A brit planner in the Rockies

Travels

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Elston) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:37:00 +0000

It's been a while since I posted anything. But then there has been a lot going on. New team members, new business opportunities, new bathroom at home!

I've spent too much time on aeroplanes getting ready for the next thing on my to-do list. My back still has not forgiven me.

During this time though I have spoken at a couple of conferences. First there was the In-Store Expo in Chicago. Not my best effort, but it went OK and the content was well received.

Second, I was lucky enough to go and see my friends at Cawley Nea\TBWA in Dublin. I presented at a great breakfast session they host with a session entitled Turning Shoppers into Buyers.

This was a great session and it was rewarding to have the opportunity to share some of the U.S. perspective that I have picked up with a European audience.

Since my last post there has also been the Planning-ness conference in San Francisco. Wasn't able to be involved or even attend myself, but was able to send Shin from our team. He had a great experience by all accounts. He gave the rest of the team an overview at an off-site we had a couple of weeks ago and it sounds like it was great session for those up and coming. Some useful presentations are out there on slide-share from various U.S. planning luminaries. All praise to Mark Lewis of DDB in SFO for getting it up and running.

Brilliant Brand Back Story

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Elston) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 21:38:00 +0000

We all have a back story of some kind. Sometimes it's really productive to nip up into the brand attic, rummage around and dust off the entire thing, then tell it in an engaging, compelling, one-take kind of way. That leaves you with something like The Man Who Walked The World ...

Brilliant!

Word Clouds

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Elston) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 04:57:00 +0000

Great tool this for creating a word cloud. Very useful.

2009 Planner Survey

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Elston) — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 05:30:00 +0000

Results are now available. Once again, Heather LeFerve has administered, analysed and published a global survey of the planning community and how things are going in our roles. You can get the findings here.

I'm a bit late publishing this myself as it's been the busiest summer ever.

The 2009 survey builds on those of previous years.

Great Metaphors

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Elston) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 17:20:00 +0000

Metaphors and analogies are often used by us planners in our day to day life to help convey and simplify ideas, thoughts and concepts.

This is a fantastic ad from Luvs that uses a rather unnerving metaphor to convey the feeling of bringing a second child into the home.

Brilliant stuff.

Academic Thoughts Pitching

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Elston) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 04:12:00 +0000

Interesting piece on the 4A's website that I was pointed towards today. Written by Jodi Lisa Smith, Ph.D at the University of Texas, Austin it makes three recommendations for agencies that could help agencies when pitching.

1. Build a Cohesive Agency Team - make sure everyone on the pitch team has time to bond and they like each other. Clients can spot people who've never worked together or who don't like each other.

2. Avoid Spec Work Like the Plague - don't give away your ideas for free. Trouble with this, is that all agencies have got to agree to do this at the same time. There will always be someone willing to give it away in the hope of winning the business.

3. Insist on Collaboration Meetings - completely agree. The best experience and then client relationships start out with collaboration between both parties.

Not sure that it needed to have much research but it's a useful reminder. And I agree completely that New Business is all about control. So in order to maintain control, a few points that can come in handy.

1. You have to invest in your own success. Be it time, research, whatever.
2. Use qualitative research creatively.
3. Meet - spend time with the prospect, and stay a meeting ahead of the competition.
4. Make sure your presentation room is right for you to be successful. How is it dressed? How can you work it?
5. Make sure your presentation is designed to win.
6. You've got to present winning strategy and creative (kind of obvious I know)
7. Practice. Then again. Then again.
8. Don't leave logistics to chance - have them perfectly planned.
9. Manage who sits where and present with a variety of media
10. Finish on a high note. Don’t just stop.

I'm sure there are plenty of others as well that would help.

TRON Returns

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Elston) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 03:37:00 +0000

Disney is finally bringing us a second installment of TRON. Given the incredible technology and effects incorporated in the original and the cinematic technology advances since, I'm guessing this has box office success stamped all over it already. I hope that someone is working hard on all the pre-launch campaign work as this lends itself to greatness. Can't wait.

Is My Mac Becomming a PC?

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Elston) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 22:39:00 +0000

Have you noticed how the top right bar of the Mac OS interface is starting to look a lot like the bottom right of Windows?

Here's a PC I have at home...

And here's my MacBook Pro from work...

Hmmmmm.

The Art of The Possible

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Elston) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 02:16:00 +0000

DDB created film for David Plouffe's speech about the Obama Presidential Election campaign which he delivered at Cannes, June '09. The campaign pretty much cleaned up at Cannes this year.

Being Productive

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Elston) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:17:00 +0000

Being more productive is something I would assume most of us would probably like. I was listening to a pod cast of Digital Planet from the BBC on the way home the other day. If you don't listen they are worth downloading as they bring lots of great stuff on tech, its use and development in society and culture. Anyway, there was a quick piece about a Firefox add-on called LeechBlock.

It is a tool that helps you practice self restraint with the use of the web. If social websites, Wiki-pedia and the like tend to eat a significant amount of your day, this add-on stops you getting to them at specific times.

I love add-ons and apps like this that bring real utility to our lives. And I like that this one address something that we might not want to admit to ourselves and aims to recognise and help with our personal flaws.

Not going to install it though as I of course believe that these are tools that help run my business and personal life so why would I want to limit the times of day I can get to them?

What Kind of Tech User Are You?

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Elston) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 22:14:00 +0000

It seems I am a Digital Collaborator!

The Pew Internet & American Life Project has a small quiz on their site where you can learn what typology of tech user you fall into. Everything from the Digital collaborator or the Roving Node to to the Technology Indifferent. Have a look.

Leadership Is About Changing The World

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Elston) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 21:09:00 +0000

However big or small. I saw this film again the other day. It's magnificent. Watch what the coach does. He steps up. He supports. He encourages. And watch the reaction of the crowd, the players and the other coaching staff.

Hoe that I may be that great one day.

Magnificence in b flat

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Elston) — Fri, 22 May 2009 04:37:00 +0000

Thanks to Suz for this wonderful find. It's a collaboration of different musicians called in Bb 2.0, where they play ambient sounds of similar tones. You then start them playing in any order you want so can create an almost endless variety of combined sounds that are magical.

What Matters?

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Elston) — Wed, 20 May 2009 20:04:00 +0000

Tom Carroll, President and CEO of TBWA\Worldwide, gave his Chairmans address at the recent 4A's conference in San Fransisco and in a little over 20 minutes touched on a variety of topics affecting and impacting the business at the moment. It's just been released on video.

In the speech, Tom talks about the need to focus on the things that matter, which requires us all to always question if something does actually matter to a business, a brand. I love his point about the need to get out of our offices, to be in the markets and talk with those who understand what matters and what works. He also talks about the need for media to be in at the beginning, that data is just a decision making aid, that we need to be responsible for our work and of course the issue of diversity. He ends with a point about the industry being spread too thin, that we'd matter more if we were more consolidated, but that it is also a fun time to be doing what we do. Worth watching.

The Future is Digital

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Elston) — Tue, 12 May 2009 18:54:00 +0000

According to Barry Judge, CMO of BestBuy. This is his view of how engaging with their audience is the future of their business.

Remember When TV Was Fun?

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Elston) — Tue, 12 May 2009 04:41:00 +0000

Thank you, Stewart Hall. For fabulous viewing evenings with my family in the 70's. From a time when media was social.

(If this means nothing to you, drop me a line and I will explain what this madness was.)

Steve Jobs Introduces 1984

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Elston) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 15:13:00 +0000

I know lots of the folklore surrounding the seminal Apple 1984 spot but have only just seen this film. More great story telling

Don Draper - Pitches Kodak

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Elston) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 15:37:00 +0000

Fabulous story telling.

Calling All Planners

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Elston) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 00:18:00 +0000

It’s that time again. Heather LeFevre has just released the 2009 planner survey. Now in its fifth year, the survey is a really useful aid for those who are involved in recruiting and developing planning talent. Or just interesting for those who want to see how they are doing! There are some changes this year looking at the public holidays you are given by your company and other holiday time you get (or vacation if that’s your thing), the current economic climate and, now that Heather is in beautiful Amsterdam, she has attempted to be more sensitive to non-Americans. Bravo!

So if you happen to be a planner type, dive in and complete the survey. If the results are of use or just general interest to you (you're a student or a recruiter), you can put yourself on the list to receive them here.

Oh, and please pass this on and get as many people to take the survey as possible. Heather’s goal is to break 1,000 responses this year.

Looking forward to seeing a global pulse on the entire community.

Anti-Social Smartphone Users

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Elston) — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 03:36:00 +0000

Great, funny Ted talk from Renny Gleeson about the culture of availability we have created for ourselves, the need we seem to have for shared narratives, and participation in the world/people/moments around us (or not). Can you see yourself?

Measurement

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Elston) — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 02:59:00 +0000

Read an interesting piece on Dave Trott's blog recently about the need the world has to somehow measure creativity, and how the Gunn Report is killing creativity. It's a great piece to remember in which he ends with the quote.

"Not everything important can be measured.
Not everything that can be measured is important."

If only the world was comfortable operating in this way.

Presenting Digitail™

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Elston) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 01:05:00 +0000

I gave a presentation with Morgan last week at the In-store Marketing Summit which was held at McDonald's Hamburger University, just outside of Chicago. Apart from Morgan's disappointment that you can't actually get a burger of any kind at the Hamburger U, it went reasonably well. We had two projectors fail on us mid-way through the presentation, but being pros from Dover, we just ploughed on with mime and finger puppets.

You can download a copy of the presentation over at shopperculture.com and it is pretty much the entirety of what we delivered.

Don't Panic

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Elston) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 21:45:00 +0000

I've recently re-read Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Apart from reliving part of my teenage years, the message The Guide delivers when it is opened by our hero, Arthur Dent, is one for today.

And always remember that the entry for The Earth, written by Ford Prefect, was "Mostly harmless". Worth remembering!

Why South West Airlines Is As Good As It Is

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Elston) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 20:53:00 +0000

Who wouldn't want to fly SWA when you get this kind of thing from the flight attendants? Creative, unique delivery of information that personalises your experience. What happens when you allow your employees some control.

Did You Know?

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Elston) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 15:20:00 +0000

Useful film about the world around us today. Check back in a couple of years and compare how this has changed.