This got sent round the office two days ago and seems to be sweeping the globe on you tube etc. Nice use of post production and the Bruce Lee name in an Ad - no idea of the relevance to Nokia but a good watch.
Friday, 28 November 2008
Thursday, 27 November 2008
A Duty of Care
The guys who share our office Abel & How, no not the organic vegetable people, these guys are like change management guru's and one of the partners has just launched his book - the wonderfully named 'A Duty of Care'
The book sounds good and particularly insightful into the failings of management and training in most businesses and how it is our duty as managers to look after and put the personal development of our staff higher up the priority ladder.
David says: "The premise is that we can all be better leaders, but few businesses offer us any training at all for the job. There’s lots of content with a heavy academic background. The latest thinking and detailed psychological studies…"
I know I have always felt strongly about the development and training of my teams but inevitably it does seem to be the thing that slips down your to do list in busy times - so I guess I am one of the guilty majority. anyway I'll be buying a copy and if its anything like as well written as his blog it should be a good read.
BBC Weather in Beta Test
Like any good Brit I have an unhealthy obsession with the weather. I use the BBC 5 day forecast but have a feed on my iGoogle page so haven't visited the site itself for a while, but I've just noticed a new development on the site.
The BBC are Beta testing a new design for their online weather centre and testing it in a quite public manner (the big pink button top right hand corner):
It is interesting to see the text book way the BBC roll out new developments. The new service appears to be based on a very similar platform and technology to that of the service that has been available on digital TV like Sky+ for some time now.
It's definitely got some new features and looks impressive.
This feedback page also impressed me - when the BBC get it right they do it well and this is something more companies should look to learn from in terms of open beta testing with real users and a developed and considered feedback loop.
The BBC are Beta testing a new design for their online weather centre and testing it in a quite public manner (the big pink button top right hand corner):
It is interesting to see the text book way the BBC roll out new developments. The new service appears to be based on a very similar platform and technology to that of the service that has been available on digital TV like Sky+ for some time now.
It's definitely got some new features and looks impressive.
This feedback page also impressed me - when the BBC get it right they do it well and this is something more companies should look to learn from in terms of open beta testing with real users and a developed and considered feedback loop.
Do The Green Thing
I went to a talk last night by Andy Hobsbawm in London to talk about his new venture 'Do The Green Thing' - if you haven't already heard about it you should go and take a look at the site, and the work (which is both thought provoking and charming). It's basically an idea that we can all do a little bit to help stop climate change. the site takes advantage of lots of community features and is all run on a not for profit basis - it reminded me of the same sentiment of the books 'Change the world for a fiver' and 'Change the world from 9 till 5' by the guys at we are what we do.
Meet Green Thing from Green Thing on Vimeo.
This is just awesome:
I also found a talk on ted that looks like an abbreviated version of the same talk you can watch it here:
The talk was fantastic, much kudos to Andy for a really inspiring talk, that hit a nerve. He is one of those rare people who stopped talking about 'doing something' about a cause that he believed in, and got off his backside, and did something.
In a way it kind of makes you feel a bit bad about yourself. Having worked on some offending brands in my time I really empathized with his points about time the advertising industry gave something back.
Meet Green Thing from Green Thing on Vimeo.
This is just awesome:
I also found a talk on ted that looks like an abbreviated version of the same talk you can watch it here:
The talk was fantastic, much kudos to Andy for a really inspiring talk, that hit a nerve. He is one of those rare people who stopped talking about 'doing something' about a cause that he believed in, and got off his backside, and did something.
In a way it kind of makes you feel a bit bad about yourself. Having worked on some offending brands in my time I really empathized with his points about time the advertising industry gave something back.
Tuesday, 25 November 2008
Forrester: Best And Worst Of Brand Building Web Sites - Delicious Irony
Forrester has just released a new survey or 20 top sites evaluating their user experience, so like all good marketeers they have sent a well target email out to lots of user and consumer experience professionals worldwide telling them about the report and inviting them to Participate in the annual customer experience professional survey - there is only one problem
And as problems go its a bit of a big one - considering the email - this is the wonderful consumer experience you get when you click on the link
I love irony when it strikes as long as it's not on my campaigns.
And as problems go its a bit of a big one - considering the email - this is the wonderful consumer experience you get when you click on the link
I love irony when it strikes as long as it's not on my campaigns.
Monday, 24 November 2008
Communication and Passion
Two things you need to be successful in this industry and probably quite advisable in running a restaurant. I had a lovely meal the other day at a restaurant in Covent Garden with 15 or 20 colleagues, peers and associates from other agencies.
It was spoiled though as there were two problems that running an agency, I have seen far too often:
1. Communication:
The salad to accompany the main course came 15 minutes after we had all finished the main course. Now there were 20 of us, and it was a busy night, but when we commented about the fact we had actually finished our main meal so the salad wasn't much use to us - the waiter told us it was Italian style menu, and it was a separate course. If this was the case then simply tell people before the meal (if it wasn't 10/10 for quick thinking). This is a classic case of managing expectation and keeping communication open. What could have been seen a a sophisticated 'nuance' was seen as a complete shambles by 20 otherwise very satisfied and well satiated guests.
2. Know your product:
When asked what the desert he had just placed in front of us was? the waiter looked at it and then back at us and said 'I actually don't know' (it looked like a nice Pot au Chocolat / Chocolate Mouse). I appreciated his honesty, and the fact he went straight off to find out, and came back to tell us it was a 'Melting Chocolate pot' but he should have known that fact before he went out to serve. If you don't know what you are serving to people (off a set menu), it doesn't seem like you give a shit about what it is you are serving, or your job for that matter.
The food was excellent and I'm pretty sure the owner and the chef were passionate about their product, the interior was great a nice mix between chic but relaxed atmosphere , the glassware and cutlery were quite cool etc etc and they had a good reputation - but the fact the waiter didn't know let down the experience.
I know my agency has not perfected our process yet but I want to make sure our clients don't walk out having had some excellent work served to them and only remember - it was nice but it was let down by poor communication, and the staff didn't know what they were doing or seem to care.
It was spoiled though as there were two problems that running an agency, I have seen far too often:
1. Communication:
The salad to accompany the main course came 15 minutes after we had all finished the main course. Now there were 20 of us, and it was a busy night, but when we commented about the fact we had actually finished our main meal so the salad wasn't much use to us - the waiter told us it was Italian style menu, and it was a separate course. If this was the case then simply tell people before the meal (if it wasn't 10/10 for quick thinking). This is a classic case of managing expectation and keeping communication open. What could have been seen a a sophisticated 'nuance' was seen as a complete shambles by 20 otherwise very satisfied and well satiated guests.
2. Know your product:
When asked what the desert he had just placed in front of us was? the waiter looked at it and then back at us and said 'I actually don't know' (it looked like a nice Pot au Chocolat / Chocolate Mouse). I appreciated his honesty, and the fact he went straight off to find out, and came back to tell us it was a 'Melting Chocolate pot' but he should have known that fact before he went out to serve. If you don't know what you are serving to people (off a set menu), it doesn't seem like you give a shit about what it is you are serving, or your job for that matter.
The food was excellent and I'm pretty sure the owner and the chef were passionate about their product, the interior was great a nice mix between chic but relaxed atmosphere , the glassware and cutlery were quite cool etc etc and they had a good reputation - but the fact the waiter didn't know let down the experience.
I know my agency has not perfected our process yet but I want to make sure our clients don't walk out having had some excellent work served to them and only remember - it was nice but it was let down by poor communication, and the staff didn't know what they were doing or seem to care.
Ad Placement
I love ad's of any type or medium that are relevant to the environment they are placed in. I'm not sure if this is a spoof ad, a total accident or it was intended but it made me laugh about the importance of placement - courtesy of fail blog.
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