Great Creative Spirits

I saw the documentary "The September Issue" about a week ago, and I gotta' say, I loved it. I thought it was a fascinating insight into an industry that cops a lot of flak (some deserved, some not so deserving).

What struck me most about this film was the creativity that ran through the veins of the people who worked at Vogue in New York. A somewhat obvious deduction you might agree however I guess coming from a background in advertising, it was only natural for me to make comparisons.

I really thought Grace Coddington - the CD of Vogue - was the stand out. Whilst I was truly curious about Anna Wintour ('she of the dark glasses' fame) I thought Grace stole the show. Her passion, talent and creativity was inspiring. Grace's ability to take an idea and bring it life (see the "twenties" shoot in the movie for my favourite example of this...or the "jumping camera guy" in the colour block shoot)...) was fantastic. She is a woman whose whole career has rested on an ability to "think different" and see the potential where others have missed it. Originality is her calling card.

Wow.

Way Off The Mark

Some of you may have seen the recent Chaser skit about Make A Wish.

It's been several days since the segment ran on Chaser's War on Everything however I wanted to wait until I'd seen the dust settle before commenting. In particular, I was interested to read the letters (on/offline) about the ABC's decision to run the piece which the producers & Chaser Team referred to as "satirical" and "black humour".

Having lived through the experience of watching my own son on life support along with other children and parents who've been faced with equally (or worse) experiences, I have to say, I've found it pretty hard to understand why The Chaser team thought this subject could ever be appropriate.

It's not remotely comedic to parody children who are undergoing extremely painful, traumatic treatment for potentially life-threatening health challenges.

Assuming The Chaser's team have never set foot in a kids' hospital nor known anyone who has.....perhaps they should check one out.

Even the most insensitive twat would have to agree that there are subjects which should be no-go. Creating a parody about kids who are ill and/ or dying is one of those.

I am truly disappointed by The Chaser.....I think they've really overstepped the mark. And it's not me who thinks this - only last night was the topic raised whilst out with friends....all of them (independently of my opinion) felt that the segement was in extremely poor taste....it certainly wasn't funny.

I truly hope The Chaser hit the drawing board and start working again on ideas which entertain rather than offend.

Society's New Status Symbols

For years, the outward sign that someone had "made" it used to be a Ferrari.

I'd like to suggest a new status symbol: The lawnmower.

Why? Quite simple really. To own a lawnmower means you've gotta' own lawn. Lawn in Sydney is expensive. The bigger your lawn, the more expensive your mower, the greater your success*

As follows:

1st place: RIDE ON MOWER
Made it big time. The bad boy of lawn mowing.
Significant lawn maintenance.



2nd Place: REGULAR PETROL MOWER
You've made it. Enough lawn to require
a decent hour or two at the helm.



3rd Place: HAND HELD MOWER
Either: environmental darling OR wish to use mowing lawn as stay-fit exercise OR (more likely) starting out and are otherwise completely broke from trying to pull togther every last cent for your home deposit (which included, lawn). Nonetheless, to be congratulated.

* And yes, I am happy to admit that for the purposes of this entry, I am choosing to define success in purely materialistic, possession based, ego-centric terms.

Supersize My Trolley?

As I wheeled around my local supermarket doing some shopping tonight (because hey, it's fun right?) I couldn't help but make the observation....why the hell are shopping trolleys so bloody big these days?

I can remember a time when average folk would pile up the groceries but somehow manage to do so using a contraption that didn't resemble a small Hummer.

As I rounded another corner, trying hard not to swipe an elderly couple looking for packs of pasta, I started to wonder.....Is the humble shopping trolley (now complete with airbags, cruise control, side impact protection and separate compartments...or at least it would seem) a metaphor for our obsession with consumption. Do we really *need* all the stuff we buy? What psychological ailment is the big trolley placating? Is it all a dirty conspiracy? Or a practical necessity born from research by the marketing dudes upstairs?

Whatever the case, I have to admit, for a Friday night, it was starting to get quite philosophical....why the heck had my trolley been supersized?

As I rounded another corner, I realised I was experiencing a mild yet growing sense of anxiety. As the shopping piled up ("organic butter or regular?...") I began to calculate the cost of my increasing supersized pile. Yes, I was out to buy a fair amount (weekend BBQ.....I hope the weather holds) but boy was I dreading the checkout experience (despite best intentions, does anyone else's trolley ever equate to a small nation's GDP ??). Have you ever noticed how (post check-out) everyone glances down at their receipts with a resigned *sigh* muttering "there goes another $200" (as they trudge out with 3 bags of groceries).

Coles are obviously onto this with their trolleys & their latest campaign ($10 meals + gift card promotion...note to coles: I have picked up the gift card promo brochure twice but haven't made it to the online sign up yet...). For a nation whose birth rate is either stalling (or in decline); where more people are beginning to live on their own; where we shop more frequently but buy less (average basket vs trolley shop I believe is $27...another obscure fact randomly filed in my brain) we have a bizarre obsession with the supersized tanker trolley. Supermarkets want us to browse more, stay longer, buy extra (but you can't fit all that extra choice in your little 'ol red basket).

Hmmm....perhaps I've just found the answer to my curious question??

Ideas that Moved Me

I love Ji Lee's work. Formerly of Drogaa5 in NYC now at Google.....one of his most famous pieces of "independent" creative was the bubble project.

So amazing it's now transformed into an international idea...http://thebubbleproject.com/

Optimism as a brand thought (p.s. it rocks).

Every morning I drive to work. And nearly every morning I travel behind a bus with a huge ad for pepsi max on the back. Admittedly I can't remember the exact words but I know how it makes me feel. Positive. Optimistic. Energised. Now, being the cynical marketer that I am, I have to admit that this reaction surprised me. But it's a reaction I have continued to have over consecutive viewings which makes me think that it's (gasp!) likely that I actually really like and engage with the message.

It got me curious so I started to wonder....in the current economic climate is there more of a role for brands to take the lead and champion hope, positivity and optimism? I think yes. Obviously any strategy needs to align with the values and objectives for the brand but (as recent charity advertising previously mentioned on my blog may have found out) the current doom & gloom is not the time to reinforce hopelessness or helplessness.

Above are some other examples (local & international) which I think point to the "optimism" trend. Obviously taken to fuller or lesser degrees but certainly all operating from a territory that reinforces positivity, can-do and glass-half-full. Again, another special mention to Pepsi.... loved what they did during the Obama election. Couldn't care less if they were riding on his coat-tails. I love the work (example above) and think it bloody works a treat.

Save the Honey Bees

I love this work.

Simple. Authentic. Engaging.

Haagen-Dazs have aligned to a cause that is on-brand.
I love their development of "honey-bee dependent" products (I believe about 30 of their 70 or so ice-cream flavours are pollinated by bees....).

This is an extremely serious issue and it's awesome to see a brand taking it on board. I'll be curious to see the impact Haagen-Dazs helps to make.


visit. http://www.helpthehoneybees.com/

Generosity is the new black

A recent trend report flagged an interesting insight...that in light of the current economic climate, businesses and brand have an even bigger duty of care to show they care, to show they are genuine and generous.

For corporations & brands, giving is apparently the new black.

Messages of doom and gloom just turn people off.

An example that comes to mind is the recent work for Starlight Day (http://www.starlight.org.au/Pages/default.aspx). Brilliant brand. Amazing cause. Exceptional potential. Only challenge is that donations have been drying up (particularly corporate).

I can understand why they've taken this approach (drive urgency) but was threat-of-loss the way to go?

Their key message was:

"With limited funds, we’ll have to choose which seriously ill child deserves happiness more."

Hmmm......

Perhaps it's driven donations (yes, charities are doing it tough at the moment) however will it damage the brand longer term? I've read other comments which seem to think it might.
It's certainly generated a lot of talk (both online and offline at the water cooler).

I believe brands need to be beacon's for optimism and confidence. I also think you can drive urgency without risking misunderstanding.

I'll be curious to see where this ends up....

16,500,000 ways to Storybook Your Life

.....just an incidental observation made earlier today.(on & offline whilst out shopping)....have you noticed how many places offer you the ability to create your own photo book? Online, offline, deluxe, budget...there's something out there for everyone. Never in the history of our planet have we had the opportunity to know, access and record so much information. I suppose it has always been human desire to record the story of our lives...or is that just a modern, Western-culture thing?

Curious.

Slumdog: A Missed Opportunity?

For me, Slumdog Millionaire certainly wasn't the "feel good film of the decade". I actually found it a very distressing film with extremely difficult themes. Perhaps it's because I'm a mother but seeing kids in any level of poverty or distress deeply upsets me.

The movie really "moved" me on the subject of poverty and slums in India. So much so, that after I got home I researched what (respected) charities work in India to help children out of poverty and into a better life.

I would have loved it if (after the movie) information was made available to direct me to well-respected charities that help kids out of the slums. Nothing! Neither was there anything on the films website (I also looked there) to help.

I think that if a film is going to shine a light on such an important issue, then they have a responsibility to be part of the solution. The film did an amazing job of raising awareness about the slums in India but then didn't help viewers participate in a solution. I think this was a hugely missed opportunity which could have been far better capitalised on.

I was also disappointed to read that the children who acted in the films were paid a paltry amount of money and then sent back to live there. Really uncool.

As for me, I've still got "find slum charity" stuck on a post-it above my desk. I've committed to following through on it but how much faster it would have been if I'd been provided with the information whilst the graphic film images rang fresh in my mind.

Circus 4.0

Never has Cirque De Soleil ever left me feeling less than inspired and amazed.

Each time it comes to Sydney my husband and I go and see it, and ever time I'm left thinking how the hell are they going to improve on that for next time? It is such a curiosity - the costumes, the story ideas, the music, the performances!

I think this is one of the most amazing brands to hit the face of our planet.

It's Circus 4.0.

I think there are some great learnings for brands of all types:

.....story is powerful and compelling

.....the audience is encouraged and invited to participate

......engagemet across every touchpoint

.....a creative and artistic masterpiece = attention to detail

.....raises the bar on itself each time = truly original

.....gets me talking, makes me inspired, an experience to be shared

.....truly entertaining

.....truly "smashproof" as a brand

.....drives repeat purchase!

Made in Japan

Incase you haven't caught on....Uniqlo....I love you.

..Simplicity, innovation, individual expression at its best. I still remember picking out my tshirt from Uniqlo in New York....there was this massive display of totally individualised tshirts designed by a host of different artists. Choosing one truly did feel special. Never has a tshirt felt so unique (to me at least). I love that I have a story to go with my shirt. People still ask about it.

The brand again got brought to my attention tonight in a fabulous article I was reading (written by the highly talented Chauncey Zalkin for Brand Channel).

Having worked previously on Japanese brand (Pigeon) I completely identify with all she writes about....particularly the following quotes extracted from the article:

"China might be the quickest in turnaround, but Japan is still the most meticulous"

"Products that exhibit the human touch and an understanding of the environment are what consumers - and society - demand now."

Source: Made In Japan: The Culture Behind the Brand, Chauncey Zalkin, http://www.brandchannel.com/

Chauncey also made some really interesting insights and connections between Japanese culture and their innovative, forward thinking work on developing environmentally friendly products.

Some of the specifics that I admire most about Japanese brands is this meticulous attention to deatil.

Pigeon (baby products brand) was (and is) a real demonstration of this....infact the tagline which we developed ("Big on little things") spoke directly to the care of children that each product offered as a result of their constant attention to (tiny) detail in product development.

It is this discipline and attention to detail which I love. I believe Japanese innovation comes from this dedication to paying attention to the small things. That, and their incredible group-based work ethos where everyone strives to better their best.

B2B I.T Marketing Gets Creative

This is one of the most genius ideas I've seen coming out of the B2B I.T Industry.....in an industry where marketing is typically branded as "boring", I think this idea is simple and really fresh.

It was founded on a piece of insight being that everyone has an "IT Horror Story"......mine is trashing a major essay right before I was due to hand it in back in my uni days.....remembering it still makes me feel ill!....what's yours??

check out: http://www.trueittales.com/

Vodafone WOW store

Vodafone has created a series of WOW stores in Europe.

It is a branded retail experience that utilises the latest technology in order to drive customer engagement, visitation, and ultimately sales.

Check it out on You Tube. I think it rocks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJmjaulpCBo

Japan (is) Curiosity At Its Best

I love Japan. I lived there for a short period in the early 1990s. This was before the advent of the Internet, when only snail mail and phonecalls connected you to the outside "western" world. It blew my mind...the culture, karaoke, zen gardens, sushi stores, japanese bakeries, vending machines, language, tea houses, nori making, ancient rites & traditions, everything.

I've since been lucky enough to go back and discovered a new love...Japanese retail concepts, packaging and Harajuku - the tiny little lane way that houses the extraordinary, weird and wonderful....in particular the "Harajuku" street fashion that symbolises true creativity and youthful rebellion at its best.

Japan rocks. It is an incredible hive of innovation, technology and leading edge brilliance. It vales beauty in design and pays attention to detail where others overlook.

Positive Exposure

I fell in love with Positive Exposure the first time I laid eyes on it.

Positive Exposure is a US non-profit arts organisation whoseo mission is to positively promote people who live with genetic difference. They also work to educate medical professionals, students and the public. It was founded by Rick Guidotti and Diane McLean. Rick was a fashion photographer who was moved by the way people with genetic difference were portrayed in medical & social literature (read: dehumanised, humiliated, impersonal). He decided it was time to change and educate so began Positive Exposure.

To me, this is human rights at its best. In many countries people are killed or maimed because they "look" or "act" differently. This clearly needs to stop and I take my hat off to Rick and his team for the truly amazing, life changing work they do. He is an inspiration and I would love an opportunity to meet him and contribute in some small way to this amazing cause.

http://www.positiveexposure.org/

Ideas That Move Me

• Brand I'd love to help reinvent:
  The Spastic Centre
• I plain love (and use) this brand:
  Dyson
• Brand With Guts:
  Sea Shepherd
• Bought it because of the packaging:
  Sultry Sally, Method Cleaning, Not Another Bloody Water
• Cause Marketing that rocks:
  Haagen Dazs "save the honey bees" + Tap Project (UNICEF)
• Brand with a built-in care factor:
  Tom's Shoes
• Best retail reinvention:
  Target (US) ....democratisation of design is legendary
• Next big 'marketing' thing to (really) hit Australia:
  Shopper Marketing
• Best brand experience ever:
  Conrad Tokyo (OMG)
• Technology about to boom big time:
  RFID chips (check out MuChip) & tags (watch out retail)
• Most innovative interactive campaign:
  MINI (Germany) & their use of Augmented Reality (AR)
• Favourite Australian brand:
  Jurlique (love their concept stores)
• What The?!:
  In-store conveyor belt media (guess it works?!)
• Favourite overseas campaigns:
  Whopper Freakout + Still Free (Echo) + Dove Campaign for Real Beauty
• Most innovative brand touchpoint:
  Le Meridien, USA (the room key reinvented as gallery pass)
• Innovative kids packaging:
  Y-Water (functionality meets design)
• Simple but awesome:
  Qantas in-flight cutlery holder/ place mat/ bin (so simple, so cool).
• Favourite online campaign:
  "I believe In Harvey Dent" (Dark Knight launch for Batman)
• Most engaging online idea:
  My Starbucks Idea (http://www.mystarbucksidea.com/)
• Could never stop loving it:
  Disneyland, my Roald Dahl kids book collection, Monopoly, my ipod.

Packaging Made Me Do It

Packaging is a powerful media space that (done right) can move shoppers to purchase.

Take me for example. Up to the shops about a month ago for completely unrelated non-chip reasons and I bumped into little 'ol sally touting her wares. Did I need them (no!), did I want to try them because I loooved the packaging (yes!), have I met others who have done the same (yes!).

I think the packaging for these chips rocks. In a sea-of-sameness, it stands out a mile literally begging you to buy it.

Wasn't surprised to find out (after researching the product - yes, the packaging even made me SO curious that I went online to find out who was behind it!) that Tim Pethick (ex-Nudie) is one of the marketing brains.

The product may not be for me (small stumbling block) but I love the packaging!

Touchpoint Mapping

I'm a firm believer in a brand communicating consistently across every single touchpoint it has with a potential consumer. It's not a "new" concept per se but the idea of "touchpoint mapping" is catching on. I designed a touchpoint mapping tool which I use a lot in my work - I believe it's critically important especially in store which is an area that traditionally gets over looked in the "brand/ idea" conversation.

As such, I was impressed to read a recent Marketing Magazine (online) article ("Keeping it consistently constant – The KICC Principle" by Ant Hampel) that flagged the importance of a consistent and on-brand POS experience. One of my favourite parts:

Go and experience your brand from point of sale.

One of the most important places where customers get to experience your brand is at the point of sale.

If I went to buy a new Mercedes I would expect a luxury buying experience. I would expect that the sales staff would be immaculately dressed and presented. That is what I am led to believe from their marketing. If they were not it would effect my perception of the brand and effect my brand loyalty.

Put yourself in a customer’s shoes, what level of service have you led your customer to expect at the point of sale.

A brand that does this really well is T2. Everything about their in-store experience is completely on-brand . . .right down to the way the product gets sampled, served, wrapped, packed. It's a completely "smashproof" brand experience that drives engagement, talkability and sales.

Emotionally enaging, on-brand experiences will get your customers returning for more.

I. LOVE. UNIQLO.

....for their visual merchandising.
....for their product.
....for being innovative (check out their partnership with Pantone)
....for making their store space, their brand space.
....for creating a brand experience.

....for infusing design + creativity into their product design

Toms Shoes Rock

One of my loves is innovation shown by regular people who manage to crack an idea so great it ends up becoming not just a brand but a movement.

Toms Shoes is a brand that has achieved such a outcome.

Started by a guy called Blake in 2006 who was appalled at the state of kids without shoes on his travels in Argentina. He got back to the US and started Toms Shoes which sells vegan and canvas shoes - the difference is that for every pair you buy, Toms donates a pair to a child in a developing country.

The rest as they say, is history.....

I have been able to track down Toms at a store in Sydney but hoping they'll get mail delivery or open up a retailer here under soon!

I love Cola Life

One of the best ideas I've seen (and signed up for) recently is participation in the http://www.colalife.org/ initiative.

Around the world, children die every day from dehydration that results from preventable diseases such as diarrhoea.

As stated on their website:

Cola Life's idea is that Coca Cola use their distribution channels (which are amazing in developing countries) to distribute 'social products', such as oral rehydration salts, to the people who need them desperately.

To find out more: http://www.colalife.org/

Retail stores: bland space to brand space

One of my passions is the retail arena - and more particularly, retail space. Over the past ten years there has been a shift, as I like to call it, from retail as bland space to retail as brand space. More prominent in markets such as the UK, Europe and USA, Australia is just starting to catch up which is great.

The brands which take a "brandspace" approach to their store space stand out a mile from those who don't. You only need to take a walk through any local shopping mall to sense this. Just take BankWest, T2 and Apple as a few examples of brands that achieve this in spectacular fashion.

The retail space is where brands come to life. Every single touch point inside the store is an opportunity for a brand to create a connection and create a seamless, integrated story that enhances (rather than compromises) brand positioning.

The store space is the coal face where brands need to work their hardest in order to convert browser to buyer. In my mind, every touch point (from packaging to the store headers) is media space that has a responsibility to communicate messages that are "on brand". From the way staff dress, speak, understand the service or product through to the the sales tags, merchandising, colour scheme......each touchpoint must integrate seamlessly to bring the brand story alive.

On this point, the other thing I think that we need to get better at thinking about is the Shopper versus Consumer. Consumers are the "users" of the product whereas Shoppers are the "choosers". Yes they can be the same person, however it is important for brands to recognise (and plan) for the fact that in many instances, they are two separate identities. This requires an understanding into the different motivations, needs and messaging requirements that will move each group.

Marketing companies around the world that realise the massive value of taking a "consumer" and "shopper" approach to their business are investing in Shopper Marketing whereby the in-moment needs of shoppers are analysed and understood in order to create a better shopping experience that puts the shopper at the heart of marketing decisions in-store.

I'm really interested in what Proctor & Gamble are doing - particularly in the US - with Shopper Marketing. They invest heavily in developing shopper insights and aligning closely with retailers in order to produce the best possible shopping experience for their customers.

Rethinking Disability

I often wonder who came up with the world "DISABLED". I mean, which 'able bodied' person thought it was a good idea? I wonder if they consulted anyone who had special needs and asked their thoughts on the topic (my guess is no).

How we identify ourselves is critical to the way the world views us.

Labelling people based on what they can't do or what's missing is plainly wrong and outmoded.

I love the work that was ceated for the "International Day of People with a Disability". Sure they refer to the word "disability" but they flipped its meaning on its head through the campaign:

Don't Dis-my-Ability

Empowered. Succinct. Positive.

I love.

I am curious

I wanted to devote some time to a subject that I'm passionate about - strategy planning. I think great planning is powered by curiousity. To me, curious is planning. The planners I admire all have an innate curiousity about how things work. They observe. They have a passion for wanting to "know stuff"....because they're, well....curious. They notice the little (not just the big) stuff around them.


I therefore want to devote this blog to a self-indulged exploration of those big and little things that I find curious from the world of people, brands, marketing and beyond. I figure, if I find them curious then perhaps others might too.

We can then be curious together.