tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41698073982340191962024-02-07T15:48:51.078+00:00The Sell! Sell! BlogSell! Sell!http://www.blogger.com/profile/10702354938890218799noreply@blogger.comBlogger1836125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4169807398234019196.post-32640624673291196392019-04-03T12:30:00.000+01:002019-04-03T12:31:23.925+01:00E By Gum it's an eBookIt's been a while, hasn't it? Hello again. Since last we spoke we've been knee-deep in some tasty projects with our lovely clients, which is why we haven't got around to writing on here. If you miss a regular dose of Sell! Sell! nonsense, you can always follow us on the Twitter,<br />
at <a href="https://twitter.com/wearesellsell">https://twitter.com/wearesellsell</a> and Instagram,<br />
at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/wearesellsell/">https://www.instagram.com/wearesellsell/</a> (both @wearesellsell by the way).<br />
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Anyway, at long last we are chuffed to announce the launch of our book, <i>How To Make Better Advertising And Advertising Better</i>, as an ebook.<br />
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You can find it on Amazon, here: <a href="https://amzn.to/2I5bsYG">https://amzn.to/2I5bsYG</a></div>
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<a href="https://amzn.to/2I5bsYG" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="453" data-original-width="819" height="353" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3P4kuYePnxV1T6AsZjLmqSqqRvHHwYZIFWAhVWiaO9G0QI2pPGY634M4Al2fpowNd4P-5DlZ689P17YrJsgHkToK93BgFoVE2ngSwmt1X5ZXU-TnQvU0huW9esOqGf6sY8VI2D49UeiMg/s640/Screen+Shot+2019-04-03+at+12.23.17.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">
<i>“The ad industry is in an unprecedented state of confusion. While the assertions and pomposity grow majestically, the advertising itself diminishes rapidly. Sadly there is no button we can push that will erase all the arrogance and self-delusion. Fortunately we have this book. It might be just the reset button we all need.”</i> Bob Hoffman</blockquote>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">Something is rotten in the state of advertising. CEOs and marketers tell us that working with agencies is painful and laborious. Agency people tell us they feel undervalued, overworked and stifled by poor processes. And the poor old punter is left faced with advertising that is at best forgettable, and at worst insulting to the intelligence. Surely there’s a better way?</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">
<i>“This book is full of common sense. Which is rare, so it’s actually full of uncommon sense.”</i>Dave Trott </blockquote>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">We were having a cup of tea and a chat one morning when we had the idea for this book. In our opinion, the quality and effectiveness of advertising in general is not good enough. We think the way businesses work with agencies and the way that agencies organise themselves and develop advertising needs to be improved. It’s time the advertising industry had a much-needed kick up the proverbial. So we thought it would be helpful to collect the ideas and approaches that have helped us to make better advertising for our clients over the last ten years. Whether you’re a business owner, chief executive, marketer or brand director who works with ad agencies, or an agency chief, ad exec or creative, we hope you find this book thought-provoking and challenging. Most of all, we hope it helps you make better advertising. Put the kettle on...</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">
<i>“Vic and Andy have come up with a foolproof way to help you discover if you are a good agency. Ask yourself: ‘Dare I give this book to all my clients?’”</i> Steve Harrison</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">
<i>“Get it, read it. You’ll feel better for it. More importantly you’ll do better as a result of it.”</i> Brian Jacobs, <a href="http://www.bjanda.com/blog/reasons-to-be-cheerful-123/#more-759" style="color: #da7ab7; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">The Cog Blog</a></blockquote>
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Sell! Sell!http://www.blogger.com/profile/10702354938890218799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4169807398234019196.post-74845555898249302472018-07-06T14:43:00.000+01:002018-07-06T14:51:10.529+01:00Be More Tortoise<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><b>Patience
is bitter, but its fruit is sweet<o:p></o:p></b></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><b>Jean-Jacques
Rousseau<o:p></o:p></b></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One of the biggest myths plaguing the
advertising business at the moment is that that being <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">agile</i> blesses an agency with some sort of unique and divine competitive
advantage.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Agility</span></i><span lang="EN-US"> is a dangerous and misleading buzzword that seems to have been
adopted by many an agency desperate to demonstrate that they have <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">transformed their business model </i>to
develop <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">a new way of working </i>that is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fit for purpose </i>for the every need of
your modern marketing client (sorry, Rockstar)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Agile.
</span></i><span lang="EN-US">Just type the bastard word into the search function
on <a href="https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/search/articles?KeyWords=agile" target="_blank">Campaign</a> and you’ll be overwhelmed with a tsunami of articles banging on about it. 1194
results to be precise. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Agile,
agile, agile, agile, agile</span></i><span lang="EN-US">, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">agile, agile, ad infinitum</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Almost everyone is saying it but dig a
little deeper and what does this actually mean?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Put bluntly, all it really means is that
agencies say they do things very quickly (or, in reality, quicker than they
previously did). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Now, it doesn’t necessarily follow that
just because agencies say they move at pace and do things quickly, it’s therefore
a given that they can always do those things well. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Quick
And Great </i>advertising idea is a very rare beast whereas there seems to be
an infestation of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Quick And Shit </i>spreading
its disease in every media channel thanks to the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">agility </i>virus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Let’s put to one side the ridiculous
conceit that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">agility </i>can provide any
kind of creative competitive advantage when every Tom, Dick, Harry and Tiny
Martin is saying the same thing and making the same promises.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">There’ll always be a surfeit of obsequious
agencies happy to drop their trousers and commit to delivering work at the
speed of light regardless of any possible detrimental effect to the creative
output because they are so paralysed by fear and believe that their
relationship and hold on the business will be irrevocably damaged if they don’t
do exactly what the client says.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Let’s be honest here. Giving the client exactly
what they want is not the same thing as giving the client exactly what they
need.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Surely it’s time to reframe the
conversation about the quality of creative work rather than how quickly it can
be turned around? <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The best agencies aren’t ideas factories or
sweatshops.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their end product is
something that is highly valuable. It isn’t a commodity that can be conjured up
overnight by a team of creative elves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As a very small, elf-free agency without
any kind of hierarchy or labyrinthine, bureaucratic working process, I reckon
we’re ideally placed to jump on the bandwagon and genuinely beat the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">agile </i>drum if we wanted to.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Fuck that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Agile
</span></i><span lang="EN-US">is ultimately a generic term that any small agency
can credibly lay claim to. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It’s one that big agencies are now trying
to muscle in on because they know that clients are increasingly getting pissed
off with it taking ages for them to do stuff and they’re also shit scared of
smaller agencies eating their lunch.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In the case of many bigger agencies
desperate to say ‘<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">We’re nimble’,</i> it’s
also a big fat lie. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">With a creative team reporting to a
Creative Director, reporting to an ECD who reports to a CCO and all of them surrounded
by a project team bigger than Beyoncé and Jay Z’s entourage, they’re about as
nimble as a herd of elephants copulating in a mudslide.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The ubiquity of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">agility </i>is further evidence of the advertising industry’s obsession
with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">how we work </i>at the expense of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">how good the work actually is</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">If you take a step back, it seems ludicrous
that agencies are selling themselves on the speed rather than the quality of
their thinking. It also seems ludicrous that a lot of clients don’t appreciate
the considerable benefits of patience and time when it comes to the development
of creative and investment in advertising.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Although it can be a difficult topic to
broach to a client who wants everything done tomorrow, there needs to be much
more discussion about the unpalatable truth that great creative work and long
term advertising ideas simply cannot be done overnight.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Get
it done well </span></i><span lang="EN-US">not only beats <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Get it done fast, </i>it always adds far more value to a company’s
bottom line. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">When a campaign is finally unleashed, the
only real measure that counts in the long run is how effective it is and not
how long it took to make. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I totally appreciate that clients are under
severe pressure these days. Competition is intense in every market, margins are
being squeezed, and budgets are tight. The board and shareholders are extremely
demanding. This seems to be the reality of modern business life and it’s not
going away any time soon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">However, it seems that many agencies and
clients have forgotten the fundamentals that the best advertising takes a
decent amount of time to produce and a decent amount of time to actually work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The culture of “everything now” and instant
gratification is directly at odds with the inescapable reality that brands are
built over the long term and that there needs to be continual investment in a
long term advertising idea to reap the rewards.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The curse of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">agility </i>and the endemic obsession with short-term behaviour has
been fuelled many a snake-oil-selling naysayer. You know the type, the ones
proclaiming <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the death of advertising </i>and
promoting that kind of ‘always on, always in Beta, think small’ iterative
bollocks where multiple digital <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">experiences</i>
are favoured at the expense of a powerful overarching and enduring big idea.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This has led to loads of brands continuing
to wasting their money on an explosion of rapidly cobbled together <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">here today, gone tomorrow </i>tactical ideas
that have the staying power of a mayfly and add up to the square root of fuck
all in the minds of the punter and the bottom line.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">These ideas are often forgotten even
quicker that they took to develop and never really add up to anything and
generally fail build to something deeper or meaningful over the long term.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The irony of all of this is that a classic,
big advertising idea actually makes it easier for agencies and clients to be
more <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">agile </i>over time<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">A big idea that’s properly developed over
time allows a client to get off the endlessly spinning hamster wheel of poorly
linked tactical ideas. A unifying central thought with a core message that’s
powerfully executed and consistently expressed enables all future marketing
activity to spring from this. It provides a starting point and a springboard
for all fresh creative development without the need to start over from scratch
with a blank sheet of paper every single time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In the long run, a big advertising idea
that might have taken longer to see the light of day will create significant
economies of scale further down the line as clients do not have to keep paying
for the process and output of constant reinvention of idea, message and
execution.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The mention of execution brings me on the
crucial subject of craft.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">It
Ain’t What You Do It’s The Way That You Do It (That’s What Gets Results). </span></i><span lang="EN-US">We’ve invoked the wise words of Bananarama on many an occasion as it
neatly captures the vital importance how you say something as much as what you
say.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It’s not just the origination of great
ideas that need proper time to be nurtured and developed; it’s the execution of
them too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The proper craft of great writing and
art-direction is almost a dying art these days as agencies hurriedly leap from
concept to execution without pausing for breath. Yet, it’s paying attention to
these elements that can make a huge difference to how the advertised is received
by the people that really matter, the ones who live in the real world that you
need to convince to buy your brand.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Great art direction, design, typography,
photography, film all take time. Cutting corners is a self-defeating exercise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The quality of how well an idea is crafted
can make a big difference to its overall effectiveness. It can often be the
determining factor behind whether your advertising is noticed in the first
place or is then remembered and acted upon. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Finally, I think it’s important to
emphasise that I’m not advocating a return to the bad old days when it took the
gestation period of an elephant for campaigns to be developed (yep, back to
that delightful fornicating pachyderm reference again).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s more about being realistic about how
long it takes to come up with and then make a great idea.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">There are valuable ways of saving time in
order to create space for time in the creative development process. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Don’t ever promise brand new ideas with the
drop of a hat. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Don’t agree to start work unless you feel
you have sufficient time to get under the skin of the business, gather the
right information and get access to the key decision-makers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Don’t give four teams one week to crack the
brief. Give one team four weeks to crack it so that they ‘own’ the problem and
feel personally responsible for the solution.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Don’t eat up creative development time with
endless meetings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Don’t let the oppressive timesheet
mentality dictate creativity. You can’t book idea generation time into
thirty-minute slots and expect the best work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Never take longer to write the creative
brief than do the work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Give feedback on client feedback. Not
everything you’re being asked to change will benefit the development of the
work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Minimise the number of internal and
external creative reviews.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Only present to people who have the power
to say ‘yes’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Remember that the approval of the concept
is only half the battle. Don’t squeeze or skimp on craft.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Avoid brainstorms and hackathons like the
plague.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Above all, don’t shy away from speaking
some real truth to power as a valued business partner rather than a servile
supplier.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Let’s stop kidding ourselves that being <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">agile </i>genuinely leads to better, more
effective work and let’s start telling clients that patience really is a virtue and that, for everyone’s benefit, we
should all <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Be More Tortoise</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
Sell! Sell!http://www.blogger.com/profile/10702354938890218799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4169807398234019196.post-85642330718846377062018-06-29T16:55:00.000+01:002018-06-29T16:57:07.671+01:00A Taste of Our Campaign for Taylor'sI thought it was about time we shared some of the work that we've been doing for our favourite Yorkshire folk and the brewers of the finest ale this side of Alpha Centauri – Timothy Taylor's. We've been working with Taylor's for the last three years across their business, helping them to crystallise and bring to life what makes this 150+ year-old family brewery so special.<br />
<br />
Now Taylor's aren't the kind to shout about themselves. Historically they haven't really done 'advertising'. They prefer to concentrate on brewing the best beer humanly possible and let that beer do the talking. But they thought in this age of ever-increasing competition in the beer category, it might be a good idea to help people understand a little more about what makes their beer so special, why it's worth paying that bit more for.<br />
<br />
Taylor's prefer to be discovered and savoured, and we have taken the same approach with the advertising. It's a refreshing challenge to the usual narratives around advertising and brand comms to note that not every brand wants to create maximum hype or noise. Some would simply like to communicate things that matter to their customers and potential customers in a way they feel is true to themselves.<br />
<br />
So every couple of weeks Taylor's charming ads appear in the same spot in newspapers and magazines, each telling in 100 words one of the little stories that add up to make a big difference to the quality and taste of their beer.<br />
<br />
Sometimes it could be a more time-consuming but better way of doing something, or it could be about the use of a certain, more difficult to grow ingredient. Other times it could the emphasis on the human touch and the skill of the brewer. They're often simple things that on their own aren't earth-shattering, but together they make a big difference. They do them not because it's easy or cheap, but because they don't want to compromise on the quality or taste of the beer. Or, as we like to put it, they go to that trouble <i>All For That Taste of Taylor's</i>.<br />
<br />
With the help of cartooning legends Ed McLachlan (Punch, Private Eye, Evening Standard, The Spectator, Daily Mirror etc.) and Rob Murray (Private Eye, Sunday Times, The Spectator etc.) each story is brought to life visually with a cartoon, so they catch the eye in the pages of your newspaper or magazine. It's a real pleasure to work with these brilliant artists from sketches through to their amazing final artworks, I think I'll write more at some point about the wonderful, often much underrated art of cartooning. The end results are adverts that are not designed to look showy or clever in the boardroom or to awards juries, but to be discovered, enjoyed and work well in context on the printed pages of papers and magazines. Bucking the current trend of in-your-face, shouty advertising, they credit the audience with intelligence and a sense of humour.<br />
<br />
Even on a relatively modest scale, this campaign shows the long-term benefit of a big idea that builds over time. Along with all of the other great work being done in the business, this campaign and idea is helping Taylor's to increase their sales year-on-year and increase their share of the cask ale market in a climate despite the meteoric rise of craft beer. More to come later this year...<br />
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<br />Sell! Sell!http://www.blogger.com/profile/10702354938890218799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4169807398234019196.post-91603563757459418312018-06-22T17:05:00.000+01:002018-06-22T17:05:41.660+01:00The Positioning Smokescreen<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It’s no coincidence that this post comes at
the end of Cannes Week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you follow us
on Twitter you’ll know that we’re not the biggest fans of the International
Festival of Bullshit, Scam and Money-Making, to give it its proper title.
Anything that bills itself as the “epicentre of the creative economy” is best given
a wide berth in our book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I’d rather gouge my eyes out with a blunt
spoon than spend a week listening to people incessantly spouting hot air about
subjects that are often, at best, only tangentially relevant to the real
business of making effective and successful advertising for our clients (having
said all that, I was gutted to miss out on the ‘Badass Leaders’ talk from
Akon...).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">There’s way too much emphasis on technology,
way too much emphasis on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">what’s going to
happen in the future?</i> and way too much self-serving, promotional propaganda
and bandwagon-jumping backslapping. It almost seems that “advertising” is a
dirty word that nobody really mentions any more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s all about “creativity” now. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">However the “creativity” that is talked
about is not really one I fully recognise and often bears no relation to any
actual creative output that inhabits the real world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The “creativity” that is discussed at
Cannes seems to be some kind of abstract construct. A mythical beast, magical
formula or Holy Grail that can be instantly discovered and then used forever
more after attending a couple of talks by a few people in pink shorts and
loafers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Well, the rather mundane news is that there
is no magical formula or secret behind “creativity”. It’s available to any
business, anywhere in the world and can be easily achieved by taking the
relatively simple decision to entrust great creative people to come up with
great creative ideas. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This, I accept, is by no means a
headline-grabbing revelation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">However, it’s shocking how completely out
of reach this is for so many agencies and clients.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Part of the problem is that agencies
themselves have swallowed their own Kool-Aid that they have been dispensing to
clients about brand love and brand purpose. They have been so self-obsessed
with their own image and so blindly desperate to force competitive advantage by
trying to own spurious and meaningless points of difference that they have
forgotten that it’s ultimately their creative end product which should be their
major selling point to clients.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I point to the recent embarrassing nonsense
proclamations coming out of Ogilvy following their, ahem, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">refounding </i>project. Apparently this exercise took them two years
and they’ve ended up with a very slightly different font without the “&
Mather” bit. Fuck knows how many hours and pounds were burnt in pursuit of this
unworthy goal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Since this <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">refounding</i>, Ogilvy (but not Mather) have been telling the world and
his wife all about this monumental event using only jargon and gobbledygook to
explain their thinking. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It’s a modern disease for big agencies to
have their own marketing departments who want to steal the oxygen and take the
limelight with stories which very rarely have anything do with the actual work.
In this case, I can’t actually remember any recent Ogilvy campaigns that have
had anywhere near as much PR airtime as their own rebranding sideshow. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">If <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">culture
eats strategy for breakfast </i>then surely when it comes to what is more
important for clients, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">product eats
positioning every time food is on the table and the greedy bastard also stuffs
its face with it in between meals.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I appreciate that last turn of phrase might
not exactly catch fire but any clients that genuinely want their marketing
communications to be successful over the long term should look beyond and
behind an agency’s positioning to look at an agency’s product first.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Unfortunately, it’s easy for clients to be
seduced by a set of soundbites or beliefs all backed up by some unique,
proprietary process that promises brand fame, cultural resonance, game-changing
consumer behaviour, competitive disruption, supercharged business performance,
everlasting life, etc, etc. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">You only need to do a trawl of the ‘About’
section on most agency websites to realise that most of these soundites are
hollow claims that bear very little resemblance or connection to the creative
work that is also on the site. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Let’s take TBWA for example. They’ve been
banging the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Disruption </i>drum for
longer than most now. You’d hope such a clear positioning would be reflected
and manifested in everything they do but I’m scratching my head and struggling
to see that from the work that’s on their current reel. Gems like PlayStation, FCUK
and Wonderbra would allow them to at least substantiate that positioning but
they weren’t even produced in the last decade…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The reality is that the vast majority of
agencies aren’t really that different from each other at all in terms of the
services that they offer, how they’re structured, how they work and the kind of
work that they do. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">To compensate for this they delude
themselves by rallying behind the security blanket of a ‘magic gold dust’
positioning which they believe makes them genuinely different and, therefore, irresistible
to any prospective client. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As an aside, a consultant, who shall remain
nameless, once advised us to <i>better
define and sharpen </i>our agency positioning. We wanted to let our work and
the case studies behind them speak for themselves and were reluctant to get
into a lengthy process of navel-gazing as we believed that potential clients
would either get what we were about and like our work, or they wouldn’t. And we
were totally fine with that.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US">When we probed this in more detail, we were given an example of an
agency that had a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">very compelling and
different positioning </i>that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">had a
clear hook that makes them easier to sell to clients. </i>In fairness, that
agency, who also shall remain nameless, did have a very clear hook but they
hadn’t done any decent creative work since opening their doors and that work
didn’t bear any resemblance to the positioning they were pushing. A year later
they were no longer in business. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Ultimately, great agencies are defined by
and remembered for their product, and not their positionings. Nobody looks back
and says “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">well, CDP’s maginificently
differentiated positioning was clearly the main reason that they cleaned up in the
1970’s</i>”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The likes of CDP, DDB, CDP, Ally &
Gargano, Chiat Day, BMP, AMV, BBH, Lowe’s, GGT, Wieden & Kennedy, HHCL,
Mother are so massively respected in the annals of the advertising business
because they had a fanatical devotion to producing great creative work which
they duly delivered upon. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Another common thread amongst those agencies
is that they were at their best when they had an unfair share of outstanding
creative; a density of talent that most agencies can only dream of these days. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">When it comes down to it, the major
difference between agencies lies in the quality of people that they employ and
not in the form of words they use to summarise their positioning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It’s this human aspect of employing good
people to come up with and then execute great ideas that separates the great
from the good from the grim. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Significant investment in great creative
talent is an absolute rarity these days. It seems like there been a conscious
culling of brilliant experienced creatives to save money and help the bottom
line, agencies preferring to pursue a “quantity over quality” approach by stocking
departments full of juniors prepared to uncomplainingly churn out route after
route regardless of their merits. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Unsurprisingly, the end product these days
is now less Fabergé Egg and more Kinder Egg. I can’t see that changing in the
future now that agencies are choosing to entrust creativity to giant
crowdsourcing tools names after French mime artists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There’s a school of thought in our business
that creativity is some kind of hygiene factor and level playing field. This is
madness.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It’s absolutely bonkers to think that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">all </i>agencies are equally capable, even
if there is a much of muchness to the creative work that is going largely
unnoticed or polluting our lives. There’s a massive gap in terms of quality of
thinking and craft between the top 2% of work and everything else.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Herein lies another problem. The
aforementioned density of talent just doesn’t exist any more. Once upon a time
the best agency creative departments were jam-packed with outstanding creatives
across the board. That meant clients usually had a very good chance at hitting
the bullseye and getting a great campaign out. Now, it’s much more of a lottery
and they’re lucky if they can even hit the dartboard as they’re blindfolded,
looking in the wrong direction and have a wet sponge instead of a sharp, pointy
arrow to aim with.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This brings me back to the work again and
the people behind it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I think an interesting new business
exercise would be for agencies to compile a reel of the five ads that they had
done in the last year that they were least satisfied with. That way, clients
would be able to get a feel for the overall creative standards of the agency
and not just the showcase shiny work that the agency wants you to see.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">All agencies can compile a greatest hits
showreel and wow clients with their jazz hands and artificial chemistry when
they are on their best behaviour. But how many can truly say that their work is
consistently good and effective? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">What’s the turnover level of agency staff
and clients? What are their longest relationships? Are the people responsible
for the work on the reel still working at the agency?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">If agency brands were really powerful and
their positionings were so special and compelling then I imagine that there
would be a lot less pitching going on. But that certainly isn’t the case in the
current climate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It’s high time for agencies to stop hiding
behind their positionings and start worrying more about their product rather
than their brand. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">When the tide turns and the next creative
revolution happens, the only competitive advantage left will be how good your
ideas are not how good your agency positioning is.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Sell! Sell!http://www.blogger.com/profile/10702354938890218799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4169807398234019196.post-17875824978164880912018-06-12T15:40:00.002+01:002018-06-12T16:19:04.566+01:00The Attack on Creativity or Is This the Most Stupid Industry in the History of Humankind?An Admap study showing the top drivers of advertising profitability has been doing the rounds again. And while that might not sound very interesting if you're a creative, it should interest you, a lot.<br />
<br />
Because what this study shows, based on the analysis of over 1500 case studies, is that after the size of a brand, the biggest single factor that can improve the return on investment of your advertising is creative.<br />
<br />
According to the study, creative quality has the ability to increase the profitability of your advertising by a factor of 12. That's twelve times more profitable. In other words, for those who prefer percentages, creative can make your advertising 1200% more effective.<br />
<br />
This is at odds with what we've witnessed over the past 20 years in the advertising industry. Which, in case you haven't been paying attention, is an industry-wide, sustained attack on creativity, creative people and the things that help those people to be creative.<br />
<br />
Creating an environment where creative talent can flourish takes a few fundamental things. Boiled down to their simplest, they are something like: Time, Space, Value, Mentoring, Support.<br />
<br />
And these are the things that have been systematically removed from advertising agencies over the past 20 years or so.<br />
<br />
Time has been cut to the bone. Time to explore, meander through thoughts, try things out, explore references and inspiration, make mistakes – christ is seems like the industry has been awash with the sort of 'fail harder' 'we need to fail' type of mantra. But the reality is, agencies don't really live by those values. There is never enough time to fail. Time has been squeezed out of projects, as if delivering at speed is somehow adding value to the client. Some clients might like it if you turn things around quickly, but that's very different to actually making a valuable difference to their brand. Everything is a rush or ASAP. I think there are occasions when it's good to work quickly on something, but in general time will only make the thinking and the execution of your advertising better.<br />
<br />
Space to work. Ad agencies have fallen foul of the <i>ooh isn't this a creative space </i>fallacy. Open-plan spaces are very efficient for cramming in as many people as possible. That makes the bean-counters very happy. Giant long desks with people lined-up like miners, lit by the glow of the laptop screen to which they appear permanently transfixed. Headphones on to try to create a bit of separation from the noise around them. This has become the de rigueur <i>creative space</i>. Now businesses that aren't in the creative field even adopt this approach to try to create a more creative environment. But the irony is that what might feel like a creative hubbub is, in fact, counter-productive to actually being creative. Have a look at the environments and studios in which designers, writers or artists work. Generally they're quite controlled, quiet spaces within which the person can do their thing. People might want different things from their space to help them, some might work better with inspiration around them and music, others might prefer a quiet, blank space with no distractions. But we force everyone to work in this same creative call centre environment. It's difficult to see how the removal of creative spaces and offices for creatives is having anything but a negative effect on the quality of work.<br />
<br />
And how much do we value the creative talent within the ad industry? Pay levels are being constantly chipped away and starting salaries are barely subsistence level at a time when it has never been more expensive to live, and higher-earning, experienced people are being culled from wage bills. If advertising can't attract the best, brightest and most brilliant thinkers and doers, how can it still claim to be the go-to place for the very best creative thinking for businesses and other organisations?<br />
<br />
The voice and status of creatives have been diminished within the industry, the spokespeople and leaders of which are increasingly people who haven't created a single thing in their lives. How can we expect the business to be led in the right direction by people who have no idea how it's really done? I suspect it's often the case of what I talked about in an earlier post, which is that <a href="http://sellsellblog.blogspot.com/2016/09/are-you-okay-with-idea-of-creativity.html">the business-people of advertising might love the <i>idea </i>of creativity, but they really don't feel comfortable, or even like, how it happens.</a><br />
<br />
When you have the conditions above it's not difficult to see how the current new generation of creatives are not getting anywhere near the right level of mentoring and support they need to grow into the next creative powerhouses of the industry.<br />
<br />
So here we have an industry that was once powered by the creative brilliance of its most talented people.<br />
<br />
An industry that should celebrate and nurture above <i>all else</i> the ideas and brilliance of talented creative people.<br />
<br />
Where the thing that is the single most powerful controllable element in improving the effectiveness of the work it does for its clients, is the very same thing being slowly and surely eradicated.<br />
<br />
Is This the Most Stupid Industry in the History of Humankind?Sell! Sell!http://www.blogger.com/profile/10702354938890218799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4169807398234019196.post-15185112718040436962018-03-23T15:51:00.003+00:002018-03-26T12:02:50.106+01:00Think Same<br />
Here's to the corporate ones.<br />
<br />
The sycophants. The risk avoiders. The conformists.<br />
<br />
The round pegs in the round holes. The ones who see things the same as everyone else.<br />
<br />
They're very fond of rules. And they have total respect for the status quo<br />
<br />
You can't quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them.<br />
<br />
About the only thing you can do is ignore them.<br />
<br />
Because they don't change things.<br />
<br />
They push the human race backwards.<br />
<br />
And while some may see them as the corporate ones, we see idiots.<br />
<br />
Because the people who are corporate enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who never do.Sell! Sell!http://www.blogger.com/profile/10702354938890218799noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4169807398234019196.post-84078383253992166902018-01-24T12:30:00.001+00:002018-01-24T12:30:49.895+00:00How To Cut Through The Crap We published the following piece seven years ago this week, way back in January 2011, just as things were starting to get very weird and confusing in the world of advertising and marketing, with all kinds of charlatans and bullshit artists spewing nonsense about what advertising was about or was going to be about. It's interesting to see how many of these things still hold true today (click to make it bigger, or the copy is reproduced below)...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEblzeZhcOAc51bRBSKa_tjAmS6hzQCzvw5x9xwdwm5EZ3ZhPjjDous3nzrCogm9qP7ooQOQ9VSCg32afiTJq4KejwwiqhxSy6z0iXkrdenaA597h6Ao9kaw-5xqD38tzUvX4G_xxk1E40/s1600/SellMailer2011ART.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1108" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEblzeZhcOAc51bRBSKa_tjAmS6hzQCzvw5x9xwdwm5EZ3ZhPjjDous3nzrCogm9qP7ooQOQ9VSCg32afiTJq4KejwwiqhxSy6z0iXkrdenaA597h6Ao9kaw-5xqD38tzUvX4G_xxk1E40/s640/SellMailer2011ART.jpg" width="443" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Marketing and communication in 2011.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">How to cut through the crap.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><b>SO HERE WE ARE IN 2011.<i> </i></b><i>Never has there been a more competitive time to be in the business of marketing. There have never been more ways of spending budgets. There has never been more pressure on budgets. Or, come to that, more theories about what you should and shouldn’t be doing. What is clear is that whilst many are waffling on about this trend and that development, some are simply getting on with doing things that get results. We are some of those people. And this is some of how we do it.</i></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><b>Creativity and craft are more important than ever.</b> Marketing has never been more sophisticated than it is today. As marketers, we have the ability to instantly track results and gauge responses. Marketing is no longer a dark art practised by individuals, going on instinct alone. Today’s marketers are smarter, have more tools at their disposal, and more effort goes into finding the right strategy and</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">approach than ever before.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">So why, when almost all marketing is produced in this professional and exacting way, does so much fall flat, or not meet expectations, or fail to inspire?</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Well, people have never been bombarded with more messages, communication and conversations than they are today.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Today’s consumers are so attuned to it that they are far more adept at filtering information, communication and messages, regardless of channel or platform, than any generation before them. And it’s as true for newer conversational or interactive media as it is in conventional broadcast media.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">The answer to this problem is as old as the hills, but more relevant and crucial than ever before. Simply, creativity and the craft skills of writing, art direction, design, typography and direction, are the vital ingredients that make the difference between the easily missable and the compelling. Between the <i>whatever</i> and the astounding. The unsuccessful and the successful. Between a campaign that doesn’t meet its targets and one that massively exceeds them.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Creativity and craft are the key things that can make two campaigns that have very similar, very robust strategies perform very differently. Why one captures the imagination, communicates, involves, stimulates, entertains, excites, whilst the other fails to do so. The difference is <i>how</i> that robust, well thought-through strategy is brought to life.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">That’s why, even in an era when marketing is so thoroughly planned and interrogated, creativity and craft is more important than ever to business. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Make sure that you are working with people who have the ability to bring your strategies to life more interestingly, more compellingly, and more entertainingly than your competitors.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Because even if what you are doing</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">is spot-on, it will live or die, fail or</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">succeed, by the way you do it.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><b>The best communication is still about people. </b>How times have changed in the last fifty years. Technology, the speed of living, hairstyles. New media and technology, and the possibilities they offer, are very exciting. But it’s easy to be seduced by</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">the technology and forget the fundamental truth about marketing.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">After all, although a lot of things have changed drastically, one thing hasn’t. Human nature. We are all still driven</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">by the same basic needs and desires as our parents, grandparents, and their great-grandparents.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">The truth is, the very best, most powerful marketing is still about understanding and connecting with people. Finding out genuinely how your brand or product fits into peoples’ lives (or doesn’t), and why. Knowing how and why they choose what they choose. And working out how to influence that decision.</span></div>
<div class="p3">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><b>Focus your communication on changing behaviour, not just changing attitude. </b>A lot of communication today has as its goal small shifts in perception or attitude. Ultimately, the hope is that this will influence people’s decision-making when it comes to selecting a brand or choosing a product. But attitude change is a relatively small ambition when it comes to communication.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Incremental shifts in perception that may or may not pay off in the long run might be fine if you are a market leader, established for generations, or willing to wait ten years for payback. But for most companies, to copy this behaviour is to drastically under exploit the potential of communication. Communication which has the aim of actually getting people to do something, or change</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><i>the way</i> they do something, is a</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">more robust way to build a brand.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><i>And</i> there’s no reason why this kind of communication can’t also leave people with the same positive feelings towards a brand as communication that<i> only</i> attempts to generate positive feelings. (For how to do this, see <i>Creativity </i></span><i>and Craft</i> above.)</div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><b>Be different in the category.</b></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">This sounds like a huge generalisation. It is. But, it’s a generalisation that is generally very true. Isn’t it odd, given that marketing and advertising is such a dynamic branch of business, that in almost every category, brands act and communicate very similarly to each other? It’s not surprising really. People see the most successful brand in the category and think “let’s do that”. And over time it just becomes the standard way of communicating. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">But the power of simply acting differently in your category is immense.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Suddenly, everything you do stands</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">out. Suddenly, everyone else in your category looks like ‘everyone else’.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">You become the interesting one.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">The one people want to be with.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Think of some of the brands who have dared to be different in their category, (Apple, Virgin, Cadbury, Innocent or Fentimans, for example) it reads like</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">a who’s who of successful brands.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">This is not simply coincidence.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">And the best thing about being different in the category is that it’s FREE. It doesn’t cost any more than not being different in the category (and in fact it can make it seem like your budget is</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">going a lot further).</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"><b></b></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><b>Don’t spend all your time and money talking to fans of your brand.<i> </i></b>It’s very tempting in this ‘conversation age’ to spend valuable energy and marketing budget talking to fans or advocates of your brand. After all, who doesn’t like to have a chat with people who already like you?</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">However, the single best way to turn users of your brand into advocates and fans is to always provide them with a product and service that continues to meet and exceed their expectations (also, include a little <i>added value</i> fun into the experience for them now</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">and again). </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">It is important for brands to have fans and advocates. But the best way of creating them is to get more people using your product or service.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Marketing budget is very precious, and the focus of it should be on adding value to the business. The fact is, your biggest fans will choose you anyway.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">This means that to make the most of your budget, your activity should be communicating with occasional users, lapsed users, or potential <i>new</i> customers.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Oh, and by the way, <i>all</i> of your communication should also make your current users or fans feel good about choosing your brand. Which means making communication that’s always charming and interesting (for how to do this, see <i>Creativity and Craft</i> above).</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"><b></b></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><b>Be impatient and ambitious with your targets.<i> </i></b>No one ever blew the world away by aiming low. Ambition is infectious. If you’re in</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">a hurry to achieve things quickly,</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">and ambitious with your targets,</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">your agencies will be too.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Nothing gets talented people excited like a real need to accomplish something through their work. You’ll find that agencies and creative people tend to do their best work on the most</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">ambitious accounts.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">If you want to get the best out of the people you work with, make sure to</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">let them know that you’re in a hurry</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">to achieve something.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><b>Repetition. Repetition.</b></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><b>Repetition. </b>Come back, we’re not advocating some 1950’s style bludgeoning of the public with banal messages. However, have you noticed how few brands stick with an idea or theme for very long these days? </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Marketing departments, boardrooms and advertising agencies tend to get bored with things long before people</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">in the real world ever do.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Strong brands find a strong, long-term communication idea and stick with it. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">note. You do need to keep things interesting. It’s no good just repeating exactly the same thing over and over and expecting great things, you have to keep people surprised and interested (for how to do this, see <i>Creativity and Craft</i> above).</span></div>
<div class="p3">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><b>Be wary of those professing about ‘the future of</b></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><b>advertising, marketing</b></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><b>AND communication.’ </b>You could probably power a small republic with the valuable energy that is wasted every week in the industry by people theorising about what may or may</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">not happen next year, in five years,</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">or in ten years time.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Whole conferences pontificate about it. Whole forests of trees are felled to provide for people writing about it.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">But, without wanting to go all Yoda-like, you will never be marketing in</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">the future, you will always be marketing right now. The things that you are doing right now are the things that are most important to your business.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Focus your energy on doing the most valuable things that you can be doing for your brand right now. The best ways of reaching your prospects right now. The best ways of interesting them, exciting and converting them right now. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">In ten years time, focus on the most valuable things to be doing then.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Value is created by <i>doing </i>things,</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">not theorising. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><b>Done well, TV is still the short-cut to success.</b> Even after all that has been said over the last few years about emerging media channels, <i>conversation</i> versus <i>interruption,</i> and other such buzzword-ridden tomfoolery, facts show that the power of television advertising is still the best short-cut to success for most consumer brands.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">That’s not to say that other media can’t work really hard for you (they work very hard for some of our clients), it’s just that TV still has the power to change fortunes more quickly than</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">any other media or channel.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">And these days, TV is no longer the</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">preserve of the big consumer brand. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">With digital and online channels, and the ability to target and buy audiences very tightly, the barriers to entry have come down considerably. Bringing the most powerful communication medium of the age within the grasp of almost anybody with a marketing budget.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">We have worked with clients of varying sizes who have put their faith into TV, and they have all been very happy with the results of their marketing efforts.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">And yes, we did say ‘done well’ - a lot of TV advertising just doesn’t make the most of the medium. It’s this lack of skill in execution that makes a lot of TV advertising underperform, and feel underwhelming.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">You need to make sure that you’re working with people who have the skill and talent to make the best use of the most powerful medium (and again,</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">this comes back to the subject of</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><i>Creativity and Craft</i> above).</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><b>Don’t scrimp on your</b></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><b>production budgets. </b>Yes, we just said that. We know, everyone is telling you that everything can be done cheaper. But that’s because they care mainly about just getting your business. Rather than making your business as successful as possible. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">It’s true that as technology develops,</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">it’s becoming possible to make things much more quickly and more cheaply than ever before. This is great because that means the barriers to creating</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">great stuff are lower.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">One side effect is that it encourages some people to look for big savings in all aspects of production. Which is okay, everyone wants to feel like they are getting a good deal. But we are going to stick our necks out here and say this: not <i>all</i> savings are <i>positive</i> savings.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">The difference between successful and unsuccessful work often hinges on how well it is executed. This is the<i> inconvenient truth</i> of marketing. You can have exactly the right message, in exactly</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">the right channel, but if no one noticed, you might as well have said nothing.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Think about all the campaigns, ads and communication over the last couple of years that you’ve been most impressed with. Most probably, they were all executed very well. They stood out above their competitors, not only because they were right, but because of how they were put together, finished and crafted.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">You can’t achieve that if you price good people or processes out of your productions. Savings in the wrong places can seem like good value in the short term, but are poor value in the long-term. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Look for savings in the right places,</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">but encourage the best possible outcomes by being prepared to pay for</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">the things that make the big difference.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">It will help you to stand out in the marketplace more than almost anything else.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><b>Halve your production</b></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><b>budget.</b> That’s almost the opposite</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">of what we just said above. You see what we did there? But bear with us</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">for a moment. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Sometimes, the best way to inspire a new way of thinking about a problem is to break people out of their conventional paths.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Drastically cutting a production budget is one way to do this. Suddenly people can’t rely on clever effects, or famous faces. The problem has to be solved with guile and wit. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><b>Action. Not Words.</b> There are 2,462 words on this page, but in themselves they are useless. We wrote them only in an attempt to be helpful.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Time spent talking about stuff rather than doing stuff is time wasted.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Time you could have been out there connecting with your audience,</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">making a difference.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Understandably, especially in these</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">pressurised times, everyone wants to</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">be properly prepared, and that’s</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">important. But month after endless month are often spent in rounds of meetings, gathered around charts</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">and descriptions, tinkering away.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Why do small brands often run rings around the big guys? Because they get to the doing quicker. Big companies are often hamstrung by process and over-examination. Don’t fall into the trap</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">of thinking that to be right, something has to take a long time to get to.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">No matter how many meetings you have, you can never be certain that what you are proposing is perfect.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Better to be out there competing,</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">and fine-tuning as you go along.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Act like a challenger. Take action.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"><b></b></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><b>Sell! Sell! is an independent company based in London.</b> </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">If we existed fifty years ago we might have been called an ad agency, or ten years ago maybe a creative agency. Today those titles don’t seem broad enough somehow.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Suffice to say, our clients come to us</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">for big ideas that help to make their businesses more successful, and for</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">excellence in creativity and craft that helps their organisations meet and</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">exceed their goals. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">
</span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1"><i>Copyright 2011. Sell! Sell! Ltd. London.</i></span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1">2011!</span></div>
Sell! Sell!http://www.blogger.com/profile/10702354938890218799noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4169807398234019196.post-41856494611075122452018-01-19T17:27:00.005+00:002018-01-20T13:12:48.729+00:00Weekly Round-UpWhat has been floating around the world of Sell! Towers this week? Well, dear reader, this stuff...<br />
<br />
An ad we like. Two weeks into the year and something we actually like – believe that if you will. Well it's true, have a look for yourself...<br />
<br />
<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PDNd1xtIo1k?rel=0&showinfo=0" width="640"></iframe>
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<br />
It's simple, made us laugh, made us think about pancakes. Those damn Yankees eh? Always with the ads that make you laugh and think about the product. Proof that advertising can still be a simple business when it's done right. I'd take this over your overwrought, big budget award entry fodder any day of the week.<br />
<br />
On this side of the Atlantic, this new ad for Cadbury has been getting some interest (from people in the business at least), I'd love to find out how this goes down in the real world...<br />
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<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/l0eEqeizNCA?rel=0&showinfo=0" width="640"></iframe><br />
<br />
Obviously this is a completely new direction for Cadbury, given its kooky and comedy approach in recent years, and I think it's the first work for them from VCCP. According to the PR blurb that goes with the ad, Cadbury (I still want to call them Cadbury's, sorry) have moved away from <i>moments of joy</i> to <i>moments of kindness</i>. If you're into reading that kind of thing there's an article on <a href="https://www.marketingweek.com/2018/01/12/cadbury-ditches-joy-positioning/">Marketing Week</a>. It's noticeably more <i>kitchen sink</i> and down-to-earth in execution than Cadbury work of recent years - a bit like Black Mirror does a John Lewis ad - and nicely done. The unglossy and gritty realism in execution is in contrast to a high-falutin' and, dare we say fashionable, strategy.<br />
<br />
It got us thinking about these Alan Parker-directed ads for Birds Eye from the early 70s which, at the time, were ground-breaking – a real departure for the normally glossy world of advertising, even featuring *gasp* regional accents...<br />
<br />
<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Zdylqnz-4uQ?rel=0&showinfo=0" width="640"></iframe><br />
<br />
Next up, the best thing we read this week is <a href="https://martinweigel.org/2018/01/15/the-case-for-chaos-2/">this superb piece</a>, from the always excellent <a href="https://twitter.com/mweigel">Martin Weigel</a>. If you haven't already, do yourself a favour and read it...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp_0dNYBUs5R0lh8SataKGkrAKRQvqXBVB4WbuaGkXyWDYy4H96xRaX2l9buLJGZ29qRq0CEnqfOKaw3eekQ005Ni7hiiw3Dlm9R6u4Vn44RXYjnKKFWzp0c32DTnOtMeui-luNjrSoTSC/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-01-19+at+16.09.59.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="467" data-original-width="832" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp_0dNYBUs5R0lh8SataKGkrAKRQvqXBVB4WbuaGkXyWDYy4H96xRaX2l9buLJGZ29qRq0CEnqfOKaw3eekQ005Ni7hiiw3Dlm9R6u4Vn44RXYjnKKFWzp0c32DTnOtMeui-luNjrSoTSC/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-01-19+at+16.09.59.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />
A thought relating to Martin's piece: recently an ad industry publication ran a special issue about 'Mavericks' in advertising (I put the word in quotes because their definition of maverick seems very different to the accepted meaning of the word). Most who were featured were simply big agency lifers who had climbed their way to the top of the big, corporate ad agency ladder, who in turn, name-checked their big agency cronies. Hardly any real mavericks, by the real definition of the word, to be found amongst them. Hmmm. Are there any real mavericks in advertising anymore? (Possibly not, given the responses of twitter when I asked the question.) And what version of hell is this business in when these no doubt absolutely lovely but unremarkable people are considered mavericks? I do worry.<br />
<br />
There are more great things going on in the world of the Ad Contrarian too. These two posts, <a href="http://adcontrarian.blogspot.co.uk/2018/01/technology-and-wisdom.html">Technology and Wisdom</a>, and <a href="http://adcontrarian.blogspot.co.uk/2018/01/sweethearts-or-customers.html">Sweethearts or Customers</a> are both worth reading - the first in particular is very powerful...<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.8px;">In the world of marketing, the conflict between technology and wisdom has been no contest. All it takes is a quick stroll through the halls of any marketing or advertising enterprise and it becomes immediately apparent which side has won. In the US today, 42% of the adult population is over 50. But in the advertising industry only 6% of employees are over 50. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.8px;">The result is that the marketing industry is drowning in technology and starving for wisdom. Technology, left unbalanced by wisdom, is currently responsible for some of the most wasteful, idiotic, and ineffectual follies in the history of commerce. Or does $16 billion in ad fraud not shock us anymore? Does relentless surveillance not concern us? Does public disgust not bother us?</span></blockquote>
These last two points make me realise – I don't think the best writing and opinion on advertising is going on anywhere near the trade publications these days. They seem to be more and more just a PR vehicle for the top 30 agencies and their staff. It increasingly seems there are a lot more interesting and relevant things to be found on the personal blogs of talented and smart people.<br />
<br />
One thing about the trade publications is that they have helped to spawn a kind of class of industry commentators - people in positions of influence in big agencies who are always tapped-up for their latest take or thoughts to fill space, and in return those people get their PR strokes and build their profiles. Unfortunately it seems, very rarely have these people actually been involved in any great work.<br />
<br />
There is no shortage of industry commentators. But precious few people making work worth talking about. Has the ad industry become all mouth and no trousers?<br />
<br />
What do you think?<br />
<br />
Anyway, here are two good things to finish on...<br />
<br />
The amazing <a href="https://www.visitlondon.com/lumiere#V7qF5YcLX2e0wbDd.97">Lumiere Festival</a> is taking place in London this weekend - it's a wonderful way to light up what can be a gloomy month. Some of the installations look amazing...<br />
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<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qiHHrt1W78Y?rel=0&showinfo=0" width="640"></iframe><br />
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Lastly, but very much not <i>leastly</i>, we're shortly going to release our book <i><a href="http://sellsellblog.blogspot.co.uk/p/how-to-make-better-advertising-and.html">How To Make Better Advertising and Advertising Better</a> </i>as an eBook...<br />
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We're still planning to re-print a new run of the original, printed version, but its labour-intensive production means that will take time. But we still get quite a lot of people asking how they can get hold of it, and frankly, we'd like to get it into the hands of as many people as possible.<br />
<br />
So watch this space...<br />
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Have great weekends everyone...<br />
<br />Sell! Sell!http://www.blogger.com/profile/10702354938890218799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4169807398234019196.post-81911198365440027682018-01-03T13:21:00.000+00:002018-01-03T13:21:42.510+00:00Happy New Year - Happy New AdvertisingHello there, I hope your Christmas break was everything you hoped it would be and that you got to spend lots of time with the people who matter to you (even if that's just yourself).<br />
<br />
As I make the first office cuppa of the year thoughts inevitably turn to our hopes, dreams and ambitions for this brand new year that is laid-out untouched in front of us.<br />
<br />
No don't worry, I'm not going to launch into some LinkedIn style 'you can do anything you want' self-help nonsense. There are plenty of people doing that, and I'd rather not be one of them.<br />
<br />
Something that has caught my eye over the last few days is much talk of whether this will be the year we see change in ad agencies to adapt to the world and changing business around them.<br />
<br />
As someone at a company set-up a good time ago to change the way creative agencies work and get the best out of their people, this frustrates me no end.<br />
<br />
So I suppose that is one of my hopes for 2018.<br />
<br />
Not that the ad industry or ad agencies will change or evolve.<br />
<br />
But that more people will realise change had happened already and is happening currently in this industry.<br />
<br />
It's just not in the places that industry commentators are looking.<br />
<br />
You wont find it in the 'top 50 agencies' (ranked by size obviously), no matter how long you stare.<br />
<br />
Smart clients have realised this already, maybe it's time for the trades and intermediaries to catch up?<br />
<br />
Have a great year!Sell! Sell!http://www.blogger.com/profile/10702354938890218799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4169807398234019196.post-90495908268551699662017-11-02T12:43:00.001+00:002019-03-11T12:02:19.852+00:00Pipe Down - Advertising Needs to Embrace its Talented IntrovertsLoudmouths. You know the type. People who can't stop themselves piping up, most often about themselves and their ideas.<br />
<br />
They seem to have taken over the advertising business, don't they?<br />
<br />
The people who seem to be those most willing to pipe-up on anything and everything. The most well-known creatives in the business at the moment seem to be those who are in the trade press most often, mouthing-off about the latest fad or this week's opinion.<br />
<br />
We've even heard that some prominent creative directors are paying PR people to do their personal PR. What a crazy business that is.<br />
<br />
Time was, a creative, or anyone in the business, would be known for their work. Not their mug or opinion splashed across industry rags or websites day-in, day-out.<br />
<br />
I don't remember the great ad people I looked up to when I came into this business spouting on, week-in, week-out in the trade mags. They let their work do the talking.<br />
<br />
If your work doesn't speak for you, maybe you need to look at your work, not hire a PR?<br />
<br />
I've met plenty of extremely talented and clever people in this business who are also quiet in character, who don't chase publicity for themselves. But too often these people are overlooked in favour of the loudmouths, even if their work is far stronger.<br />
<br />
One argument is that these talented people should become better at promoting themselves.<br />
<br />
But I don't see why self-promotion should beat talent and hard work in a creative business. Not if you care about quality, at least.<br />
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If we want advertising to be a business full of loudmouth self-promotionalists, then sure, we can let things carry on as they are.<br />
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(And hey, maybe it's just a coincidence that the PR-hungry loudmouths have risen to the top of advertising at the same time that there's a dearth of great work coming out of the business?)<br />
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But here's another thought, maybe it's time we realised that the loudest people don't always have the best ideas, or are the best people to run a department, or a company. Or indeed, not the best spokespeople and figureheads for our business.<br />
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Maybe let's try to recognise the quiet and talented. And hear them, and enable them to become the good examples we need?<br />
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Just a thought.Sell! Sell!http://www.blogger.com/profile/10702354938890218799noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4169807398234019196.post-88550087174501784582017-10-10T10:52:00.000+01:002017-10-10T10:56:29.765+01:00Advertising Needs More People Who Give a ShitAdvertising needs more art directors who will fight for the great layout, the killer image, for the best photographer or artist, or to keep something simple.<br />
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Advertising needs more copywriters who will write the 800 headlines needed to get the four great ones. And then fight for the great ones.<br />
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Advertising needs more creative directors who will sweat every detail, fight for the time their people need to do a great job, support their people when it gets tough, and not let any crap out of the door.<br />
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Advertising needs more planners who will fight to simplify the brief, who will resist multiple propositions, who will support great work.<br />
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Advertising needs more typographers and designers who live and breathe the detail of type and design, who give a shit whether every word is kerned properly.<br />
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Advertising needs more account people who know that the best work comes out of a strong, honest relationship with the client, who will say no when the time is right, and fight for the best work.<br />
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Advertising needs more agency execs who give a shit about the work they're doing for their clients, who will stand up to the holding company or the financial guys to make sure things are done properly, people are paid properly and have the time to do a good job.<br />
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Advertising needs more media people who wont just rehash last year's plan on autopilot, or recommend something just because the agency makes the biggest cut off it, or stands by while dodgy media is being sold-in.<br />
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Basically, advertising needs more people who really give a shit.<br />
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If you're involved in mediocre or crap work, and you're blaming someone else, maybe take a minute to take a hard look at yourself and ask if you really fight for great work.<br />
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Do you give a shit?Sell! Sell!http://www.blogger.com/profile/10702354938890218799noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4169807398234019196.post-43799430621103538682017-09-12T13:23:00.002+01:002017-09-12T13:23:45.429+01:00Ice Cream and the Infinite Mystery of AdvertisingI've always thought it must be a nightmare for people trying to get into the ad industry, and for people who buy ads, that ad agency people themselves can't even agree on what makes for a good ad.<br />
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An ad currently dividing opinion is this US commercial for ice cream...</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/j4IFNKYmLa8?rel=0&showinfo=0" width="640"></iframe><br />
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Have a watch and see what you think before you read any further.<br />
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I've seen people praise this as brilliant, in fact someone called it 'the best ad they've seen this year'.<br />
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And I've seen people criticise it, Suzanne Pope of <a href="http://www.adteachings.com/post/165206152725/i-am-relieved-to-tell-you-that-no-agency-was">adteachings</a> went as far as to say "Rest assured, even if you crash and burn in advertising, you will never make anything as terrible as this."<br />
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It's one of the interesting and infuriating things about this business that we can't seem to agree on what makes for good advertising.<br />
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Can we expect clients, especially the non-marketing execs, to take us seriously when this is the case?<br />
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Someone pointed out that if the ad above wins a creative award, everyone will retrospectively agree it's good. There's some truth in that isn't there? That's part of the reason I don't rate creative awards. Even though they're judged by panels of supposed experts in the field of advertising, often they don't even agree on whether an ad is worthy of an award or not. And I see way too many things that I don't think are good pieces of advertising win awards.<br />
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Then again - we have the very robust school of thought that if an ad is successful (ie. it 'works') then it's a good ad. Hard to argue with that isn't it? We have effectiveness awards in advertising, so do we need any other kind of awards at all, ones judged on opinion?<br />
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Then again, there are sometimes other factors that mean an ad doesn't meet the targets set, aren't there? And if an ad works, is it really automatically good? What about the notion that advertising shouldn't vulgarise our world? Is a well-made, enjoyable ad that works superior to one that works equally well but is awful to see or hear?<br />
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Byron Sharp's simple recipe for effective advertising includes using clear brand links by including the brand's distinctive assets, mentioning the brand verbally and/or visually, showing the product, showing the product in use, and refreshing and building memory structures to make a brand more likely to come to mind and be easier to notice. That still leaves quite a lot of wiggle room for interpretation doesn't it?<br />
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Byron points out that although it's commonly assumed that persuasion-oriented advertising must be more sales effective, this is not true, citing decades of research that show that most sales come from people who had no intention of buying.<br />
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Then again maybe you don't agree with Professor Sharp? I know a lot of people don't. This is difficult territory because Prof Sharp always points out, his points are based on scientific research. Personally I have a lot of time for the scientific method, as I'm sure do most people.<br />
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It's sometimes difficult to reconcile when you have giants of the industry like Bill Bernbach saying things like “The purpose of advertising is to sell. That is what the client is paying for and if that goal does not permeate every idea you get, every word you write, every picture you take, you are a phony and you ought to get out of the business.” or “However much we would like advertising to be a science - because life would be simpler that way - the fact is that it is not. It is a subtle, ever-changing art, defying formularization, flowering on freshness and withering on imitation; where what was effective one day, for that very reason, will not be effective the next, because it has lost the maximum impact of originality.”<br />
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As discoveries are made in the field of neuroscience and behavioural science about how we make decisions, some in advertising advocate that advertising needs to be emotional or evoke an emotional response to be successful. Then again, it's not completely clear that emotional stimulus equals emotional decision. Nevertheless, quite a lot of ad people now argue that ads only need to be entertaining or moving in some way.<br />
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Then again Amil Gargano, one of the great admen, says "All other explanations aside, the simple, obvious, and mostly ignored purpose of advertising is to get people to buy what your clients sell. To develop advertising that does that is not an embarrassment. But to develop advertising that solely amuses or entertains, is."<br />
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Of course these days some people counter the advice of people like Bernbach and Gargano by saying that they did great work, but it didn't work the way they thought it worked.<br />
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And on top of all this, you have what I call the <i>Talkability Jonnies</i>. These are the people who say on twitter, or on the blog, or at a pub "Well you're talking about it, so it must be working". They don't seem to realise that it's our job to be constantly looking at, interrogating and trying to understand the work that's out there and why it does or doesn't work. Whether good or bad. Getting a bunch of ad people talking about your ad is no measure of success.<br />
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So where does this all leave us? Back at the beginning I suppose. Looking at a commercial and trying to work out whether you think it's a good piece of advertising?<br />
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What do <i>you</i> think?Sell! Sell!http://www.blogger.com/profile/10702354938890218799noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4169807398234019196.post-78278232467141655142017-08-08T12:40:00.000+01:002017-08-08T12:41:05.043+01:00Eight Things That Help Us...If you're visiting the blog and wondering why the lack of updates, it's because we're guest editing the APG website this month, so our posts are going up there. This week's piece is about eight things that help us develop ideas. Have a look <a href="http://www.apg.org.uk/guesteditor-andy-and-vic">here...</a><br />
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And thanks for stopping by, normal service will be resumed next week.Sell! Sell!http://www.blogger.com/profile/10702354938890218799noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4169807398234019196.post-83071089274545128052017-07-07T17:50:00.002+01:002017-07-07T17:51:33.630+01:00APG Guest Editors This Month - Us!Hello there fine reader. Something strange has happened. For over ten years (9 on this blog) we've been calling bullshit on the ad industry and it's weird and counterproductive practices from the periphery of the business.<br />
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But this month, the rather lovely people at the APG have invited us to be guest editors of their website, specifically to help unpick the way that planning and creative work together (or don’t) in ad agencies. And suggest a better way of working.<br />
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We are on the <i>inside, </i>people.<br />
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The APG describe themselves as <i>a membership organisation that promotes smarter thinking</i>. That sounds good to us. More of that is needed.<br />
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Anyway, head on over the to the site here <a href="http://www.apg.org.uk/guesteditor-andy-and-vic">http://www.apg.org.uk/guesteditor-andy-and-vic</a> to read the introduction. Check back over the next four weeks as we'll be posting up articles that are intended to challenge the current way agencies work with clients and develop ideas.<br />
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If you have landed here from the APG website and are new to the karayzee world of Sell! Sell!, hello and thanks for stopping by. Stay a while and have a root around, here's a few posts to give you a flavour...<br />
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From 2008: Strategy Is Not a Department <a href="http://sellsellblog.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/strategy-is-not-department.html">http://sellsellblog.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/strategy-is-not-department.html</a><br />
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2009: Three Chords and the Truth: <a href="http://sellsellblog.blogspot.co.uk/2009/12/three-chords-and-truth-how-advertising.html">http://sellsellblog.blogspot.co.uk/2009/12/three-chords-and-truth-how-advertising.html</a><br />
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2010: Is Advertising More Stupider Than it Thinks? <a href="http://sellsellblog.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/is-modern-advertising-more-stupider.html">http://sellsellblog.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/is-modern-advertising-more-stupider.html</a><br />
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2010: The Centre for Common Fucking Sense in Marketing: <a href="http://sellsellblog.blogspot.co.uk/2010/08/centre-for-common-fucking-sense-in.html">http://sellsellblog.blogspot.co.uk/2010/08/centre-for-common-fucking-sense-in.html</a><br />
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2010: An Open Letter (The 'Brian Letter'): <a href="http://sellsellblog.blogspot.co.uk/2010/08/open-letter-to-all-of-advertising-and.html">http://sellsellblog.blogspot.co.uk/2010/08/open-letter-to-all-of-advertising-and.html</a><br />
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2010: The Truth About Advertising Blog Readers: <a href="http://sellsellblog.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/this-is-truth-about-advertising-blog.html">http://sellsellblog.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/this-is-truth-about-advertising-blog.html</a><br />
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2016: Are You Really Okay with the Idea of Creativity? <a href="http://sellsellblog.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/are-you-okay-with-idea-of-creativity.html">http://sellsellblog.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/are-you-okay-with-idea-of-creativity.html</a><br />
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And don't forget our book (although it's currently sold out, new run hopefully coming soon) you can read about it here: <a href="http://sellsellblog.blogspot.co.uk/p/how-to-make-better-advertising-and.html">http://sellsellblog.blogspot.co.uk/p/how-to-make-better-advertising-and.html</a><br />
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<br />Sell! Sell!http://www.blogger.com/profile/10702354938890218799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4169807398234019196.post-86399970914231057322017-06-28T18:06:00.001+01:002017-06-30T11:47:09.587+01:00Pink Floyd V&A ExhibitionIf any of you mortals happen to find yourself not sat on the sofa shovelling a combination of pickled gherkins and ice cream down your gob this weekend, I suggest you mosey on down to the V&A and check out the Pink Floyd exhibition.<br />
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Why? Because it's good (I hope you didn't come here hoping to find some kind of insightful review).<br />
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There's lots of musicy stuff to enjoy. There's also a dizzying amount of art directiony stuff to enjoy too.<br />
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Or, if you're like myself and you enjoy irritating the well spoken and well mannered amongst us by standing uncomfortably close and breathing your gherkiny-ice-creamy-breath all over them, then there's lots of potential for that as well.<br />
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It's the perfect day out for all the family.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnPHCg5iM41dAsbRj3nHDBQ9BOf4QXTqEcI8_GnZNTUFbH63Q-3IeMr8mYznJFFVB3g6KCpiOCZTU7kh-iaM8S2FtjbooITlVyteWsKyL1z5PkUw1kdDTTG2t_70PNQoJc8uUTbyeSU23Y/s1600/033-762x500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnPHCg5iM41dAsbRj3nHDBQ9BOf4QXTqEcI8_GnZNTUFbH63Q-3IeMr8mYznJFFVB3g6KCpiOCZTU7kh-iaM8S2FtjbooITlVyteWsKyL1z5PkUw1kdDTTG2t_70PNQoJc8uUTbyeSU23Y/s640/033-762x500.jpg" width="640" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl5BnV23Q8-HTZ6fS5YtU570HL9L0Zfzpicj_UmdNzJ81NBTnJ-z_siXczlDuppz_mt_CzD6MeVbmBh9BaRM_1aZ6MOwibw7haYZbe-uPSaQp9R75Wo58k76b-RK0OzyUqojdHed0qmfqt/s1600/floyd3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl5BnV23Q8-HTZ6fS5YtU570HL9L0Zfzpicj_UmdNzJ81NBTnJ-z_siXczlDuppz_mt_CzD6MeVbmBh9BaRM_1aZ6MOwibw7haYZbe-uPSaQp9R75Wo58k76b-RK0OzyUqojdHed0qmfqt/s640/floyd3.jpg" width="640" /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl5BnV23Q8-HTZ6fS5YtU570HL9L0Zfzpicj_UmdNzJ81NBTnJ-z_siXczlDuppz_mt_CzD6MeVbmBh9BaRM_1aZ6MOwibw7haYZbe-uPSaQp9R75Wo58k76b-RK0OzyUqojdHed0qmfqt/s1600/floyd3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMqsmrvJEqU6ybqNAudVHJ1wcTtilEEHk4z2M63xN1o7D0KVvYP7eFFOoADs7Kkk-abTY36RkBNtTVhWZ_6nBcnBr1ZKP5HEqWHiCRvylW55DxSqB3xrPQkuHaMINafyLO7ui7LAe5XWLz/s1600/007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMqsmrvJEqU6ybqNAudVHJ1wcTtilEEHk4z2M63xN1o7D0KVvYP7eFFOoADs7Kkk-abTY36RkBNtTVhWZ_6nBcnBr1ZKP5HEqWHiCRvylW55DxSqB3xrPQkuHaMINafyLO7ui7LAe5XWLz/s640/007.jpg" width="480" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl5BnV23Q8-HTZ6fS5YtU570HL9L0Zfzpicj_UmdNzJ81NBTnJ-z_siXczlDuppz_mt_CzD6MeVbmBh9BaRM_1aZ6MOwibw7haYZbe-uPSaQp9R75Wo58k76b-RK0OzyUqojdHed0qmfqt/s1600/floyd3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsHZXHG1Aoh7nKTC_RqjuBEkNrS0a_Unqaqm6GgFuCAID5OtqT8B8PNbM6u0xU98eiplQ1u5RwsHUTOby0FjACp6iO9a6EE4Ag0IWl-Lc8iRpiAE-5ER_SifNoxEyq7tAttg6WTsFluEiW/s1600/PFExhibition1.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsHZXHG1Aoh7nKTC_RqjuBEkNrS0a_Unqaqm6GgFuCAID5OtqT8B8PNbM6u0xU98eiplQ1u5RwsHUTOby0FjACp6iO9a6EE4Ag0IWl-Lc8iRpiAE-5ER_SifNoxEyq7tAttg6WTsFluEiW/s640/PFExhibition1.jpg" width="640" /></a>Sell! Sell!http://www.blogger.com/profile/10702354938890218799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4169807398234019196.post-44619544476345884612017-06-13T11:35:00.000+01:002017-06-13T11:35:49.493+01:00New W&K ad for FinishThere's a hell of a lot to enjoy in Wieden & Kennedy's swansong ad for Finish. It's refreshing to see something so entertaining in what is a relatively dull category. Also refreshing to see something grounded so firmly in the world of subject of cleaning dishes rather than any high falutin' brand purpose lifestyle nonsense.
Seems absolutely ludicrous that the account is moving when the creative work is as good as this. Maybe it's a sad indictment and sign of our times that for some marketing folk other things matter far more that the quality of their advertising...<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://www.notube.co/media/593e566c87c15904008d0659" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="640"></iframe>Sell! Sell!http://www.blogger.com/profile/10702354938890218799noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4169807398234019196.post-35323597321879119102017-06-09T11:31:00.001+01:002017-06-09T11:31:42.326+01:00Harry Willcock via the excellent Mike Dempsey blog<div>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Mike Dempsey has written two great pieces about Harry Willcock, the man who helped create a large portion Alan Aldridge's work. You can check out the first piece <a href="http://mikedempsey.typepad.com/graphic_journey_blog/2017/04/harry-willock-behind-the-curtain-part-one.html" target="_blank">here</a>, and the second <a href="http://mikedempsey.typepad.com/graphic_journey_blog/2017/04/harry-willock-behind-the-curtain-part-two.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">If you're not yet familiar with Mike Dempsey's blog, then get to know, son. It's one of the few blogs remaining that is written by someone capable of designing themselves, it features in-depth and thoughtful pieces about work created from both today and yesteryear, and there's not a shred of 'it's-ironic-therefore-it-must-be-good-omg-lol'.</span></div>
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Sell! Sell!http://www.blogger.com/profile/10702354938890218799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4169807398234019196.post-22443771114590962722017-05-26T13:39:00.000+01:002017-05-26T14:43:11.423+01:00"I Like It" "So What?"One of the things I like most about our agency is that when someone says something like "I think this works better" someone else always asks why.<br>
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Being able to explain why you think one thing is better than another is vital to our industry - because we need to do it if we want to get people to make better advertising.<br>
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Nothing in advertising is pure art, pure creative, for its own sake. We use the power of artistic techniques and creative crafts for a reason - to make communication more effective.<br>
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If you're putting something in a piece of communication that isn't there to make it more effective, just for your own <i>artistic</i> reasons or to win a creative award, you're probably a hack. Sorry about that.<br>
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This is why the language of how we talk about advertising is vital.<br>
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We have to be able to talk to senior people in client companies about why the creativity or craft will be more effective.<br>
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One of the fascinating, yet slightly crazy, things about advertising, is that it seems even the people who work in advertising can't agree on what is 'good'.<br>
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And I think part of the reason for that is that people are often not arguing about whether something is 'good' or not at all.<br>
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They're just saying they like it. So it becomes subjective.<br>
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I hear people say <i>I like this.</i><br>
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Woopee-fucking-do. I like pineapple on pizza.<br>
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I don't care, quite frankly, whether you like it or not.<div><br></div><div>Instead, let's have a conversation about what makes it work. Why do you think it will work?<br>
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That's a conversation that professional people should be having.<br>
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Liking an ad is a privilege of the amateur.<br>
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Does it do what it's meant to do?<br>
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Why will this do the job well?<br>
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I still believe that there is no single 'formula' for what makes something a 'good' piece of advertising, which I think can only be a good thing, can't it?<br>
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But because of this, we have to become better as an industry, creatives, planners, everyone, at having a proper conversation about why things work, and why our creativity and craft makes things work better.<br>
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Until we all magically find clients who will just let us do whatever we think is right (I'm not sure that's a good idea by the way), this is the only way better advertising is going to be made.<br>
<br><i>With a respectful doff of the cap to Dave Trott</i><br>
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</div>Sell! Sell!http://www.blogger.com/profile/10702354938890218799noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4169807398234019196.post-65946990641604526372017-05-08T12:23:00.001+01:002017-05-08T12:24:29.101+01:00Are You Giving Yourself The Best Opportunity To Create Successful Advertising?Since it is currently sold-out (at least until we do a new run) here's an excerpt from our book...<br />
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<br />Sell! Sell!http://www.blogger.com/profile/10702354938890218799noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4169807398234019196.post-60310738259780879912017-04-27T18:16:00.001+01:002017-04-27T18:16:30.263+01:00Breaking The Myth of How Great Work is Created<div class="p1">
We need to break the myth of how the best advertising is created.</div>
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The advertising industry has to realise that its value to clients lies in its talented people – not process.</div>
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It needs to be confident of that fact, and put it proudly back in the centre of the business.</div>
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That means agencies need to stop making out it’s their <i>proprietary process </i>that creates the best solution, and accept that it is talented people that really make the difference.</div>
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Agencies have unfortunately become moulded in the image of what they <i>think </i>clients want.</div>
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So they over-emphasise process, because they believe it makes clients feel comfortable that the agency can consistently produce the goods.</div>
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Whereas, in reality, smart clients know the best ideas come from talented <i>people</i>. </div>
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But agencies seem to find it really hard to be honest about that, maybe because <i>people </i>are complex – they leave, they have bad days, they get sick, and let’s face it – not all agencies have the most talented people.</div>
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So they put the emphasis on their process or system.</div>
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The truth is, the agency’s most valuable product – brilliant creative thinking that helps clients meet their business objectives – comes from the brains and talents of good people.</div>
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Unfortunately, in modern agency set-ups, these talented people are all too often stifled within poor systems.</div>
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They need to be freed from the shackles of these counter-productive processes that prevent them from tackling problems effectively. </div>
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<i>An excerpt from our new book ‘How To Make Better Advertising and Advertising Better – The Manifesto for a New Creative Revolution’ is <a href="http://designmuseumshop.com/collections/books-on-design-thinking/products/how-to-make-better-advertising-and-advertising-better" target="_blank">a</a><a href="http://designmuseumshop.com/collections/books-on-design-thinking/products/how-to-make-better-advertising-and-advertising-better" target="_blank">vailable exclusively at the Design Museum.</a> (edit: although it might be sold-out oops!)</i>Sell! Sell!http://www.blogger.com/profile/10702354938890218799noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4169807398234019196.post-66294028639398204572017-04-24T16:42:00.001+01:002017-04-24T16:42:23.961+01:00Thought For The Day #1Thought for the day:<br />
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Good advertising makes you think "Ooh that's a good ad"<br />
Great advertising makes you more likely to buy the product...<br />
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Any thoughts on that?Sell! Sell!http://www.blogger.com/profile/10702354938890218799noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4169807398234019196.post-10460328371294715522017-04-21T12:25:00.002+01:002017-04-21T12:25:54.953+01:00Some Good Work This Week: Giff Gaff Diving LadyIt's not often we get the chance to use this blog to compliment another agency on some good contemporary work. But thankfully the guys over at Who Wot Why have provided us the opportunity this week with their new spot for Giff Gaff. What makes this good? In our opinion, it focuses on <i>one thin</i>g - yes maybe obvious but so many people are trying to cram too many messages or thoughts into things these days, and secondly it's very, very well crafted – again something of a rarity at the moment. It stands out, looks great, sounds great, and makes a good point. Hats off to them, and to client for going with something like this.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MuJLX6dOtR4?rel=0&showinfo=0" width="640"></iframe>Sell! Sell!http://www.blogger.com/profile/10702354938890218799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4169807398234019196.post-64109283307594907962017-04-10T16:09:00.001+01:002017-04-10T16:16:30.288+01:00The IntersectionI think in general the best advertising ideas come from the intersection of creativity and commerce.<br />
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That means someone who has pressing commercial needs, and someone else who wants to use creativity to help solve the problem, be that in a piece of communication that means something to people, or some other idea.<br />
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It's that meeting of different minds that I think leads to interesting work – the commercial imperative on the creative, and the creative challenge to the business. That meeting of minds can be exciting, it can be tempestuous, and can be challenging. But it should lead to a better solution than if either of the two parties had completely their own way.<br />
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I think this is why, when you hear about the stories behind great campaigns, there tends to be some personal relationship between the creative person and business person behind it – the boss of the client company, and the creative director or senior creative on the job actually talk to each other.<br />
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I think the way that agencies are set-up currently is getting in the way of allowing this to happen on most accounts. The production-line method of creating advertising, which almost all agencies now employ is, I think, the worst way of getting creative solutions. The meeting of minds is never really allowed to happen. The tension or clash is avoided at all costs.<br />
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I think this is because agencies are scared of their clients, and many clients seem to believe that everyone must agree with them or there's something wrong with the relationship – by the way, very few owners or CEOs seem to think like this, it's mainly marketing people. I've found that, in general, business founders, owners or CEOs enjoy being challenged.<br />
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What we saw happen with Pepsi last week I think is a twisted product of the lack of this kind of relationship, albeit not due to the usual agency or client problems. Here it seems the clients lacked the outside perspective of someone to reign them in or challenge what they wanted to do. But also, on top of that, it seems the people on the client side lacked the commercial imperative themselves, too. From reading quotes from the clients involved, it seems like they were off on some flight of fancy that wasn't rooted in the thing that they make and sell – a fizzy drink – but rather some terrible misunderstanding of their role in their customers' lives and the world. They were like the worst kind of creative, and allowed to go off and indulge themselves.<br />
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However, to see the agency world jump gleefully on this is quite unseemly – the Pepsi ad is truly awful, but really only degrees worse than recent agency-made efforts I could mention. I don't think it's that crazy for some clients to be exploring the idea of taking the advertising function in-house – but what is vital if they do, is that their own people are empowered to be as challenging as a creative agency <i>should</i>.<br />
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It's a people business, advertising. Putting the right people together and empowering them and listening to them and embracing any resultant tension or challenges will give you the best chance of a great outcome.<br />
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Happy trails.Sell! Sell!http://www.blogger.com/profile/10702354938890218799noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4169807398234019196.post-54029973544224062652017-04-07T12:51:00.000+01:002017-04-07T14:04:11.635+01:00Just Another Sunny Friday in AdvertisingGood morning out there. How has your week been, good I hope? There's been a lot going on in and around the world of advertising this week...<br>
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Pepsi have made a bit of a hash of things, haven't they? Messing up your advertising is a very public affair. You can see why clients are often so worried about taking a chance on interesting ideas - they're worried it'll turn-out like the Pepsi debacle. Not that the Pepsi ad was a great idea - far from it. One thing I found fascinating was the extra kicking that some industry people were giving it because it was created in-house. I saw plenty of people saying things like <i>this is what happens when you don't use an agency</i>, or <i>the value of an agency is an outside point-of-view so this doesn't happen</i>. I mean, the ad is truly awful, but agencies have been churning out this kind of rancid, misguided, virtue hustling (TM Bob Hoffman) guff for ages. Even with their precious outside point-of-view. And some in-house work is good, Specsavers for example. The problem isn't in-house, the problem is people on both sides of the agency-marketing world thinking that their brand should get involved in issues that have fuck-all to do with their fizzy drink or soap or beer.<br>
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It's been heartening to see a few people in the big agency world and the trade press start to talk about the some of the problems with ad agencies and advertising that we've been banging on about for ages. Things like how agencies are set-up, how they work with clients, how they charge, the work they produce. I'm glad this stuff is starting to be talked about, but where were these people five and ten years ago? I guess the industry people are just starting to wake up? Those people I would point in the direction of this http://sellsellblog.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/10-years-of-sell-sell.html we've actually been doing this stuff for the last ten years.<br>
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It's an interesting time here at Sell! Towers, we've met some very smart people over the last few weeks and had some great conversations about the business and the future of agencies. We've also met a couple of very interesting clients, smart people with good businesses who I hope we get to talk more with soon. We're working on a couple of new projects that are each very important in their own way, I look forward to sharing those with you at some point.<br>
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And lastly, I wanted to point you in the direction of this blog: <a href="https://ampersandvertising.com/" target="_blank">https://ampersandvertising.com/ </a>subtitled <i>Standing On The Shoulders of a Giant</i>, it's dedicated to Ron Anderson, the creative director it describes as the godfather of Minneapolis advertising. There is a ton of great work on here, and some excellent stories about Ron and working for him.<br>
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Over and out - enjoy the sun...Sell! Sell!http://www.blogger.com/profile/10702354938890218799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4169807398234019196.post-7471860591858690402017-03-22T15:35:00.002+00:002017-03-22T15:35:56.009+00:00Free Fire PostersIf you've been swanning around Shoreditch lately, you'll have no doubt spotted these Trainspotting-inspired posters for Free Fire. Placed side-by-side in Old Street Underground, these poster are a veritable feast for the eyes. The finest 'seen-it-in-real-life' design guff I've seen this year.<br />
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There's no reason why design/advertising can't have an aesthetically positive effect on it's surrounding environment. These posters are proof.<br />
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<i>These palm-moistening posters were designed by <a href="http://www.empiredesign.com/index.php" target="_blank">Empire Design</a> (I think, don't quote me on it). </i><br />
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<br />Sell! Sell!http://www.blogger.com/profile/10702354938890218799noreply@blogger.com0