Sussex Royal, Ad Agencies, And The Danger Of Subjective Language
A friend of mine runs a film company, and as a result often works with advertising agencies. He once made a comment based on his experience which has always stuck with me: “Any time I see an agency refer to themselves as ‘creative’, I immediately know they aren’t”. I know I have many newsletter subscribers […]
How To Take Your Thinking To A New Level – Literally
The yin-yang symbol has become a bit of a cliche. These days it’s probably more likely to bring to mind a lower back tattoo than timeless wisdom, which is too bad, because its message is extremely relevant to our contemporary struggles. It also reveals a method of thinking which is central to strategic wisdom, and […]
Glossary Of Strategic Ideas – Volume 1
One question I’m asked, again and again, is what I think of Simon Sinek’s famous “why”. If you don’t know what this is, then I’m very surprised that you’re reading this blog. However, to offer a totally redundant recap, his basic thesis was that “people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do […]
Innocent, 21 Jump Street, and why consistency requires constant change
In 2012 they made a new movie adaptation of the TV show 21 Jump Street, where two cops (Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill) go undercover as students in a high school to bust open a drugs case. Near the beginning it has this great scene which I think is, weirdly, very strategically instructive. Basically, although […]
The creative canvas – the key to building a charismatic business
Sometimes people ask me the meaning of my company name, Basic Arts. It came from the original idea I had for the business, which in essence was to embed advertising-esque creativity and artistry into the very fabric of the company itself, rather than limiting it to external “media”. Basic = foundational, structural, the bones of […]
Appreciating scale – what to do with things you can’t control
There is a quote you may have heard which goes something like: “I am a libertarian at the federal level, Republican at the state level, Democrat at the local level, a socialist with my friends and family, and a communist with my dog”. The idea is designed to reveal the fatuousness of political labels, but when […]
Selling the nightmare: what happens to brands with weak strategy
It must be nice to be a dentist. They are an example of what we might call a “downside industry”, whereby people hire them not so much to achieve something good, as to avoid something bad. Downside industries don’t have to sell you an exciting or aspirational future; they simply have to scare you about […]
Fit in to stand out
I have been guilty, I realise, of giving brands two conflicting pieces of advice: You should stand out You should fit in You should stand out, of course, in order to lower competitive pressure, be noticed, and claim market territory. But you should also fit in, because this enables you to borrow certain well established […]
How conformity leads to conflict
Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene Romeo & Juliet __ Human beings are copying machines. This is the central idea of “mimetic theory”, which was put forward by historian René Girard to explain the motivations of human beings, the evolution of culture, and ultimately the rise of […]
Nickelback, Starbucks, and the power of in-authenticity
Everyone agrees, apparently, that it’s good for a brand to be “authentic”. So much so that it’s become one of those overused words that people are increasingly embarrassed to use: like “engagement” or “purpose” or “millennials”. We all know authenticity is good, there’s no need to go on about it. But then again… is it? […]