Chiara Pelizzari

Time Out, I'm Travelling!

2013-11-15T01:43:00.001-08:00

I'm taking a year out to travel the world so have set up a new blog with a different focus - http://goingglobal-chiarapelizzari.blogspot.com/

Follow me here!

Think Quick - Reactivity & Creativity

2013-04-03T15:02:00.003-07:00

Create an award winning press and PR strategy that will persuade political leaders to pass legislation dictating that 0.7% of UK income tax must be donated to overseas aid.

And do it in 24 hours.

Sounds crazy I know, but this was the task set before us last month in order to enter the Young Cannes Lions competition run by The Guardian.

It was possibly one of the most stressful 24 hours I've ever encountered but in hindsight it was bloody brilliant. Although in reality we're rarely expected to turn around briefs so quickly, I've come to realise that it's an incredibly valuable skill to have.

Personally, I've always admired reactive campaigns but the very nature of them demands the need for speed. For example, Oreo's response to the Super Bowl Blackout and Kit Kat's reaction to the delay in Baumgautner's freefall (both mentioned in my previous post) were published within minutes of the event which made them witty, fun and bang on topic. Another favourite of mine is Lynx's 'Sorry Harry if it had anything to do with us' ad (pictured left) which was published in the Sun immediately after the Prince's Las Vegas debacle. Had there been a delay with any of these, the results would have been far less satisfying.

Having successfully completed the Young Cannes Lions entry, I feel the biggest piece of advice I can give to thinking quickly is to trust your instincts. My colleague and I spent too long doubting our initial ideas which then left too little time to flesh them out in the later stages. It's an odd and rather frightening concept because usually when planning campaigns we'll spend days researching the brief and the audience to come up with an insight. This of course works perfectly well when we have weeks to plan a campaign but it's important that we're brave enough to 'just go with it' when the timings are tight. To some 'brave' holds connotations of risk and therefore the potential to fail but I strongly believe it's worth suffering a few minor catastrophes to achieve greatness. And with creative minds behind these decisions the latter will occur in the majority of circumstances!

If you need further convincing of this I recommend following @OneMinuteBriefs on Twitter. This account publishes one brief per day and encourages its followers to tweet their responses within a matter of minutes. The results truly are awesome - see below. If individuals can produce work such as this, the potential for brands with whole marketing teams behind them is incredible! I hope to see more and more ads likes these appear as digital and social platforms allow us to publish content more and more quickly and clients trust us to run with our ideas.

Advertise Screws:

Advertise Weed:

Advertise Ketchup:

Advertise Locksmiths:

Advertise Wonderbra:

Advertise Facebook:

Advertise Tippex:

I could go on...go see for yourself @OneMinuteBriefs or http://oneminutebriefs.blogspot.co.uk/. Regardless of whether you enter ideas of your own check back each day to see what others have come up with. It's a great mid-day energiser to get your brain re-thinking (and out of a spreadsheet!)

Creativity in a Connected World #AWEurope

2013-04-01T09:08:00.001-07:00

Facebook:

1 billion users.

5.5 billion stories created.

180 billion impressions in newsfeeds.

Every day.

Undeniably impressive, but still not enough to grab the attention of a room full of media folk at Adweek. When you have huge numbers thrown at you every day you eventually become desensitised to them and disinterested in their potential. What's the use of having such a massive audience when we can't even engage a small fraction of them?

Thankfully our speaker Eric Edge, Head of Marketing Communications at Facebook, acknowledged this right away.

'These figures are irrelevant unless you get creative with your content'.

No matter how many people see our message it's only effective if they find it interesting in some way. Creating an ad or post that 1 billion people simply scroll over is pretty useless. In reality, a boring ad won't even reach those billion people regardless of the budget thrown into it. The only way to ensure we hit as many users as possible is to publish posts that are share-able and live a life of their own beyond that of our initial targeting.

'Get creative' is a rather vague instruction and one that many find daunting so Eric broke it down into 5 key principles for success.

1. Be Authentic
The first and most important point is to remain true to your brand. Too often we see brands entering the realm of Facebook and suddenly forgetting their fundamentals, acting in ways that are alien to their customers. Facebook is fantastic in that it gives brands a voice and persona but it's incredibly important to get that tone right or your consumers will fall out of love with you. Eric mentioned Newcastle Brown Ale's Facebook page as a good example of one that is authentic to the brand. They've recently adopted the #NoBollocks hashtag which sums up in just 2 words what their ethos is all about.

2.Be Useful
The second point is to ensure that your content is meaningful to the consumer both on and offline. This will not only improve your reputation among consumers but will also ensure that people naturally continue the conversations that you create on social media platforms within their own space. Eric used Nike+ as a great example of this - it's a fantastic tool that allows people to create their own content to tell friends what they're achieving whilst not on these social media pages. This ignites conversations as friends congratulate the runner and spur them on. Regardless of whether this runner was wearing Adidas trainers or Umbro shorts, this run is now owned by Nike.

3. Be Entertaining
Many people mistake this for meaning 'be funny' and in trying to do so, lose sight of point 1. There's no value in gaining likes on a joke or an amusing piece of content that has no relevance to your brand. Instead we must find ways to make our brand and values entertaining whether that be funny, shocking, inspiring, motivating or whatever else. Dos Equis's 'Most Interesting Man in the World' concept is a great example because it inspires creative and amusing content whilst still in keeping with the brand itself.

4. Be Timely & Relevant
Consumers appreciate reactive content that's quick and witty. However, in order to do this properly you need to have a nimble process in place whereby you can have a post written, approved and posted within a matter of minutes. Often we'll miss out on key opportunities because we have to wait for sign off and once the moment's gone it's gone. Kit Kat's reactive ad to the Red Bull Stratos campaign and Oreo's response to the Superbowl Blackout are brilliant examples of times when this has worked - absolutely spot on both in terms of the ideas and the timings within which they were executed.

5. Be Good Listeners
The final point is simply to listen. It's important to remember that social media has not only given brands a voice, but its consumers too! If used correctly, it can create a perfect unison between a company and consumer whereby each is giving the other exactly what they want. Citroen did this well by asking their community to design their perfect car and then actually built the one which received the most votes. The end product was a 'you liked it, we've made it' model which sold out in record time.

Throughout his speech Eric continued to stress how simple and achievable all of this is for any brand which all of a sudden made those initial numbers seem far more interesting. Team these 5 key principles with a little creative thinking and tactical targeting and we can reach them. And when we do the results are phenomenal.

Uncomfortable Excitement

2013-01-28T14:13:00.001-08:00

Of the thirteen promises I made for 2013, getting back into blogging was one of them. I’m really lucky in my job that I come across so much that’s worth writing down but it’s only worthwhile if I find the time to actually do so. So here goes.

Towards the end of last year, I went along to a question and answer session with Google CFO, Patrick Pichette. Following a grand introduction and a huge round of applause, a small man in a red fleece and jeans took to the stage. ‘Everbody needs a day job. This just happens to be mine.’

Despite being the epitome of success, Pichette is seriously down to earth. And we're not talking Google Earth here, I mean earth earth.Though he shares the common 'googlyness' of all the global giant's employees, Pichette hasn't allowed himself to be overcome by it and takes pride in the fact that he can connect so well with any individual on any level. In fact, he attributes his success to that very trait. Before meeting Patrick, Eric Schmidt interviewed over 100 people all suited and booted and desperate for the job but none of them quite fit the bill. Then Pichette came along, met Schmidt for a coffee one day and was made CFO the next.

As you can imagine he's a pretty remarkable man and I could easily ramble on about his life and successes but you can find all that out on Wikipedia. Instead I'd like to focus on a phrase which he introduced us to, a phrase which he believes is key to changing the world: 'uncomfortable excitement'.

I took from that that if something is big enough to make a difference, it should be overwhelmingly exciting but at the same time should scare us shitless. Why? Because the outcome is completely unknown and whereas it could result in un-paralleled success, it could also end in complete disaster. If it doesn't have the potential to end in disaster, then it isn't big enough.

This set me off thinking about the way we approach advertising campaigns. We often use an exercise in brainstorms called 'Scaling' whereby one person will come up with a crazy, potentially unrealistic idea and we'll pass it around the group with each person scaling it down slightly until after six turns, it has transformed into a feasible concept. That somehow doesn't make sense anymore. Understandably we're subjected to budget and time constraints but wherever possible, we should be scaling ideas up rather than down.

Okay, we might not be changing the world (although some brands you work on might!) but we are essentially trying to make change through a grand project. Our campaign objective should always be to create an impact big enough to alter people's attitudes and behaviour towards us so we should be working towards that same world-changing feeling.

I think Red Bull is a great example of a brand that succeeds in creating that 'uncomfortable excitement'. Their recent Stratosphere campaign with Felix Baumgartner was in many ways insane and yet absolutely spot on. Every single viewer tuned in to watch Baumgartner launch up into space in realtime would have experienced the very feeling we've been discussing. Nobody knew whether he would make it back down to Earth; nobody could be sure of the outcome. Minutes before take off, there was a shared consensus across the world that this could either be one of the biggest events in airspace history or a complete and utter tragedy. Quite the definition of uncomfortable excitement, I think.

Of course in this instance, the campaign was a success. Felix not only survived, but he also happened to break the record for the highest ever free fall jump ever and attracted an audience of over 8million whilst doing so. Red Bull have won countless awards and will forever be remembered as being the most daring brand of 2013. It's difficult to imagine how the story would have played out if Felix hadn't have made it but what we can be sure of is that either way, this one stunt is worth far more than any standard traditional media campaign could ever have been. Pichette insists that even if 50% of the time you fail horribly, the other 50% of times which you succeed will leave you in a far better position than if your track record was '100% just okay.' Nothing can really go wrong with an animated zebra-beats-up-crocodile-and-makes-handbag TV ad but can anything really go right with it either? It's just that; just okay.

I should probably point out that I don't think it's entirely necessary to hurtle people into space each time we want to create that uncomfortable exciting sensation. Essentially it's about handing over the control and this can be done in far less death-defying ways. A good example from last year would be the Curators of Sweden campaign whereby the Swedish Tourist Office handed over their Twitter account to every day Swedish people, giving them full control. There were no rules and no limits, so the campaign really could go either way. It created a whole load of excitement but became uncomfortable at times when sensitive and potentially controversial matters were touched upon. There was just no way of knowing what would be said next.

I've heard many people give inspiring talks on taking risks and pushing challenges but something about Pichette's delivery really got to me. Perhaps because he does just seem like such a normal guy; he really makes you believe that if he can do it, so can you. So let's do it.

And now, as they say at Google, 'Get back to work.'

James Brett - An Inspiration

2012-08-15T13:27:00.013-07:00

James Brett is not your stereotypical inspirational speaker. He doesn't use profound statements, pause for effect or make exaggerated gestures with his hands. Without even so much as an introduction, James just took to the stage and he told us his story. But what an incredible story that is...

Abused from a young age, James had a very difficult childhood and grew up hating the world. When he was just sixteen, his mother committed suicide and James went completely off the rails and ran away. He lost himself into the drugs scene and eventually wound up in prison after a drug smuggling job went horribly wrong.

He describes his time in prison as some of the happiest moments of his life and was disappointed when he was granted probation and forced back into society. Not ready to face the world of humanity where he knew more trouble awaited him, James asked his occupational therapist for nothing but a sleeping bag and he disappeared into the forest to live off the woodland.

Many months later, James decided it was time to rejoin his friends in the real world. He found himself a bedsit and embarked on his first business venture which involved importing furniture from Indonesia. During this time, James married, had two daughters and shortly after came into a considerable amount of money as a result of his abusive ordeals as a child.

James used this money to fulfil his dream and passion for travelling and it was whilst on a trip to Pakistan that he fell upon his next project; Pomegranate Juice. Tasting it for the first time, James couldn't believe how great it was and thus, 'Pomegreat' was born! Before long, it had turned into a multi-million pound business and James' life was really looking up.

Sadly, a few years later James was charged with a drugs crime which sparked another meltdown. He was eventually cleared of all charges but it was a long and hard process and James sank into a deep depression as the memories of his past caught up with him. He was admitted to Ward A at the psychiatric hospital. Whilst still in recovery, James received a call from the MD of 'Pomegreat' to tell him he'd removed all of his rights as CEO and lessened his shares. This only made matters worse and it took a long time for James to get back on feet again and find a new project.

This project, however, was worth the wait. Once James was well enough, he was asked to speak at a seminar in Kabul about growing pomegranates. Whilst there, he came across a large opium field and was saddened at the thought of these poppies being grown for heroin. Without a second thought, he ran in to speak to the farmer and after a brief discussion convinced him to grow pomegranates instead of poppies. This inspired James to launch the Plant for Peace project which encourages alternative livelihoods to poppy cultivation and he's now become personally committed to helping eradicate heroin.

Nowadays, James has turned his attention to formulating a viable National reintegration and alternative livelihoods program for Afghanistan. He's become known as a hero and continues to gain support from organisations and key leaders all over the world.

I was absolutely mesmerised by James as he told his story. I couldn't believe how much he'd achieved having come from so little and yet he spoke as though it was no big deal at all. I suppose for him it's just his life and he knows no different, but I hope he realises just how inspiring a man he has become.

Over the course of an hour, James taught us a lot about life and success but I've attempted to summarise them into five main points below. On the surface, these snippets of advice don't appear to be particularly revelatory or even anything we haven't heard before. However, the examples that James picked to demonstrate how he follows these principles transformed them into something entirely different. I challenge anyone who thinks of themselves as a risk-taker to retain that view after comparing themselves with James Brett..

So number one - Be Risky - James promised us that as human beings, we can cope with far more than we could ever imagine. He's experienced so much pain in his life and has at times felt close to death and yet, he's still here. So why be afraid of failure? It can't bring with it anything that we can't deal with. James reminded himself of this each time he invested thousands of pounds of his own money into new ventures. I imagine he also had similar thoughts as he burnt $78million worth of heroin on National News and whilst sprinting through an opium field, ignoring all warnings of it being a death trap. 'So what? I'll cope with all consequences'. Everything feels a lot less risky when you allow yourself to be fearless.

Number two - Be Innovative - Whatever situation James was in, he never allowed himself to feel restricted by a lack of opportunity. He became very good at finding innovative ways to use the limited resources available to him to make something happen. For example, he used blu-tac to cheat the alarm system at his psychiatric ward so that he could spend a day out at a jaguar sanctuary and he went on hunger strike in prison until they agreed to change Tuesday's menu from onion mush to macaroni cheese. Where others see nothing, James spots opportunities and it's this talent which ultimately led to the creation of his multiple businesses.

Number three - Be Strong-Minded - James always stayed true to his beliefs and refused to let others influence his decisions. For example, following his stint in the forest, James had become so accustomed to sleeping on the floor that he refused to use the bedroom of his bedsit. Even when his first girlfriend Tanya came to stay for the first time, he pulled out the couch, told her he'd be sleeping behind there and offered her a spare sleeping bag in case she cared to join him! James' business success can be largely attributed to this strong-minded attitude because he never let anybody tell him what he couldn't do.

Number four - Be Honest - with yourself and others. James openly recognises that he's made mistakes and doesn't shy away from them. He admits that he was horrible whilst on drugs and hasn't been too proud to go back and apologise to the people he hurt along the way. Although James has moved forward with his life, he emphasises the importance of remembering his past in order to help him continue to live a better life in the future. To mark this, James has called his latest business 'Funktional Group', purposely misspelt with a 'K' to remind himself of his dysfunctional childhood.

And finally number five - Let it Be - James ended by telling us that the turning point in his life was when he stopped trying to manipulate everything around him and realised that what will be will be. He trusts that everything happens for a reason and recognises that it's both the good and the bad times in his life that have got him to the position he's in today.

James' speech was the first of many inspirational sessions that we'll be attending as part of our Squared Alumni program. Thank you James for coming in to share your story and for helping us to see how much more we can do in our own lives. Follow him and his project @PlantForPeace.

When Pigs Do Fly & Create Video Cards

2012-07-08T15:15:00.000-07:00

I belong to a generation that doesn't own stamps so Moonpig.com is already high up on my list of favourite retail websites. It's saved me on countless occasions when I've forgotten a special day and left myself just 24 hours to get to a card shop, choose a decent card, run to a post office and pray for it to be delivered on time. Using Moonpig, I don't even have to leave my sofa!

Another reason I like Moonpig is that it was one of the first companies to offer personalised greetings cards. In advertising we see time and time again how effective personalising a message can be and Moonpig recognised that the same could be true in the card industry. Whilst consumers had begun to see it as an old fashioned and rather boring gesture, Moonpig made it exciting again by involving their customers and allowing them to choose their own designs. After the success of this model, Moonpig later offered the ultimate involvement whereby consumers can quite literally be in the card themselves simply by uploading a photo of their own face onto the front page.

Interestingly, Moonpig have very recently taken this concept to the next level by bringing the personalised pictures to life. Partnering with Zappar, Moonpig now offer 'video enabled' cards. These allow consumers to upload a video message which plays out when the recipient hovers over the still image (with the small zappar logo beneath) with a smartphone. These videos can then be saved and viewed over and over again. Watch the TV advert here to see the cards in action.

What I love most about Moonpig's video cards is that they've not had to be branded with ugly QR codes in order for them to work and the process seems relatively simply. So long as it is as seamless as it appears in the advert, I believe they could be very successful. If a picture speaks a thousand words, a video speaks one million and for the right recipient (i.e. not Grannie and not someone you'll be in the room with whilst they open it), I think they're a very nice touch.

That said, as with all gimmicky products there is always the risk that the novelty may wear off. It's possible that we'll lift the idea of sending video greetings but eventually abandon the physical card. However, this technology really caught my attention because it could be used so effectively elsewhere in advertising. Thinking particularly about my own film client; if we were to place the Zappar logo onto out of home posters and print adverts, consumers could hover over and watch an entire trailer without any inconvenience at all. Trailer views are key in theatrical promotions and by using Zappar we can reach our audience virtually anywhere, not just whilst browsing online. Furthermore, by opting into the engagement as opposed to being forced into it through for example, video pre-roll, the likelihood of a later conversion is far greater.

Zappar and other similar companies offer an exciting new opportunity and I look forward to seeing them used in more and more advertising campaigns over the coming months. And of course I'll look forward to my first Moonpig video card too!

MEC Grads, All Grown Up

2012-07-05T14:25:00.010-07:00

Time flies when you're having fun and on the MEC grad scheme, we sure have had fun! I can't believe my ten month long 'grad dream' is already over but I'm so happy to have discovered the world of media through such an incredible scheme.

MEC offers a unique 'rotational grad scheme' whereby graduates spend four to eight weeks in every department within the agency. Since arriving on my very first day back in September, I've spent time in nine different teams including Digital Brand, Communications Planning, Performance Planning, Search, Broadcast, Analytics and Insight as well as embarking on a two month 'Squared' training course at Google. The experience has been invaluable, giving us a holistic view of media advertising and a greater understanding of the industry as a whole, forever building upon our knowledge as we circulated around the agency.

And we picked up a few friends along the way too! As well as doing wonders for our social life, meeting so many different people has helped us move forwards in our jobs because we always know exactly the right person to ask if we're faced with a question we can't answer. Whilst on the subject of friends, I should also mention how amazing the other five grads have been. Less than a year ago we were all just strangers at an assessment day but now I'm proud to call them my best friends and feel so lucky to have shared the last ten months with them. From the parties to the presentations, these girls have made my experience a million times better every step of the way and I'm so, so thankful to have had them with me. MEC prides itself in employing those with a 'Work Hard, Play Hard' ethic and this year I think they got it spot on.

So, the outcome? After a long and hard decision process, I've decided to start my media career as an Account Executive in the Digital department, planning and buying all campaigns that run on online platforms. I'll be working predominantly on Lionsgate Films, both theatrical and home ents, as well as Transport for London and the Greater London Authority. I'm so happy to have been given this position and feel as though I've been thrown into the heart of something really new and exciting. The world of digital is largely undiscovered which is what makes it so appealing because its up to any one of us to make those discoveries! Its ever-evolving nature means that I'll never be stuck for something fresh and interesting to learn and I can't wait to get properly stuck in. From now on in this blog I'll be focusing on things from a digital angle but as always will write and comment on anything that I find interesting and worthy of sharing.

If you'd like to find out more about the MEC grad scheme or jobs at MEC in general, tweet us @MEC_grads and we'll get straight back to you.

Squared Graduation: It's Only the Beginning

2012-06-14T12:50:00.005-07:00

"Attention all Squares, we have your final Squared challenge. There are eighty-three shots at the bar - come and get them!!"

Team Thriller

Of course everyone charged to the bar like crazed animals that actually like sambuca and downed our drinks in seconds. Some people cheered, others spluttered but I just felt really strange. Staring down at my empty shot glass, the words in the announcement truly sank in; that was my final Squared challenge and now it was over...but somehow it just didn't feel like the end.

Although the program officially came to a close with the graduation ceremony that night, the 'Spirit of Squared' will be sticking around. Squared taught us an incredible amount about our industry but also about ourselves and each other as people. It has inspired us all to make a difference in the industry whilst giving us the tools and confidence to really make it happen. It's also created a ready-made network of brilliant young talent that would otherwise have taken us years to build throughout our normal careers. I feel so lucky to have been given eighty-two bright young people to turn to for support and ideas (as well as all the project mentors!) but also to have made so many amazing friends.

Squared Graduation Presents

Unsurprisingly then, we're really not ready to let it all go! Therefore, to make sure we all stay 'Squared', we decided to set up a Squared alumni group and on our last day of the program, we split into teams to brainstorm ideas for what this would actually involve. We thought about the things that we would personally like to get from it as well as how the industry as a whole could benefit. With that in mind, it was agreed that we would have two activity streams: Network and Outreach. The Network stream will involve organising monthly educational Squared talks from prominent industry figures and organising social get togethers which will involve no work and all play! The Outreach activity includes a Squared website and blog which we will all contribute to, acting as mentors for the next intake of Squared students, going into schools and universities to give presentations and offer help, and much more! The Squared alumni group is being headed up by the two winners of the 'Spirit of Squared' award, Jamie Pither and Nathan Miller, who have done a brilliant job so far!

So we'll no longer be sitting at Squared desks or dancing around in Squared hoodies, but really, this is where our Squared-ness begins. The mission statement was all about empowering ourselves and others to drive the industry revolution and now that we've been thrown back into the real world, it's the perfect time to get to it! Thank you so much to everybody involved in the organisation and running of the program - it has been and always will be an absolute pleasure!

Tactical Adwords

2012-06-06T15:03:00.003-07:00

Many companies are already using Google Adwords to manage their placement on the Google search results page but only a small percentage is using the program to its full potential. During the Squared program, we were encouraged to think of creative ways to use Adwords and so I did a little research into what brands have done in the past.

What caught my attention most were instances when brands have bought keywords above and beyond those that are directly connected to their businesses and products. Brands that have been truly successful on Adwords are those that have thought outside of the box and found ways to relate their company to news and events which people are interested in at any given time.

This tactic was adopted by B&Q who saw an opportunity to advertise their new windows after hearing that cricket player, Matt Prior, accidentally broke a window in the Lord's pavilion during a test match against Sri Lanka. Understanding that thousands of cricket fans would be searching for 'Matt Prior', B&Q bought this keyword and consequently appeared at the top of every search results for this search query (pictured right).

Unsurprisingly, there was very little competition for this search term and so it was very cheap in comparison to bidding on popular keywords such as 'new windows'. In addition, with 2,900 monthly searches, there was a good amount of traffic to go after and it is reasonable to assume that these users would fall into B&Q's target audience. By carrying out this activity and associating themselves with this cricket news story, B&Q positioned themselves as a current and high profile place to purchase DIY materials.

Although unlikely that people searching for 'Matt Prior' would at that very moment be interested in buying new windows, it has put B&Q at the forefront of their minds for when the need does arise to make home improvements. Furthermore, although this lack of relevancy might seem an issue, it can in fact be turned into a positive because it makes the campaign extremely cost effective; although users are more likely to turn to B&Q at a later date as a result of seeing the ad, very few will click through at the time and as B&Q only pay when users click, the majority of sales generated comes free of charge.

To discover what people are searching for in a certain time period, companies should look to Twitter and determine search queries from the terms that are trending. Alternatively, brands can look at the Google Zeitgeist to see what the top searches were at the same period in the previous year.

Clever strategies like this stand brands apart from the crowd because they appear in all sorts of places where their competitors are nowhere to be seen and create associations that their target audience will appreciate. This particular method is difficult to plan because we can't predict when a relevant news story will emerge. Therefore, all brands should set aside a small budget to be used when the opportunity does arise so that other areas of their advertising need not suffer.

Doodle-Do

2012-06-02T07:26:00.004-07:00

As a kid I was always doodling. At school, it got me into endless amounts of trouble with teachers who insisted that I couldn't doodle and learn at the same time. 'If only it was possible to make a career out of doodling', they used to say, implying that it was a complete waste of time and effort. If only I could now introduce them to Cara Holland; a freelance graphic facilitator who doodles for a living and absolutely loves it.

During our final week at Squared, we were set the task of completing the Squared State of the Industry Report. As a group of young creatives, it was decided that we should produce something a little more special than a standard text document and so we started to think of different ways that we could tell our story.

To help us get going, Squared invited Cara in to introduce us to the concept of graphic facilitation. As a graphic-er, she attends a variety of different meetings and conferences during which she doodles away, producing visual representations of the key points and conclusions. Her doodles consist of images, diagrams and minimal amounts of text which are displayed strategically across the page. Cara explained that these drawings are so valuable because they appeal to everybody, regardless of their preferred learning styles. Whereas some people with photographic memories will rely mainly on the images, others will benefit more from the stand out words which represent entire discussions. Furthermore, her work condenses lengthy reels of information into far more manageable chunks, stripping away any unnecessary waffle. It's been proven that people are far more likely to remember something if they see a visual representation of it rather than simply being told verbally or reading it from a page so it's unsurprising that demand for graphic interpreters is rapidly on the rise.

As well as making information more memorable, visual representations transform word documents or long speeches into something more aesthetically pleasing. At Squared, we wanted as many people as possible to read our industry report and so recognised the importance of producing it in a way that would attract a wider audience. Cara showed us how we could improve our report simply by adding in images that complemented our points. The end result was fantastic and I've returned to it many times to appreciate our good work - something which I'd have been unlikely to do had it just been presented as a text doc!

See it for yourself by visiting the Squared blog here and clicking to download the full version of the Squared State of the Industry Report. You can also view a condensed version in video format by clicking here.

To find out more about graphic facilitation, visit www.graphicchange.co.uk and follow @graphicchange on Twitter!

The Art of Dying Empty - Richard Eyre

2012-04-24T10:40:00.003-07:00

Richard Eyre was once described as having 'a CV every man in media would die for' and with positions at top companies like BBH, Capital Radio and ITV all under his belt, it would be difficult to argue otherwise. Today he chairs both the IAB and Next 15 and is involved with a range of other organisations primarily in media and tech companies. Having recently been listed in the Leaders section of Brand Republic's Hall of Fame alongside the likes of Sir Martin Sorrell, Sir John Hegarty and Rory Sutherland, Richard Eyre is quite literally the epitome of success. For that reason I feel our excitement was completely justified when we learnt that he'd be coming in to speak to us at Squared to share with us his top ten tips on how to be successful! Below I've outlined each of his ten points along with my own thoughts which sprang from them...Take note!

Number One: Listen different

Eyre began by explaining that listening in the workplace is different to anywhere else in life. More than simply hearing what people are saying, we need to listen out for what they're not saying too. Whilst absorbing and processing information, we should be trying to decipher their agenda whilst understanding their character and how it affects their approach. Number Two: And discern

As young graduates, it's easy to accept what people tell us and assume that it's correct, particularly when those people are more senior than ourselves. However, I think that by doing this, we simply regurgitate information which then gets passed on further down the line without ever being added to or refreshed. Therefore, no matter what stage we are at in our careers, we should always form an opinion on a subject which may well be influenced but not ultimately determined by another's thoughts. Furthermore, Eyre highlighted that it's okay to change our minds as we learn and discover more. This can be harder than it seems as we feel compelled to stick by an idea to avoid undermining ourselves but it is far more sensible than harnessing an opinion we feel is no longer accurate.

Number Three: Marinate

By marinate, Eyre means that we must take the time to allow new ideas to infuse and affect us. Recognising that immediate responses are often not as good as those that are carefully thought out, Eyre urged us to be patient and accept that not every decision needs to be made on the spur of the moment. This is something I find difficult because as a hard working person, I like to respond to things immediately and start processes right away. However, it's important to remember that time spent thinking is time well spent and by jumping into a task head first, we might limit ourselves and our ideas.

Number Four: Copy

As Eyre rightly pointed out, at school copying is called 'cheating', but at work we like to call it 'bench-marking'. Eyre believes that it's not only acceptable but also very, very wise. In fact, he openly admits that he has copied people he admires on many occasions and claims that he would not have presented in the brilliant manner he did today had he not imitated a man he met early on in his career. Eyre compared copying others to trying on new clothes and seeing how they fit. I suppose if I try on a new dress it won't look exactly the same on me as it would my best friend and I'd wear it with different shoes or a different necklace so that it suited my particular style. In that way, we can take what we learn from others and adapt it to fit our own model. Number Five: Take risks Taking risks is risky, but according to Eyre, it's less risky than being too afraid to take any at all. He urged us to step out of our comfort zone from time to time in order to achieve greatness and move forward. Without taking risks, nothing would ever change; we'd continue to do what we've always done because we think we know it to be 'safe'. Eyre told us that when people on their death bed are asked to share their biggest regret, it is almost always that they 'played it too safe' and as a result, failed to live life to the full. We should learn from this and make it our ambition to maximise our potential, completing everything we ever wanted to do. Eyre referred to this as 'dying empty', and in order to achieve this, we must take risks. Number Six: Embrace fear

This point leads on from number five. Eyre stated that when your fears are stronger than your dreams, the only possible outcome is regret. Rather than running away from our fears we should see them as an opportunity to take those risks that we now know we need to take. Eyre believes that most fears stem from one big fear of failure which is something I can certainly identify with. However, Eyre argued that failure is a natural part of a long process and that behind most successful people, you will find failures, himself included! He emphasised that failure is not a disaster and should be worn as a medal as a sign of something we've overcome. Therefore, we can stop being afraid of failure and those fears that stem from it.

Number Seven: Know what your success looks like Success resonates differently for everyone and it's important that our measure of success is personal to us. We shouldn't be striving for a success that our parents, teachers or colleagues want for us but instead decide on what success would look like if we weren't doing it for anyone but ourselves. Therefore, before racing ahead to a finish line, we should take a moment to work out whether it's a finish line that we actually want to reach.

Number Eight: Your success will cost you No person has ever achieved success without making sacrifices along the way. It's important that we understand this and make up our own minds as to what we are willing to let go and what is worth fighting for. If we are too ruthless, we may find that we are no happier in success than we were in failure. On the other hand, if we aren't prepared to compromise or prioritise we may never get anywhere at all. Eyre believes that overcoming these problems is what comes to define you when you reach the end of your journey.

Number Nine: Who are you? If you were a brand, what would your brand values be? Eyre asked us to think of three words that we would like people to use to describe us when talking about us behind our backs. Then, we should ask ourselves what we have to do in order to deserve being described in this way; how would our behaviours have to change to reflect them? For example, my three words are honest, passionate and ambitious. To be referred to as honest, I have to be open with my friends and colleagues and not be afraid to speak my mind as well as being loyal and fair in my decision making processes. To be passionate I should convey to others how dedicated I am to the things that I love by showing my enthusiasm and willingness to share my experiences with others. To be called ambitious I have to work hard and go the extra mile in order progress at a faster rate. These are very brief summaries but Eyre suggests that we give these some real thought and I'd like to develop them into actions I can take to ensure I'm delivering the right messages to the people around me. In addition, Eyre told us to give ourselves an annual review to see how we're getting along and to update any words if we feel it's necessary. Number Ten: Money, fame and power are sideshows Finally, we should never pursue money, fame and power as our life goals. They will often be side effects of success but they should not be our destination. Eyre shared with us his experiences of seeing a number of people lose valuable relationships because they've allowed money, fame and power to define them. Furthermore, when they achieved what they believed to be success, it didn't contain the satisfaction that they'd expected and so their long and costly journey wasn't worthwhile at all. The old saying, 'money can't buy happiness' really is true and we must look elsewhere for fulfilment. Number Eleven: Exceed expectations Or not finally... Eyre surprised us with a number eleven which was to always give people more than they expect (see what he did there). Eyre believes this to be extraordinarily powerful and something which will set you apart from the rest of the workforce. Very few people will do the job you set them plus more and so by going that little bit further, you'll stand out from the rest. However, Eyre noted that to achieve maximum effect, we should not boast about the fact that we have done any extra work. This may mean that some good deeds go unnoticed which can be difficult to accept because we all long for recognition for our hard work. However, by keeping quiet we convey the message that this is normal behaviour for us, that being extraordinary is in fact ordinary. Therefore, when people do begin to notice, they'll be far more impressed and will begin to do the bragging on your behalf which is of course, much more powerful than if you broadcast it yourself.

Richard Eyre closed his presentation by telling us what a great time it is to be young. He believes that it's our generation that will be making the ways, that the future belongs to us. I've taken away from this that we should never use 'being young' as an excuse for why we can't achieve great things; it's the very reason why we should. Eyre delivered a truly inspirational presentation and I feel very lucky to have been taught by one of the most successful men in media how exactly to achieve that success myself. Follow him on Twitter for some great insights and hopefully some more tips! - @crimsontwit

Build Don't Break

2012-04-10T14:50:00.001-07:00

Our first challenge on the Squared program was to 'create an online business'. We were given just six days to come up with an idea and put together a pitch which we believed would persuade a panel of entrepreneurs that our business was worthy of investment. It was a great experience and the results were fantastic but we were faced with a number of problems along the way.

Above all, I believe the biggest difficulty was finding something which hadn't been done before. Apple were spot on with their 'there's an app for that' tagline because there's quite literally one for everything. Of course I already knew this to an extent but it was really brought to light as we found ourselves repeatedly responding to ideas with 'it's been done'. After a couple of days of solid brainstorming it was starting to feel as though we were attempting the impossible and we desperately needed a fresh approach.

Thankfully, a turning point was just around the corner! Midway through the week we attended a lecture on creativity which delivered the following message; build don't break. This simple yet invaluable piece of advice transformed our entire thought process and ultimately saved our project 1. By building on ideas and always saying yes, we immersed ourselves in a positive and inspirational environment which proved to be far more effective for generating ideas. Banning the word 'no' meant that we could no longer just dismiss suggestions but instead develop them, finding ways of overcoming any potential issues.

The importance of the 'build don't break concept' was demonstrated through a simple exercise in which we split into pairs and labelled ourselves 1 and 2. All the 1s (including myself) left the room and we were told we had three minutes to come up with a creative idea for a poster promoting the Olympic Games before pitching it to our partners. What we didn't know was that in our absence, all the numbers 2s had been told to respond negatively to our idea and to provide multiple reasons why it wouldn't work. Afterwards, we were asked how we felt and the general consensus was 'pretty shit'. We found that it's incredibly difficult to remain enthusiastic about your idea when faced with somebody who repeatedly puts it down and so it leaves very little room for creativity. Therefore, I believe that despite the need to be realistic when pitching in front of clients, the initial stages should have no such restrictions. A premature voice of reason or realism can crush a big idea completely when perhaps all it needs is a little tweaking.

By approaching the challenge with this in mind, my group found that we were no longer hindered by the 'it's been done' syndrome. Rather than pointing out this (rather obvious) fact, all members of the team contributed to ideas which eventually differentiated them from other apps already out there. Furthermore, we discovered that many of the apps on offer are riddled with flaws and so we should not be put off pursuing an idea because it has been attempted before. Instead, we should be encouraged to provide a much improved service for a consumer need that is evidently already in existence. Just look at Instagram, for example. This basic photo editing app is far from ground breaking; there are hundreds of apps out there which offer similar services but Instagram has become such a huge success because it provides a faster and better quality service than any of its competitors. Therefore, in a world where there is an app for everything, we need to look at ways of improving those already available as well as conjuring up completely new ideas.

After a challenging but brilliant week, we were all extremely pleased with our final app and wish that it really existed so we could start using it right away!

The Rider & The Elephant - Rory Sutherland

2012-04-08T04:23:00.003-07:00

Two summers ago I found myself on top of an elephant trekking through a forest in Southern Thailand. Despite the enormity of the giant beneath me I felt safe, relaxed and completely in control. At the time it seemed only normal to feel this way, but I wonder now what would have happened if my elephant had decided to take an alternative route? What could we do to stop him running if he wanted to run or rolling if he wanted to roll? To think we had any control over a 15,000 pound elephant was more than irrational; it was utterly insane.

According to Rory Sutherland, executive creative director and vice-chairman at OgilvyOne, the human brain works in a very similar way. As we know, the mind is split into two parts; system 1, the conscious and system 2, the unconscious. Using Heidt's analogy, Rory explained that system 2 is like an elephant, a strong beast who can and will do pretty much whatever he wants. System 1 is the rider who, just as I was in Thailand, is delusional in thinking that he holds any power over the elephant. In fact, it is the elephant who will ultimately determine their course and the rider can do nothing but nudge him in the right direction and shout in the hope that he will listen. On the occasions when the elephant does not listen, rather than acknowledging his lack of control, the rider post-rationalises the action, conjuring up a reason why he wanted it to happen in the first place.

So what does this all mean? Rory believes that in advertising, we focus too heavily on trying to change consumer attitudes in the hope that it will change their behaviour. Using the elephant and the rider analogy, we can see why this isn't very effective; advertisers can convince the rider that the way to safety is to turn right but if the elephant wants to turn left, he will turn left regardless. Therefore, we should invert this approach and instead give the elephant a reason to turn right. We can then rely on the rider to conform through his post-rationalisation.

This insight has been at the heart of many recent developments, one example being the real-time digital timetables that are now displayed on the majority of train platforms. Researchers understood that waiting is only a problem when it is indefinite and so long as we know when a train is coming, we can quite happily sit it out. By providing the elephant with this real-time information, behaviour was altered; whereas people used to become stressed and continually check their clocks, people now pass the time reading a newspaper or playing on their smart phone. As a result, the rider's attitude towards waiting has changed too because it no longer seems so bad at all.

The second point to take from this is the importance of the post-rationalisation. Rory explained that this concept is a key behaviour seen in all humans due to an inherent need to build a narrative around everything we experience. We need to justify everything which happens out of our control, just as the rider does with his elephant. Furthermore, we like to attribute big effects to big causes as opposed to chance. Rory used the example of football to demonstrate this; apart from baseball, football is the only game where a worse team is likely to beat a better team due to the absolute randomness of the majority of the game. He believes that despite a match being 90 minutes long, the score is determined by only a few minutes and the rest is completely arbitrary. The statement, 'we may as as well televise roulette' sums up his view quite nicely. Of course, however, a football fan would never agree with this and insists on post-rationalisation, justifying the score by multiple 'defining moments' throughout the game.

Understanding human attitudes and behaviours is essential to advertising in order to influence both in a way that is beneficial to our brands. Rory Sutherland uncovered many insights throughout his presentation in a captivating and witty manner and I believe him to be one of the best speakers I have ever had the privilege of listening to. Thank you Rory for finding the time to come and speak to us! I urge you all to follow @rorysutherland to found out more!

"Change Will Hurt" - Mark Comerford

2012-03-27T10:53:00.005-07:00

He hates technology, he wears no shoes and he's been fired from every job he's ever had; just three of the many reasons why I think Mark Comerford is one of the most intriguing men I've met in the industry so far. The self-proclaimed 'authentic asshole' was our first guest speaker on the Squared program last week and he had a hell of a lot to say.

The main theme of Mark's lecture was change and he began by sharing his own personal feelings towards it. To quote him exactly, Mark stated that 'change will hurt, it will fuck you up.' I was initially surprised by this because I've always been taught to support change. As a young and forward-thinking individual, I recognise that change is essential for development and therefore believe it should be embraced. But after hearing Mark speak, I couldn't help agreeing with him to an extent at least. Change is disrupting. It forces me me to continually re-learn everything I know, pushing me forward sometimes before I'm really ready. Therefore, despite celebrating change, I'm not necessarily enjoying it; it's like showing my face at a party but not having a good time.

Nevertheless, whether I like it or not, change is constantly around the corner. This notion dates back to as early as the 6th century BCE with Greek philosopher Heraclitus stating that 'the only constant is change'. He recognised even then that change is unstoppable but I wonder whether he knew just how fast it would pick up pace. Comerford told us that 'this is the slowest rate of change you will ever know' which I find to be an exciting yet daunting prospect. It's impossible to know what our future holds but we can be sure that it will only vaguely resemble the way we live now.

The question then is how do we deal with it? Well, Mark believes that we can 'reduce the fuckage' that change can potentially cause by being prepared for it. We can't stop a change from happening but we can influence the way it affects us. This preparation for change reminded me of the 'brace' position that we're all told to adopt if we're involved in a crash of any sort; it doesn't stop the crash from occurring, but it does reduce the likelihood of injuries and so leads to a far more favourable outcome. On the other hand, if we fail to recognise that we are heading for a crash, we're going to get hurt or even die.

Comerford used the story of King Canute to bring this idea to life. Legend has it that Canute's courtiers flattered him into believing that his word was so powerful that even the tide would recede at his command. Canute is said to have taken this compliment literally and had his throne placed by the shore so that he could order the waves to move away. When Canute saw the tide approaching regardless of his commands, Canute should have taken action to influence the way the change affected him. For example, he could have built a moat to prevent the water from ever reaching him or jumped into a boat so that he could float above it. Instead however, he refused to acknowledge the change and almost drowned as a result.

This demonstrates that it is adaptability over power which leads to success. We can relate this back to Darwin who stated that when faced with the evolution of the planet, 'it is not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change.' This theory explains why the dinosaurs are extinct whereas tiny species of insects are still alive and I think it can be applied to brands in the same way. Take Kodak, for example. If the industry giant had been fully prepared for the digital revolution, it would have used its wealth of money and expertise to develop online services such as Flickr and Instagram long before these companies emerged. Instead, Kodak failed to adapt and so (sadly) died out.

In summary then, change is coming and it won't always be for the better. However, if we prepare for it properly, embracing it rather than shying away or ignoring it completely, we can make the best of every situation and thrive in any environment. Looking at it this way, I believe that the pain caused by change should only be temporary and can in fact transform to pleasure.

Thank you Mark for such an inspiring and motivational presentation!

Follow him on Twitter for more interesting updates and insights - @markmedia

Be Happy & Here

2012-03-17T10:58:00.003-07:00

Before arriving on Monday morning for the start of Foundation Week we'd been given just two instructions.

1. Do not bring your computer

2. Try to be 'here'

It seemed easy enough. In fact, I arrived almost an hour early to make the very most of my first free breakfast and had no qualms at all about leaving my laptop at home instead of lugging it half way across London in rush hour. What I hadn't realised, was that these two instructions held connotations that were far, far deeper.

After being split into groups of eighteen people, it was time to get to know each other. But this was no ordinary team building experience! Immediately after introducing ourselves, we were set a group task to lower a stick to the floor using only our fingers tips. To sum it up in one word, it was chaos and despite coming up with hundreds of ideas and tactics, we all failed. However, it soon emerged that the fact we had failed our task was not important; it was in fact the way in which we did it that we would be focusing on. And focus we did! After every task like this (approximately two each day), we spent at least one hour reflecting upon it. We'd discuss our behaviours, how it felt and what we thought we could take from it. As the week progressed, our program managers challenged us to delve further into our own thoughts but more importantly, our feelings. We were encouraged to share these with the group and to be completely open and honest. It was an odd concept at first because we knew so little about one another, but what we found is that by doing this, we got to know each other much quicker. In fact, by the end of the week, many of us felt closer to one another than to people we've worked alongside for months!

The importance of this reflection is something which really came to light throughout the week and I'd like to expand on it. It wasn't an entirely new concept for me because I often set aside time to think about something I've done. However, during this (significantly shorter) time period, I would think, analyse and conclude. What I would not do, is feel. I am very aware that this must all sound a bit, to use a media term, 'wanky' but the difference really is so important. Many of our thoughts are based on underlying feelings and without understanding these, we cannot truly understand our thoughts.

A second point which stood out for me was the importance of feedback. It can be an extremely frightening concept because we don't always want to know what other people are thinking about us but without it, we are unable to grow and develop as people. It is feedback which tells us when we need to focus on our strengths and work on our weaknesses and what these strengths and weaknesses even are! During the week, we learnt how to give feedback in the most effective way. For example, it should always be clear and direct with honest opinions, constructive and solution-focused with helpful suggestions and as detailed as possible using specific examples. Furthermore, the person giving the feedback should take ownership of their comments, using the phrases 'I think' and 'I feel' rather than 'we' or 'they'. If feedback is delivered in this way, it should leave everyone feeling valued rather than demotivated or demoralised despite whether the comments are of positive or negative sentiment.

That said, feedback is only as effective as the individual receiving it allows it to be. It is common to see people shying away from praise and brushing off a compliment before it's actually delivered. To use a trivial example; think how many times you have seen a girl say 'oh it's only a scrappy old thing from Primark' before their friend has even finished saying 'you look beautiful in that dress'. Similarly, rather than accepting negative feedback, we might see a person jump to defend themselves or dismiss the comment completely. How many times have you, yourself interrupted feedback with a 'yes, but...[insert excuse]'. If we are too quick to defend or dismiss feedback, we don't allow ourselves to absorb it and it is therefore rendered useless. In order for it to be effective, we must accept the comments, thank the person for them and reflect upon them later.

Our program manager summarised this brilliantly using the analogy of feedback as a gift. She said we must respond to all comments with a smile and a thank you as though we have just been given a present. Later when we are alone, it is up to us to decide what to do with this present; we can keep it and use it, put it away in a cupboard for another day or we can simply throw it away. What we mustn't do is refuse the gift or tell the person we don't want it because that would be disrespectful and wouldn't benefit anybody.

Really then, being told to 'not bring your computer' and to 'be here' were not just practical instructions. They were essential rules to follow in order to be entirely free of distractions and dedicated to the course. To be 'here', we did not only have to be physically present in the room; we were required to fully immerse ourselves, focusing our minds on whatever was asked of us each day. The Squared Foundation Week was by far the most intense but valuable training course I have ever had the privilege of experiencing.

Thank you to Thomas, Maja and Cecilia who guided us throughout the entire week and taught us so very much!

P.S. On Tuesday we took some time out of reflecting to listen to two incredibly inspiring guest speakers which I will write about in my next post. Keep a look out!

Going Squared

2012-03-17T08:10:00.004-07:00

For the next twelve weeks, I'll be taking part in the 'Squared' program, a new digital training scheme led by Google, Hyper Island and IPA. I am very excited! Along with eighty other graduates who were also selected, I'll be immersing myself in the digital world and learning as much as I possibly can from industry experts and leaders.

The course is split into four main parts.

1. Foundation - 1 Week - Google Offices, Victoria

The purpose of the foundation week is to get to our group really well and learn how to work together in the most effective way. Each day will consist of team building exercises and group tasks with a significant amount of time set aside to reflect upon each of these and give constructive feedback to one another. Our project managers will introduce us to group models which will help us to mature as a group and be aware of our progress.

2. Project - 6 Weeks - Google Offices, Victoria

Throughout these six weeks, we'll be attending various lectures, presentations and workshops led by industry experts. We will also be set three main projects to complete in groups which focus upon the potential for businesses in the online space. We'll be introduced to a number of tools which we'll be expected to use whilst carrying out these tasks. At the end of each project, we will present back to our program managers and our peers.

3. Work Placement - 4 Weeks - Our Agency

After spending seven weeks at Google, we'll each be heading back to our own agencies to apply our new knowledge and skills to our every day lives whilst still working on a number of projects for the Squared program.

4. Wrap Up - 1 Week - Google Offices, Victoria

For one final week, we'll return to Google to report back on our experiences in our workplaces. We'll reflect on the program as a whole and what we have learnt from it and finish up with our 'Graduation Day' and a huge party to celebrate!

I now can't wait to meet the rest of the Squared Team and to get started!! I've been given an absolutely incredible opportunity here and I intend to make the most of every second.

Keep checking back to see how I'm getting along on the scheme and follow our daily progress on Twitter - @MEC_grads

Wish me luck! :)

Squared Mission

'Reports of My Death are Greatly Exaggerated'

2012-03-08T03:02:00.003-08:00

It's a commonly shared belief that press as a media channel is dying. However, whilst it's true that circulation numbers are dropping, the decline is far from significant enough to be planning a press funeral just yet. A couple of weeks ago we spent a day with the NMA to uncover the world of UK newspapers. They revealed that since 2006, the number of National newspapers read every week has only declined by an average of 1.2% each year. This decline is no steeper than that of terrestrial TV viewership and yet we don't talk about TV dying any time soon. This is because we can clearly see that the increase in digital TV viewership has balanced out the loss in terrestrial.

Why then can we not view press in the same way? Although the circulation of physical newspapers is declining, the number of online news reading is on the rise, with 14 million people in the UK visiting a national newspaper website each month. What I found particularly interesting is that the online newspapers are attracting a very different audience profile which is younger, more male skewed and more affluent. Therefore, digital formats are in fact extending the reach of the industry with 40% of online newspaper readers previously not reading or irregularly reading print newspapers. The NMA have demonstrated this through a graph (see above right) which outlines the way that digital gains outweigh the loss of physical papers.

However, the difference between press and TV (and indeed all other media channels switching to digital) is that press has not yet found a way to monetise these digital readers. As a result, the addition of online formats is seen as a negative rather than a positive. Eighteen months after the Times Online put up their pay wall, we are still waiting to decide if it has been a success. Initially, it resulted in a loss of thousands of users but their subscriptions gradually grew and have now reached over 100,000. That said, the scope for further growth at the current subscription price is questionable.

If physical newspapers continue to decline at this slow and steady rate, we'll still be reading them in decades to come. However, with such a strong digital following, the future of newspapers undeniably lies with online and I think we'll see the industry focusing heavily on their digital formats, working hard to find a way to benefit financially from them. Once this is worked out, the future of print newspapers is arguably less significant. Although the end of the physical newspaper will mark the end of an era, it certainly won't be 'the end'. Rather than it being viewed as the 'death' of print, we should think of it as a development and it should therefore be celebrated, not mourned.

Thank you NMA for giving such insightful presentations and a lovely day out at the Cavendish Hotel.

Title quotation from Mark Twain after seeing his own obituary published in the New York Journal.

Checking into Facebook

2012-02-22T14:39:00.002-08:00

Last week, we were invited along to Facebook HQ for an update on what the social media giant has to offer. The presentation was fascinating, covering all things Facebook from the very first profile to the fairly new timeline format with a number of impressive statistics scattered between. When numbers pass the million mark, they can often become incomprehensible and meaningless but the following figures are so astounding, I couldn't resist sharing them:

1. Today, there are 845 million people on Facebook.

That's approximately 13% of all the people on Earth but 38% of just those with access to the Internet.

2. There are now more Facebook profile pages than web pages on the Internet.

Facebook is a massive contributor to the shift from the information web to the social web.

3. 60% of all content shared online is shared through Facebook.

Facebook has increasingly become a platform for sharing interesting and engaging content with friends - this is particularly true of video.

4. 48% of 18-34 year olds check Facebook when they wake up, with 28% doing so before even getting out of bed.

The rise of the smartphone has allowed consumers to use Facebook at any time from any place - 350 million Facebook users log in using the smartphone app.

5. There are approximately 250 million photos uploaded daily.

This figure hit a record breaking 1 billion photos last Halloween.

Most people these days just accept that Facebook is huge. When I shared the above figures with my housemate, her response was 'Yeh, it's Facebook'. The fact that she wasn't particularly shocked by these statistics is, in itself, pretty amazing; if any other social network boasted such numbers we would surely all be impressed but because it's Facebook, we expect nothing less. What interests me, is why Facebook became so successful. In its early stages, Facebook was just a simple profile with very basic information. It later introduced photo album uploads but the photographs were very small and poor quality with low resolution. Mark Zuckerburg himself admits that it was one of the worst image hosting options on the web with sites such as Photobucket, Imageshack and Snapfish offering a far better service. However, Facebook had tapped into something that nobody else had; everything is far more interesting when it is done with friends. Based on this simple insight, Facebook created the 'tagging' system whereby users can notify their friends when they've uploaded a photo of them together. This sparked comments about the photographs and therefore, conversations via the social network making it a huge success. Facebook found its USP and continually developed the site with this in mind.

The 'friends' insight has proven its worth many times over the years but I think the best case study for it is that of Farmville. For those of you who haven't played, Farmville involves managing your own virtual farm and engaging in tasks such as ploughing land, planting, growing and harvesting crops and raising livestock. It's hardly gripping stuff and yet, this Facebook game has over 300 million players. That's over 1/3 of all Facebook users! Why? Well according to Facebook, it's because you can play with friends and therefore, the game becomes instantly more appealing. Players can buy or receive livestock, trees or bushes from friends and help to manage each other's farms. Playing with others as opposed to just a computer makes the game far more engaging and interactive and the more people talk about the app with one another, the more interesting it becomes.

With Facebook now so prominent in our everyday lives, it's hard to believe that just eight years ago, it didn't exist at all. So long as it continues to develop and improve, there's every reason to believe that Facebook will still be bringing out exciting new features in another eight years to come. Features that we can share with friends, of course.

The Bourjois Boutique

2012-02-18T02:00:00.017-08:00

This week Bourjois has taken over the upstairs of the Beach Blanket Babylon in Shoreditch and transformed the venue into their very own Bourjois Boutique, AKA girl heaven! Decked out to coincide with their new 'Black and Light' range, the Bourjois Boutique is filled with quirky decor, cool lighting and of course a load of cosmetics. In fact, there are large sweetie jars quite literally overflowing with all the latest lip glosses, eye shadows, powders and more! Over on one side of the room, there's a beauty parlor with make up artists on hand to give you a full free makeover which includes make up, hair styling and a manicure. After your makeover, a professional photographer will take your picture and post it onto the Bourjois Facebook page. On the opposite side there's a clothes rail of all the hottest new looks from designer label, Never Fully Dressed, and a chill out area with light refreshments and comfy chairs to lounge in. Bourjois products are displayed through the middle of the Boutique for people to try and test before purchasing. With discounts of up to 65%, there are some real bargains to be had!

I was lucky enough to go to the Boutique twice in two days; once last night for the glamorous launch party event and again today for a fun-filled afternoon! Last night we spent the evening sipping on champagne and mingling with fashion stars. The party was filled with models, stylists and celebrities including the (newly single!!) and absolutely gorgeous David Gandy (pictured left). Also on the guestlist was Tamzin Outhwaite, Stacey Solomon, Sophie Anderton, Lee Stafford and Jameela Jamil who covered the event for a program on T4. Everybody was dressed to impress and looking stunning, fitting perfectly with the theme of London Fashion Week. Live footage of the LFW catwalk was on display for the entire evening and was very much the topic of discussion amongst guests. Before leaving, everybody was given a free goodie bag filled with Bourjois treats. Mine included eyeliners, eyeshadows, highlighters, mascara, blushers, a lit mirror and even a box of chocolates. I left the party feeling absolutely spoilt and buzzing for my return the next day!

This afternoon, I took some of the grads along with me to check out the Bourjois Boutique in action. We all chose one of the four 'looks' and sat down in front of the spotlit mirrors, ready for our transformations. The make up artists were fantastic and made us all feel like we were real stars! Once we were all looking beautiful, we had our photograph taken and then checked out the products on offer. Despite all complaining on the way over that we needed payday to come sooner, every one of us left with a shopping bag full of Bourjois cosmetics. However, at just £14 for four products, I didn't even feel too guilty. I felt it was a bargain, an investment and most importantly, a brilliant excuse to buy more make up!

The Bourjois Boutique is open to members of the public this weekend and on Monday from 12-8pm. If you have a chance, definitely head down there for a free makeover and discounted cosmetics. If you're one of the first fifty guests to arrive, you'll even get your hands on a free Bourjois goodie bag! Also, if you're in and around the Shoreditch area over the next three days, look out for the Bourjois Belle, a fashionista who will be walking her poodle along the streets, on route to the Bourjois Boutique. If you find her, you could win a year's supply of Bourjois make up! All you need is the secret phrase and text Belle to 60300 to get her latest whereabouts via a GPS map. Check the Bourjois UK Facebook page for more details. Even if you're nowhere near London this weekend, you can still get involved! Play the online version of the game, 'Spot the Belle' on the Facebook page for a chance to win a Bourjois goodie bag. Good luck and enjoy!

Bourjois UK Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/BourjoisUK - 'like' to view the tabs and to enter the competitions

Sheep are Sheep are Sheep

2012-02-16T15:04:00.001-08:00

In the non-fluffy-animal sense, the word 'sheep' is used to describe a person who is incapable of making their own decisions, a person who cannot think for themselves, instead simply imitating the behaviours of peers. We all know sheep but what we don't all know is that in fact, we are sheep.

Despite how individual and unique a person strives to be, every one of us is influenced by the behaviours of others. As much as we might like to argue against this fact, it has been proven time and time again throughout history. For example, back in 1950 Solomon Asch conducted the 'Asch Experiment' which showed how people allowed the behaviour of others to overrule their own good judgement. In a test where they were asked to correctly match two lines of the same length, almost every participant gave a wrong answer based on the fact that a collection of actors had answered wrongly before them. When questioned afterwards, the participants all admitted to knowing the correct answer. However, they conformed to the majority answer in order to avoid contradicting the rest of the group or looking stupid.

This idea can be used to explain why people are affected by peer pressure. Think back to your University days for a moment. Did any of us really believe that consuming a mixture of vodka and gin through a plastic funnel would have positive effects on our evening? It's very doubtful, but we did it anyway because we had thirty of our mates telling us it was the right thing or the 'cool' thing to do. More worryingly, we are seeing an increasing amount of teenagers taking drugs because they think their friends are. Arguably, these friends are doing it because they think their friends are therefore, the chain is infinite with very few users taking drugs because they actually want to. Similarly, research shows that teenagers are far more likely to fall pregnant and give birth if they have friends who already have children of their own. This works on the logic that 'well if they can do it, I can do it too'.

However, the same pattern can be seen on a more subconscious level too. For example, research by David J. Zimmerman has proven that academic grades of college students in America are more influenced by their roommates than by their IQ or previous grades. This study suggests that these students unconsciously adapt their behaviour to fit that of their roommates, therefore achieving similar grades throughout their college experience. These results support the idea that even those of us who think we are individual are subject to influences from others which we cannot avoid because they occur in our subconscious.

So what does this mean for brands? It has always been important for brands to build up a reputation in order for consumers to recommend their products to their friends. However, this is now more significant than ever with the introduction of Facebook Likes and Google Plus Ones which make these recommendations so tangible. If I click onto a Facebook brand page, I can not only see how many people in the Facebook community like this page, but I can also see how many of my friends like it. For example, in the picture on the left, I can see that 10 of my friends like the Coca-Cola brand page. Beneath this, I can also see that 6 of my friends like the Donkey page so perhaps I should look at that too? A recommendation from a friend is far more persuading than a recommendation from a random web user because in general, we have similar interests to our friends and so we're more likely to appreciate the same things. Therefore, it is essential that brands actively recruit fans of their brand pages and engage with them on a regular basis to encourage the sharing of content which will then be fed onto peoples' news feeds.

In addition, it's rumoured that we are likely to see friends' recommendations included in search engine algorithms in the near future. Therefore, although two people may search for the same term, their results will be different depending on what their online have friends have liked or plus one-d. If this system rolls out, brands will need to focus even more heavily on building their fan pages because it's been proven that brands which appear at the top of search engine results perform far better than those which aren't visible at all.

Although this sounds daunting, there are a number of brands which have used this theory of social herding to their advantage. For example, if a consumer makes a purchase on Amazon, a bar appears at the bottom of the screen which reads 'customers who bought this also bought these' and displays a number of different products (see picture on right). This works so well because the consumer assumes that these 'customers who bought this' are similar to them and so their opinions are as valuable as their friends'. Therefore, using the 'if they're doing it, I should to' logic, these consumers are more encouraged to look at the items and as a result, are far more likely to purchase them. Since Amazon found this to be so successful, many other retail websites have adopted the same or similar process. In fact, clothes websites such as New Look take it a step further by saying that 'customers who looked at this also looked at' and then offer a range of related products.

Providing a brand manages their social media and customer service channels well, there is no reason why they cannot benefit from social herding and the 'likes' system. The bigger the fan base, the easier it is to grow so brands that focus on recruiting fans now will reap the rewards when it really matters in the very near future.

Olympic Opportunities

2012-02-13T02:26:00.002-08:00

Whilst working in Access, I was asked to put together a presentation on a topic which I found interesting. I decided to do mine on the Olympic Games and the opportunities it provides for sponsors. Once I started to research the subject, I found it to be even more fascinating than I had originally thought because it's so different from all the other event partnerships I'd previously worked on.

Usually, when a company sponsors an event, the event venue is heavily branded with the sponsor's logo. This is considered to be one of the main benefits of the partnership because the brand receives mass exposure and has a continuous presence throughout the event. However, the Olympic Games operates a 'clean stadium' policy, accepting no advertising on the inside of any of their venues. It would be reasonable to assume that because of this, the Olympic Committee offer sponsorship deals at a discounted price but this is not the case. In fact, the Olympic Games is by far the most expensive sports event that a brand can partner with, costing anything from £40m for a top tier sponsorship to £10m for a third tier!

So what exactly are these sponsors paying for? Essentially, they're paying for the right to use the Olympic logos in their own advertising campaigns and the permission to create an overt connection between their brand and the games. By doing this, brands hope to attach their own values to those of the Olympic Games. Some of these values can be seen in the word cloud on the right which I created to use in my presentation. In my opinion, the three most important factors are that the Olympics is an exciting event which generates a real buzz throughout the entire year, it represents national pride and it's a premium brand, worthy of a world stage. However, different brands will focus on different values which are the most relevant to their brand message. For example, this year we are likely to see Adidas using the Olympics' connection with sports in their marketing campaigns, whereas McDonalds might focus instead on its inclusiveness. As the Olympics attracts hundreds of thousands of people to the hosting city (with over 800,000 expected to visit the London Olympic Stadium on its busiest day this year) there is a huge potential for reach and exposure. Furthermore, as many visitors will be from overseas, brands are given the opportunity to target new audiences that they wouldn't normally reach. Lastly, as part of their partnership, sponsors are given first rights to all outdoor advertising space within a one mile radius of the Olympic stadium whilst the games are running, as well as high impact sites around the city. However, this media space comes at an added cost (far more expensive than usual) and after spending so much on the initial sponsorship, brands in the past have found that they have insufficient leftover budget to book them. In fact, some brands will have very little money left to activate their partnership at all which brings the efficiency of the deal into question.

On the other hand, brands that opt out of Olympic sponsorship have plenty of budget to run huge campaigns alongside the Games and therefore often attempt to 'ambush' the event. Ambush marketing is a strategy adopted by non-sponsors to associate themselves with an event without paying the sponsorship fees. Successful ambushers have a larger presence and stand out more than their official sponsor competitors. For example, Nike famously ambushed the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games which was sponsored by Reebok. They constructed a Nike Village next to the Olympic Village, bought the majority of outdoor billboards surrounding the site and handed out Nike flags for spectators to wave in front of the cameras at the games. The outcome was that 22% of TV viewers believed Nike to be the official sportswear sponsor of the Olympic Games whereas only 16% correctly identified it as Reebok. This was obviously devastating for Reebok who paid out millions for their official sponsor status.

Over the last ten years, the Olympic Committee have cracked down on ambush marketers to try to protect their official sponsors. Non-sponsors are no longer allowed to be seen anywhere in the Olympic venues, use anything which represents the Olympics in their marketing (i.e. the torch, the rings etc.) and are only offered advertising space around the stadiums after they have been rejected by sponsors. However, there are still many ways to get around this and we are already seeing ambush marketing campaigns emerge this year. For example, Nike has recently launched the brilliant 'Make it Count' campaign which involves a variety of great athletes who will be competing at London 2012. Nike created a number of different ads, each incorporating a black and white photograph of the athlete in action alongside their motto, their Twitter handle and the hashtag, #makeitcount. The Twitter activity helped drive awareness as well as their huge presence all across London. In addition, Nike got members of the public involved, asking them to come along to their flagship stores to create their own ads like these. The best were then included into the loops on digital outdoor screens in various stations. This week, Nike also took over the IMAX Cinema site (pictured above left). During the Olympic games, high impact sites like these are reserved for the official sponsors but in the lead up to it, anybody can book them. In my opinion, by weighting their campaign heavily in the months before the Olympics take place, brands can stamp out their competition by associating themselves with the event before the sponsors even appear on the scene. Therefore, although brands can no longer take over the Olympics to the extent that Nike did in the Atlanta 1996 Games, they can still ambush the event without technically breaking any rules.

Despite all this, I do believe that an Olympic partnership is worth the investment providing the brand has sufficient funds to activate their sponsorship in order to stand out against ambushers. Whilst conducting research for my presentation, I came across a number of case studies which prove the effectiveness of Olympic partnerships when they have been supported by great media campaigns. To finish, I'd like to share my favourite with you which is that of Snickers at the Beijing 2008 Games. Snickers was a tier two sponsor so we can assume they paid around £20m. Nevertheless, they found sufficient budget to run an engaging, multi-platform campaign which spanned across a long period of time. Snickers began by offering Olympic tickets as competition prizes to mark their territory as official sponsors. They then created the Snickers 'Street Olympics' which was held in Beijing and included 'hybrid sports' events like Basoccer, a mix of basketball and soccer with trash cans for goals, and Streetminton, a combination of badminton and break dancing. To ensure the Street Olympics was well publicised, Mars approached over a hundred magazines and news outlets geared towards their target audience and invited them to come along to the event. In addition, they created a buzz around the event by setting up online games associated to it. The event was heavily branded with Snickers and was held prior to the start of the Olympic Games when there was less advertising clutter in the streets of Beijing. Furthermore, Snickers ran a traditional media campaign covering press, outdoor, digital and TV and handed out free Snickers bars at branded kiosks around the Olympic Games.

The results of Snicker's Olympic sponsorship were fantastic. Snickers grabbed the attention and participation of tens of thousands in their target group and Snickers sales rose 75% in the first quarter of 2008 as a result. I believe Snickers was so successful because they supported their sponsorship with a great and memorable campaign. Furthermore, they didn't simply rely on their sponsorship and the exposure attached to it but instead identified their target audience within the mass audience and created something that they could get excited about. After an innovative and engaging Olympic campaign, Snickers is now the number two brand in China's $438m chocolate market.

In summary, an Olympic sponsorship is something which brands should think about very carefully. It provides some really exciting opportunities but brands must be prepared to actively grasp these opportunities in order to benefit from them.

On Set with Specsavers

2012-02-03T13:13:00.000-08:00

For the past month I've been working with MEC Access, MEC's sponsorship department. It's been awesome and I've learnt so much about the different types of partnerships from TV to events and branded content. In particular, I found branded content to be really interesting because it's a relatively new and less conventional form of advertising which provides exciting opportunities for brands that want to stand out and do something a little different. Branded content exists as a result of a fusion between advertising and entertainment and can take the form of television programmes, events, games, films or music. Branded content is usually funded by the advertiser and promoted as entertainment for consumers which is then heavily branded.

During my time in Access, I was lucky enough to see a Branded Content piece in action when I went to the Cactus Studios to see the filming of the Specsavers' TV Book Club, which is what we call an AFP (an advertiser funded programme). It began back in 2010 as a partnership between Specsavers and Channel 4 and was such a success that they decided to continue it. On the left is a picture of the set which has evolved over the years and now depicts the perfect, cosy living room. Celebrity hosts Dave Spikey, Laila Rouassa and Meera Syal appeared completely relaxed whilst presenting from the sofas, helping to create the right atmosphere for the program. More importantly for Specsavers, however, is the fact that the set is branded. A TV screen showing the 'Specsavers TV Book Club' image was brought into view a number of times throughout the show and the presenters wore Specsavers glasses. That said, the branding is subtle and I think Specsavers have found a good balance between making consumers aware of the advertiser's involvement without it being so blatant that it becomes irritating. In line with this, short Specsavers TV Book Club idents were used each time the show left the set and went to an ad break or a VT.

The program kicked off with an interview with the special guest who in this particular episode was TV adventurer, travel writer and actor, Charley Boorman. He has had an incredible life and had some brilliant stories to tell. We heard all sorts, from how he was bribed as a child to star in films by his director father, to how he broke both of his hands in a motorbike accident (watch the episode for full details!) Once he'd finished answering questions, Boorman stayed to discuss the book of the week, The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt, which he highly recommended. The celebrity hosts all agreed that this novel was brilliant and one of the best that they've read since the program began! Despite not being familiar with the story, I found the discussion really interesting because it was presented in such an enthusiastic manner. For viewers who have already read the novel, it would have been even more engaging because they could compare and contrast their own opinions with those of the celebrities. After reading a number of reviews from the public and watching a VT from an up and coming author, the show ended and the cameras stopped rolling. As the celebs began to chat among themselves, I was amazed to see that they spoke and acted in exactly the same way. This proves how naturally they were behaving throughout the filming which I think adds to the relaxed and comfortable atmosphere of the program.

Seeing this AFP really brought the concept to life and helped me to understand why they can be so effective. Below are just five reasons why I think this partnership is so great:

1. Perfect Fit

Working on the insight that most people who wear glasses wear them whilst reading, the link between Specsavers and Book Clubs just makes sense. It's also perfect for Specsavers' target audience in terms of the presenters, the celebrity guests, the novels discussed and the atmosphere.

2. Branding and Product Placement

By branding the studio and giving the celebrity hosts Specsavers glasses to wear, the TV Book Club encourages consumers to create an association not just between reading and glasses but reading and Specsavers glasses.

3. Celebrity Endorsement

By being a part of the show, the celebrities endorse Specsavers which helps persuade consumers that it's a trendy and trustworthy brand.

4. Engaging

The content within the show is interesting and enjoyable to watch. Therefore, consumers watch it by choice, are far less likely to consider it 'annoying' and so there will be no equivalent of ad avoidance.

5. The Right Balance

I've learnt that the best AFPs are able to blend the advertising message and the program together in a seamless manner making it a part of the storytelling whilst still getting the brand's information across.

I see branded content as an absolutely brilliant way of targeting consumers in a way they will want to be targeted and I can't wait to get more involved with this one and more over the next few weeks!

The Cookie Crumble

2012-01-22T03:13:00.000-08:00

Most people will have come across the term 'cookies' but far fewer can comfortably define what they are or what it is that they do. Cookies are small files stored on a computer that remembers who you are and where you have been online. You may or may not be aware that in May last year, the ICO changed the law on cookies so that every site must ask permission from their user before dropping a cookie on them. As it stands, the default setting is to accept cookies and users must adjust their options if they do not wish to be tracked or if they wish to clear their cookie history. The ICO are essentially reversing this tradition. However, understanding that this is a huge change, the ICO gave everyone a year to adapt before starting to prosecute. Therefore, the majority of sites are yet to introduce any changes but as that deadline quickly approaches, sites are running out of time to find a viable solution to this new law.

Almost every single site on the internet uses cookies for a number of good reasons. Firstly, cookies are responsible for remembering preferences and user details such as passwords which make the online experience easier and faster for users. The beauty of the internet is its incredible speed and by banning cookies, we'd be slowing down this process.

Secondly, cookies build up a user profile so that adservers can match up the right kinds of adverts to the right kinds of people. This is the reason for some adverts popping up on almost every site you visit. Some people say they find this 'annoying' but personally, I would much rather be followed by an advert that promotes something that I'm interested in rather than one that is completely irrelevant. Without cookies, I could at this moment be staring at an advert for Adidas football socks rather than the Topshop wedges that I was looking at earlier. Additionally, advertisers will pay sites far more money if they can offer targeted ads and so it generates more income for the industry. If users are opting out of being tracked by cookies, it will massively devalue the service that online media owners have to offer.

Finally, cookies enable adservers to monitor the performance of sites. For example, it can track the number of unique users that visit the site over any given time period which helps advertisers choose sites with the right level of traffic at the right prices. Furthermore, with the use of cookies adservers can track how many people engage with or click on a specific advert on sites so that advertisers know whether it is worth investing in again. Cookies even allow entire journeys to be followed so we can see whether an online purchase has been made as a result of viewing an advert. Without this information, measuring the effectiveness of online campaigns will be extremely difficult and will cause huge problems for media owners and advertisers.

That said, the law doesn't state that sites must stop using cookies completely, just that they must ask for permission. However, the majority of online users don't know what cookies really do and therefore don't understand that they're completely safe. For many, the question will be interpreted as 'Please may I follow you around the Internet?' which will understandably lead to the answer being 'No'. Therefore, data collected by adservers becomes significantly less valuable.

I can't predict how sites will react to this new law nor how far the ICO will take it. However, this slightly blunt yet insightful video by Silktide, 'The Stupid EU Cookie Law in 2½ minutes', gives a great view on the situation and what we might expect in the months to come. It also provides a critical evaluation of the ICO's own method of obeying this new law which is somewhat questionable. Please note that views expressed are not my own (particularly the reference to Mr. Bieber).

I Heart Capital Radio

2012-01-18T13:32:00.000-08:00

This week, we were invited to Global Radio for an introduction and tour around the studios. Global owns seven different brands including the massive Capital FM and Heart as well as smaller, more niche stations such as Xfm and Choice. In total, Global have over twenty million listeners making them a huge player in the industry. I've already discussed radio as an advertising platform quite a bit in previous blog posts (See Absolute Awesomeness and Kiss and Smash My Magic Bits) but there are a few new and interesting things I learned that I think are worth mentioning.

Firstly, Global highlighted how powerful sound can be by quizzing us on our 'sonic logo' knowledge. Sonic logos are small clips of sound or backing tracks that identify a brand to its listener during an advert. As they aren't something I'd really considered before, I assumed I wouldn't do very well on the quiz but I was quite wrong! Along with everyone else in the room, I found that I could attach a brand name to almost every sound. In fact, it works the other way around too; it's virtually impossible to mention Intel without hearing the five note sonic logo that ends each ad. The same can be said for Direct Line, O2, Co Co Pops and many, many more. Some sonic logos have become so iconic and catchy that they've come alive in various other forms. For example, Lloyds Bank's sonic logo reached number one in the itunes download chart, became the centre focus of a classical music concert and was transformed into a dance remix sung by Sarah Cracknell called The Journey Continues'. Radio's argument is that we build a strong association between a sound and a brand and we use that familiarity to identify an advertiser even if we aren't really listening to the ad.

The second and even more important learning that came out of today is just how much Radio media owners have to offer. As well as owning seven different stations covering a whole range of audiences, Global also have access to their websites, mobile apps, events, music videos, talent and more. To demonstrate this, they introduced us to a couple of case studies of exciting work that they've done in the past. There were a number of brilliant examples but I think my favourite was the More Th>n 'Gig in the Sky'. For this, Heart FM teamed up with More Th>n to break a world record by hosting the highest ever gig at 41,000ft. They branded up a private jet and held competitions both online and on air to win tickets to the event. Once the plane was high up above the clouds, James Blunt performed to the lucky winners and crew members on board, of course asking everybody to join in on the 'flying highhhh' lyric in his most famous song, 'Beautiful'. Unsurprisingly, this event generated huge amounts of PR and was a hot topic of conversation for a long time afterwards. This really showed us that there is so much more to radio than simply airtime ads (although we were given some great examples of those too!)

After all the introductions, we were taken down to the Capital FM studios where Bassman was preparing for his show. He let us all have a play with his microphone before explaining to us how everything works. He even shared the secret of how Capital DJs manage to be on air to different regions playing different shows all at the same time. The studios are seriously cool with walls that change colour at the tap of an iPad and about eighty computer screens in every room! I could have stayed there all day but the pub was calling so we left to have a lovey lunch and a few drinks with our wonderful Global hosts. The day was great, the people were brilliant and I've come away genuinely excited to start working with radio. Thank you Global!

'Born to Live, Not Built to Die'

2012-01-16T14:34:00.000-08:00

As we all enter into another new year, there is no better time to be thinking about beginnings. Recently, I read an article which argued that we as media planners should in fact be thinking about beginnings all the time.

It is easy to think that once an advertising campaign has launched, the job of a media planner is complete. In that sense, the campaign is the end product of many months of planning, buying and implementing. However, as brands continually look for new ways to cut through in a cluttered market, advertisers are breaking out of their traditional campaign comfort zones and creating something quite different. We are now seeing the emergence of more and more 'projects' which mark the beginning of something rather than the end.

I believe the best way to explain this strain of marketing is to use an example of a brand that has launched a successful project and Norte's 'Best Excuse Ever' is one of my favourites. After researching the market, the lager brand discovered that wives and girlfriends were acting as one of their biggest competitors. Females were constantly overruling the social plans of their male partners and therefore stopping them from going out and drinking beer. Norte felt that the best solution to this problem was to provide men with 'the best excuse ever' to go out to bars and pubs; essentially, 'I'm doing it to help others'. Norte announced that every time a man drank a bottle of Norte at a bar, he could drop the bottle cap into a counter box. For each bottle cap dropped, Norte promised to donate one minute of their team's time to doing good deeds within the community. More than 5,000 caps were dropped accounting for 34 days which were spent repairing schools, improving parks, planting trees and much more. To raise awareness of the big idea, TV commercials were run and outdoor counter boxes were installed in the streets. In order to involve as many consumers as possible, a Facebook page was set up with an 'I'm going out' button that men could click on to boost the counters. As a result of its popularity, this project received significant coverage in print, radio and TV, all adding to its media value.

To give another great example, Pepsi last year partnered with The Swedish Association of the Visually Impaired Youth to create 'Sound of Football'. They used a system which relies on TRACAB 3D tracking technology to allow blind football players to 'see' with sound. It enabled players to identify and locate players, the goal, sidelines and the ball. This new technology advanced the current blind football game, whereby players wear bells and use a specially weighted ball to help them. This big idea received an incredible response and generated fantastic earned media for Pepsi. In fact, the Discovery Channel is now creating a 30 minute program to document the project. Following on from this, Pepsi is encouraging the public to suggest ideas for new 'Sound of' projects, showing that this initial launch was truly the beginning of something, not the end.

A project of this high calibre requires a lot of hard work and continual monitoring but it has huge potential for reward. If a project is nurtured and managed in the right way, it can provide brands with the opportunity to showcase their values and prove their credibility by making a difference to the wider world. This undoubtedly creates stand out and offers the consumer more reasons to engage with the brand. This project approach to advertising certainly provides us with a new and exciting challenge and gives us a chance to fully utilise the creative and engaging channels that are available.

Title borrowed from: David Lee, digital executive creative director at TBWA/Worldwide (quoted in Contagious Magazine)