Wednesday, 5 December 2007
Make-up is better for business
'Woman who wear make-up do better in business'. Yes! After a few years at University being one of the few make-up addicts, I now feel vindicated!
Friday, 30 November 2007
Lateness
Lateness. I've been thinking about it a lot recently, but it all came to head this morning.
I arrived for a meeting at an agency, which shall remain nameless, on time and raring to go. I was greeted hospitably and offered a drink. I said, "yes please, a cup of tea would be lovely". Quarter of an hour later, I was beginning to get restless and thirsty. Half an hour later, I was rapidly sinking into a bad mood and extremely thirsty.
After three quarters of an hour (and numerous discussions with the receptionist), I was finally ushered into a small room and the meeting began.
"So, you are X from Leeds".
"No" I said.
Cue all looking extremely confused.
"Actually, I'm Y, from the IPA".
Cue red faces from the agency and a hasty dash to grab the right set of papers. I spent the next hour trying to look cheerful and contribute interesting ideas, all the while thinking what an absolute shambles they were.
The cup of tea never arrived either!
I arrived for a meeting at an agency, which shall remain nameless, on time and raring to go. I was greeted hospitably and offered a drink. I said, "yes please, a cup of tea would be lovely". Quarter of an hour later, I was beginning to get restless and thirsty. Half an hour later, I was rapidly sinking into a bad mood and extremely thirsty.
After three quarters of an hour (and numerous discussions with the receptionist), I was finally ushered into a small room and the meeting began.
"So, you are X from Leeds".
"No" I said.
Cue all looking extremely confused.
"Actually, I'm Y, from the IPA".
Cue red faces from the agency and a hasty dash to grab the right set of papers. I spent the next hour trying to look cheerful and contribute interesting ideas, all the while thinking what an absolute shambles they were.
The cup of tea never arrived either!
Friday, 23 November 2007
Fostering Creativity and Diversity
It has been one of those weeks when I have learnt a lot. A nice week. I went to a seminar at The Work Foundation about fostering creativity and diversity with Herman Gyr. It was excellent.
I thought I'd share one of the particularly interesting things I learnt. The content is not new, but I really liked the new way of approaching it.
To cope with the future, companies need to think about their audience and consumers. There are four types of personality, or parts of personality.
Ana Analogue wants to be enriched, is passive and reflective. To fulfill her needs a company needs to provide quality content. Andi is enabled and wants to interact and be playful. A company needs to provide him with interactive experiences and choice. DJ Digital is empowered, creative and wants to make an impact, therefore he needs tools to engage with content. Finally, Syndi Synthesised wants to connect, participate and be part of a community therefore she needs an interactive platform.
I think this model to think about consumer wants and needs now and in the future is helpful. My personal opinion is that we all have elements of each of those personalities within us, but the younger we are, the more we move away from Ana and towards Syndi.
I thought I'd share one of the particularly interesting things I learnt. The content is not new, but I really liked the new way of approaching it.
To cope with the future, companies need to think about their audience and consumers. There are four types of personality, or parts of personality.
Ana Analogue wants to be enriched, is passive and reflective. To fulfill her needs a company needs to provide quality content. Andi is enabled and wants to interact and be playful. A company needs to provide him with interactive experiences and choice. DJ Digital is empowered, creative and wants to make an impact, therefore he needs tools to engage with content. Finally, Syndi Synthesised wants to connect, participate and be part of a community therefore she needs an interactive platform.
I think this model to think about consumer wants and needs now and in the future is helpful. My personal opinion is that we all have elements of each of those personalities within us, but the younger we are, the more we move away from Ana and towards Syndi.
Wednesday, 21 November 2007
Marketing Society Conference
I went to The Marketing Society Conference yesterday and really enjoyed myself. It was held at the Royal Opera House, which was a beautiful venue. Even the continual rain pouring onto the roof of the Floral Hall could not dampen my spirits as I listened to some really interesting speeches.
The first public appearance of Blake Chandlee as Commercial Director of Facebook UK was informative in itself, but a talk on private equity by David Mansfield was also surprisingly enjoyable.
I often leave conferences feeling sleepy (no natural light) and none the wiser. Yesterday, however, I felt that I had learnt a lot. The mini apple and pear crumbles at lunchtime were also scrumptious!
The first public appearance of Blake Chandlee as Commercial Director of Facebook UK was informative in itself, but a talk on private equity by David Mansfield was also surprisingly enjoyable.
I often leave conferences feeling sleepy (no natural light) and none the wiser. Yesterday, however, I felt that I had learnt a lot. The mini apple and pear crumbles at lunchtime were also scrumptious!
Friday, 16 November 2007
IPA Effectiveness Awards 2007
MCBD and MediaCom won the IPA Grand Prix for Trident, the Metropolitan Police operation to curb black community gun crime in London. The campaign, which also won a Gold Award, lead to an 86% rise in calls providing intelligence on gun crime, and a reduction of 15% on actual gun crime.
Unfortunately, this morning there was another headline about gun crime and death. A 17 year old footballer shot in Stoke Newington. In the last year, there have been three or four shootings in the area and streets where I live. It never ceases to shock and scare me. It is so incomprehensible.
Unfortunately, this morning there was another headline about gun crime and death. A 17 year old footballer shot in Stoke Newington. In the last year, there have been three or four shootings in the area and streets where I live. It never ceases to shock and scare me. It is so incomprehensible.
Tuesday, 13 November 2007
The Truth
In the course of researching foreign advertising, there were some real howlers. However, there were also some gems. Here is one of them:
However, while watching it, I found it difficult to stop wondering why it was in English; isn't Argentina a Spanish speaking country? Is it therefore genuine? I don't know, but I still think it is very powerful.
However, while watching it, I found it difficult to stop wondering why it was in English; isn't Argentina a Spanish speaking country? Is it therefore genuine? I don't know, but I still think it is very powerful.
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