The Planning Lab

The bitterness of brand newness

I'm a big fan of Apple and The Economist, two brands that make great products. That's why I also get filled with anxiety every time Apple releases a new product because it takes my own iStuff one step closer to becoming MacJunk. The same feeling hits me every time when the stack of unread Economist magazines gets higher, because it makes me feel intellectually inadequate. 

The bitterness of brand newness

I'm a big fan of Apple and The Economist, two brands that make great products. That's why I also get filled with anxiety every time Apple releases a new product because it takes my own iStuff one step closer to becoming MacJunk. The same feeling hits me every time when the stack of unread Economist magazines gets higher, because it makes me feel intellectually inadequate. 

Change starts from within

The internet has gone from an information society to a knowledge society. From being a huge database of information, today’s internet is full of prepackaged insightful knowledge in terms of blogs, tweets, slideshare, and so forth. Theoretically, the easy access to knowledge can change the whole world. Or can it? 

There are masses of people who believe so. Usually, the same people are communication consultants or self-proclaimed evangelists who claim to have the solution right in their pockets. Be innovative like Apple! Use social media! Reinvent your company! Imagine this! 

If the world was easy to change it would look different from what does today. But even though inspiring ideas are abundant, these are hardly solutions to the problems companies face today. 

Instead of dumbfounding companies, we as providers of creative services should think about how we can achieve change rather than what we want to achieve. There’s a huge difference. Achieving real change is as difficult as ever, because it’s about changing people’s behaviours. And until you’ve managed to do change people, talk is cheap. 

Change starts from within

The internet has gone from an information society to a knowledge society. From being a huge database of information, today’s internet is full of prepackaged insightful knowledge in terms of blogs, tweets, slideshare, and so forth. Theoretically, the easy access to knowledge can change the whole world. Or can it? 

There are masses of people who believe so. Usually, the same people are communication consultants or self-proclaimed evangelists who claim to have the solution right in their pockets. Be innovative like Apple! Use social media! Reinvent your company! Imagine this! 

If the world was easy to change it would look different from what does today. But even though inspiring ideas are abundant, these are hardly solutions to the problems companies face today. 

Instead of dumbfounding companies, we as providers of creative services should think about how we can achieve change rather than what we want to achieve. There’s a huge difference. Achieving real change is as difficult as ever, because it’s about changing people’s behaviours. And until you’ve managed to do change people, talk is cheap. 

Product development from hell

There's something very wrong with this world if people need designer toilet paper. 

Product development from hell

There's something very wrong with this world if people need designer toilet paper. 

Rethinking brand consultants

Strategy is often a misused word, but strategy simply answers the question: how? So in today's world of communications clarity of thought and execution is more important than ever.

In the 90s ago brand strategy used to be the domain of the "full-service" agency, but when agencies became more disintegrated and specialised into creative shops, the ownership of strategy fell into the brand consultants (the same thing happened with the media planning). 

Twenty years later, I really doubt whether the client has gotten a better solution with several marketing partners instead of one. Cheaper? Probably. But having separate units for branding, media and communications cannot result in effective end-products (also known as the advertising).

In the best interest of both the client and the advertising agency, we as planners must challenge brand consultants when their solutions don't cut it.

Rethinking brand consultants

Strategy is often a misused word, but strategy simply answers the question: how? So in today's world of communications clarity of thought and execution is more important than ever.

In the 90s ago brand strategy used to be the domain of the "full-service" agency, but when agencies became more disintegrated and specialised into creative shops, the ownership of strategy fell into the brand consultants (the same thing happened with the media planning). 

Twenty years later, I really doubt whether the client has gotten a better solution with several marketing partners instead of one. Cheaper? Probably. But having separate units for branding, media and communications cannot result in effective end-products (also known as the advertising).

In the best interest of both the client and the advertising agency, we as planners must challenge brand consultants when their solutions don't cut it.

Word of the month

Lately I've been hearing this word a lot from various Procter slash Unilever people:

Campaignable

as in "this idea is really campaignable". My question is: shouldn't all ideas be "campaignable"?

Previous word of the month: tight.

Word of the month

Lately I've been hearing this word a lot from various Procter slash Unilever people:

Campaignable

as in "this idea is really campaignable". My question is: shouldn't all ideas be "campaignable"?

Previous word of the month: tight.