As a college-age intern in an ad agency, a Creative Director told me, “If I were you, I’d go into Account Planning.” He said it in the same way Dustin Hoffman was told to go into “plastics” in The Graduate. I’ve worked with a few smart planners, and even went to the 4A’s Account Planning Conference one year. But in 2013, has the role of an Account Planner changed? Chris Kocek takes a look in The Practical Pocket …
On Message Reminds Us To Stick To The Story
The more experience I get in marketing and advertising, the more impressed I am with the sheer skill and chutzpah of political message-makers. They work on their cause or their candidate with relentless focus, and even if it’s for a short campaign season, they craft messages that stick probably better than 99% of the consumer products out there. We get a little glimpse into this thinking with Zach Friend’s On …
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The Macro Problems of Micromanaging the Creative Process
We've all been there: Watching a CEO or high-level client rewrite copy or play art director. Don't they have better things to do? Maybe not. CEOs and other senior executives call the shots, are accountable to many audiences, and more often than not, take it all personally because of their egos. For many of them, micromanaging a project is easier than laying out a big vision and letting others work towards it. So …
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Stop Tweeting Boring Sh*t Is NSFW At Boring Workplaces
Over the years, I’ve seen many ad agencies publish books of one kind or another. Many fall nakedly into the “here’s our proprietary process, along with case studies to back it up” genre. Others take a more compelling approach. Such is the case with Sausalito agency Division of Labor’s new book: Stop Tweeting Boring Sh*t: The New Rules of Work. It’s a pretty simple premise: A series of humorous tweets, …
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The 3 Percent Conference Equals 100 Percent Valuable Conversation
Back when it was first announced and details were scant, I made mention of the 3% Conference, an effort to call attention to the lack of female CDs in the ad industry. Since that time, conference founder Kat Gordon not only organized a successful conference in 2012, she’s doing it again this year. And she recently took her “Where are all the Donna Drapers?” presentation here to Seattle for an evening which also …
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Design Thinking For Strategic Innovation Aims To Make Business More Elegant
I’m not sure designers would agree, but it feels to me like we’re in a golden age of design. Because as complex as our world (and the technology propelling it) is getting, there’s a stronger need for simple, clear design in our products and surroundings. Idris Mootee takes a closer look at this in Design Thinking for Strategic Innovation: What They Can’t Teach You At Business or Design School. As the title …
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The Underworld Of Below-The-Line Advertising
This is what you call a "slot topper." I didn't write this particular one, but it's exactly what it sounds like. Most copywriters, at one point or another, work on things considered "below-the-line." But does this kind of work get any respect, or results? Some people love to go around saying things like, “Advertising is the price companies pay for being unoriginal.” I’m not sure that’s true. We live in a …
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Is Marketing An Act Of Love Or War?
Have you ever thought of your customers as an "insurgency" that needs to be fought and overcome? Or are your customers people who can be taught to love your brand? In marketing, the goal is always “more” something: More sales, more awareness, more attention, more engagement. I’d imagine marketers who prefer love and attraction to their brands think there’s infinite room to expand their markets, while the …
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