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Here’s your latest kicked sandcastles:
- The100: Marketing bubbles, Bud Light and Cockney accents
The reaction to the reaction that created more reaction It wouldn’t be an issue of The100 without Ritson’s recent ruminations (apologies for the excessive alliteration). He’s written about the US backlash to a Bud Light ad and how it shows the complexity of mass marketing: “Watching the full interview with Heinerscheid [VP, Bud Light] is … - The100: Jobs to be done, efficiency reloaded & the Lucas/Spielberg bromance
The real event in London last week Last week we were lucky enough to welcome 200 of you lovely readers to our event in London on liars and lying. There were no crowns, 12th century spoons or grim reapers (ummm, what was that please?), but we did have 11 brilliant speakers and a few scoops …
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The100: The disruption myth, strategic ideas and airport views
“Computers and society are out on a 1st date” There’s a metric tonne of gold dust in The Steve Jobs Archive. It’s stacked with memos, emails and interviews. Including this, from circa 1976 – 85: “Apple’s strategy is really simple. What we want to do is put an incredibly great computer in a book that you carry …
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The100: Removing friction, fundamental attribution errors and sea urchin hats
What we can learn from priests in a hurry Richard Shotton has delivered many a wise word over the past couple of weeks. First, he was in the hot seat on the Uncensored CMO podcast and made a particularly good point around how removing even the tiniest bit of friction can have outsized effects on …
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The100: The age of average, Brandolini’s Law and Ameriga
Averagers Assemble Alex Murrell’s piece on the age of average is spot on. Since when did everything start looking the same? However depressing that is, it does present a huge opportunity to stand out: “when every category abides by the same conventions, when every industry has converged on its own singular style, bold brands and …
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The100: Mind reading, bias firewalls and the Mars Rover
Bias Firewall Martin Agency has published a tremendous tool called The Visibility Brief. The aim of the document is to help us ask better questions, broaden perspectives and do more representative work. It’s advertising focused, but applies itself just as well to research. Also excellent is The Outside Directory, which lists UK creatives from everywhere …
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The100: Awkward silences, trendy falsehoods, & Jurassic cats
The Effect bias I made that name up to describe my predilection for this wonderful clickable diagram of cognitive effects, biases and fallacies. A particular rabbit hole for me was the top right quadrant of too-much-information. Are you average? Apparently the average professional spends 21.5 hrs per week in meetings? Up from 14.2 pre-pandemic. Crikey. …
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“Give me less analysis, make me do more work”
Said no-one. Ever. (To me anyway.) That’s why I don’t believe that clients are suddenly finding themselves with more time, or have a desire to do all of the analysis themselves. I believe they want opinions and recommendations based on high quality, truthful insights from their peers. Yet there is this constant drive towards DIY …
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Empathy? Not feeling it.
Consumer closeness? Not even close. Consumer centricity? More like on the periphery. There is plenty written about these 3 key approaches to market research, but no one has nailed it. No one has got it working in such a way that they are really understanding people; and as a result, no one is really winning …
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The100: Budget insights, shorter briefs and knickerbocker glories
Everything changes? BBH labs have analysed consumer behaviours, beliefs and attitudes to see if ‘change’ is really true. Change is to marketers what lightbulbs are to moths. We fixate upon emerging behaviours, fetishise the latest platforms, and fantasise about ‘new normals’. The world as understood through agency decks is a place of constant upheaval. There …
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The100: Syllogistic reasoning, better briefs and the Burlap King
Machines need paths With apologies to many out there hanging their proverbial hat on AI, we have read an argument that states AI Is No Match for the quirks of Human Intelligence. Insight problems generally cannot be solved by a step-by-step procedure, like an algorithm, or if they can, the process is extremely tedious. I …
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The100: Uncertainty testing, impressing strangers & brown sauce
Nice egg, Mr Fabergé, but… Rory Sutherland (does it again) on how looking at the parts can destroy the value of the whole: While more use of data, quantification and comparison is always good in theory, it is not always good in practice. For one thing, too much data drives people towards analytical thinking — …
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The100: Sonic extinguishers, supply chains and cheese (of course)
Imposter imposters As Tim Minchin said of imposter syndrome: I know we’ve all got it but it’s a bit boring now […] I don’t know if it’s the most interesting way to describe it […] Get over it and stop being a w*%ker […] Because you have plenty of evidence that you are good at …
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The100: Hedonic adaptation, the curse of knowledge & plastic cheese
Contrast, not constant Certainly we are evolutionarily wired to notice contrasts, not constants. Been lucky enough to go on holiday this year? Wanted to stay there forever? Well, apparently, that’s not advised. Without any contrast you won’t savour it as much, because you will adapt to the hedonism. Rory Sutherland (via one Mr D Kahneman, …
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The100: Brand purpose, how to remember, and Miami Vice
“The Danger of a Single Story” The copywriter who just keeps on giving: Dave Trott again with a brilliant piece directly related to empathy: We are not the target market. It’s a simple trap to fall into, and that’s perhaps why so many of us do. We are a consumer, but we are not the …