A brit planner in the Rockies

Mixed Messaging

2012-01-30T08:49:00.002-07:00

I guess you have to be in the know for this not to be a mixed message.

Inspiration

2012-01-16T15:12:00.002-07:00

Brucie, back in the day. Inspiration for Tebow?

Being Pinteresting

2012-01-10T17:08:00.001-07:00

So the challenge of posting something in photo form everyday is proving to be a challenge already. By way of compensation (to myself) I've finally updated my page to include a 'follow me' link to Pinterest. I've been a member for a while and I love it - just haven't pinned very much up as yet. But it is on the to do list for 2012. My intention (and we're full of those this time of the year) is to curate my own architectural library of interesting architectural features as I've decided it's now my thing. Fingers crossed!

Puppet Fun (or why simple always wins)

2012-01-07T16:55:00.001-07:00

Après ski activity, après ski school session two, lesson one. Kids happy hour as well as adult happy hour, courtesy of Ripperoo, Keystone. Simple strategy that pulls in kids, adults, and their wallets. Proving that simple is always a winner.

Funny

2012-01-06T14:11:00.001-07:00

'nuf said really!

Sad. Men At Work

2012-01-05T10:57:00.001-07:00

Construction in the office. The specificity of this sign made me laugh. We males do like to advertise when we are doing hard graft and to make it clear to everyone in the vicinity exactly who is wielding the big hammer.

It's 2012 and sad that such sexism still runs rife in our cultures and our work places. Or perhaps that's being too sensitive to political correctness. Perhaps it is actually just a statement of fact. But did it need the gender specification?

Teaching Kids about Money

2012-01-04T18:13:00.000-07:00

This is an interesting recent PBS news piece on how Colorado schools are meeting their obligations to improve financial literacy in the public school system under a new law that came into effect in the autumn of 2011.

I think it is a great initiative for the state schools and the film really speaks for itself. Take a look and see if you agree, but I think that if the last few years in the global economy have shown us anything it is that many people around the world could have used this kind of education when they were in school.

Have to make some disclosures on the film though. My son is in it along with his class mates and his utterly marvelous and totally fabulous 4th Grade teacher, Kristin Berstien, who is doing a fantastic job of leading her kids to a bright future. School and parents alike are all grateful to Great West (who also happen to be a client while I am in full disclosure mode) for their donations to schools in support of this initiative and the great work it is enabling.

Enjoy!

Watch In Face of Holiday Sales, Colorado Students Begin to Learn Financial Discipline on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.

Small But Meaningful Gestures

2012-01-03T13:13:00.001-07:00

Back to work today, and one of my wonderful colleagues gave me this small gift of Fruit Pastills - a small taste of the home land. The small gifts, small gestures are always the ones that touch us most. Something many organisations could learn from in their brand behaviours.

So That Was Christmas

2012-01-02T14:21:00.001-07:00

Lights down for another year. If the number of lit houses and the number of lights on those houses were any kind of economic indicator then our neighbourhood told us this holiday season that 2012 won't be any easier or better than 2011. No worse either which has to be the good news.

The Game of Life

2012-01-01T12:27:00.001-07:00

New Year's day 2012. Education for the children. Always such a good game when I was a youngster it's interesting watching my own children deal with life choices. It's a great strategy training game for all ages (well at least 8 and up) as we've not quite made it to Risk yet.

Photos

2011-12-31T11:59:00.000-07:00

In the coming year I am going to try and publish more of what transpires through pictures. To start, this great shot of my Grandfather c.1964 recently scanned and emailed to me by my sister.

Happy New Year

2011-12-31T11:46:00.004-07:00

My wife received this email this morning from a friend down under and it tickled me somewhat, for numerous reasons. Enjoy!

"I wanted to send some sort of holiday greeting to my friends and colleagues, but it is difficult in today's world to know exactly what to say without offending someone. So I met with my lawyer yesterday, and on her advice I wish to say the following:

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non addictive, gender neutral celebration of the summer solstice holiday practiced with the most enjoyable traditions of religious persuasion or secular practices of your choice with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.

I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2012, but not without due respect for the calendar of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make our country great (not to imply that New Zealand is necessarily greater than any other country) and without regard to the race, creed, colour, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.

By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms:

This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/him or others and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. The wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year or until the issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.

Best Regards ( without prejudice )

Name withheld ( Privacy Act )."

Planner Survey - 2011 Results

2011-09-19T09:44:00.005-07:00

A huge thank you once again to Heather LeFevre for publishing the results of the 7th annual Planning Survey Report. You can find the 2011 findings here.

Every year this work increases in value to the planning community, but Heather does not do this alone so thanks should also go to Julia Lee (@hellojulialee), Willem van der Horst (@hippowill), Bori Toth (@boribora), Megan Averell (@meggatron), Yuliani Setiadi (@JuliaBanana) and Ayden Abdine, designer (@ayden_a). Thank you all for helping to give us such a useful, good looking product. Follow them all Twitter and say thanks for the effort.

The Planner Survey 2011

View more documents from Heather LeFevre

Planner Survey 2011

2011-05-05T08:03:00.004-07:00

The 2011 Planner Survey is out. This is a brilliant resource for everyone in the planning world, particularly if you are responsible for recruiting.

Click here link to the survey. And if you want to sign up to receive the results, click here.

Do take the time to take part. It really is useful for everyone.

Out.

Courage

2011-04-02T14:10:00.013-07:00

I feel compelled to share this with everyone, for those moments when the day seems a bit crap, or the week is not going as you wanted, or life just seems a tiny bit, rubbish. Watch this, and it will soon put everything back into perspective and help buck your ideas up. This is my old school mate Jim, raising awareness for the work of the Spinal Injury Association (a UK charity). He's the first European paraplegic to have swum the English Channel. He crossed The Strait of Dover, which is one of the busiest stretch of water in the world and somewhere in the region of 21 miles, in 14 hours. Amazing guts, amazing courage. But then he always has been like that.

And he was interviewed on the telly as well!

What a reminder, if you needed one, that we only have one body, one life. So live it to the full. And look after yourself. Get yourself down the gym, take a walk, go for a swim and appreciate all the freedom of mobility you have. It's never stopped Jim getting on with it.

I always remember when he was in the spinal unit of Salisbury hospital and a few of us used to visit him and take him out for a beer and a laugh on occasion. He always asserted that he was still Jim, only a few feet shorter. To me it's always been a pretty good definition of the term inspirational.

Stick To Your Convictions

2011-02-23T20:30:00.001-07:00

It's been a while since I have written anything here (except for the last couple of posts of course!) The on-going rise of Twitter and Facebook as the place to share a quick morsel has relegated the blog to an occasional plaything. I've also been kinda busy with work and family which has made writing anything a challenge.

I hope to turn my attention at work to skills in my teams over the coming months (I know, hope isn't a strategy), and the use of the great and talented resources we've recruited over the last couple of years. I know I have been distracted on this as one of my duties lately.

It's making me look at my philosophies and beliefs when it comes to running a world class strategic planning group. I have for a long time believed, for instance, that plannerly types need to have a diversity of brands and categories to work on at the same time or in close proximity.

Not too many mind you.

I've found three to be about the maximum (more or less depending upon experience and energy of the person). My experience tells me this is stimulating for the individual and adds value to clients, as outside experiences and strategic points of view are brought to the table.

This was reinforced again for me recently. I have a group of planners who are, for business and culture reasons, dedicated to one single category (which is the opposite to this philosophy but a battle I lost some time ago). Some of the team have been doing this for a while now. A senior planner in that team was recently struggling to develop a strategic solution despite having worked on something for a long time and after having done more than enough research. It was clear that due to the 'focus' on the one category, this planner had lost the ability to see the wood for the trees, and during that time was not adding value to the client or our business. With a little help from others not working in the category, we were able to get through this fairly quickly.

It's not been an isolated instance of late but it is a good example of the need to be able to work in different categories and contexts during the same week to stimulate and spice things up. I am convinced that if this planner also had responsibility for another category they would not have struggled so much. They'd have been able to walk away, think about something else and then return to the original problem renewed and able to draw from a different experience.

What do you think? Focus or some variety? What's your experience tell you?

It has renewed this conviction in me but it's a philosophical perspective that I now regret compromising on. I can't remember the context of the time when this happened now, but I must have had my reasons for yielding on my convictions.

So moving forward, I need a new plan. Something that will create the same (or similar) effect, allows the tem to grow and keeps the peace!

Thus, whatever your convictions may be, stick to them. Easier in the long run.

No Right Brain Left Behind

2011-02-18T19:54:00.006-07:00

Very sad that I was too busy (what kind of excuse is that?) to get involved. Just too much going on. Frank and team doing a fabulous thing for a worthy cause.

If you did participate, bravo. I tip my hat to you.

Be Infectious. The Integer Creative Vision.

2011-02-18T19:45:00.004-07:00

The creative department at Integer Denver (which is a very large community of people by any agency standards, anywhere in the world) has spent a long time working out how to articulate internal vision.

As part of where they ended up they produced this small film to celebrate the differences and interestingness of creative people.

Me, I likey a lot. I think you will too. It's not only inspirational, it's empowering.

It's still a very cool place to call home.

Combining Data Sources

2010-12-14T16:27:00.003-07:00

I've been obsessed with this topic of late, and today in particular with this. Created earlier this year, this visualisation takes an almost live feed of data from Transport for London to create a map of the Underground and the position of the trains running through the tunnels.

It's weirdly hypnotic.

Note to Self

2010-10-04T20:04:00.003-07:00

Planning-ness 2010 Presentation

2010-10-01T19:16:00.002-07:00

Had a great time at Planning-ness 2010 in Denver this week. It was great to have the conference in our backyard so that our planners of all variety and flavour along with some Integer creative folk could have a couple of days thinking and making stuff. Thanks to the Dallas and Des Moines crews for coming in as well, it was great to see you and hang out.

Got to present some of our behaviour based stuff with Ethan and run a small workshop where some good ideas were generated. The feedback was positive and the further reading list well received.

Have a to give a special mention to both Katiy and Brandon for their work on helping out in the background organising a lot of the details on the ground and for their work on the presentation. Also a bit thank you to our HR team for their work in sorting out the happy hour. And The Integer Group has a number of planning positions at the moment, so don't forget to get in touch if you are interested.

You can see the presentation again below, and if anyone wants to talk about it further, just give one of us a shout.

Using Science and Technology to Influence Shopping Behavior

View more presentations from shopper culture.

Planning-ness 2010

2010-09-14T19:50:00.005-07:00

So Planning-ness for this year is nearly upon us.

Two locations in 2010, NYC and on our back yard here in Denver.

First off, apologies to everyone who comes from out of town because there will be more Integer planners in attendance than you can shake a stick at as we're treating it as a bit of an off-site for our planning community in the US. So the local Denver crew as well as teams from the other parts of the US will be hanging out there.

We're also going to be sharing some of our thinking around behaviour in one of the sessions and everyone will get a chance to hear about planning in our world. The write up for our session reads:

So much of planning is about chasing after the new, the different, and the modern, and using these trends to connect brands with their audiences. But what role do some of these factors have in influencing a shopper’s behavior? How should we be thinking when it comes to making a person stop and take action? How should we be thinking when it comes to influencing a consumer’s decision? This workshop will cover different ways to influence shopping behavior and will explain how brands and retailers can create an environment that will turn a shopper into a buyer.

Perhaps most importantly we'll also be hosting a happy hour in the Space Gallery at the end of the Thursday evening, where there will be plenty of MillerCoors product to sample and enjoy.

Paul Isakson (Integer alumni) will also be there sharing his recent experience venturing into the freelance world, which promises to be really interesting. And having just returned from Sao Paulo and shared a conference platform with a Neuroscientist, Ari Popper of Brainjuicer has a session that also looks really interesting on the use of emerging research techniques.

I know there are more Integer alumni venturing back into town and it will be great to catch up on how things are going, so hope to see you there if you're coming into town.

Planner Survey - 2010 Results

2010-08-18T07:37:00.004-07:00

Many thanks once again to Heather LeFevre in Amsterdam for organising and conducting the 2010 planner survey. For those of us who run groups of planners, it's a really useful annual resource. Long may Heather's great work continue.

This year, not only did the questions and therefore the output get stronger, but it's been nicely designed and put together.

So to Heather and team (Megan Averell of Hill Holiday, Boston, Julie lee of Señora Rushmore, Madrid and Bori Toth of TBWA, Berlin) thanks very much.

The Planner Survey 2010

View more documents from Heather LeFevre.

Comments

2010-07-10T20:39:00.002-07:00

Due to the large number of spam comments that have showed up on my blog today, I've changed the settings to try and stop it. If you drop by and have something genuine to add or contribute, I apologise in advance if there are some hoops you have to jump through first. Not really the right blogging approach I know, but then neither is spam through comments.

Music Animation Machine

2010-06-16T12:52:00.012-07:00

I was lucky enough to attend an Edward Tufte seminar last week here in Denver. It was great to have a day of feeding myself and not be in the office, on a plane, in a meeting etc. etc. It's June already, and I thought '09 was a busy year!

Anyway, Tufte opened with a clip of video from the music animation machine. What a wonderful graphical presentation of music as data. I've ordered the DVD as that seems to have some of the best examples, but there are some on youtube here.

What's so great about this is the clarity in presentation of data. It is so clear, so simple. It provides us with the information so we can understand what is happening. It provides us, with a record of past data (notes) and gives us a wonderful representation of the delights to come. It brings you the music score, usually a static thing, in a form that allows you to understand the music simply by watching.

Tufte is a great presenter and so passionate about his numbers. I highly recommend seeing him present if you get the chance or at least read some of his books.

2010 Planner Survey

2010-05-13T22:16:00.005-07:00

Blimey I'm slow these days. So much going on at home with builders and other tradesmen drinking coffee and milling around, as well as travel, conference presentations, recruiting, pitches and what-not.

Meant to post this a while back, as the 2010 Planner Survey from Heather in Amsterdam has been up for a while. Link to take it is here.

If you want to sign up for the result, click here.

It won't be up forever, and Heather's last post indicated that they will probably take it down at the end of next week, so get in quick if you want to take part.

Looking For...

2010-04-19T19:44:00.004-07:00

I'm in Richmond, VA spending a couple of days at the VCU Brandcenter hoping to meet some of the future stars of the industry. On the plane I was reflecting on all the recruiting I've done since arriving in the U.S. which has been very successful in the main (OK team, a couple of small mistakes, but quickly sorted!) and what it is I personally look for in a candidate. So here's my quick list:

- curiosity. Of the world around and of something specific. No butterflies allowed
- empathy. To be able to see the world from different perspectives
- the ability (?) to worry about a problem until it has been properly sorted
- questioning & listening. The ability to ask searching questions and hear the answers
- imagination. To make stuff out of your empathy
- reality. Everything has to be doable.

And I think the really great planners, who stand tall amongst everyone posses these 6/7 in spades.

So this was a diversion from reading Seth Godin's Linchpins book and thinking about The Gleicher Change Formula in relation to Behavioural Economics (yes, seriously)

When Fruit Was Just Fruit

2010-03-14T17:34:00.001-07:00

Love this image.

From i can read.

Google Info Graphic

2010-03-14T16:21:00.008-07:00

The behemoth in numbers. Via Pingdom.

Making Information Easier

2010-03-03T20:54:00.005-07:00

The web is about to get (even) better. Morgan sent this to me earlier today as a "must see" video. It's a fantastic TED video from Gary Flake of Microsoft's Live Labs about Pivot - a new technology that could help us all gain greater insight from the data and information that is difficult to view on the web.

Those of us who use the web as part of our work everyday know there is so much hidden information, buried in content, buried in behaviours, that would unlock more creativity if we could just get to it.

Now all I have to do is buy a PC!

Teaching Children About Food

2010-02-11T21:41:00.007-07:00

Jamie Oliver recently received a TED Prize for his work on improving our diets. Today he delivered his plea at TED2010 to teach every child about food, something our society is patently failing to do. I read somewhere recently (and I cannot find the reference at the moment) that this generation of children will be the first to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents. Scary. And yet so easy to fix. Please watch, and if kids are important to you, sign up for his food revolution.

Pukka. As Jamie would have said in the 90's.

Lost Generation

2010-02-02T09:20:00.002-07:00

It's been too long since I posted anything at all, let alone anything interesting.

This isn't new, but I love this palindrome film that someone on our team shared again last week.

Travels

2009-11-16T13:37:00.007-07:00

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

2009-09-25T14:38:00.004-07:00

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

2009-09-03T21:57:00.004-07:00

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

2009 Planner Survey

2009-08-29T22:30:00.001-07:00

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

2009-08-29T10:20:00.006-07:00

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

2009-08-18T21:12:00.003-07:00

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

2009-07-26T20:37:00.003-07:00

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?

2009-07-05T15:39:00.006-07:00

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

2009-07-02T19:16:00.005-07:00

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

2009-07-02T17:17:00.004-07:00

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?

2009-06-11T15:14:00.002-07:00

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

2009-06-11T14:09:00.003-07:00

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

2009-05-21T21:37:00.003-07:00

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?

2009-05-20T13:04:00.004-07:00

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

2009-05-12T11:54:00.004-07:00

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?

2009-05-11T21:41:00.002-07:00

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

2009-04-30T08:13:00.001-07:00

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

2009-04-28T08:37:00.003-07:00

Fabulous story telling.

Calling All Planners

2009-04-26T17:18:00.005-07:00

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

2009-04-16T20:36:00.004-07:00

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

2009-04-16T19:59:00.001-07:00

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™

2009-04-05T18:05:00.005-07:00

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

2009-03-31T14:45:00.002-07:00

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

2009-03-31T13:53:00.006-07:00

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?

2009-03-30T08:20:00.002-07:00

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

The Internet Turns 20

2009-03-24T21:42:00.007-07:00

The Internet is now out of its teenage years and on the way to full adulthood. 20 years ago, Sir Tim Berners-Lee wrote a paper at CERN with the title "Information Management: A proposal."

It was from this over the following year and a bit that he developed and built the protocols we use everyday (I'm sure he probably had help though) - HTTP, HTML, WorldWideWeb (the first web browser), CERN httpd (the first server software), and the first web server (http://info.cern.ch).

All of which we should all be very thankful as it has not only allowed the most unprecedented era of human communication and interconnectivity, but built new industries, jobs, services and seen some fantastic new ideas brought to fruition (I think they're fantastic anyway) that generally make many things in life easier. So what's next ...

Join Our Social Media Experiment

2009-03-11T16:52:00.001-07:00

This evening we're in an interesting social media experiment. We're testing the power of social media to spread a "buy now" message to support a great cause. Tide is selling retro tee-shirts to support Loads of Hope. Check out the video below for more about this great cause, and support them by going to Tide3.com and buying a shirt—two shirts gets free shipping.

It is definitely a great cause so a worthwhile endeavor. But the key to the experiment is in not using traditional paid media and instead appealing to bloggers, twitterers, facebookers, etc. as the mechanisms to reach out and talk to folks. So please check out Tide3.com and join our experiment.

Everything is Amazing, Nobody is Happy

2009-03-02T16:37:00.004-07:00

Very funny clip about the spoiled generations that we are.

New White Paper

2009-02-24T17:41:00.005-07:00

We've just release another White Paper at work. Based upon some experience we have managed to accumulate over the last few years, this paper looks at points of inflection throughout a purchase cycle and how the role of communication should change as we move from the being in the mindset of a consumer to that of a shopper (and back again).

Click through and download.

Izzard on Technology

2009-02-19T11:51:00.001-07:00

I love these Lego animations.

And Izzard on twitter now - http://twitter.com/EddieIzzard

Proof that Good Ideas Will Win Out

2009-02-10T16:03:00.004-07:00

Hyundai Assurance (for me the best marketing idea that was seen at the Super Bowl) is proving extremely successful for the brand. Recently released sales figures show that January sales are up 14.3% while all others in the category, er, tank. It would seem that a strong idea, which is empathetic the situation the audience faces is quite a powerful thing. Who'd of thought it?

A Valentine from Jamie Cullum

2009-02-10T09:45:00.003-07:00

And who wouldn't want a personalised Valentine from Jamie?

New Colour Research

2009-02-06T08:42:00.004-07:00

Interesting piece I heard on NPR this morning. There has been much research on the power and importance of colour around us. This new work from the University of British Columbia studies more than 600 people who undertook a variety of computer based tasks that were delivered in either a red, blue or white background.

In the research they created some copy for a toothpaste brand. This was either delivering a rational 'fights cavities' message or a more emotional 'makes your smile brighter' message. Both were delivered on a red, blue and white backgrounds. As Ravi Mehta, the lead author of the study says,

"significantly more people choose the brand which was good on cavity prevention. With blue they preferred teeth whitening. And on a white background, neither product had an advantage."

The study also explains how previous research has produced conflicting findings about how red and blue effect thinking. What this research is saying is that either colour can provide a benefit, if it is used with the appropriate task.

Interesting stuff and worth a look. Again, thinking about the context of the task at hand and applying research such as this will help move the performance of your comms.

Best Super Bowl Marketing Idea

2009-02-03T08:58:00.006-07:00

Plenty of comment on the work this weekend shown during Super Bowl 43. For my mind, the best was this from Goodby and Hyundai.

It has a marketing idea. In the current climate, it's great to see an agency and client team thinking about how to address the issues, concerns and fears of its audience. Yes, there were more beautifully shot, art directed, funny, great-use-of-special-effect affairs, but to see a real marketing idea that is interesting, that speaks to the context of our times and addresses it head on, was great.

Good Urban Design

2009-01-28T14:00:00.008-07:00

Interesting article that appeared in Monocle Magazine that showcases 25 examples of good urban design. One of the best is the tram that runs on grass.

Some more images here. And bike lockers to keep your favourite mode of transport warm and dry in cold, snowy cities.

You can also read more in the IHT here.

New Study

2009-01-27T21:10:00.003-07:00

We've just put another study up on shopperculture. This is the result of some work we've been doing for NACS/Coca-Cola Research Council. It's been a really interesting project over the last 12 months.

The report provides a fresh perspective on some routes for C-Store operators to break through the conventions of their category. Click through to download.

ShopperCulture on Twitter

2009-01-24T21:14:00.004-07:00

We've started tweeting at work about stuff we feel is relevant. May not be for everyone, but if it is, do start following us here.

Another bit of Cadbury joy

2009-01-24T21:06:00.002-07:00

Again!

Create Your Own Bike Lane

2009-01-21T19:53:00.003-07:00

Love this.

It's not real, but someone should jump in and make it.

psfk London Event

2009-01-21T19:48:00.003-07:00

Have been asked to put up a post about the psfk-Good Ideas Salon, taking place in London on 30th January. I am sure that the event will have no problem selling out, so if you are going to be in London on that day, sign up soon and make sure you get a place. The line up of speakers makes for a really interesting read. Only wish I could be there.

If you go, please let me know what you thought of it.

2008 Observations

2009-01-20T10:02:00.000-07:00

Started this as we turned into 2008, and then things just got away from me. Anyway, a observations and things from 2008, a most interesting of years.

1 - Financial Expert = oxymoron
2 - UK radio is disproportionately better than its US counterpart - better music selection and mix, better guests, conversation, point of view.
3 - Death is around the corner for us all, so live in the present of today
4 - UK tax system is simple - but it's all relative!
5 - Exercise is vital, so get out there and shape up
6 - Social networking - Blogs, Facebook, to Twitter, Linkedin, Plaxo et al - is either for the professional or for those with no spouse or young ones!
7 - Kids whose parents are actively involved do better academically.
8 - BitTorrent rocks.
9 - Bond was a bit disappointing.
10 - The new Doctor better be not be!

Why sleeping in is good for you

2008-12-31T09:51:00.004-07:00

Interesting snippet in Wired this month - 3 Smart Things About Sleeping in Late. Also the reason why an early start in the office should be 9:30! We all need more sleep than we think - so spending more time under the duvet is good (have a read of Guy Claxton's Hare Brain, Toirtoise Mind). You are more creative at night - so nobody should ever be made to do an 8am meeting. Rising early causes more stress (all to do with the production of the hormone cortisol).

So stay in bed. It's good for you.

Chocolate

2008-11-15T11:00:00.000-07:00

Can't quite believe it has taken this long to permeate our house because this organisation seem to have been trading for some time. This is Bloomsberry & Co who are purveyors of fine chocolate and who have a pack design sensibility that means you cannot resist buying some. Whether it is specific designs for milk or dark chocolate, holiday packaging or romance, they are all fantastic. Interesting and entertaining with an engaging personality. Just what you want in your slab.

Blog writing

2008-11-15T10:02:00.005-07:00

Found this small utility (Typealyzer) that looks at the content of your blog and determines the parts of the brain that have been used in the creation of the writing.

Feel pretty good at being described as a doer. Not too shabby I guess.
The analysis though I am less happy about. Always thought of myself as being closer to the intutioin dimension. The order, habit, details dimension not something have ever thought of as a strength, and interesting that may come through the randomness I throw up here and keep.

Still, interesting little widget.

Beer Sphere

2008-11-13T20:57:00.005-07:00

So the plannerly thinker types of the world have launched a new regular gathering shin-dig - BeerSphere, modelled on coffee mornings and likemind type gatherings.

So this is either for:
- the lazy who can't get up for coffee
- the busy, who can't make it due to work/child/distance issues (like me)
- the caffeine intolerant

Or is a reflection that the growing global consumer depression is affecting us planners, and no longer in need of caffeine stimulants to keep us going, we need alcohol stimulants to blank it all out.

Or the realisation that it's just bloody good fun to go and have a pint with a group of like minded people.

Where do you sit?

17 new marketing mantras

2008-10-28T08:55:00.005-07:00

New book out from Tom Himpe, the author of "Advertising is dead: Long live advertising" called "Advertising Next".

Not read it yet, but it sets out a number of mantras for brands moving forward in terms of how they should behave.

The book supports these 17 new ways to operate with a myriad cases to make his point. I'm not so sure there is anything that new here for us planners, but in book form there may be more notice taken in a broader context. What it also shows is that these rules provide opportunities of brands big and small. That as a small organisation you can think and take on the big players. And that as big players, you're going to have to think small some of the time. The changing media landscape is going to make adopting these behaviours easier for everyone. So how many of these behaviours does your brand demonstrate?

In-Store Marketing Expo

2008-10-28T08:45:00.001-07:00

New post on shopperculture.com about the presentations from some of our offices at the In-Store Marketing expo.

If you are there, drop by and say hello.

Looking forward to Bond

2008-10-21T09:03:00.003-07:00

I've really been drawn in to the Quantum of Solace, initially through facebook. Today's movie launches are fantastic, especially around a franchise like Bond. The level of engagement you can have with the product before it is even released really draws the audience in, and creates a group of advocates who talk about it with others. From the snippets of info. available during filming, through to the communities created, the games, the background info. and the bits to personalise your phone, desktop, IM avatar and all that. Films have never been so rich, engaging and exciting.

The level of cross merchandising and promotion is of course taken to new levels with Bond. A pioneer in product placement, the use of the property that is Bond has been carefully managed and used appriopriately to manage the equity of the entire franchise. Endorsements are a good fit (like Omega watches or Aston Martin) or the character is used in a creatie way to both showcase a particular product and enhance his own persona, as in this Sony HD spot.

He comes across as he should - tough as nails - and I bet this looks amazing in HD.

My mate, Marmite

2008-09-15T13:20:00.005-07:00

I'm loving the newish Marmite work at the moment.

Nothing particularly new about the idea or anything on the site, but the combination of one of my all time favourite products with a classic bedtime story, Paddington Bear (and Paddington is both a classic for me and now for my 5 year old as we're reading the stories together), is proving that 1+1 = 3. Brilliant stuff for a brand to tap into such a nostalgic property. Also, the executions are a fabulous extension of the love it or hate it idea.

Another White Paper

2008-09-10T21:02:00.006-07:00

It really has been busy. We've been working on a new initiative at work that brings together the experience we have in the digital space with our experience in retail. We think it is a new space for us as an agency to play in that we've termed Digitail™ (yes, we've even trade marked that term!)

Anyway, the convergence of these two worlds is really interesting and some of the work and conversations have led us to the recognition of the space and obviously we want to stake a claim in it because we think we have the right to play.

So hence the White Paper. Download it from shopperculture.com here and leave a comment on your thoughts.

Morgan and I also sat down in a dark room with a microphone and talked about it to create a podcast which basically gives you the background to the thinking. We're making some internal changes and restructuring a few things to ensure we really bring it to life so it should be interesting over the next 12 months.

New White Paper

2008-08-31T19:38:00.006-07:00

It's been a busy month and somehow I've not had the chance to get to write anything. It was great to see Team GB come 4th in the medal tables in Beijing this year. It seems that John Major's investment in youth sport when he took of the top job at UK PLC is coming to fruition as it was the best result in the medal tally since 1908!

Anyway, lot's going on at work and plenty of new stuff coming down the pipe that should be really interesting.

We've just published another White Paper, this one is a point of view on retailer's Clean Store policies. If that's something of interest, download the paper and have a read.

Plenty of travel in September in the US and overseas so I hope to pick up some interesting things on the way that I can talk about.

DisruptionFest '08

2008-07-28T20:07:00.002-07:00

OK, so this is a plug for an initiative that is going on within the Group I work for (TBWA\Worldwide).

This site is a place where anyone can nominate what they perceive to be any kind of Disruption that has recently occurred in the world - be it architecture, music, art, fashion, whatever.

It will be interesting to see how this grows as it is intended as a celebration of those who look at the world differently and are able to over turn conventions of the field they operate within. You can sign up as a Disruption agent and vote on those ideas you feel challenge the world around us the most.

The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination

2008-07-28T19:28:00.006-07:00

Bit behind on this, as apparently it has been the 'buzz' in and around Harvard since June 5th. JK Rowling delivered the Commencement Address at the Annual Meeting of the Harvard Alumni Association.

You can find it on YouTube, but if you visit the Harvard Magazine you can watch it and read the transcript. It's a brilliant piece delivered really well in a clearly nerve-racking context. I think she did a fantastic job, and the content is magnificent.

She discusses the importance of failure (interesting notion to a group of Harvard graduates!) in stripping away the inessential, and makes a wonderful point on the importance of imagination. I found this particularly interesting in the context of leadership. She says;

"Imagination is not only the uniquely human capacity to envision that which is not, and therefore the fount of all invention and innovation. In its arguably most transformative and revelatory capacity, it is the power that enables us to empathise with humans whose experiences we have never shared."

The ability to place ourselves in the shoes of others, be it as a planner in crafting your brief or as a leader in developing your team, is clearly a huge part of what we do; essential in fact. In both areas, the ability to empathise makes a big difference between growth and success, and merely getting by.

Consumer Electronics White Paper

2008-07-02T12:50:00.004-07:00

Over at our work blog, www.shopperculture.com, we've just put up a new white paper on a study our Dallas office undertook about shopping in the Consumer Electronics category. If that's your gig, worth a download.

More lists

2008-06-26T15:38:00.004-07:00

Trend Candy have a bunch of top something lists on all sorts of things on their site. As a fan of a top X list, thought I would pop it up here and make up my own top 5 list of their top x lists from today's browsing. So here it is:

1) Top 30 hip hotels in 2008. Love the Istanbul underwater hotel
2) 11 kinetic energy innovations, free green energy. Go buy some.
3) Top 30 unique inventions in 2008. Some of these are great.
4) 13 innovations in Transportation and future transit - I will get my hover car that I was promised as a child one day!
5) Top 30 naughty trends, innovations and ads in 2008 - coz it's fun

Thing with this though is that I don't think a lot of their content actually constitutes a trend. It's interesting an' that, but trends?

Thinker types

2008-06-26T15:22:00.002-07:00

As I have been lousy at writing anything of late (and 3 weeks in the UK hasn't helped that) thought I would post a link to Heather's findings of the planner study she recently undertook. I posted about it a while back.

Live ads

2008-05-31T19:40:00.004-07:00

Thursday 29th May, 2008. Channel 4 in the UK showed what was the first ad created "live" in the ad break. The execution was a great manifestation of the "Difficult is worth doing" idea developed by W&K (although the actual executional idea was bought to the table by Starcom).

Many interesting things in this. It...

1) continues the line of innovative Honda work (Cog, Choir etc.)
2) has (and will continue) created a huge amount of column inches and PR coverage
3) was cheap to produce, as it was done in house by Channel 4 and took reletively little to create. No fancy CGI and all that.
4) was a creative executional idea bought by the media agency.

Was it effective? Given the number of people who viewed it (over 2 million) and the link above to Youtube which has over 50k views so far, it's certainly got a lot of attention. The product (the new Accord) is also likely to be top-notch and will sell well too.

Brilliant!

It's been a while

2008-05-19T20:29:00.003-07:00

Workload. Pitches.

My car has spent more time at the airport garage than at home.

My back is fed up with hotel beds.

And somehow, I've just not had the time to post - although there are some new things over at shopperculture.com.

In the haze though, I did have this thought at the weekend. Grown men in Crocs - is that right?

Visual treats

2008-04-20T19:30:00.003-07:00

I cannot stop myself from hanging out on this site new site for Microsoft's Zune player. I love the visual impact it delivers, the navigation, and the variety of imagery. The play list also has some great tracks on it. It's so interesting and visually pleasing it just makes me smile. This is what brands should be all about - delivering people with interesting chances to play with their brand. I've been going on about it all week. How good is that, a non-user talking about your brand to anyone that will listen for week?

And I have asked around, and no, I still don't know anyone who owns one. Do you? Why? What's cool about it? I'd love to know.

Handbags

2008-04-17T18:10:00.004-07:00

This is great. I was at a conference today and saw a brilliant presentation of a new study that has been done about the contents of America's handbags. Called In your Purse - Archaeology of the American Handbag, it's an enlightening look (especially for blokes) at the dark recesses of the handbag. Whats fascinating is the potential for innovation that the humble handbag presents.

Great insight

2008-04-09T21:58:00.003-07:00

This is a new Visa execution that springs from a great insight. Watch and enjoy the absence of hard sell. Wonderful stuff.

Inconvenience

2008-04-08T08:46:00.005-07:00

We've a project going on in the office on the notion of convenience. So this little blog has been set up by Paul to discuss the opposite - those things that inconvenience and bug the hell out of us. He's looking for comment and stories about things that get on your nerves and you see as inconvenient in your day-to-day life.

So please have a look and leave your own story somewhere on the blog. If you also find a way to pass it on to other people you know get riled up by life's little inconveniences, that would be fantastic.

Thanks

Silence the stain

2008-04-03T08:51:00.003-07:00

Some great spoofs of the silence the stain executions from Tide to go.

Too late to contribute, but not too late to vote.

More Cadbury Joy

2008-03-31T20:23:00.004-07:00

And not just the large slabs that my sister sent over last week for my birthday. The follow up to the Gorilla - a series of airport vehicles drag racing down the runway to the strains of classic Freddie Mercury. The brand essence of cadbury is Joy - and this is yet another wonderful expression of it.

You find the truck work inside this website that is creating a home for all this joyfulness. I love the area of Gorilla echoes that are all on youtube.

Have a look, it's most excellent (much like the imported product).

Thinker types - once again

2008-03-16T19:20:00.000-07:00

This is the fourth year of a survey that Heather LeFevre (now of CP+B in Miami) has run her survey of plannery types and their world. I posted a link to last year's survey and this is a link to the 2008 edition. In 2007 450 of us completed the survey and already this year this link has been emailed to over 600 of us. Heather is also gaining some analytical support from Hall & Partners, so there may be some greater richness to the results.

So if you are of a plannery disposition, click through and take it. If you are not in a plannery type position (i.e you're a student) or if you are just interested in the results (which means you run an agency and you employ plannery types) then you use this link and they will be sent to you went complete. Go at it.

Useful lists

2008-03-16T18:00:00.000-07:00

I always find a list of help. Here is an interesting one I've just found from Step One Creative - top 100 campaigns of all time.

Volkswagen, "Think Small", Doyle Dane Bernbach, 1959
Coca-Cola, "The pause that refreshes", D'Arcy Co., 1929
Marlboro, The Marlboro Man, Leo Burnett Co., 1955
Nike, "Just do it", Wieden & Kennedy, 1988
McDonald's, "You deserve a break today", Needham, Harper & Steers, 1971
DeBeers, "A diamond is forever", N.W. Ayer & Son, 1948
Absolut Vodka, The Absolut Bottle, TBWA, 1981
Miller Lite beer, "Tastes great, less filling", McCann-Erickson Worldwide, 1974
Clairol, Does she...or doesn't she?", Foote, Cone & Belding, 1957
Avis, "We try harder", Doyle Dane Bernbach, 1963
Federal Express, "Fast talker", Ally & Gargano, 1982
Apple Computer, "1984", Chiat/Day, 1984
Alka-Seltzer, Various ads, Jack Tinker & Partners; Doyle Dane Bernbach; Wells Rich, Greene, 1960s, 1970s
Pepsi-Cola, "Pepsi-Cola hits the spot", Newell-Emmett Co., 1940s
Maxwell House, "Good to the last drop", Ogilvy, Benson & Mather, 1959
Ivory Soap, "99 and 44/100% Pure", Proctor & Gamble Co., 1882
American Express, "Do you know me?", Ogilvy & Mather, 1975
U.S. Army, "Be all that you can be", N.W. Ayer & Son, 1981
Anacin, "Fast, fast, fast relief", Ted Bates & Co., 1952
Rolling Stone, "Perception. Reality.", Fallon McElligott Rice, 1985
Pepsi-Cola, "The Pepsi generation", Batton, Barton, Durstine & Osborn, 1964
Hathaway Shirts, "The man in the Hathaway shirt", Hewitt, Ogilvy, Benson & Mather, 1951
Burma-Shave, Roadside signs in verse, Allen Odell, 1925
Burger King, "Have it your way", BBDO, 1973
Campbell Soup, "Mmm mm good", BBDO, 1930s
U.S. Forest Service, Smokey the Bear/"Only you can prevent forest fires", Advertising Council/Foote, Cone & Belding
Budweiser, "This Bud's for you", D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles, 1970s
Maidenform, "I dreamed I went shopping in my Maidenform bra", Norman, Craig & Kunnel, 1949
Victor Talking Machine Co., "His master's voice", Francis Barraud, 1901
Jordan Motor Car Co., "Somewhere west of Laramie", Edward S. (Ned) Jordan, 1923
Woodbury Soap, "The skin you love to touch", J. Walter Thompson Co., 1911
Benson & Hedges 100s, "The disadvantages", Wells, Rich, Greene, 1960s
National Biscuit Co., Uneeda Biscuits' Boy in Boots, N.W. Ayer & Son, 1899
Energizer, The Energizer Bunny, Chiat/Day, 1989
Morton Salt, "When it rains it pours", N.W. Ayer & Son, 1912
Chanel, "Share the fantasy", Doyle Dane Bernbach, 1979
Saturn, "A different kind of company, A different kind of car.", Hal Riney & Partners, 1989
Crest toothpaste, "Look, Ma! No cavities!", Benton & Bowles, 1958
M&Ms, "Melts in your mouth, not in your hands", Ted Bates & Co., 1954
Timex, "Takes a licking and keeps on ticking", W.B. Doner & Co & predecessor agencies, 1950s
Chevrolet, "See the USA in your Chevrolet", Campbell-Ewald, 1950s
Calvin Klein, "Know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing!
Reagan for President, "It's morning again in America" Tuesday Team, 1984
Winston cigarettes, "Winston tastes good--like a cigarette should" 1954
U.S. School of Music, "They laughed when I sat down at the piano, but when I started to play!" Ruthrauff & Ryan, 1925
Camel cigarettes, "I'd walk a mile for a Camel", N. W. Ayer & Son, 1921
Wendy's, "Where's the beef?", Dancer-Fitzgerald-Sample, 1984
Listerine, "Always a bridesmaid, but never a bride", Lambert & Feasley, 1923
Cadillac, "The penalty of leadership", MacManus, John & Adams, 1915
Keep America Beautiful, "Crying Indian", Advertising Council/Marstellar Inc., 1971
Charmin, "Please don't squeeze the Charmin", Benton & Bowles, 1964
Wheaties, "Breakfast of champions", Blackett-Sample-Hummert, 1930s
Coca-Cola, "It's the real thing", McCann-Erickson, 1970
Greyhound, "It's such a comfort to take the bus and leave the driving to us", Grey Advertising, 1957
Kellogg's Rice Krispies, "Snap! Crackle! and Pop!", Leo Burnett Co., 1940s
Polaroid, "It's so simple", Doyle Dane Bernbach, 1977
Gillette, "Look sharp, feel sharp", BBDO, 1940s
Levy's Rye Bread, "You don't have to be Jewish to love Levy's Rye Bread", Doyle Dane Bernbach, 1949
Pepsodent, "You'll wonder where the yellow went", Foote, Cone & Belding, 1956
Lucky Strike cigarettes, "Reach for a Lucky instead of a sweet", Lord & Thomas, 1920s
7 UP, "The Uncola", J. Walter Thompson, 1970s
Wisk detergent, "Ring around the collar", BBDO, 1968
Sunsweet Prunes, "Today the pits, tomorrow the wrinkles", Freberg Ltd., 1970s
Life cereal, "Hey, Mikey", Doyle Dane Bernbach, 1972
Hertz, "Let Hertz put you in the driver's seat", Norman, Craig & Kummel, 1961
Foster Grant, "Who's that behind those Foster Grants?", Geer, Dubois, 1965
Perdue chicken, "It takes a tough man to make tender chicken" Scali, McCabe, Sloves, 1971
Hallmark, "When you care enough to send the very best", Foote, Cone & Belding, 1930s
Springmaid sheets, "A buck well spent", In-house, 1948
Queensboro Corp., Jackson Heights Apartment Homes, WEAF, NYC, 1920s
Steinway & Sons, "The instrument of the immortals", N.W. Ayer & Sons, 1919
Levi's jeans, "501 Blues", Foote, Cone & Belding, 1984
Blackglama-Great Lakes Mink, "What becomes a legend most?", Jane Trahey Associates, 1960s
Blue Nun wine, Stiller & Meara campaign, Della Famina, Travisano & Partners, 1970s
Hamm's beer, "From the Land of Sky Blue Waters", Campbell-Mithun, 1950s
Quaker Puffed Wheat, "Shot from guns", Lord & Thomas, 1920s
ESPN Sports, "This is SportsCenter", Wieden & Kennedy, 1995
Molson Beer, Laughing Couple, Moving & Talking Picture Co., 1980s
California Milk Processor Board, "Got Milk?", 1993
AT&T, "Reach out and touch someone", N.W. Ayer, 1979
Brylcreem, "A little dab'll do ya", Kenyon & Eckhardt, 1950s
Carling Black Label beer, "Hey Mabel, Black Label!", Lang, Fisher & Stashower, 1940s
Isuzu, "Lying Joe Isuzu", Della Famina, Travisano & Partners, 1980s
BMW, "The ultimate driving machine", Ammirati & Puris, 1975
Texaco, "You can trust your car to the men who wear the star", Benton & Bowles, 1940s
Coca-Cola, "Always", Creative Artists Agency, 1993
Xerox, "It's a miracle", Needham, Harper & Steers, 1975
Bartles & Jaymes, "Frank and Ed", Hal Riney & Partners, 1985
Dannon Yogurt, Old People in Russia, Marstellar Inc., 1970s
Volvo, Average life of a car in Sweden, Scali, McCabe, Sloves, 1960s
Motel 6, "We'll leave a light on for you", Richards Group, 1988
Jell-O, Bill Cosby with kids, Young & Rubicam, 1975
IBM, Chaplin's Little Tramp character, Lord, Geller, Federico, Einstein, 1982
American Tourister, The Gorilla, Doyle, Dane Bernbach, late 1960s
Right Guard, "Medicine Cabinet", BBDO, 1960s
Maypo, "I want my Maypo", Fletcher, Calkins & Holden, 1960s
Bufferin, Pounding heartbeat, Young & Rubicam, 1960
Arrow Shirts, "My friend, Joe Holmes, is now a horse", Young & Rubicam, 1938
Young & Rubicam, "Impact", Young & Rubicam, 1930
Lyndon Johnson for President, "Daisy", Doyle Dane Bernbach, 1964

A social media experiment

2008-03-15T20:54:00.008-07:00

OK. So pick your excuse. I'm either ...

a) reasonably busy
b) working my way through a big stack of books
c) the slowest reader known to man

Either way, it has taken me too long to get to my promise of reading this book. My mistake, as if you have even a vague interest in how to ensure your brand is a success in the future then I recommend you give this a read.

I found Joseph's writing style to go on a bit and the humour often seems incongruent, but get past that and it is a light, easy read about the power of conversation. Peppered with anecdotes, graphs and other traditional 'I've got a really good paper, but let's turn it into a book' stuff, the fundamental point about the change in the landscape brands now play on and the need to re-think how we engage people is well made and an important contribution to modern marketing.

So what did I learn from the read? Well, this is a book about change, evolution, adaptation and experimentation.

- It reminded me of how we all change our mentality when we cross the threshold of our places of work. We have conversation outside the building - inside, we push out endless reams of (often) meaningless communication.

- That to partake in a conversation, you have to have something interesting to contribute - a challenge for many. How many brands in the world could hold an interesting conversation at a BBQ? And it's not about just opening your mouth, you have to have something to say.

- That many brands do not understand the notion of audience - otherwise the aggressive or de-humanising stance that some advertisers take would be less prevalent. Remember guys, we're all audience to something, we all talk.

- That whatever we do, brands are increasingly bouncing in the market (spoofing, generating echoes) - or they should be looking to do so. Joseph talks of the 'movement of parts of the conversation that alter and shift every time they hit the dirt'. (Although I felt the notion of a Chief Conversation Officer as a new role slightly sinister for some reason).

- The importance of listening in conversation. Something we've been doing bunch of work on in the office.

There are also some useful and very funny stories of brands slapping their customer's for using them. I'm sure they won't bring the organisations down, but they provide useful learning for others.

The conversation carries on in a number of places. First off there is the site that accompanies the book, there is Joseph's excellent blog (and his podcasts are also worth a listen) which Morgan is an advocate of, and you can also join the Facebook group.

And if you happen to be in close geographic proximity to me, I'd be happy to lend you my (slightly dog-eared) copy, but you can also get your own from amazon.com.

Reduced sugar

2008-03-04T10:51:00.006-07:00

These are just Cornflakes now, aren't they?

I grew up on Frosted Flakes (or Frosties as they are called in the UK) and Tony the Tiger was an early icon of my television viewing. His sugary delights, now deemed too much for today's generation of children, have been watered down.

And weren't wagon wheels bigger when we were kids?