Secondly, we survived our personal version of a Chilean bbq; grilled for over two hours by a VC; keeping the bad bbq analogies going, in the end he did not spit us out after chewing us up (and no he did not lick the plate either, you perverts). We are now labelled viable. Seems to be quite a thing in that world, so a small hurrah.

Sunday’s are a bit weird as that day is mostly spend not doing anything in Chile. But when in Rome ..and all that..

Looking ahead the week is busy but shaping up nicely; lot’s of meetings, system design sessions (no idea what that means, but is sounds nice), budget talks, some emergency cloth shopping and attending a proper Chilean wedding.

Anyways..as always..

NH

I have a neighbour. About 50 years old, but to be honest I have no idea how old she is. She’s been ravaged by bad health.

In a wheelchair, suffering from what I think is Parkinson’s as well. She can walk for 2-3 minutes though she shouldn’t, as her body can’t take the pressure.

My neighbour is also a bit of bitch. Rude, stubborn (especially in her refusal to take care of the mess her cats make), and most days she will flat out ignore everybody who walks by and greets her.

This morning, she dropped her keys. Her husband was away (also in a wheelchair) and given her state, she can’t bend over to pick them up. So she yells through the building: “pick up my keys”. Over and over, I think.

Because the first time I thought I heard something I was still half sleeping. In that state I’ve imagined my phone ringing, leaving doors open. “Pick up my keys, help me please”. My neighbour. Again.

At that moment I realise it is not a dream, but her – again- needing help (she tends to have these types of incidents once twice a month) .

I stare at the ceiling for a second, and think to myself ” the fucking nerve… Who the fuck does she think she is, waking everybody up”.

I get up, grumpy and ready to give her an earful, as I walk down the stairs to help her with the same smugness, IMF bankers show on their way to ‘helping’ emerging nations.

And then I see her. Barely standing, leaning against the door, knees and arms shaking from standing to long.

Her keys just out of reach beneath her on the doormat as she breaths way to fast and shallow from having tried to fix the problem on her own.

And in that moment, just for a moment, I get some much needed perspective. She’s no bitch. I can only imagine the daily struggles she goes through. Stuff that I and the rest of the neighbours take for granted.

Simply because we’re healthy and never imagined that not being able to pick up keys could be an embarrassing and physically hurting event.

When a planner recently asked me why planning is not as respected as it once was, I could not help think that the question “why don’t we get respect” goes a long way to diagnosing our problem.

We are lost in our own private Idaho’s. Our system of thought, our needs to push the clients into brave new worlds, our superior insight into human behaviour, business and technology. Our..our.

And while this attitude can work for decades in growing economies, that tend to blur success attributable to proper planning rather than overall industry growth, in current and coming times it won’t work.

The fat lady is singing.. I am hoping there is no encore.

“Don’t try and write rock songs, write a pop song and then rock it up or whatever else you wanna do, on top..”
Noel Gallagher

This equally applies to our work: First come up with the problem the brand can/wants/should address, that is rooted in actual consumer buying/using behaviour. Trace back to understand what has lead them to behave the way they do (as good as possible).

Figure out what barriers (now you layer it with thinking around tools, digital, npd, attitudes) stand in the way of them showing the future behaviour you need to achieve your goals.

Start making it possible to remove and to get people to move. If they move; spread the word.

Is it really that simple? Yes, but obviously not that easy to execute.

One magazine;
Four advertisers;
Different agencies;
Same category.

No convention was harmed during the making of any of these campaigns.

Here is a thought starter: If you still rely on * (as this mobile provider does) in your thinking or in the advertising of your solutions, your solution is to complicated.

Now obviously that is not always the case, but it does serve as a way to look at what you are offering. And how you are communicating your offer.

Static/passive media like print and tv used to allow advertisers some lag time between what your offer (in terms of what you offered and how you communicated it) and when the offer was acted upon.

The ever closing gap between input and outcome asks for ever greater streamlining of the purchase process and a greater level of trust between buyer and seller.

But the good side is that every * offers a chance to create something of meaning, something that meets a need in a delightful way (that does not mean you need to add technology to the mix, just start with some observation and buyer point of view empathy and take it from there).

A Harajuku girl

and an African man

It must make some sense somewhere in the research the agency did, right? Somewhere someone has data that clearly shows that people, when walking around airports, suspend their sense of national, racial and personal pride.

That people walking around airports are happy to be greeted with stereotypical and borderline racist manners as this is all part of the holiday/air travel experience and thus it is perfectly normal to reflect this in the communication.

There is a huge difference between understanding the cultural perspective to resonate with an audience and playing up to stereotypes. Unfortunately the dividing line is thin and often easily crossed.

As seen at Frankfurt Airport. Books that help you learn a foreign language by turning the learning into a “Who-done-it” novel. Best bit of gamification I’ve come across in a long time.

Yes new tools (slowly) change cultural practices of people. Yes we should be aware of the new. No, we should not jump on all bandwagons that come along.

In times of increasing technological development, decreasing time to explore its uses and potential, and evergrowing fear by people (both in business and just as citizens) of missing out on the latest trend, we should not forget that looking at what is already in use with a fresh pair of eyes can be just as effective (even more so if all the others are not doing anything with it)…

enjoy the weekend

Harvard Thinks Big 2010 – Daniel Gilbert – ‘Global Warming and Psychology’ from Harvard Thinks Big on Vimeo.

Pretty good insight checklist in general:

Are you finding stuff in the lives of people that is:
Immoral
Imment
Intentional
Instanteneous

Obviously the creative translation does not (should not?) have to amplify that fear. But having a fear/problem to work of instead of the usual want/desire (as a starting point instead of end, where it communicates the solution to the previously found problem), might lead to different ways of approaching briefs that create impact through action.

Though obviously as I write this, somewhere someone is working on a brief that will disprove me. As it should be.