I went last night for my first training sesssion at Concept 10 10 here in Dubai, this is a very different approach to the gym that uses very heavy weight against isolated muscle groups, doing very slow repetitions until you reach muscle failure point – and if you can hold out for too long (2.5…… Continue reading Disruption for mind and body
Category: Advertising
Has ‘integration’ become a dirty word?
In the rush to evolve the skills of the advertising industry to keep up with an ever changing number of new media channels the buzzword for the last few years has been integration, bringing other skillsets and sometimes other agencies into the fold to deliver an integrated product – whether this was branding, digital or…… Continue reading Has ‘integration’ become a dirty word?
The war for digital talent in advertising
Is there enough 360 experience to go around? Are tighter criteria making the talent pool smaller for recruitment today? It seems like everyone is chasing after the golden goose right now – the speed at which digital is invading our industry means that suddenly there is a major need for people that not only understand…… Continue reading The war for digital talent in advertising
Elephant in the room syndrome for agencies
The more I search for information about agency structures and models, the less of it I seem to find, not only are there very few descriptions of the traditional agency structure, how planning, creative and client service work together, but there is even less information about how these models are evolving and what might be…… Continue reading Elephant in the room syndrome for agencies
A fork in the road for advertising
I often find myself wondering how far the advertising invasion will go; dissatisfied with the shrinkage of traditional channels and the still unconfirmed power of the internet, we find that new ideas for advertising are popping up all over the place. Last week I found myself in a meeting with a new media company offering…… Continue reading A fork in the road for advertising
Reinventing marketing strategy, plans and thinking
As I read the pipeline article on ‘learning to unlearn’ it occurred to me how key this idea is when applied directly to the way we plan marketing and communications campaigns today. The last few years have seen the arrival of new channels, the prevalence of content as key to engagement and have put the…… Continue reading Reinventing marketing strategy, plans and thinking
How do we build knowledge in the agency business?
The question of building knowledge in this industry has arisen more frequently recently, mainly as a result of expanding markets in particular areas such as digital and interactive and also as a result of the economic downturn when many people are let go or changing positions and organisations must fight hard to transfer and retain…… Continue reading How do we build knowledge in the agency business?
Mad Men, and the dying art of the account exec
The more I watch Mad Men, the more I compare it to our business today and start asking myself certain questions. Some have obvious answers like the role of women, the drinking and the smoking and the overall style of life, some are very amusing in how little the business has changed in the last…… Continue reading Mad Men, and the dying art of the account exec
Designing spaces for creativity
A very interesting conversation with my colleague Rena (@Renroon) yesterday got us looking at the different ways that workspaces are arranged and for what purpose. It got me thinking about the different models that I’ve experienced and their cultures since there is clearly work to be done in determining which model suits which culture best.…… Continue reading Designing spaces for creativity
Advertising + Digital = ?
What happens when you try to combine a traditional agency with a digital agency – after all this is all the rage right now, as the madison avenue big boys start snapping up the geeks left and right. Integration is the buzzword of the moment, we need to develop the product (and the skillset) to…… Continue reading Advertising + Digital = ?