Recently I was asked to contribute a sound bite to a trade press article about the impact of the global financial situation upon our business in the future, which got me thinking a bit.

Sadly, one need not look far to find first hand evidence of The US economic malaise reaching The UK, but what added to my depression was the simplistic manner in which the article responded and seemed to accept the inevitability of what politicians in The US term “big government” for the marketing community i.e. a degree of federal interference akin to an entrepreneurial straightjacket (if you are to believe Republicans)

After eight years of feckless disregard and non-regulation under the Bush regime that has led the world’s economy to the edge of a cliff, one might be forgiven for believing that a continued message of consumption must now be reigned in, but this is overly simplistic.

In the true manner of the old style marketer under fire, the article in question assumed that the only brands that might flourish were those who either occupied the territory of value engineered prudence, or those who appeared notably anti-corporate in order to take advantage of the current zeitgeist. So we were, it continued, faced with a choice – consumption (bad!) or prudence (good!) This is where I began to think that the author was missing the point a bit.

In my view the idea of asking people to just consume on the basis of a fairly shallow brand image has been living on borrowed time for a while, and the economic downturn will only provide the ripe conditions to speed it on its way. New, lean, healthy brands need logic and this alternative is certainly not all doom and gloom. Some of the most exciting and freshest brands of recent years are ones which have strong logic over relatively low brand image.

In short, brands that mean something to people on their terms – whatever else is said about them. For example iPod shows you what the product does – keeps your entire music collection in your pocket; and Paypal is almost an anti-brand, but has a hugely logical hook – buy anything anywhere in the world on the web without a credit card 100% safely. Both are have huge cultural logic and use this rather a mindless promise that it somehow makes you sexier – that bit comes later and in an almost effortless fashion once the customer knows what it can do on practical, social and emotional terms.

My feeling was that this point was rather missed in the author’s efforts to pigeon-hole a reaction to the current situation along traditional marketing lines. Tell me this. How many people when times are hard, think along the lines of brand values, propositions, straplines or anything similar? Come to think of it, when do customers ever do this? My guess is not very often.

A customer thinks about most products, brands whatever you want to call them, in a very personal sense, just as they would about a social situation, a family event or whatever else.

If you doubt this, then consider the rise of branded concepts such as “Green” or more topically “the credit crunch”. The assumption of marketers that we can craft or manufacture a message for the times in an off the cuff manner is hugely naive and assumes that the customer is largely incapable of relating to a brand in any other way than the one we make for them.

Returning to the starting point of this blog for a moment, as the US election looms, I reacquainted myself the audacity of truth, written by Barak Obama a few years ago with the intent of reminding myself of the musings of the predicted president elect, written before the race for the White House began in earnest.

His view that whilst many Americans may not distinguish between conservative and liberal, right and left – ultimately big government, little government; they do understand the difference between dogma and common sense, irresponsibility and responsibility, something lasting and something fleeting, was hugely resonant.

Obama further asserted that they were out there, waiting for the politicians to catch up, and that is ultimately how I feel about marketing these days. Now we can return to the point we left a moment ago…

If we still believe that we can hope to dictate the terms on which people relate to brands with defined notions of consumption or good, we are deluding ourselves, and in this respect I feel again that the article fell short on explanation.

Can we expect people to recognize the clunky assumptions and tired tools of marketers and their brands, or will be better to create the means for them to relate to them positively and on their own terms

The trouble is that whilst marketing in the main clings to their assumed ideas like a rock in an economic storm, they will only reap the downturn predicted of the post-free market economy and almost become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

I guess that just as Obama offered, the truth lies somewhere in between, but modern marketing is no longer about brand truths as decided by a brand manager, or a weary and inward facing brand pyramid. It is about brands having a personal, almost bespoke logic that a consumer taps into. Brands that have one will flourish, ones that don’t, will be in deep cultural dire straits, and when a brand is in cultural trouble, economic trouble is never too far behind, no matter what the global economic climate.

To these ends, brands with strong logic are better placed to survive the cold climates and consumer reticence. In short, brands need to choose common sense over dogma – just as the US electorate are hopefully doing now.

At around 07.45 hours on Sunday August 3rd a huddle of BD bodies stood atop the summit of Ben Nevis in Scotland, shivering and exhausted. After beginning our ascent in the pitch darkness at around 4’o’clock that morning, we’d finally reached our goal: we’d climbed the 3 highest peaks in the UK in under 24 hours… with just minutes to spare. My first thought on hitting the summit was, ‘what, no French? All this way for fucking Cava?’ But I soon recovered and, frankly, Cava never tasted so good.

To stand above the clouds and look out over the mountains below was phenomenal. None of us were mountaineering types by any stretch and it hadn’t been easy: we’d had no more than four hours fitful bus sleep along the way; the last hour up Ben Nevis was truly horrible; going down all the mountains had been just as hard as going up; we had managed to lose one of our climbers on England’s Scafell Pike; another developed such ferocious blisters on Snowdon in Wales her heels were raw; and our bus driver made Keanu’s Speed pace seem positively geriatric (thankfully – otherwise we might never have made it in time).

On the flipside we’d walked some of the UK’s most beautiful countryside; made ourselves laugh through our (considerable) pain; helped each other along the way when we needed it; eaten the weight of the mountains in jelly babies; generally had an unforgettable and bloody amazing weekend; and, most importantly, we were spurred on every step of the way by the humbling and awesome support of all who’d donated to our cause.
Yes, the real achievement came courtesy of the generosity of BD friends and family – a whopping £14.5k raised for Great Ormond Street Hospital (and counting). Thank you to everyone who responded to our persistent requests for cash – it really was your big-heartedness that willed us up them hills.

WHAT LESSONS CAN A MARKETING AGENCY TAKE FROM BEIJING 2008??? … obviously…

1) Don’t Listen to the Chimp

I read the GB Cycling team are ruthless in their decision-making and their preparation.  One of their mantras is to ignore what they call the ‘Chimp’.  Decisions are only made on one, clear, logical criterion - “Will this make us more likely to win a gold medal”.  Anything else, emotional, irrational, political - whatever - is said to be the Chimp speaking.  Their success has been put down to tiny decisions on detail adding up to one massive competitive advantage - and the number of golds they have won is testament to this.  We can apply this thinking when working for clients… and make sure that every decision we make on campaigns or pitches is done without any Chimp input - with only “will this make our work more effective for our client” applicable.

2) Respect your Competition, but be Better.

It has been well documented that Team GB has been bench-marked against the Australians (that has led to more than a little friendly rivalry).  However, much of this is because we have learned a lot from the Aussies based on their approach to structure, funding and coaching.  It’s not a question of following a formula, but just being humble enough to respect the success of another nation and take what they have done on board - rather than being arrogant and dismissive.  Too many times, agencies and clients can look at the work of the competition and pick it apart - simply because they didn’t think of it first.  The fact is (and it galls me to say it) the are at least 3 brilliant ideas out there that didn’t originate at BD… so we need to be humble enough to respect and learn from them, so that we can be the best we can for our clients.

3) China - it’s the Future

Look at the medals table.  It’s probably the biggest indicator yet that China are probably the most significant super-power on Earth - and that’s not me being glib.  Putting political and cultural prejudice aside, every agency and brand needs to factor in how the shift in economic and consumer power is going to effect them over the next 10 years.  It’s a massive opportunity, and China have clearly made a statement of intent to be part of a global economy.  This doesn’t mean that we’ll suddenly open BD Beijing, or that we’ll all be buying Chinese cars/coffee/beer/banks/tellies/trainers… but it’s a factor that should be on every business plan.

4) Embrace Technology to Achieve

Seems obvious, and it’s true in every sport.  We all know the impact that Chris Boardman’s bike made to track cycling back in ‘92 - and the legacy is there for all to see.  This year, it’s perhaps most evident in the pool, where the new skin-suit technologies have helped swimmers smash a number of records.  Technology in marketing can deliver a real competitive advantage.  Of course, not every innovation is a step in the right direction, so you need to be clear on why you’re committing to something… so ignore that Chimp.  At BD, we’ve got people who actually know what they’re talking about when it comes to tech, and rightly they sit at the heart of our business.

5) Celebrate Every Victory

One thing that seems to be happening is that every Gold medal (or Silver or Bronze) is being rightly lauded and celebrated.  The Chinese have set a great precedent - with the home crowd going bananas every time one of their athletes crosses the line first.  Team GB seem to have this approach too, and it’s great to see.  China have over 70 medals right now, and will finish with a load more.  They know this overall success is down to the dedication, talent and nerve of hundreds of individuals and teams.  As an agency, we need to keep our culture of really celebrating and lauding every individual achievement that helps BD and our clients move in the right direction.

…So on that note, well done me for writing this blog…

Next month some 25 of us BD’ers will be heading to the hills for charity, climbing up and down 40km of UK mountainside in 24 hours as part of the Three Peaks Challenge. ‘That’s 1/3 of Everest!’ the literature cheerfully exclaims. That right there is enough to completely freak me out.

Like Ollie writing before me I do not excel in the fitness game (not discounting a lapsed YMCA gym membership and the determination to one day perfect a Van Halen leap off the couch). So last Saturday I began training for Three Peaks in earnest (i.e. at all) with a big country walk in Surrey Hills.

I absolutely loved it: rolling slopes, dense forests, beautiful ponds, not another soul in sight… as far from my walk to work along Hackney Road as you can get. Carried away by the joy of it all, I was easily on track to complete the 17km circuit when fate cruelly interrupted at the 12km mark in the form an elderly, toothless gentleman at a bus stop who – without any encouragement at all – insisted on broadcasting the news that there was indeed a pub open in the next village just up the road with tables outside in the sunshine and not a bad lunch menu either.

Clearly a gentle country stroll was never going to be enough to get me up 40km of mountain. So last night I joined 5 other fitness-challenged BD’ers in Victoria Park for a session of Boot Camp. To be honest, I was not looking forward to Boot Camp at all. It sounded like the kind of heinous punishment that propelled Demi Moore to such terrifying heights of confusion in GI Jane she was driven to scream, “suck my dick!” to anyone who’d listen.

Our only consolation was that the pub was so close we could actually see it, so when we all seized up vomiting in agony half way through, a soothing pint was but a short limp away.

At 7pm, looking like a bunch of nuff nuffs in red bibs, we were ordered to fall into two columns. It didn’t come as any great surprise or bother to learn our line formation was not up to scratch - I’ve seen the army movies, I get the whole humiliation/motivation deal. However it soon became apparent that an ambivalence to authority would prove the least of my worries. Forced to endure a vicious cycle of press ups, crunches, lunges, sumo star jumps and more, interrupted only by painfully long sprints around a bandstand, there would be no stopping, no slowing, no let up and no escape. Split into two competitive groups, the low point came when we had to drag ourselves on elbows and knees under a dozen overhanging groins. Even water was rationed as some sort of sadistic reward for the fastest team. Argh. At the fifty minute mark I said I would rather take off all my clothes and climb the nearest tree than sprint again. Thankfully it never came to that, but I meant it.

How did we go? We all made it to the end, just. Swaino grunted A LOT, I almost hurled, Allenby went into deep shock, Elton reckons he was absolutely fine (yeah, right), Jess B was distracted by the instructor and Mr Meats felt like he’d been crippled for life. My post-Boot Camp inquiry as to whether there might be a more genteel beginner’s version was met with the withering suggestion that perhaps we might go for a wander around Waitrose together, pick cans off the shelves and call it exercise. Will we be back? Yes, but only because we are even more terrified of Three Peaks than we are of the masochistic military.

Visit our Just Giving page to find out more about the BD Three Peaks Challenge and how you can help get us up the mountain.

This has me really riled up as I didn’t enter into a transaction with Viacom. I don’t use their material. I don’t create videos with their TV shows. Therefore, I don’t want them having a long list with my email address and IP address on it.

Legalese
When reading the actual judgment (source, techcrunch.com) one discovers two aspects of the case that are interesting. The first is that the data will not go to Viacom directly, but to outside advisors that can then assist Viacom in enforcing their rights against YouTube and Google.

Who might those outside advisors be? I think a good place to start would be the Board of Directors at Viacom, and then to have a look at the other Boards that they sit on.

(Company Map created by myself using theyrule)

No comment on the map above.

The second interesting aspect is that Viacom is a bit cheeky! Not only did they ask for User Data, but they also asked for the Google Search Source Code used on Google.com. That is like asking for the recipe of the Coca-Cola Syrup.

How cheeky is Viacom? Other requests include:

1. The source code for the YouTube.com search function
2. The source code for the Video ID program on YouTube
3. Production of all removed videos
4. Data from the Logging database concerning each time a YouTube video has been viewed on the YouTube website or through embedding on a third-party website
5. Production of the schema (an outline or model) for the Google Adwords database and Adsense Database
6. Production of the schema for the Google Video Content database

What did they get?

1. YouTube.com search source code - DENIED
   
2. Source code for Video ID program on YouTube - DENIED
   
3. All removed videos - GRANTED
   
4. Data from the Logging database on YouTube - GRANTED
   
5. the Google Adwords database and Adsense Database - DENIED
   
6. Google Video Content database - GRANTED

Brilliant.

In closing,… a message to YouTube.

So, if you see me hobbling around the office you know why.

There’s a plan afoot (care of Jess L and Jess B) to sign-up to ‘boot camp’ in Victoria Park every Tuesday and Thursday after work – so watch this space.

Please make sure you sponsor us – it’s for a very good cause (and that’s not Jonny’s beer drinking fund).

So amongst the dread of impending blisters, the fact I still get out of breath at the top of BD Towers 4^th floor and cancellation of a social life – you have to worry about raising money.

Feeling like some of the greatest fundraisers of all time is not a glamorous one. Monkhouse recently justifiably came back from the dead to raise money for prostrate cancer, Brent faced humiliation in a Bernie Clifton Ostrich and we all knew a RAG chair at College or Uni – a mulled wine swilling do-gooder who probably played the oboe.

My fundraising approach was a mixture of hard sales and cunning.

My 3 top tips are:

1. sell in the benefits – this means a different approach to each target

To some this is the obvious – the ‘think of the kids’ approach / selling in the charity and good work that Great Ormond St do. But to others it’s about the smugness that they don’t have to do it and that you in some way are carrying the ‘Hex’ for them. You are their voodoo doll with which they can burn and blister your feet, make you cough up a lung and worst of all place in you in fluorescent anorak.

The final approach is the simple brilliance of setting an ambitious target of £10,000 for the whole team and not individuals – namely ‘donate now and no one else can bother you again’. Surely a shining USP.

2. guilt

Can be played subtly as in ‘have you donated yet? The reason I ask is the site went down so if you were trying to register might want to try again’

or aggressively –

‘3 pints for you or some kids smile as he plays a Wii for the first time ever. FACT’.

3. Ingenuity

Yes, we have a few alternative means of raising the cash on the way. Calculated and charming – you could find yourself betting on a live GPS walker-cam (I bet SKY are sh*tting themselves); to bidding well over the odds for a signed Ron Jeremy/Star Wars spoof flick called ‘The Perennium Falcon’ (I’ve seen it and it’s a hell of a ride from start to finish).

However, the facts are simple - it does feel good to give.

This year Great Ormond Street were fantastic to me and my family under difficult circumstances, so it’s easy for me to support incredible people who get paid F-all for caring for sick children. If Johnny Depp (a pirate) can donate £1m to GOS, surely a stellar 200-strong agency such as BD can donate £10,000.

Aren’t we all partial to a bit of mulled wine and the sound of an oboe over soft Wagnerian strings?

The magazine does lay out their criteria for selection, and suggested it’s the people who ‘control the marketing campaigns that consumers see, hear and experience’. Well, in that case I think their commitment to grocers is a contradiction. Yes, I fully understand the key facts that a) we spend large chunks of our income at their shops, and b) a vast array of brands need to appease their trade customers if they are going to shift product (something that an agency like BD knows more about than most). However, supermarkets just ARE. That’s what they do. So much of their influence on our lives is due to proximity and variety, and you get the impression that although they do spend a lot of money, they are not the companies that really initiate changes in consumer behaviour. I think “Every Little Helps” or “Quality Food, Honestly Priced” are about reassurance, not influence.

What about people or companies that are in a position of power because they DO or WILL change the way we live our lives over the next few years. There’s lots of things to take into consideration here, not just spend, current brand power (and certainly not ‘Celebrity status’… feck me!). What about technology, consumer behaviour, the economy, globalisation, society trends? If you reappraise the decision-makers listed against those criteria, I think you’d get a very different top 20. On the back of my proverbial napkin, here’s what my alternative list would be:

1. Google
2. Tesco
3. COI
4. RBS
5. BSkyB
6. Apple
7. HBOS
8. Vodafone
9. HSBC
10. Channel
11. LOCOG (2012 Olympics)
12. British Gas1
13. Sainsbury’s
14. ITV
15. Delia Smith
16. Nike
17. PC World
18. Orange
19. Nintendo
20. Barclays

Responses welcome! If anyone has their own top 20, then post it as a response. If you are a client, and you’re gutted you’ve not made my top 20 then give me a call… I can be influenced with briefs.

We start our voyage with John Coltrane, building on a theme (like a chorus in a pop song) and then
really flying at some speed but never making a mistake. After this fizzing whizz through the city, we have a play around with ‘My favourite things’ the song from Mary Poppins with swings, rolls and bounces on a sea of sunshine. Jazz at it’s most accessible.

Next up we get into Miles Davis: a magician. This is live. Starting slowly we suddenly slide into a complex world of shifting beats and labyrinthian solos. This is a deep wood, unknown territory which gets darker, funky and electric. Wah wah guitars and Indian drums are stalking. A melding and mashing of rock, funk and world music where smoke swirls and sex is in the air.

You’ll feel a bit muzzy by now a and you’ll need the crisp, clean cocktail served up by a Duke no less. Duke Ellington and friends show us a different, more urbane style: a dash of blues, onto a pouring of show tunes, all lightly stirred to perfection by those nimble fingers. Would you like a bit of romance? Here’s Thelonious Monk, a witty, funny, silly and friendly man to walk us round ‘April in Paris’. The way his piano skirts around and underneath the other players and the tune is one quite lovely. See you’ve got the spring in your step again, the sun is shining and a coffee on the Champs-Élysées is on the cards. C’est Magnifique!

Miles is back and now he’s in his role as seducer. Eloquent as a love letter, as soft as holding hands, as calming as glass of wine.

Now we’ve had a good rest and a drink or two, let’s kick of our sexy shoes and dance. An irresistible beat raises up from our seat. We are charmed into a torrid tango and doesn’t it feel fine!

After frugging with the beatniks, man, it’s time for BED. Miles wrote this for his lover and you can certainly feel it.

I’ll leave you now, hopefully with a smile on your face, and some memories to treasure. I’m glad you took the time. And remember fellow traveller, watch out for the jazz police; they watch out for you.

Yours most sincerely
Trevor x

Like the outdoor super-site currently festooning the junction between Old Street, Shoreditch High Street and Hackney Road heralding the forthcoming second series of the excellent Channel 4 program Skins.

Sponsored by BSM.

BSM??? The British School of Motoring. Part of the RAC. Trustworthy instructors with economical cars that have those funny little signs magnetically stuck to the roof. “Learn Your Way to Freedom” cries their web site. How does this fit with Skins?

Skins!!!!

A genius program reflecting the lives of dysfunctional 16 to 18 year olds in Bristol. With massive reference to debauched partying, heavy drinking and sustained drug abuse. Way cool. But more BDSM than BSM.

So why BSM and Skins? From a media targeting point of view it’s bang on. Late teens with a desire for freedom will, no doubt, be gagging to get behind the wheel of their first car.

Does the apparent mismatch in tone, style and content then really matter?

From a conceptual point of view it probably does. In my experience the best TV idents usually make some reference to either the program or the essence of the program they sponsor in order to “top and tail” the broadcast in a relevant way. This helps them to extend their resonance beyond their 5 second slot and almost become a “frame” for the program. By no means the main “art” but a useful and relevant part of it none the less. Cadbury did this brilliantly with Corrie. 118 118, in a more obtuse way, delivered it with Lost.

I’m buggered if I can think of how BSM are going to do it with Skins.

Which is not to say that their agency won’t achieve it. At the time of writing I have yet to see any of the executions. They might just pull it off.

Maybe they could take some inspiration from a lovely little Skins cultural influence taken from a posting in Wikipedia:

During the holiday a girl in County Durham threw a house party; it was advertised on her MySpace as an unofficial Skins, referring to the party in the first episode with the subtitle “Let’s trash the average family-sized house disco party”. 200 people turned up, causing over £20,000 worth of damage.”

Wouldn’t it be great that if the very next day, she passed her driving test.