tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61844322533302910132024-03-14T00:16:05.573-07:00IPA Strategy GroupUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6184432253330291013.post-29979070364762542332009-06-01T01:41:00.001-07:002009-06-01T01:41:38.769-07:00Tim Malbon from Made by Many: IPA Strategy Game Changers Event<object width="400" height="230"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4843531&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4843531&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="230"></embed></object><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/4843531">Tim Malbon from Made by Many</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/theipa">The IPA</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com123tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6184432253330291013.post-73650973307410447522009-06-01T01:39:00.000-07:002009-06-01T01:40:28.576-07:00Dan Hon from Six to Start: IPA Strategy Game Changers Event<object width="400" height="230"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4783874&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4783874&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="230"></embed></object><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/4783874">Dan Hon from Six to Start</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/theipa">The IPA</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6184432253330291013.post-64027058685574531552009-06-01T01:35:00.000-07:002009-06-01T01:38:57.364-07:00Giles from Zopa: IPA Strategy Game Changers Event<object width="400" height="230"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4843653&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4843653&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="230"></embed></object><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/4843653">Giles Andrews from Zopa</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/theipa">The IPA</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6184432253330291013.post-72921412000576074382009-05-14T05:52:00.001-07:002009-05-14T05:52:33.071-07:00IPA 'Game Changers' event, 13th May 2009 – Six to Start presentationCheck out this SlideShare Presentation: <div style="width:425px;text-align:left" id="__ss_1433561"><a style="font:14px Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;display:block;margin:12px 0 3px 0;text-decoration:underline;" href="http://www.slideshare.net/IPAStrategyGroup/ipa-game-changers-event-13th-may-2009-six-to-start-presentation?type=presentation" title="IPA 'Game Changers' event, 13th May 2009 – Six to Start presentation">IPA 'Game Changers' event, 13th May 2009 – Six to Start presentation</a><object style="margin:0px" width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=sixtostartipagamechangers13april09-090514051116-phpapp01&stripped_title=ipa-game-changers-event-13th-may-2009-six-to-start-presentation" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"/><embed src="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=sixtostartipagamechangers13april09-090514051116-phpapp01&stripped_title=ipa-game-changers-event-13th-may-2009-six-to-start-presentation" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><div style="font-size:11px;font-family:tahoma,arial;height:26px;padding-top:2px;">View more <a style="text-decoration:underline;" href="http://www.slideshare.net/">presentations</a> from <a style="text-decoration:underline;" href="http://www.slideshare.net/IPAStrategyGroup">Ipa strategy group </a>.</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6184432253330291013.post-83133243164422900982009-05-14T05:50:00.001-07:002009-05-14T05:50:32.732-07:00IPA 'Game Changers' event, 13th May 2009 – Made by Many presentationCheck out this SlideShare Presentation: <div style="width:425px;text-align:left" id="__ss_1433564"><a style="font:14px Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;display:block;margin:12px 0 3px 0;text-decoration:underline;" href="http://www.slideshare.net/IPAStrategyGroup/ipa-game-changers-event-13th-may-2009-made-by-many-presentation?type=presentation" title="IPA 'Game Changers' event, 13th May 2009 – Made by Many presentation">IPA 'Game Changers' event, 13th May 2009 – Made by Many presentation</a><object style="margin:0px" width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=timmalbonipa130509tm1-090514051426-phpapp01&stripped_title=ipa-game-changers-event-13th-may-2009-made-by-many-presentation" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"/><embed src="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=timmalbonipa130509tm1-090514051426-phpapp01&stripped_title=ipa-game-changers-event-13th-may-2009-made-by-many-presentation" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><div style="font-size:11px;font-family:tahoma,arial;height:26px;padding-top:2px;">View more <a style="text-decoration:underline;" href="http://www.slideshare.net/">presentations</a> from <a style="text-decoration:underline;" href="http://www.slideshare.net/IPAStrategyGroup">Ipa strategy group </a>.</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com255tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6184432253330291013.post-39831913080288810682009-05-14T05:08:00.000-07:002009-05-14T05:49:14.191-07:00Game ChangersIt was great to see a full house at last night's 'Game Changers' event at the Adam Street club. There was a good atmosphere and a palpable air of anticipation amongst the audience keen to hear from our three game changers Dan, Tim and Giles. All of which helped to make for an inspiring evening.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1iLlranJS-w/SgwMbVYWs3I/AAAAAAAAAG0/8etgdY6r8XA/s1600-h/wetell.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 164px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1iLlranJS-w/SgwMbVYWs3I/AAAAAAAAAG0/8etgdY6r8XA/s320/wetell.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335653322262492018" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Dan, from <a href="http://www.sixtostart.com/">six to start</a> kicked things off with a facinating talk about how his company are helping established businesses and their accompanying models of business to adapt to some of the opportunities that technological changes are bringing about.<br /><br /><a href="http://wetellstories.co.uk/">We Tell Stories</a> for Penguin is a compelling example of such an opportunity being taken. Creating a new entertainmnet form out of an established form, in this case a printed book. Dan started a theme echoed throughout the evening about the importance of fast and agile methodolgies in the development of ideas. Methodologies that rely on collaboration, putting action ahead of words and a willingness to change things when they don't quite work. To finish Dan teased the audience with an upcoming project for Channel 4 called Smokescreen which is an educational idea developed in the form of a game.<br /><br />Next up was Tim from <a href="http://www.madebymany.com/">Made by Many</a> who helped expand on the idea of agile methodologies with the help of some excellent visuals and quotations. It struck me and perhaps others that in the convergence of creativity, strategy and technology some of the rigours of stratgey are being superseded by a more experimental form of creative development. One of my favourite slides helps to dramatise this idea of old linear stratgey versus a new more agile forms of startegic and creative development. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1iLlranJS-w/SgwOuV02TPI/AAAAAAAAAG8/RaHfuqJCHzU/s1600-h/strat_chart.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1iLlranJS-w/SgwOuV02TPI/AAAAAAAAAG8/RaHfuqJCHzU/s320/strat_chart.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335655847822773490" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />In fact in many cases I think that the strategic phase is becoming less distinct but instead fused with other disciplines in a collaborative, ever-changing process of innovation. This has to be an exciting development for all of us who practice strategy. In a world where it is possible to bring about change rapidly within a market this new form of stratgey has to be that which is coupled with action.<br /><br />Finally, Giles a co-founder of <a href="http://www.zopa.com/">Zopa</a> gave a genuinely inspiring talk about how the brand came about, where it sought its inspiration and gave a highly relevant perspective on the current financial crisis and the plight of banks. Zopa, for those that don't know, is the world's first and largest peer to peer lending site. It enables people to borrow and lend money to each other without having to go to a bank. Perhaps not surprisingly their business has blossomed during the crisis as the banks have reined in credit to customers.<br /><br />As a strategist it was reassuring to hear that at the heart of the business was a desire to serve a particualr customer typology that took a fair amount of analysis to uncover. Zopa call this group freeformers. These people tend to have irregular incomes but in every other way are a credit worthy group. It just so happens they have a lifestyle that means work isn't everything. They may work some of the year and go travelling for the remainder of the year.<br /><br />Banks do not serve this group particularly well and so Zopa helps to fulfill their need for money with a servie that meets their needs. Against this we have the backdrop of a banking sector suffering from record low scores in terms of trust, something that Zopa scores exceptionally highly in. It was a compelling story and a heart warming conclusion to the evening that hosted so much homegrown talent each trying to change the game within their respective market sectors.<br /><br />Thanks to them and to everyone who atteneded and don't forget to check back soon as we'll post a link to the film of the night. <br /><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" ><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" ><o:p></o:p></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6184432253330291013.post-60654394225722647312009-03-04T06:18:00.000-08:002009-03-04T06:36:31.594-08:00Lantana: March Meet upEveryone is busy. That's good. Although not so good when it means no-one can turn up to the Stratgey Group Meeting. But heh, there was me & Max. And I can say that we kicked ass in every sense.<br /><br />Anyway that's the moan over.<br /><br />Now to the venue - Lantana.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1iLlranJS-w/Sa6O1aNjt-I/AAAAAAAAAGs/Y0MuNRkNsWc/s1600-h/Lantana.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1iLlranJS-w/Sa6O1aNjt-I/AAAAAAAAAGs/Y0MuNRkNsWc/s320/Lantana.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309338058936793058" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Image courtesy of <a href="http://www.worldfoodieguide.com/">World Foodie Guide</a>.<br /><br />Service is great & so is the food. I can see why <a href="http://www.adliterate.com">Richard</a> likes it so much. But it's a bit cosy for a group of 10! Thankfully we only had to accomodate 5 people.<br /><br />Subjects were far ranging. Adah is off to South America for 3 weeks and Max has a new job at <a href="http://www.kindredagency.com/html/index.html">Kindred</a>. The world is going to end etc.<br /><br />And in respect of what we're up to...<br /><br />We are planning an event in May on Unconventional Thinking with some interesting thinkers. I will be a lo-fi event with lots of chance to interact and meet other like-minded thinkers before and afterwards. If you would to know more or would like to speak let us know.<br /><br />There also plans for a book & plans for the Annual Conference.<br /><br />There's a meeting in April and there is space for one guest a month so if you'd like that to be you then please contact Adah at the IPA.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6184432253330291013.post-18740699076758966902009-03-02T02:58:00.000-08:002009-03-02T03:01:55.520-08:00Zopa: Peer to Peer lending<a href="http://myskitch.com/itsjustbrent/zopa_us-20071204-122346.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 491px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 453px" alt="" src="http://myskitch.com/itsjustbrent/zopa_us-20071204-122346.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>I recently appeared on Channel 5 News as a lender with the brand <a href="http://www.zopa.com/">Zopa</a>. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div>See it <a href="http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1370867998/bclid1394183519/bctid8321095001">here</a>.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6184432253330291013.post-91224507827001080852009-02-17T02:03:00.000-08:002009-02-17T02:13:17.618-08:00Help find Lance's stolen bikeLance Armstrong is using <a href="http://www.twitter.com/lancearmstrong">Twitter</a> to help recover his time trial bike stolen from the team truck during the Tour of California.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1iLlranJS-w/SZqNFwWrphI/AAAAAAAAAGk/_-dD_VWUhVU/s1600-h/2530837.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303706641201079826" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 190px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1iLlranJS-w/SZqNFwWrphI/AAAAAAAAAGk/_-dD_VWUhVU/s320/2530837.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I doubt the bike has a re-sale value due to the fact it will be pretty easy to spot when ridden on the streets of California.<br /><br />So this is me doing my bit for Livestrong - if you see this bike send Lance a message via Twitter.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6184432253330291013.post-18410006542240810392009-02-16T03:42:00.000-08:002009-02-16T03:55:39.063-08:00Strategy Group AgendaThe strength of the human spirit, along with our appetite for tackling the problems we face at any point in time, is both tested and but often renewed in adverse conditions. As strategists our senses become heightened when we exist within an environment of constant change. This state of high-alert is instructive and should be channelled in a way that can bring about positive results. It is against this backdrop of change that I have taken over the IPA Strategy Group as Chair.<br /><a href="http://www.brianjeremy.com/_media/obey_monkeypod.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 467px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 350px" alt="" src="http://www.brianjeremy.com/_media/obey_monkeypod.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Image <a href="http://obeygiant.com/">Shepherd Fairey</a><br /><br />The timing could not be more perfect. I am not one for complacency. I would much prefer a challenge particularly when, it is exactly as a result of such challenges that we adapt in Darwinian fashion to the circumstance we find ourselves in. The coincidence of a damaged financial ecosystem, an advertising business facing a fall in client expenditure and the rapid adoption of technology means that there could not be a better time for many of us to be practising as strategists.<br /><br />However, to be successful we must be brave and confident in our approach. It is often the case that when faced with challenges that we revert to the tried and tested methods of the past. This, in part is a normal and sensible response, however we must accept that it is also time to complement decades of learning with a more innovative response.<br /><br />If I have learnt anything in the last 19 years working within the marketing communications business it is that the people within in it tend to be creatively-driven, positive thinkers who tend to shrug off the issues of the moment and instead look to a vision of the future where the problems have dissipated and the brands and business we help steward are leading the way creating future wealth, prosperity and jobs.<br /><br />What I have also learnt is that we cannot do it as a collection of individuals. The big advantage of working as Chairman of the IPA Strategy Group is that I am surrounded by people more intelligent than I am. This is a good thing. My success is bundled up into what we can achieve as a cohesive force. I believe strategy is a force for good and if ever there were a time in last 20 years that we should unite in order to bring about positive results it is now.<br /><br />My hope is that if I can help not only harness the collective brain-power of the Strategy Group but also the wider strategic community then we may all reap the wider benefits of collaboration.<br /><br />This collaboration should give rise to a more visible strategic community, a more open one and one that is best able to meet the challenges we face. We are not doing this from a standing start. Many strategists now write excellent blogs that help to inspire, agitate and capture something that we are all feeling but don’t quite know how to put into words.<br /><br />We want the Strategy Group to help to enhance this already thriving community through the recognition and reward of outstanding thinking. Moreover, we want to seek out the next generation of strategists and help to accelerate their ability to influence how we go about solving problems.<br /><br />The Group are in the process of formulating a plan that will shape what we do and what we achieve over the next two years. There will, of course, be events, debates, articles, thought-pieces that will help amplify the thoughts of strategists across the industry.<br /><br />However, there are many who do not know about the Group, what we do and how we go about it. If this is the case then I would encourage you to look at the IPA Strategy Group blog at <a href="http://ipastrategygroup.blogspot.com/">http://ipastrategygroup.blogspot.com/</a>. We would love to, need to, here your thoughts about strategy.<br /><br />So what does success look like? What do we want to achieve? We’ll know when we have been effective when we have something tangible to show for our efforts. The vision would be to find someway of harnessing the collective force of our community in a way that is visible, vocal and is able to bring about positive change.<br /><br />This could be a book, an event, a web series, a wiki or an informal gathering. Or it could be all these things. All we know is that an opportunity exists so fulfilling that needs has to be a primary objective of the Group, so please check the blog for details. In the meantime if you would like to be involved do let us know in whatever way you choose.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6184432253330291013.post-83108221018329612382009-02-06T01:39:00.000-08:002009-02-06T02:00:23.387-08:00Sierra Nevada turns beer into bio-fuel<a href="http://dvice.com/pics/beer-fuel-01.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 310px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="http://dvice.com/pics/beer-fuel-01.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>You may or may not have heard of Sierra Nevada, they sell it on draft at the Green Man on Wells Street, but it's a slightly cloudy, pale ale.</div><div> </div><div></div><div>Well I could have sat in a lot of brainstorms and failed to think of the brand extension, fuel when starting with a beer, but that's exactly what they've done.</div><div> </div><div></div><div>It takes a corporate belief and creates further value from waste (1.6 million litres of it every year). In turn this creates more profit and they're doing their bit for the envioronment. </div><div> </div><div></div><div>This idea breaks so many rules: beer and petrol in the same product range, using the same logo - it's genius I love it. And not to mention drinking and driving. </div><div></div><br /><div>See more loveliness from Sierra Nevada <a href="http://www.sierranevada.com/">here</a>. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6184432253330291013.post-39029293812363091622009-02-04T02:43:00.000-08:002009-02-04T04:19:25.625-08:00Chocolat and other random ideas<a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3235/2722288852_6a5a575d67.jpg?v=0"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 500px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 333px" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3235/2722288852_6a5a575d67.jpg?v=0" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />We met at Chocolat and I quickly came to a conclusion.<br /><br />The conclusion, well at least mine, was that good things can come from bad or less good. They are related to each other helping to maintain some form of balance. The snow brought all sorts of problems but on the whole good things came from it: collectively we rose to the challenge, we thought of others first and we played spontaneously, these things may have been absent on a large scale if it hadn't snowed.<br /><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>So members of the Group who weren't held back by the snow arrived in a positive frame of mind. The snow had gone but the memory lingered. We are better when we're forced to make decisions agaianst a common enemy.</p><p>So it was in that context that we dicussed what we're going to do as a Group this year and wondered whether all these potentially disruptive local and global events could give rise to something better. Recession, climate change and poverty demand us to question the imapct we have made in past. This necessary moment of reflection can help us to shape a better future. Better for us personally, professionally and collectively.</p><p>We called this Renaissance. A process of re-birth.</p><p>That's something for us all to feel positive about. History has shown that in moments of adversity we become more creative, dynamic and spirited. Now is that time.</p><p>We would like to help nurture this movement. Shine a light on it and help it grow as an inspiration for those strategists within our industry looking to help shape a new future and more broadly champion Renaissance Britain in what shape or form it takes.</p><p>Check back for details of how our movement unfolds and if you can help us on the way then feel free to join in.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6184432253330291013.post-42326648866671927462008-10-03T03:52:00.000-07:002008-10-03T04:37:42.468-07:00Fast StratgeyFlying in the face of adversity, following boycotting and protests from some leading agencies and not forgetting a good old-fashioned pummellling from <a href="http://russelldavies.typepad.com/planning/2008/09/slow-strategy.html">Russell Davies</a>, the Fast Strategy Conference went ahead without a hitch.<br /><br />While the subject of the conference has polarised opinion and lead to cries of heresy it has certainly aroused the interests of planners in a way that has not been witnessed since 'Is blogging Killing Planning' debate. For the record the IPA Startegy Group are not promoting the idea of 'Fast Strategy' or that fast is better than slow. Instead we are trying to recognise the fact that the world of commerce is changing and our clients needs are changing too. This has never been more clearly evidenced than in the events of the last two weeks. We can ignore this evidence but at our peril. The least we can do is raise the debate and in that respect we have achieved taht simple objective.<br /><br />So what of the conference itself?<br /><br />There were some outstanding presentations on the subject of Fast Stratgey from leading planners within the industry including Adam 'Eat Big Fish' Morgan, Rita Clfton and Richard Storey. You'll be able to view their presentations <a href="http://tinyurl.com/4v4l4p">here</a> very soon and follow the on-going debate.<br /><br />The winning team was lead by Amelia Torode answering the challenge set by Ian Armstrong of Honda who asked the three teams to help them lanuch a new eco car in the context of increased financial pressures on consumers. The winning pitch was encapsulated in the thought 'waste nothing'. The runners up were lead by Dave Trott with the thought 'We not Me' and Kate Stanners' team with the thought 'The Power of Frugal'. All provided some compelling thinking in the time they had available and this was recognised by the client and audience alike.<br /><br />Please keep the debate alive, thank you all for your contributions and look forward to seeing you at our next conference in Spring 2009.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6184432253330291013.post-43633383284804573362008-04-30T04:30:00.000-07:002008-04-30T04:31:34.751-07:00Fast StrategyWalker Media’s Phil Georgiadis and Mark Syal, and M&C Saatchi’s Richard Storey and Simon Dicketts were voted the winning team in a live (fictitious) pitch for the COI at this week’s IPA Strategy Conference with Times Media for arriving at a great strategy and fast!<br />One of the greatest pressures on our industry today is to meet the demands of arriving at good answers fast. During the conference strategy-at-speed was tested with three teams who competed against each other to answer a fictitious brief given by Peter Buchanan, Deputy Chief Executive of the COI, on establishing a dog owners’ register in the UK.<br />Phil Georgiadis’s team took 37% of the audience vote with their winning strategy which recommended creating a physical symbol of ‘responsible dog ownership’ in the form of a silver rosette which would be attached to the dog’s collar. They suggested that the scheme should be renamed M.A.N (Merit in Authority over, and Nurture of, your dog) allowing the adoption of the line:‘M.A.N. A dog’s best friend'; a clever inverse of the usual ‘dog is man’s best friend’.<br />Key things to come out of the conference included:“When all three teams were asked would they have pitched better if they’d had more time, aside from fine-tuning and making their solution to the brief more rigorous, the answer was essentially…no.” (Guy Murphy, Chairman IPA Strategy Group, and Worldwide Planning Director, JWT, and Chair of the day’s proceedings)<br />“If clients could brief a multi-disciplinary agency team all at once, as has been the case today, they might get quicker answers to their brief.” (Phil Georgiadis, Chairman, Walker Media)“In order to do things quickly you have to know what the objectives are at briefing stage. These should be clear and agreed business objectives, and unfortunately the consensus from the audience at this conference today is that agencies rarely get this.”(Guy Murphy, Chairman IPA Strategy Group, and Worldwide Planning Director, JWT,)<br />All three teams only had three crucial hours to come up with their winning pitch. The voting was close and in second place was communication consultant Mark Earl’s team with 35% of the vote, followed by CHI’s Johnny Hornby with 28%. The winning team was presented by Claire Myerscough, Development Director of Times Media, with holiday vouchers worth £10,000.<br />Said COI’s Peter Buchanan, “It was a challenging brief in a fast-paced environment and the teams had no knowledge of the brief beforehand. It was fascinating to see what could be achieved in a short space of time. ”<br />Throughout the morning, whilst the teams prepared for their afternoon pitch, leading strategists from across the industry elaborated on how developing strategy fast is changing the way we do business and presented their top tips for how they think at speed.<br />So what do you think about strategy-at-speed? Is it possible, will it get the best results? We'd love to here your thoughts and comments.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6184432253330291013.post-53425290725669713672007-08-02T03:40:00.000-07:002007-08-02T03:41:05.043-07:00Les Binet's Presentation<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="https://s3.amazonaws.com:443/slideshare/ssplayer.swf?id=86163&doc=les-binets-presentation2398" width="425" height="348"><param name="movie" value="https://s3.amazonaws.com:443/slideshare/ssplayer.swf?id=86163&doc=les-binets-presentation2398" /></object>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6184432253330291013.post-77221086460236203602007-08-02T03:14:00.000-07:002007-08-02T03:16:21.122-07:00The Debate Result: Is the digital revolution killing TV advertising?<p class="MsoNormal">It was a night of battle that promised much in the way of fighting talk and swagger, but ended in hugs agreement rather than fisticuffs.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Les “fucking clever” Binet (a moniker applied by the evening’s chair, Rob Foreshaw), the diminutive genius of the planning industry squared up against Matt Dyke, his sort-of-colleague, to debate the statement “digital advertising is killing TV advertising”.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">With over 70 in the audience for the evening, all baying for blood, the contest had all the hallmarks of a classic face-off.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Les kicked-off the debate by setting up and swatting down some of the received wisdoms of our industry, much-quoted by media pundits.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">First up, the idea that people don’t watch TV any more: The IPA’s Touchpoints research putting-paid to that one, as viewing has held solid at 3.7 hours a day amongst all adults for the last three decades.<span style=""> </span>Time spent viewing TV amongst teens has likewise barely changed in the past two generations, Les contends.<span style=""> </span>Not only that, but commercial TV viewing has actually risen – as the BBC’s share of audience has fallen.<span style=""> </span>Looking into the crystal ball, while delivery mechanisms might change, viewing will stay flat or rise.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Next up, the idea that audiences are fragmenting and that TV is therefore becoming less efficient went under the statistical microscope.<span style=""> </span>And once again, Les waded into battle with his numbers, and, once again, came up on top.<span style=""> </span>The price of media has fallen faster than the audiences have declined, the charts showed.<span style=""> </span>The cost to reach 1,000 people is cheaper now than it has been in real terms, was the argument.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">What we have seen, the argument went, is increased competition leading to lower prices – while that may be bad news for media owners, it is good news for advertisers and brands, Les argued: “TV has never been in ruder health” was the declaration from the stage.<span style=""> </span>Once again looking to the future, he claimed, any ad-avoidance will likely be reflected in the price of media, so efficiency will not be compromised by such technologies.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So, by now somewhat PowerPoint-fatigued, we made it to the critical point of his argument: that there is no better medium than TV for conveying emotion, engaging audiences and getting brands talked about.<span style=""> </span>This in cases where the creative is strong – at least.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Les pulled out the numbers from IPA Effectiveness papers to show that there has been a substantial increase over time in effectiveness where TV has been the lead medium.<span style=""> </span>He argued that TV is the market in which a sales effect can be readily seen – unlike so many other channels of communication.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">It is this ability to create a shared, low-involvement entertainment experience that the medium we think of as TV must preserve, Les said.<span style=""> </span>The challenge he left us with was that, as the costs of media space fall, lowering barriers to entry, so the quality of advertising is likely to drop.<span style=""> </span>Only real creativity will cut-through.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">To make a reposte to this figures-laden attack, Matt took the podium to with an argument that had two key points.<span style=""> </span>First, that “TV advertising is killing TV advertising” due to a dearth of quality.<span style=""> </span>Second, that in a hyper-connected world, we all have a wealth of information at our fingertips about companies and products and that the power of brand image is diminished as shared knowledge and word-of-mouth take precedence.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">In support of his first point, Matt pointed out that TV advertising has never been so despised: while 32% of people in 1991 agreed that “the ads are as good as the programmes”, just 15% did so last year.<span style=""> </span>The dearth of quality is the biggest contributor to our “switching off” and loathing of interruption.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Consumers, he argued, love good brand ads and will actively seek them out, view, discuss and dissect them online.<span style=""> </span>Marshalling an ad-land favourite to his aid in his argument, Matt pointed out that Honda’s “choir” work was viewed 3 million times online and much-debated.<span style=""> </span>TV, he argued, is spending too much on frequency, not enough on quality.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">When an ad is viewed online, he went on to claim, it is four-times more effective than an ad viewed on TV.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So, Matt surmised, TV advertising should be used to “seed” creative and emotional ideas, giving consumers the opportunity to turn to other media to engage further and explore on their own terms.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The second element of Matt’s argument was that of the decline in the power of the brand image.<span style=""> </span>Where we once carried information and knowledge about brands, products and services around day-in, day-out, we now access it “on demand,” was his contention.<span style=""> </span>Hence, those who come into a market for cars will turn to the web first in search of information and shared experience, denting the power of brand image and reducing its primacy.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">No one new model will rise up to replace TV’s leadership, but rather, many models will take its place.<span style=""> </span>At their heart will need to be an investment in experiences – engaging consumers in content rather than holding them at bay with glossy image.<span style=""> </span>Matt concluded arguing that digital is killing <i style="">all</i> advertising – gradually stripping the marketing and spin away to leave authenticity, brands stripped bare and left to parade the internet for all to see.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The positions established, the Q&A kicked off.<span style=""> </span>And it was through the probing of the audience that the poles came together.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The classic pieces of work in the digital environment, it was agreed, were spurred by traditional TV work – or by brand image.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">From Pampers’ credibility to offer parents advice on childcare to Honda’s work stimulating a rush to the web to Sony’s ability to build a community of fans around its Bravia work, brand TV advertising has been a driver.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Both speakers had to conceded that, ultimately, they ended up in a position of agreement: that quality is where the investment needs to be made, rather than frequency.<span style=""> </span>They may have disagreed about where the ultimate balance of power might lie between TV and digital, but came to the conclusion that one would be unlikely to wipe out the other wholly.<span style=""> </span>As Les said at the end of the evening: “we didn’t really disagree, it’s all merging and complimentary”.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6184432253330291013.post-39309723712998570942007-07-23T09:37:00.000-07:002007-07-23T09:39:40.574-07:00Is the digital revolution killing TV advertising?<p class="ipaheading1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; background: rgb(243, 243, 243) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Georgia;">DDB's Les Binet, European Director, DDB Matrix and Matt Dyke, Head of Planning, DDB London are to debate whether the digital revolution is killing TV advertising at the next IPA Strategy 'Head-to-head', sponsored by Times Media, which is to be held on<strong><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> 1<sup>st</sup> August 2007</span></span></b></strong> at the IPA.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="ipaheading1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; background: rgb(243, 243, 243) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Georgia;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="ipaheading1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; background: rgb(243, 243, 243) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Georgia;">Matt Dyke will argue that it is no surprise that the more savvy marketers are turning to the web instead of exclusively TV due to the freedom from time constraints, BACC regulations, lower media outlay and direct interactions or feedback from consumers. Les Binet, on the other hand, will put forward the case that as evidence suggests, so far the shift to a digital world has made TV more effective and efficient.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="ipaheading1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; background: rgb(243, 243, 243) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Georgia;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="ipaheading1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; background: rgb(243, 243, 243) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Georgia;">Says Matt Dyke, "Unless TV radically changes the way it allows consumers to choose content and interact with it, TV companies will struggle to continue generating the revenue they have previously enjoyed."<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="ipaheading1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; background: rgb(243, 243, 243) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Georgia;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="ipaheading1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; background: rgb(243, 243, 243) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Georgia;">Says Les Binet, "My guess is that new technology might change the nature of TV advertising a bit, but it won't kill it, and it might even make it work better."<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="ipaheading1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; background: rgb(243, 243, 243) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Georgia;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="ipaheading1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; background: rgb(243, 243, 243) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Georgia;">Come along to find out whose argument wins out. Book your tickets early as this IPA debate is likely to be another sell-out. It will take place at the IPA, <u1:street st="on"><u1:address st="on"><st1:street st="on"><st1:address st="on">44 Belgrave Square</st1:address></st1:Street></U1:ADDRESS></U1:STREET>, SW1x 8QS, on <strong><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Wednesday 1st August 6pm-8.30pm</span></span></b></strong>. </span></span><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="ipaheading1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; background: rgb(243, 243, 243) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Georgia;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="ipaheading1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; background: rgb(243, 243, 243) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Georgia;">Tickets cost £15 + VAT for IPA members and £30 + VAT for non-IPA members. </span></span><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="ipaheading1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; background: rgb(243, 243, 243) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Georgia;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="ipaheading1" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; background: rgb(243, 243, 243) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Georgia;">For further information and to purchase tickets for the debate complete the attached registration form and return to Adah Parris on 020 7245 9904 or at adah@ipa.co.uk<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6184432253330291013.post-12170423929748765512007-05-22T01:54:00.000-07:002007-05-22T02:04:45.282-07:00Dragon's DenThanks to everyone who attended yeseteday's event. Over the next few days we'll start to put up highlights of the event. In the meantime if you have any comments on the event please leave them below. The first 20 will receive a copy of the Venice Festival Best in Show CD featuring the world's best media ideas courtesy of Marco Rimini.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6184432253330291013.post-85396939299590697162007-05-18T01:11:00.000-07:002007-05-18T01:13:21.289-07:00Enter the Dragon<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40398000/jpg/_40398477_evans.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40398000/jpg/_40398477_evans.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The IPA Strategy Group, with Times Media, would like you to join them on Monday 21st May at the Mayfair Hotel to witness whether our industry can really cut the mustard when it comes to developing truly business building ideas. <o:p></o:p></span></span> <div dir="ltr" align="left"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Six agencies will brave a grilling from a panel of senior clients as well as an all-powerful voting audience, which could include you.<span style=""> </span>The day will be facilitated by Evan Davis, presenter of BBC2's <i style="">Dragon's Den</i> and BBC Economics Editor. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Arial;">Competing presentations will come from all sides of the communications industry and will include </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Arial;"><strong>Richard Storey</strong> from M&C Saatchi, <strong>David Walsh</strong> from Mindshare, <strong>Simon Hall</strong> from Hall Moore CHI, <strong>Matt Dyke</strong> from Tribal DDB/DDB London, <strong>Craig Mawdsley</strong> from AMV BBDO, <strong>Richard Lennox </strong>from JWT and <strong>Michael Moszynski</strong> from IS.<span style=""> </span>Each of them believes that their agency has a particularly compelling story to tell, what you think counts but ultimately its what the dragon's think that counts. </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Arial;"></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Arial;">If this wasn't enough, we're also going to cast our eye abroad and see what business building ideas have inspired the likes of <strong>Jon Steel</strong> from WPP, </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Arial;"><strong>Axel Chaldecott</strong></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Arial;"><strong> </strong>from JWT, </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Arial;"><strong>Adam Morgan</strong></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Arial;"> from </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Arial;">eatbigfish and <strong>George Bryant</strong></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Arial;"> from AMV BBDO and <strong>Marco Rimini</strong> from Mindshare.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Tickets for IPA members cost just £150 + VAT (for IPA Members £200 + VAT for non-Members) which includes lunch.<span style=""> </span>There are limited numbers remaining so to be guaranteed a place, call 020 7201 8224.</span></span></p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6184432253330291013.post-4233390709068649452007-05-11T03:02:00.000-07:002007-05-11T03:09:45.735-07:00Blog School<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.mod.uk/NR/rdonlyres/7942C7AD-C479-4CD5-8A74-199C6E1E147C/0/Schools004.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.mod.uk/NR/rdonlyres/7942C7AD-C479-4CD5-8A74-199C6E1E147C/0/Schools004.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />So Richard Huntingdon and I decided that it would be a good idea if we ran a blog school. I think perhaps Richard is better qualified as I am a 'blogger-lite'. However, it was my idea so he's kind of stuck with me. The idea is that the session falls into two areas: 1. How planners can use blogging as a complemnentary tool and 2. How we can help advise our clients on the best way to utilise blog technology as part of a communication strategy.<br /><br />I think we are going to do this anyway but it would be good to hear from planners to understand whether this is something that has any value?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6184432253330291013.post-400614359932161562007-05-10T01:21:00.001-07:002007-05-10T01:21:46.346-07:00Kaiser Chiefs - Everything Is Average Nowadays<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><p><object height='350' width='425'><param value='http://youtube.com/v/OMiSosi2Alc' name='movie'></param><embed height='350' width='425' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' src='http://youtube.com/v/OMiSosi2Alc'></embed></object></p><p>My point made better and set to music. </p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6184432253330291013.post-47758661466845205242007-05-09T06:31:00.003-07:002007-05-09T06:53:44.847-07:00Everything is Average Nowadays<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ink.news.com.au/mercury/mathguys/articles/1998/980816g2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://ink.news.com.au/mercury/mathguys/articles/1998/980816g2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Okay it's a cheap trick using a song title to get interest but heh I've done it now. I may throw the video in for those who have been duped.<br /><br />Anyways, the real reason for the title is that I was in the car listening to this song ("Everything is Average Nowadays" by The Kaiser Chiefs" and thought to myself; "Yes, you are right everything is average...in fact even this song is average".<br /><br />You can go too far with these trains of thought but there is a lot of average out there across all genres. But Iwhat is more important is why?<br /><br />Is there more stuff and so the overall quality has come down?<br /><br />Or perhaps there is the same stuff but we are more aware of it?<br /><br />Or even the democratisation of media has resulted in all of us having a go so it is inevitable that the average quota goes up?<br /><br />In communications terms we seem to be exposed to more messages. Most of these are very average and even more wasteful. Where should blame for this rest? With planners, creatives or clients?<br /><br />I was delighted by Orange's strategy a couple of year's back that bravely communicated that good things happen when you switch your mobile off. The implication being that if people then turned their phones off in their millions they would lose a lot of money. But of course they didn't and were never likley to.<br /><br />How many of us would be brave enough to tell our clients to turn off their communciations for a bit and just sit and listen for a change. Turn the tables on the consumers and let them become broadcaster.<br /><br />I'd love to know if there are brands out there that have taken this step. When I find some I'll post them up here over the next few weeks. Until then I'll keep schtum.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6184432253330291013.post-21856612605413136312007-03-30T06:26:00.000-07:002007-04-03T00:46:27.290-07:00IPA Strategy Debate: Is Blogging Killing Planning?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_1iLlranJS-w/RhIGNW58sAI/AAAAAAAAAB4/o8QzmA7KzD0/s1600-h/IMGP1123.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_1iLlranJS-w/RhIGNW58sAI/AAAAAAAAAB4/o8QzmA7KzD0/s320/IMGP1123.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5049104958792445954" border="0" /></a><br />Last night witnessed a much anticipated showdown. <a href="http://http//almostnothing.typepad.com/my_weblog/">John Lowery </a>proposed the motion that blogging was killing planning and <a href="http://www.brandtarot.com/blog/">John Grant </a>opposed it.<br /><br />Being asked to write up the notes from this debate is, for me, rather like asking the bloke in the dock to keep the court record of a trial – a bit of a mindfuck. Anyway I will try, in true planner fashion, to be as objective as possible.<br /><br />The IPA Strategy Group’s very own Robert Kilroy Silk, Guy Murphy, kicked off proceedings by conducting a pre-stage quant study on the motion to establish a robust benchmark.<br /><br />A full seven people believed that Blogging was a threat to all that is noble and good about planning, 52 thought not and 16 people hadn’t got a clue either way.<br /><br />Undaunted by the odds, Lowery laid into the <a href="http://plannersphere.pbwiki.com/">plannersphere</a> with tenacious ferocity.<br /><br />His accusation was that the version of planning that is being presented online is a gross distortion of reality. This wouldn’t matter, John maintained, if the blogs were not so influential in shaping young planners’ minds. He feared a generation of “blog-shaped planners” would be the result and this was a threat to the very brand of planning itself, its role and the respect that it is accorded.<br /><br />John reminded us of the apprenticeship that good planners go through that ties them back to the founders of the discipline and their vision for the role that planners should play as truth seekers in a sea of conjecture and uninformed opinion.<br /><br />However, a tour through the plannersphere had convinced John that blogging planners are deserting their responsibility for truth, their obsession with effectiveness and their pride in the craft skills that the essential trademarks of a good planner.<br /><br />Lowery then went for the jugular characterising the ‘training’ available online as “a bunch of people who don’t know what they are talking about setting tasks for and judging the efforts of a bunch of people who don’t know what they are talking about”.<br /><br />“Introspection in, introspection out” as John would say.<br /><br />This kind of non-rigorous planning has always existed, maintained John, but before web 2.0 it had a limited ability to infect the minds of the wider planning community. Now it was spreading like wildfire.<br /><br />For John planning blogs in their current form are malignancies that are slowly but surely killing planning.<br /><br />John summed up by telling us that he hadn’t come to destroy the plannersphere but to cure it with a dose of much needed “human chemotherapy”.<br /><br />Strong stuff, and a tough act for John Grant to follow.<br /><br />Grant was bemused, how could we judge a new medium after only year or two? It was far too early to tell what the effect of this new planning activity would have. Sure the picture that Lowery painted was bleak but where was the evidence that planning was in anything other than rude health?<br /><br />For Grant, Lowery’s entire case suffered from the woolly thinking and lack of hard facts that he was seeking to defend in the discipline.<br /><br />Moreover, John suggested, if we were to vote in favour of the motion we were to think hard about the signals that we as a discipline, industry and nation were sending out. Blogging, social media and web 2.0 are facts of modern life, how could the IPA, endorse a motion that suggested that it wanted to turn back a tide of technology and behaviour that everyone else in society was embracing with alacrity.<br /><br />John was also concerned about the way in which the planning elite were using this debate to squash the enthusiasm and energy of young planners, sure some of the stuff young planners were doing online was naïve but it was ever thus, said John recalling the output of his own IPA 2 course in 1989.<br /><br />And finally, he made the point that judging the state of planning from the plannersphere is like judging the state of the advertising industry by reading Campaign magazine. Both offer a particular version of the business without representing it in its entirety.<br /><br />If that wasn’t polarised enough, the debate from the floor drove a further wedge between the camps; this wasn’t going to be one of those lacklustre events that ends with everyone in ‘violent agreement’.<br /><br />Many younger planners voiced the concern that they were looking to the online community for more of the bread and butter stuff that Lowery was talking about and not just the clever stuff and as a result, its absence was frustrating.<br /><br />Other contributions from the floor pointed out that the blogging debate was a smokescreen for what now appear utterly opposed versions of what good planning is – facts or ideas.<br /><br />And one interloper from outside the industry drew an analogy between planning and medicine. There were now two traditions that were accepted in medical circles – orthodox and complementary medicine – wasn’t this similar to the two styles of planning in evidence.<br /><br />While back on the podium, Lowery suggested ways to improve blogging and increase the quality of the contributions, while Grant insisted that it was folly to try and legislate for planning online “you can’t write a broadcasting act to control blogging” Grant sniped.<br /><br />At the final vote it was a walkover for John Grant who thoroughly defeated the motion 41 votes to 20 with 12 abstaining. However, Lowery’s withering criticism of the plannersphere was so compelling he almost tripled his count in the course of the evening.<br /><br />And from my point of view? Well of course I think it is fanciful to suggest that blogging is killing planning. It is now an essential part of our toolkit. But Lowery offers us strategists a timely reminder about the need to maintain standards of rigour, proof and certainty in what we do.richard hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03201808446338652303noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6184432253330291013.post-64686561404704399442007-03-23T14:09:00.000-07:002007-03-23T07:09:43.179-07:00Objectives are for wimps.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_RjbmbDUXPLA/RgPfLRU_XYI/AAAAAAAAAAc/bvtrwsbJhsk/s1600-h/676px-Tomato.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_RjbmbDUXPLA/RgPfLRU_XYI/AAAAAAAAAAc/bvtrwsbJhsk/s320/676px-Tomato.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5045121392308084098" border="0" /></a>What should be my objective of this post? To fulfil a deadline, to entertain you, to get you to read till the very end (where there is a fantastic joke), to encourage debate? Or maybe I should just start writing and work it out at the end?<br /><br />In the words of the Pub Landlord, the point is this; why do we spend so little time thinking about the objective for communication? And why, instead, do we plunge so quickly into strategy?<br /><br />We go to lots of strategy meetings and we read (or intend to read) lots of strategy documents. We might even want to join the IPA Strategy Group (who are an excellent bunch of strategists). But when was the last time we got invited to a meeting about objectives? The answer is, rarely. It even sounds a bit odd; ‘a brand objectives awayday’.<br /><br />Strategy, by definition, is not an end in itself. People often talk about this with reference to the downstream, executional end that strategy must serve. ‘A great strategy must inspire great creative work’. Indeed it must. However, the real end that strategy serves is upstream. Strategy serves objective; doh. So having an objective for communication must precede strategy. Having an objective tells us how to evaluate strategy. It also tells us how to judge levels of success. But most fundamentally, having the right objective means you have properly defined the problem and are therefore more likely to be successful.<br /><br />I will always remember the tale of the tomato farmer whose tomato farming machinery was too big to pick the tomatoes. But instead of defining the problem as having the wrong machinery (and having to spend millions to upgrade), he defined the problem as not growing big enough tomatoes (needing only minor investment). A problem well defined is an objective well understood.<br /><br />So, if it is so important, why do we not talk much about objectives?<br /><br />Because we believe that objectives are easy to define, and the sooner we can get on with the hard graft of strategy the better.<br /><br />The truth is that defining the right objectives for communication is a tough job. Of all the many wonderful things (e.g. awareness, positioning, word of mouth) that communication can do for brands, which are needed for the brand in hand? Conversely, what are the things that we should not ask communication to do because they are best achieved by other business levers (e.g. distribution, npd, price). And within campaigns we have to very clear about the objectives for the individual media channels that are used, and how they relate to each other.<br /><br />One of the dangers in objective-setting is that people often dwell in the land of interim measures and that’s why they seem easy to write.<br /><br />By way of analogy, if the objective set by Dick Fosbury in the high jump was to complete a perfectly executed Western Roll we would not have heard of him. A Western Roll is an interim measure of success. Instead, he set himself the objective of ‘jumping as high as possible’. Enter the Fosbury Flop. Not only did getting the objective right achieve a better result, it released creativity and freedom into the strategy.<br /><br />I’ve seen many objectives for communication that are the equivalent of asking for a Western Roll. Indeed some are quite literally interim research measures. ‘The communication objective is to get good pre-testing scores’, or, ‘create impact’ or, ‘be viral’ (when it is perfectly possible for successful communication to be the exact opposite of all those things).<br /><br />We must spend more time interrogating objectives. They must have a solid route back to the commercial ambitions for a brand. Otherwise we are in danger of shooting at the wrong goal.<br /><br />More disturbingly, there is perhaps an image problem getting in the way. Strategy is seen as a higher value input than objectives. Strategy trumps objectives. Indeed, Google returns 150 million results for searching the word ‘objectives’, but 305 million for ‘strategy’. So, in fact, strategy is twice as valuable as objectives.<br /><br />Objectives are described rather plainly as ‘straightforward’ or ‘simple’. Whereas, strategy is ‘insightful’, ‘brilliant’, or even ‘genius’. Objectives get ‘checked’, strategy is ‘analysed’.<br /><br />Objectives are easy, but not very deep or mysterious. Objectives are, in fact, for wimps. They are a bit sissy. No-one got hired for coming up with some great objectives.<br /><br />Strategy, on the other hand, requires enormous mental effort to unravel its complexities. Strategy is for winners. It has military connotations. It is macho. Hollywood would make a movie about strategy.<br /><br />Anyway, back to my objective of writing this piece. It is to encourage you to read the new IPA Best Practice Guide to Communication Strategy within which the importance of objective-setting is a prominent section.<br /><br />And for those who read till the end for the joke, I achieved my objective.Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814990316808932703noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6184432253330291013.post-40421909020888037862007-03-21T01:31:00.000-07:002007-03-21T09:26:48.676-07:00Eurovision Strategy Contest<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_RjbmbDUXPLA/RgD2MxU_XXI/AAAAAAAAAAU/snJ7mnvtuUI/s1600-h/_42625497_euroscooch_203.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_RjbmbDUXPLA/RgD2MxU_XXI/AAAAAAAAAAU/snJ7mnvtuUI/s320/_42625497_euroscooch_203.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5044302281915194738" border="0" /></a><br />The country has made its mind up about the UK's entry into this year Eurovision Song Contest. Scooch will fly our flag in Helsinki.<br /><br />But beneath the tittering that this event inevitably invites, there is a solid lesson to be learned about the value of getting the strategy right. We should see the event as a pitch, with the UK public as the potential Client.<br /><br />Three main competitors, three different strategies.<br /><br />Brain Harvey (East 17) pitched innovation. He demonstrated that Eurovision is a laughing stock and we should bring some respectability to this market. I can see his charts talking about the need to rewrite the rules. Britain will famously change Eurovision forever and turn it into a proper celebration of solid song writing.<br /><br />Justin Hawkins' (Darkness) pitch was about trends. He pointed out who won last year (that insane rock band) and how we should now follow hard on the heels on Europe's newfound taste for metal. It was only one data point but what the heck.<br /><br />Scooch went for core values. "I think people are ready for a return for pure pop" said Barnes, Scooch's camp steward. He reminded us that Eurovision is an institution of superficiality, and we need a return to what made it great.<br /><br />So, trend-based strategy is dead. Strategic innovation is a turn-off. And the core values approach wins. That's made our lives a lot simpler.Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814990316808932703noreply@blogger.com3