Wednesday 25 March 2009

The Moby Quotient

I was talking to a friend this morning (well not talking messaging - we need to talk more) about music and maths and that there is big business in using a formula to create hit records. Then I thought that would be a little soulless so what about if we used a formula for music that shows how applicable an artist's songs would be for use in advertisements. After all remember Moby's album "Play"? Didn't every song on that album end up in an ad? Even that one that goes 'hey, womaaan'

Look at this!




Right now I am loving that Adidas 'House Party' ad. It features 'Beggin' by Frankie Valli - NOT Madcon. The problem is that the continued repetition of a popular ad has the power to turn a song you love into the equivalent of scratching nails down a blackboard.

So anyway, to all you sellouts (that includes you M.I.A.) - let Moby be a cautionary tale... certainly commercially and arguably artistically, Moby's recorded work since 'Play' has been on a downward spiral. Or maybe that was the whole vegan, New York tea shop thing that did it

Tuesday 24 March 2009

I looove this!





French graffiti artist Zevs has flipped the google homepage into his own website - how genius is that? Jump to this link...and watch out for his iconic drips:

http://www.gzzglz.com


One of my favourite pieces of work is this - but all of his stuff is great...he messes with iconic brands in the way that stays true to urban art:

Sunday 22 March 2009

Who made up that left and right brain thing?

We have restructured our business to focus on clients - no bad thing in 2009 (maybe we should always have been focussed on clients but you know how P&L mania gets in the way of things)

So we have really worked hard to integrate some skill sets into "creative" and "analytic". Suppose the big challenge for our clients is ensuring that they want both "creative" and "analytic" together - that's where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts and potentially differentiates us from the rest of the pack

But what's frustrating for me is that lot of clients' marketing efforts suffer from being too much of either one and not enough of a mix. If you’re addicted to control sample testing or econometric modeling but just do it as a matter of course or you can't think of something to actually evaluate, you’ll end up with an optimization and never break through to the truly great ideas.

So our next big challenge will be putting this stuff together so game changing ideas (not advertising) are rooted in measurable objectives and can be proven to move some boxes

Otherwise we just end up with the wise old saying "If you seek what you sought, you’ll find what you thought"

Right, with that in mind i'm off to run a few focus groups!

Saturday 7 March 2009

Chicken Soup for the Analyst's Soul

Guess what? We are still hiring. Well, i need to hire, but making the case in these tough times is even tougher. However, the point of this post is that i always find myself briefing recruiters on the strange mix of skills we need:

- Technical skills
- Project and team management skills
- Client facing and Business development aptitude

And you know, these sort of guys are very thin on the ground, and horrifically expensive! That got me thinking that maybe we are just asking for too much? Maybe its best to specialize? That way we hire two stars with specific skillsets rather than desperately scramble for a single person to do everything, and watch them get sucked into a big, sophisticated client (you know who you are) and lose focus on developing product

With specialization comes a complete re-evaluation of how you put together and effective team to build compelling business strategies. Also i suppose we (as analysts) should re-evaluate what we really want to; and in 2009 its never been a better time to think about your career. That may mean making opportunistic leaps, some of us may feel liberated to fall back on our core underlying technical skills and develop them further to create a new measurement philosophy that destroys our reliance on traditional market-mix models...please please please....

I suppose there are two big decisions you have to make, these are life changing as you probably spend more time working or thinking about work than anything else

1. Deep Specialist or Client Business Focussed
2. Boutique or Big Company

As you think about these questions i'll try and walk through this and importantly give you an indication of how much you could actually earn!

Lets get started on number 1. Its the perceived wisdom that in order to get rich (well okay...not rich) you have to see clients all the time. Not true. Being a specialist you get to establish ways of working, approaches and techniques. You don't get buried in individual project implementation but you have to be a king of facilitation and leadership of teams. If you are a master of these skills you can go far, earn a ton of money and be respected by your business

Deep Specialist Prospects: Good in larger organizations who are building scale, are committed to the long term cause and respect innovation ($$$)

Client Business Focussed Prospects: As a good communicator your clients determine your success, lots of scope and high rewards in the long term ($-$$$$ depending on developing the right relationships)

Number 2. Let's face it, big companies offer more security. It's a tough world out there, clients are cutting their budgets, the world is getting complex and data is the new black. But the biggest companies can be stifling, over engineered and devoid of soul. Boutiques and start-ups are much more risky, but hey, you get to paint the office walls luminous green and play your ipod at full volume. I'm half joking but being your own boss is a wonderful thing. You keep all the money...and that could be a lot if you can build the business out to a decent scale

Boutique Prospects: Not for the faint hearted, 2009 is challenging. But i know some guys who have enough contacts and balls to go for it. If you want to work like a dog, be highly stressed and make serious money this ones for you. (0-$$$$$)

Big Company Prospects: Only the strongest , biggest companies will win. You have to act global, process oriented and have technology savvy. You'll never get rich on that salary but the stock can mount up over time ($$$-$$$$)

Whatever you do, there is an option that makes the best use of your skills. In today's world, self-awareness is a trait we all should embrace. Knowing what you aren't so good at, really accepting it and respecting differences can really propel your career

Good luck guys, and let me know if i can help