Dragon's Den

Thanks 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.

Enter the Dragon

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.

Six agencies will brave a grilling from a panel of senior clients as well as an all-powerful voting audience, which could include you. The day will be facilitated by Evan Davis, presenter of BBC2's Dragon's Den and BBC Economics Editor.

Competing presentations will come from all sides of the communications industry and will include Richard Storey from M&C Saatchi, David Walsh from Mindshare, Simon Hall from Hall Moore CHI, Matt Dyke from Tribal DDB/DDB London, Craig Mawdsley from AMV BBDO, Richard Lennox from JWT and Michael Moszynski from IS. 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.

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 Jon Steel from WPP, Axel Chaldecott from JWT, Adam Morgan from eatbigfish and George Bryant from AMV BBDO and Marco Rimini from Mindshare.

Tickets for IPA members cost just £150 + VAT (for IPA Members £200 + VAT for non-Members) which includes lunch. There are limited numbers remaining so to be guaranteed a place, call 020 7201 8224.

Blog School

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.

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?

Kaiser Chiefs - Everything Is Average Nowadays

My point made better and set to music.

Everything is Average Nowadays

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.

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".

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?

Is there more stuff and so the overall quality has come down?

Or perhaps there is the same stuff but we are more aware of it?

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?

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?

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.

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.

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.