Farewell Blogger

Thanks for visiting my blog.  I've said farewell to Blogger.  My creative observations can now be found over on Tumblr at  http://geniuscreative.tumblr.com/

Some online goodness found amid the riot chaos.

It’s hard to imagine that any good could come out of the riot chaos that happened across the UK this week.  Social media has come under scrutiny for fueling the events.  Yet recent online projects have proven that it has also brought people together in tough times and shed light on such a terrible situation as well as resulting in some entertaining online content.  Here are my online highlights:

 http://keepaaroncutting.blogspot.com/ was a project set up by interns at agency BBH London.  Aaron lost his barber business to riots in Tottenham, which he had built up over several decades. Touched by his story a blog was set-up by the interns where members of the public could donate to get Aaron’s business up and running again.  The project has now closed after raising a staggering 35k.

Another do-good project was  http://somethingniceforashraf.tumblr.com/ Ashraf was a young boy who was robbed as he lay injured during the riots. A fund was organised to raise money to do something nice for the guy which finally totaled at over 22k.

This week proved how social media tools could be used to enable people to collaborate and respond to the riots to produce positive outcomes. @riotcleanup with over 80,000 members was a group with the aim of organising and publicising clean-up efforts throughout the UK.

http://catchalooter.tumblr.com (which seems to have now moved over to (http://zavilia.com/) and its Twitter/Facebook page called on members of the public to identify uploaded images of rioters.  From such images a number of humorous blogs were set-up such as http://photoshoplooter.tumblr.com/ and http://lootalikes.tumblr.com/

Agency Dare created http://thisisourlondon.com/ to send the message that not all Londoners possess such disorderly behaviour, that the ‘actions that happened are not a true reflection of our city’.  The site displays pictures of Londoners coming together to ‘revive and reclaim’ their streets.

Sites such as http://tinyurl.com/4yfh97w  that mapped the London riots displayed the alarming scale of the rioting and warned people of effected areas. 

The campaign ‘Operation Cup Of Tea'  http://www.operationcupoftea.com/  encouraged people to anti-riot by staying in with a cup of tea instead, with the message of ‘make tea not war’.  The group took Facebook and Twitter by storm with 321,985 attending. Supporters had to take a photo of themselves posing with a cup of tea and then upload it to the Facebook page. 

Above displays one of my favorite images from the week depicting a couple handing out tea to police officers on a riot shield, some of which had been on duty for 30 hours.  A typical British sentiment: tea solves all situations.

Here’s an interesting read on ‘How the riots showed us two sides of social networking’ http://bit.ly/npcC7L

Industry insight, what makes a winning portfolio?

I’ve recently been working the book crit circuit after graduating from University and thought it would be useful to share my insight.  It has proved a challenge judging precisely what constitutes a sound portfolio; agencies can give conflicting feedback.  Creative is a subjective matter, though parallels emerge.  I am putting this experience to good use by compiling a list of suggestions below.

1/ The big idea must come across in all forms of communication.  The key is: if you can communicate the big idea in a poster, you’re on to a winner.  The best ideas are clear and simple.

2/ Make sure media choice is relevant, don’t just throw a Facebook page on the end of a campaign for the sake of it.  Your creative judgement is questioned.  Choose the medium which best gets the idea across.
 

3/ Tackle major household brands - agencies like to see how you can turn them around - as they prove more of a challenge.  Don’t go for the obvious or include little known brands they will not have heard of.

4/ I can’t overstress the importance of reading up on the agency prior to a crit.  It’s not all about you. You will be working for the agency and they want to know how you can be of benefit to them.  If you really want to impress, produce ideas for an account the agency has just won, or show how you would improve on past clients’ work.  Tailor your portfolio for each agency.      

5/ It’s all about the ideas.  You don’t have to be a whiz on Photoshop, a book of scamps is perfectly acceptable.  Although, work does have to be well presented, especially if you are an Art Director.
    

6/ Work with brands from a range of areas to show how you can diversify creative.

7/ Follow up a crit with an email/phone call, even if they said they would contact you.  Face the fact that you are not at the top of their to-do list; keep reminding the agency who you are.  Send them improved work and new ideas, be keen.  

8/ Start and finish with your best work.

9/ In terms of digital v. traditional, you need to have digital in your book to appear up-to-date, it is where the future of advertising is heading.  Obviously, its dominance in your book depends on what type of agency you want to work in (integrated, digital, traditional).  Your book should reflect your role and where you want to be.

10/ Don’t play safe. Push the boundaries. Be creative.  After all, your book provides an opportunity to show what you are really made of.

11/ Include a title page for each piece of work with brief and insight, but keep it short.  As a guide, 7-9 campaigns are advised.    

12/ Have your work in a digital space for convenience, sites such as www.thecreativefloor.com/ are useful.  Be willing to conduct a crit over Skype.

13/ Although we all have a passion for advertising, it is important to have other interests you can talk about.  Agencies appreciate that external influences can lead to interesting insights in idea generation. 

14/ It is a good idea to include non-advertising ideas in a book.  Being creative is more than inventing advertising solutions; it is problem solving on different levels.   This proves you can understand a bigger picture.

15/ Most importantly have an opinion and argue your case if necessary. 

I recommend the book, Breaking In, which details all you need to know about creating a winning portfolio with insights from industry professionals.  Here is a preview of the book http://breakinginbook.com/  

Look out

In The Sunday Times newspaper yesterday was an article on a new technology which will change the way we advertise using digital display systems.  The technology scans your face then will tailor adverts in reference to your gender, age or mood.  This takes target marketing to a whole new level.  Far away from the mass targeting approach in the Mad Men days of the 1960s. 

The company 3MGTG who created the product gives a few examples of how this new innovative technology will work.  An example is given of a middle aged man who walks past a chemist where a digital display in the window catches his eye.  A hidden camera in the display scans his face using facial-recognition software and registers his mature years and subsequently displays a hair dye product promotion.  As the man’s wife peers into the window with a furrowed brow, after suffering a headache all day, the technology duly presents her with an advertisement for painkillers, conveniently pinpointing their location in store.  A launch within clothing retail is planned, where it will recommend items depending on how it identifies its target.      

The system can recognise within seconds four types of emotional state: angry, sad, happy and surprised as well as 35 categories of age, working within a 16ft range.  When the system has identified an emotional state it gives a strength/weakness percentage of the detected emotion (as seen in picture above).  Launching in the UK within the next 12 months, a similar technology was released in Japan last year.    

In advertising, we cleverly target ads to specific markets all the time.  However it is never done with such precision or in a way that is so obvious to the consumer.  Could there be an invasion of privacy issue here?

everythings an influence

where ideas come from: everything is an influence, go out and explore

With reference to the nature v. nurture argument; you are born creative.  You cannot teach creativity, yet there are times when creativity thrives and equally situations where it can be hindered.  I understand the need for determination and commitment when working for an agency, however, the studio is not necessary the place where ideas flow.  I have found the best ideas come when I am out of the office; on the bus, out for a walk or travelling.  Long days spent in the office when ideas become stale with little to spark any new insights you can find yourself rethinking the same ideas over and over again.  The best agencies encourage an exploration of the world; to study your target market, experience the product first hand, visit events and to immerse yourself in culture.  It is as you experience the world around you that the ideas flow and creative breakthroughs are achieved.  To keep ideas fresh it is beneficial to have interests outside of the workplace – it can often lead to interesting insights - which unearth original ideas or provide a unique spin on a concept. 

artwork by author

In philosophy there is a theory, where a man from birth is locked in a room cut off from the world. In the room is only himself and complete darkness.  He only knows what he experiences whilst in the room and therefore cannot speak of or gain knowledge of matters outside.  The theory aims to prove that you cannot create ideas from nothing (ex-halio) rather, you need to experience something in order to have knowledge of, or an opinion on it.  This applies to a creative.  Furthermore, one can only speak of something truly - and form legitimate ideas based on it - if they have experienced it first-hand.  Otherwise, their ideas could be based on false pretences and therefore are rendered ineffective.   When siting within our office all day we are devoid of experiencing truths and insights that can fuel effective, viable ideas and we limit our creative potential.   I believe that if you cannot find an idea by experiencing the world,  then it will never come at all.   When I change my surroundings that is when my imagination and creativity feels most alive, when I am truly aware.  You often view things differently by seeing them for yourself.  

Some may argue that people in the advertising industry can gain knowledge and be kept up-to-date with current affairs and trends through the media, dispensing with the need to go out and explore in order to devise original insights.  However, this gives the views and opinions of others .  This would be a substitute rather than the actual experience.  Encountering something first hand is when originality is born.

An interesting read on the discussed topic is ‘Where Good Ideas Come From’, by Steven Johnson.  The book asks ‘what are the spaces that have historically led to unusual rates of creativity and innovation?’.  

here today, gone tomorrow

In the Apprentice last night contestants had to create their own pop-up shop fashion experience – the branding of the shops was not great, but nevertheless it occurred to me what genius concepts pop-up stalls are.  Although the idea is that pop-up stalls appear unannounced they involve a lot of planning, a kind of strategic spontaneity, with most appearing in urban areas.  It is an interesting idea, to create a one off experience that’s there for one day only, where customers and brand benefit.  The spaces create a buzz and excitement around a brand and consumers are left with a lasting impression.  Customers feel added value from taking part in an exclusive and unique event, of which most involve free giveaways. 

The pop-up shop concept has many benefits ;

-              a unique experience can be created for the customer

-              they are intriguing with a novel nature and grab attention if branded well  

-              they are flexible on location- you can set up pretty much anywhere  

-              brands can be creative with the empty space

Company Space Buster host pop-up events

Pop-up shops are becoming more popular than ever, Gordon Ramsey in his current TV series this week proposed that his contestants generate a pop-up dining event and Compare The Markets Alexander used the method to promote his autobiography last week.   The stalls can come in a variety of forms such as buses and warehouses and have formed restaurants, hotels, bars & gyms.  Comme des Garçon the fashion label was the first to come up with the idea in 2004, then branded as guerilla stores.

Pop-up shops are similar in idea to Flash Mobs, where large groups of strangers suddenly come together in a public space, perform an act then disperse back into their surroundings.   T-Mobile is a brand who has become synonymous with the concept and the marketing method was also used in Jamie Oliver’s American Food Revolution TV series a few weeks ago.  Flash Mobs initially were a form of performance art but recently are used as a marketing technique.   The term came from Smart Mob, a communication technique which aimed to change the way people share information.   The Pillow Fight Flash Mob is the largest Flash Mob to date, where 25 countries took part in the event, gaining more interest than the London Underground silent disco attempt in 2006.  Germany has banned Flash Mobs referring to them as a form of industrial action.

My favourite thing about both concepts is you feel part of something that few know about, the stir they cause and then their disappearance the next day, almost as if they had never been there.