy needs to pivot.
With Wayne Cichanski, we’ll explore innovative strategies to map out and meet the diverse needs of your audience, ensuring every piece of content resonates and connects, regardless of where or how it is consumed.
The Forgotten Secret Weapon of Digital Marketing: Email
Digital marketing is a rapidly changing, ever evolving industry--Influencers, Threads, X, AI, etc. But one of the most effective digital marketing tools is also one of the oldest: Email. Find out from two Houston-based digital experts how to maximize your results from email.
Key Takeaways:
Email has the best ROI of any digital tactic
It can be used at any stage of the customer journey
It is increasingly important as the cookie-less future gets closer and closer
Everyone knows the power of stories, but when asked to come up with them, we struggle. Either we second guess ourselves as to the story's relevance, or we just come up blank and can't think of any. Unlocking Everyday Narratives: The Power of Storytelling in Marketing will teach you how to recognize stories in the moment and to recall forgotten moments that your audience needs to hear.
Key Takeaways:
Understand Why Personal Stories Connect Better
How To Remember Forgotten Stories
How To Use Customer Experiences As Stories For Your Brand
When most people in the industry talk about online or digital reputation management, what they're really saying is Google search and PPC. And it's usually reactive, left dealing with the aftermath of negative information published somewhere online. That's outdated. It leaves executives, organizations and other high-profile individuals at a high risk of a digital reputation attack that spans channels and tactics. But the tools needed to safeguard against an attack are more cybersecurity-oriented than most marketing and communications professionals can manage. Business leaders Leaders grasp the importance; 83% of executives place reputation in their top five areas of risk, yet only 23% are confident in their ability to address it. To succeed in 2024 and beyond, you need to turn online reputation on its axis and think like an attacker.\
Key Takeaways:
- New framework for examining and safeguarding an online reputation
- Tools and techniques to keep you a step ahead
- Practical examples that demonstrate when to act, how to act and how to recover
Turn Digital Reputation Threats into Offense Tactics - Daniel Lemin
30 Lessons from 30 years in Marketing
1. 30 lessons from 30 years in Marketing
PREPARED BY FURTHER&FURTHER, JULY 2018
2. Page X
WHO ARE WE?
We go further by treating
the people in our
research as experts and
partners, not just
respondents
We go further by seeking to
experience the research not just
observe and listen
We go further by spending more and
real time with people to get beneath
curated identities and herd opinions.
We are inspired by documentary making
techniques and follow the story
wherever it takes us.
We go further by focusing on
just your project; we only work
on one project at a time
is micro agency staffed by a small experienced team of
researchers, strategists and
FILM MAKERS.
We are obsessed with delivering authentic high quality
work…
Founded by Ian Pierpoint,
3. Page 3
Yeah, holy fucking shit.
In 30 working days it’s my 30th
anniversary of starting work in
Marketing (I started young).
From lazy hard partying marketing
trainee to lazy not quite as hard
partying CMO, it’s been a ride.
So for the next 30 days I’m going to
post 30 things I’ve ‘learnt’ along the
way…
HOLY
SHIT!
4. Page 4
Every successful idea I’ve been involved in creating
has been a battle to make happen. In fact every
business decision that made me feel uncomfortable
turned out to be good (well, most of them…).
So, if it's a polarizing idea it’s probably a good one
and if everyone likes it, it’s probably a bit shit.
Life is never easy.
BE
UNCOMFORTABLE
LESSON #1
5. Page 5
You're going to come across ego, politics and
agenda in your career. And it’s going to suck
and it’s going to make you think twice about
what to say and when to say it.
Relax. No really.
If you always remember that you’re hired to
tell the truth, no matter how inconvenient it
is, and that your loyalty is to the brand,
you’ll be fine in the long run.
The client might hate you today, but they’ll
love you tomorrow.
not to the client
Loyal to the brand
LESSON #2
6. Page 6
Whether you’re running an agency or crafting
a brand strategy or working on creative you
have to understand the difference between
why, where and how you’re going to make it
happen.
Over my career I’ve been endlessly fucking
amazed how much time is spent on tactics and
execution rather than focusing on the
strategy or nailing a big idea (which is
what you really should be worrying about)
So, a great execution can hide a multitude
of sins but if you’ve got the strategy wrong
or the concept is flawed, you might still
find yourself in a beautiful house with a
beautiful wife but you’ll ask yourself ‘why
did I get here?’
Avoid existential nightmares and focus on
the strategy.
DIFFERENCE
C
Between
LESSON #5
Know the
CStrategy
C
Idea
C
execution
7. Page 7
Apparently I’ve moderated well over a 2000 focus groups
and other interviews; I’ve interviewed DJs, anarchists,
lady-boys, strippers, drug dealers and even the odd
legendary ‘head of household’.
I can confirm lady boys were the most interesting.
In 30 years I’ve only met one or two people who I
didn’t like, who didn’t treat me with respect and who
failed to open up and tell me about their life. And
they tended to be clients.
99.9% of the real people I’ve interviewed, hung out
with, had dinner with and shared personal stories with
have been fucking awesome.
So it’s always disappointing when you hear clients
mocking the people who buy their stuff, describing them
as not knowing what they really want or doing weird
shit like requesting only ‘good looking’ people for
their research film. Yes that really happens.
Treat people with respect, never judge a book by its
cover, listen up and, most importantly, recognize it's
a privilege to be in their world.
PEOPLE
RULE!
LESSON #6
8. Page 8
If you want to be good at marketing,
strategy or research you’ve got to be
culturally engaged. If you want your
brand to be part of the cultural
conversation (and you do) then you need to
be broadly aware of what the cultural
conversation actually is.
So read a lot. Go to art galleries. Go
see new bands. Watch shit TV. Watch even
shittier things on YouTube.
If you don’t obsess about culture a day
will come when you’ll find yourself in a
meeting talking about what your kids are
into.
And that should be your last fucking day
working in marketing.
I hate
Your children
LESSON #7
9. Page 9
I’ve sat in too many meetings arguing with
people who want to create for the least
inspiring, creative or informed consumer target.
They will argue that bold work is too edgy.
They will argue that you have to include every
detail and tell people everything. They will
argue that you’ll lose customers if they don’t
‘get it’ right away.
They are very wrong.
Always create for the smartest, the most
creative and most leading edge target you have.
Be head of the pack, not in it.
FUCK
THE
LOWEST
LESSON #8
denominator
10. Page 10
No matter how hard you work or how smart
and experienced you are sometimes you just
can’t deliver good work.
Why?
Well, perhaps the brief was flawed and you
didn’t spot it until too late (although
that's your fault also if that's
happened). Or perhaps the client wasn’t
quite ready to be as bold as you think
they need to be. Or perhaps, you know,
corporate bullshit.
They say we get the politics we deserve,
and clients sometimes get the work they
deserve too.
Unfortunately this means that every so
often you’re going to deliver a Brexit
flavoured Trump sandwich.
Have a shower and quickly move on.
Not
EVERY
Bullet is
SILVER
LESSON #9
11. Page 11
A few weeks before the 1998 World Cup I got a call asking me to
do some fast turnaround research for a campaign for Adidas.
There were lots of concerns about the finished films; they had a
moody, dark and brooding vibe, in stark contrast to Nike’s ad,
which featured the Brazil team doing the samba through Heathrow
airport.
Understandably people were a little concerned.
And then they showed me the execution they were really worried
about; it featured the racially diverse French team challenging
the French people to re-think national identity and race; I seem
to remember Zidane and Desailly looking into the camera and
saying, ‘You think we’re shit? Well, we’re French and proud.
Fuck you’.
But maybe I imagined that.
Regardless, 27 year old me loved it as much as any campaign I’d
ever worked on.
Obviously it didn’t research well (because provocative executions
don’t tend to)… but what a creative idea! The last slide of my
shitty debrief was simply, ‘MAKE THIS AD’.
France / Adidas went on to win the World Cup and I’ve never been
more proud of something I barely touched.
In your career you’ll get to work on a few amazing ideas that
make you realize it’s not ‘just marketing’. Fucking cherish
those moments.
LESSON #10
WORLD CUP!
MARKETING
Can win
THE
12. Page 12
I’ve decided this morning to try and write my daily lesson with 6
strangers in my front room staring at me and taking notes.
One of them keeps checking their phone and laughing. Another
one seems to be falling asleep. They’re all dressed business
casual and none have a watch on.
One of them writes down everything I say. They’ve just written
that down too.
I just noticed there’s a tired looking camera guy behind the
plant eating my fruit.
This is fucking weird.
If your research agency tells you that it’s ok for you and your
team to tag along to in home interviews or ethnography sessions
then they’re not being entirely honest.
Sorry, it kind of fucks things up.
LESSON #11
EVERYWHERE…
CLIENTS!
CLIENTS!
13. Page 13
Its Monday so lets start with something cheerful and
positive.
Brand purpose is shit. Positioning is shit. Focus
groups are shit. Online research is also shit.
Advertising is shit. TV is shit. And so is everything
else.
In your career you’ll hear people saying that certain
models and approaches are shit despite others saying the
complete opposite. You’ll find yourself confused by the
certainty of these people and perhaps concerned about
what to recommend or do.
Don’t be.
Everything really is shit, if done badly. A focus group
where the researcher doesn’t filter out the nonsense in
the analysis is definitely shit. As is online research
if used to explore more emotive areas or complex
stimulus. And a brand purpose that over reaches is, of
course, outrageously shit (but funny, thank you…).
If you work with good people and good agencies and use
the tools and models in the right way at the right time,
you’ll learn they all actually work quite well.
People who say everything is shit are usually charlatans.
Avoid those people.
Everything
is SHIT?
LESSON #12
14. Page 14
When you walk into your office do you see people with headphones on
working silently?
Do you hear chatter that people don’t really enjoy working at your
company and that it used to be more ‘fun’?
Do you find yourself justifying the slight negativity by moaning
about ‘fucking entitled Millennials’?
Sorry, madam, you’ve got a culture problem.
The companies I’ve loved working with just felt right; people
laughed, people enjoyed the work, people went above and beyond for
the company, people bragged about working there… these are companies
where they understood the value of culture.
You want to be like those companies.
So, make sure you have a clearly communicated purpose, vision and
objectives. Make sure you empower your teams. Make sure everyone
has a voice and are listened to. Make sure that having fun is
something organic and not forced or, even worse, policed. Make sure
everyone can express themselves however they want to. Make sure you
treat everyone fairly and with respect. Make sure you celebrate
together. Make sure you have transparency. Kill your bullies.
Make sure you think about your culture as much as you think about
your consumer.
CULTURE
LESSON #16
CLUB
15. Page 15
If you’re making butter and people use it in
their hair, then you’re a hair gel.
If you’re making an energy drink that's used the
morning after, then you’re a hangover cure.
If you’re making a premium beer that's used for
beer pong, then you’re a prop for a game.
Your brand exists in the way that people decide
it does.
So, if you do some research and people perceive
you in a different way to what you expected you
can argue with the findings and say things like,
‘yeah, they don’t get it, they’re wrong, they’re
stupid’. But they’re not wrong and they’re
definitely not stupid.
What people believe you are is what you are.
Embrace your brand truth and celebrate it.
LESSON #17
BRANDS
are in the
EYE OF THE
BEHOLDER
16. Page 16
You don’t inspire the next generation by
working them to death and seeing if they
sink or swim.
Sounds obvious, but you’d be unpleasantly
surprised by how many agencies and leaders
think the best way to ‘teach’ is to push
young people to breaking point.
I actually think this is the real reason
the ‘quarter life crisis’ exists; who
wants to work 60 hour weeks and barely be
paid enough to live on?
Not this cynical Gen X bastard.
So those much-maligned Millennials leave
to go travelling or freelance or go back
to school or start their own thing. And,
you know what, it’s not because
Millennials are ‘entitled’, it’s because
they’re ignored and over worked.
Respect your young talent or they’ll go
somewhere that does.
YOUTH!
WASTED
LESSON #19
17. Page 17
I’m trying to write this whilst watching the
World Cup and I can tell you its not easy to be
engaging and insightful whilst…. oh hold on….
that was fucking close.
Anyways.
As a client when I hired an agency I did so
because I didn’t have the time to head out there
and focus on finding the answer myself.
The unfortunate reality is neither does your
research agency.
Most agency models are built on multi-tasking;
the best researchers (or whatever they call them
these days) are expected to sell, lead a team,
conduct interviews, craft great reports and
present the work. And they’re often expected to
do this on multiple projects for multiple
clients in multiple time zones at the same time.
It’s a credit to the amazing people in the
industry that all research debriefs aren’t tear
stained gibberish.
If your agency constantly brags about how
incredibly busy they are, find a new one.
THE
UNFOCUSED
LESSON #20
GROUPS
18. Page 18
There have been more than a few occasions in my career when I’ve
received a call where a client says, ‘We’re growing, we’ve done
nothing and we absolutely have no idea why… what the fuck is going
on?’
Now this is what’s known as a Hollywood problem and is pretty simple
to solve and leverage, but why does it keep happening?
Well, brands tend to be acutely myopic, existing in their own tiny
fake worlds defined by known usage occasions, known consumer targets
and known category trends.
But people, annoyingly and beautifully, don’t operate like that;
people exist in the real world. Rather than being influenced by
micro trends in ‘categories’ that no one really gives a shit about,
people respond to nuanced and complex shifts in our fast moving
global culture.
And that means your brand might unexpectedly become highly desirable
or, more worryingly, a fucking pariah.
Always think beyond your brand horizon, or expect reality to bite.
Somewhere
LESSON #23
over
THE
RAINBOW
19. Page 19
They’ll be a few moments in your career when the clown
car of life suddenly falls apart leaving you sitting on
a dusty road feeling confused as fuck.
At these times of personal disaster your career is
going to fade into insignificance; you won’t be able to
think straight and something that seemed so important
yesterday will suddenly seem pathetically banal today.
The lesson here is, really get to know your team as
people. Be genuinely interested in their real lives,
their struggles, passions, fears and motivations. Not
just because all relationships are more interesting
when truly authentic but, at some point, just like
yours, their life is going to hit the skids.
When it does, be there for them.
GRACE
AND EMPATHY
LESSON #24
20. Page 20
Some of you may have noticed that some lessons are
missing from my attempt to capture 30 lessons from 30
years in Marketing.
In your career you’re going to travel to some amazing
places and meet some interesting, odd and brilliant
people. And when you do, throw yourself into it and
experience as much as you can.
I’ve made 2 documentaries in Ibiza but I can only
partially remember one.
I’ve found myself drinking beer with respondents at 6am
in a gas station in Sao Paolo. At least I think it was
Sao Paolo; actually it may not even have been a gas
station now I think about it.
I’ve fiercely debated lady boy culture with a man
covered in swastika tattoos (that evening I do
definitely recall.)
I’ve twerked on stage in a fucking piano bar in Phoenix
(that evening I wish did not recall.)
The point being, rinse every moment of joy out of your
adventures in marketing and if you can remember all of
them after 30 years, you’re definitely wiser than me.
WHERE
ARE
LESSON #25
the missing
LESSONS?
21. Page 21
When you make a documentary there’s more than a
few similarities with a research project; you
have objectives, you have people to interview
and you have a story to tell.
But that's where the similarities end.
Why?
Well, in docs you treat the people taking part
as, well, people. There’s no dehumanizing name
for them; they’re never described as
‘respondents’ or ‘consumers’.
And’ unlike research, if half way through a
documentary a new angle emerges you head off and
explore it; you don’t go back to your hotel
room, order a club sandwich and take a
conference call from another client.
When you make a documentary, you live it and you
don’t give up until you have the fucking truth.
Market research has a lot to learn.
LESSON #27
What’s
up
DOC?
22. Page 22
If I had a dollar for every time poor
sales was blamed on poor sales I wouldn’t
be spending my mornings writing this
nonsense.
So, sales are down this quarter. First
thing to blame is obviously fucking Sales.
They must be doing it wrong, they must be
too comfortable, they need to work their
contacts harder and, of course, we need to
have more sales meetings.
Or it’s the weather. Yeah its fucking
Sales enjoying the weather that's causing
it. Lazy bastards.
Except usually it isn’t.
If your sales are down, talk to your
consumers and look hard at your product,
price and culture.
Sales are always a symptom and rarely the
cause.
OUT!
SOLD
LESSON #28
23. Page 23
Just 2 more lessons from my 30 years in
Marketing to go…. thank fuck (says literally
everyone, especially me).
So what’s to be my last ‘lesson’ tomorrow?
Avoid people who can only think in terms of
execution?
Focus groups are called focus groups because
no one is actually focusing?
There’s more to strategic research than making
up shit in the recommendations?
A researcher who calls themselves a consultant
is probably just a bad researcher?
Everyone knows you’re up-selling, fucking stop
it?
The Emperor never wears clothes?
Anyone who writes ‘30 things I’ve learnt in 30
years’ on Linkedin is far, far, far worse than
all the above?
I’m going to sleep on it.
That's always a good idea.
SLEEP ON IT
ALWAYS
LESSON #29
24. Page 24
Ah, 30 days of trying to make sense of my career in
lesson based bite sized witty nuggets is finally
over. Thank. Fuck.
Actually I’ve really enjoyed it. Why?
Well, over the last 30 days the lessons that have
generated the biggest response all related to one
thing; and that's people.
Not brands, not digital, not methodology, not purpose
or positioning or strategy or ideas or executions.
Yeah, people.
People rule, people define brands, listen to people,
people are your culture…these are the lessons that
you responded to.
And that's because you’re smart as fuck and you know
that marketing isn’t really about brands.
You know that marketing is all about people.
Never fucking forget it.
Thank you.
ITS
THE
PEOPLE
STUPID
LESSON #30
25. Call us when you want
to go Further&Further
✓A strategic high profile project that
requires a genuinely senior team
✓A contextual question that requires a
creative approach to get to fresh insight
✓Want to design or innovate against a niche
target
✓Want to bring to life your consumer and need
the actual truth, warts and all
✓Want to develop a brand positioning and in
depth early stage exploration is required
✓Need to immerse your organization in the
consumer or category, and are prepared to
show it as really is…
25