This Week in Strategy: Why did the star gazer miss the meteor shower? Because he forgot to planet!
Hi Strat Pack,
Special thanks to Elle McCarthy for this week's one liner. Besides an accomplished dad-joke writer, Elle is a brilliant strategist who you should follow on Twitter if you're not already. Thanks Elle!
This week, I want to talk about New York. I got really frustrated reading this garbage hot take about why New York is dead forever (it isn't). And then obviously there was the Jerry Seinfeld op-ed responding to it. And I appreciate his thesis of "NYC will return because we all hate working remote". Which is true.
But it got me thinking about what made New York (or any vibrant city, really) such a magnet in the first place. It's not the nightlife or the job opportunities or the museums or the cultural history--although all of those things help. It's the people. I think this is true of any city: The people make the place. If your place is in the suburbs or in Miami or Scottsdale that's great. But if you say your place is New York and then flee to the Hamptons because Le Bernadin is closed then New York is not your place.
Don't get me wrong, New York isn't for everyone. It has a personality - every city has one. But it's this personality that, if you let it, can embrace your eccentricities & idiosyncrasies, and magnify everything in YOUR personality. It gives you the freedom to find what you love, the opportunity to actually pursue it as a passion, and the fortitude to keep pursuing it long after society has moved on. And for New Yorkers, we get to love it while always kind of sounding like we're complaining when you're doing it.
I want to share three stories that I think encapsulate this feeling. Two from New York and one not. Would these people say their city is dead? I doubt it. Take a few minutes and watch these touching stories of humanity.
Conrad and The Steamplant - This is just a beautiful story of a man living a quiet life how he wants to live it. Conrad is the Chief Engineer at Pratt, which means he’s in charge of the 19th-century steam engines that provide the school’s heat and hot water. He's maybe the most New York person I've ever seen. How do I know? Because of his opinion of New York: "It sucks, but it’s the Big Apple!"
Lenny’s Garage - Lenny Shiller is a lifelong Brooklyn resident and classic car collector. He has amassed a staggering 58 rare classic cars, while he also owns hundreds of vintage bikes, motorcycles, and memorabilia. Lenny spends his time restoring and maintaining his collection, with the intention one day to pass them on to the next generation. The walls of his 12,000 sq ft garage in Gowanus are stacked with car parts he has collected over the years, the space resembling part working garage, part museum.
Only in Toledo - Laughed at & ridiculed, but kept on going strong. This is the story of DeShawn Willis. Willis went viral for lugging around a Lawn Mower on a bike. He responded: "This is temporary because my van broke down so I came up with a creative and gas efficient way to keep my clients happy . I can get across town in 10 to 15 mins and I can do an average of 4-6 yards a day at an average of $25 a yard and I got a lot of people ( at least 30). This is my way to take care of business and save money at the same time so I can get that nice pick up truck I been wanting. I have no problem in starting small and growing into something bigger later on slow and steady wins the race." Love this story. A true Toledo New Yorker.
I think the people that say NYC is dead consciously or not do not want to be a part of the fabric of this city. They want to take advantage of the restaurants, Broadway, the museums, the vibrancy--without contributing. People move out of NY all the time for a bunch of different reasons: whether it's pandemic related or you just want more space or if you just don't like it. I do hold it against you if you move out in the middle of one of the toughest times the city has faced and would rather shit on the city than help rebuild.
Alright stop messing around trying to figure out how I really feel about New York. Let's jump right in.
The one thing to read this week
1) Make / Change: A Strategy for Racial Equity in Creative Companies [R/GA on Medium]
Two months ago, we started breaking and remaking our culture to make R/GA a place in which everyone can succeed, regardless of race or ethnicity. Rather than rushing to put out a series of arbitrary pledges, we wanted to understand the nature of our own problem, so we did what we would do for any strategic project. We listened; we researched; and we looked for opportunities and behaviors that would give us the best chance of success.
Finding #1: Most DEI plans look the same (and according to the data, they’re not working)
Many plans looked the same, and used similar language: the language of earnest commitment. “We commit to this percentage. We will achieve this goal. We will hold our leaders accountable. We will do better. Annual unconscious bias training for all.” Missing from most of these plans is any sense of HOW; how anyone was planning to go about these goals, and how this time would be different.
We needed a playbook, not a pledge.
Finding #2: We have to design for OUR culture.
It also struck us as unusual that the plans we reviewed came from different companies with famously different cultures, yet all contained the same actions. Why the cookie-cutter approach?
What we concluded is that a ‘to do’ list for leadership and our talent department would never be enough to change us. Employee-owned actions, plus shared ownership, would be vital.
We would need to leave room for everyone to contribute.
Finding #3: Our current Black employees are the most important stakeholders.
We’ve worked on a number of employer branding and recruiting initiatives for our clients, and the truth is as consistent as gravity: The best way to get someone to want to work at a company is for them to have a positive conversation with somebody like them who works at that company
We concluded that rushing to hire more people of color and ‘improving our diversity numbers’ were secondary to creating an equitable environment for current Black R/GAers, and letting word of mouth work. In our offices in which Black representation is minimal or lacking, we believe that doing the work to create an anti-racist culture will dramatically increase the likelihood of retaining the Black talent we do hire.
We had to start with equity, not diversity.
These three findings lead to our playbook. We call it Make / Change.
Click through to see how R/GA is implementing this playbook.
2) A relic speaks. [Ad Aged]
The other day, [George] got sent a briefing form from the great creative agency BBH. I'm not exactly sure when the form dates from, but I'm guessing, partly because it's not sullied by Holding Company legalese, that it's from a quarter of a century ago, if not more.
This briefing form shows me an industry we threw away with both hands. We threw away what makes us work and what made us good: Simplicity.
Start with the form itself. It's just one page. Not seven pages.
It asks simple questions, smart questions, fundamental questions.
And all those questions are clear and written without jargon or ambiguity.
The template gives the author a limited amount of room to answer those questions. So the person filling out the form can't go on and on and on. It's a form that makes covering your ass hard. And it asks for a SINGLE most important idea.
That would be special in an "everything is top priority" world.
Next, look at the little rectangle in the lower right of the form. It calls not for 17 rounds of reviews, not reviews by 21 levels of creatives, not 88 different people and 176 eyeballs. It also contains pertinent information--budget and the phrase "final sign off." Final? In 2020?
I ask all of you who are still getting [ED Note: and writing!] briefs, to compare yours to this. The 29-page powerpoint explaining the psychographics underpinning a banner ad, or the four options of a Call To Action that the client wants to see. The five-hundred words of legal mandatories and more.
When I was a kid in advertising working in-house at Bloomingdale's I learned a very important lesson. Every so often an ad would go through round after round of revisions. You, as the writer were dedicated to answering everyone's qualms and just getting the damn thing out of your typewriter and into production.
My boss came into my office on one of these occasions. He must have heard me screaming "muthafucka" at about 177 decibels. He read my copy as it came out of my Selectric. "Stop trying to fix your copy," he said. "They broke it. Turn it over or tear it up and start fresh.”
I think that might be where we are today in advertising.
3) Input differently. Output differently. Why you should make chaos your ally [Northern Planner]
There is nothing scarier than a blank page.
Years ago, someone told me to get over the initial paralysis by going about every project in a different way. It frees the mind from the shackles of obvious and makes it easier to get to interesting.
So that's what I do. On top of constantly reading stuff that has nothing to do with marketing and everything to do with real life, you know the thing people actually care about, I always change it up.
Sometimes that's as simple as trying to work to a different communications strategy framework or briefing format. Sometimes I work to the seven plot concepts. Sometimes I actually try and write ads (bad ones) and then work out why I'm writing what I'm writing. Sometimes I'll try and write the worst strategy and then work out how to make good.
It doesn't really matter. As long as you start with different, you'll end with different.
When I used to train properly for sport, one of the golden rules was the avoidance of too much repetition. The more the body gets used to doing the same thing, the less the training effect. So most training plans are built on continually dealing the body an unexpected blow it isn't expecting.
Planned shocks to the system. It's the whole concept of interval training and more. Long term training plans have variety built in to stop you plateauing.
This is the real problem with proprietary process, it may help the paymasters feel there is some predictability to great work, but the truth is, it gets in the way.
You know the drive to work that you never remember because the mind did it on autopilot? That's the kind of work you run the risk of doing. Just as forgettable as the commute. That's why 95% of the marketing we expose people to is utter drivel and ignorable. It's all researched the same way, tested (God help us) the same way, made the same way with the same reference points.
We stay interesting by pushing ourselves out of the routine. Leaving what we know behind for a bit. The challenge of course, is then making it all look like it came from the process so it gets approved.
I won't tell if you won't.
4) Quick Hits
Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life Might Just Help You Live a More Fulfilling Life [Thrive Global] In Japan, millions of people have ikigai (pronounced Ick-ee-guy)— a reason to jump out of bed each morning. Just as humans have lusted after objects and money since the dawn of time, other humans have felt dissatisfaction at the relentless pursuit of money and fame and have instead focused on something bigger than their own material wealth. This has over the years been described using many different words and practices, but always hearkening back to the central core of meaningfulness in life.
This thread by Shane O'Leary [Twitter] A lot of great resources in here. Be sure to check them out. 42% of people identify work/life balance as the greatest source of stress in their lives. Lunchtimes pre-lockdown used to see a 25% dip in Teams IMs, since lockdown it’s down to 10%. There's also been a 52% increase in the share of messages sent between 6pm and midnight. Work seeping into home life cannot be a good thing for our mental health.Nearly half of employees are concerned that their employers will bring them back to work before it's safe.
5) Department of Great Work
Reddit’s Cheeky Marketing Campaign Encourages Users to Vote [AdWeek] Drawing inspiration from how Reddit users engage with one another on its channels—by upvoting and downvoting—the social media company used content from its online pages to encourage real-life voting. The ad campaign, called “Up the Vote” is part of its wider initiative to encourage users to vote in their local, state, and national elections. Reddit users cast more than 165 million votes across the site every day. From R/GA San Francisco.
Dozens of Brands Will Advertise Their Job Openings Instead of Sales This Labor Day [AdWeek] With millions of Americans out of work amid the pandemic, more than 50 brands will use their marketing channels to promote any job openings they might have instead of the usual blowout sales or discounts this Labor Day weekend. Red Wing kicked off the campaign with a full-page ad in the New York Times this week in which it appealed to other brands to join the effort. From Droga5 (who let go of 7% their staff this week...)
14 Years After "Shoes," Kelly's Back to Teach Us About "Masks" [PopSugar] Who would've guessed that 2020 would bring us a sequel to one of the greatest YouTube videos to ever exist? I certainly didn't, but on Sept. 1, comedian Liam Kyle Sullivan posted a follow-up to "Shoes" called "Kelly 'Masks'" and I instantly felt transported back to 2006. Rather than show us her love for shoes, Kelly (Sullivan) teaches us the differences between which masks rule and which masks suck as a way of sticking it to her mother (Pam Cook), who doesn't believe in the use of masks.
Schiphol Clock [Atlas Obscura] This clock at Schiphol Airport was created by Dutch designer Maarten Baas and features a man painstakingly painting the time, each minute. Apparently it's been around since 2016 but I'm just finding out about it now. Check out this tweet to see the painter in action
Popeyes Celebrates Anniversary of Chicken Sandwich With Early Countdown to 2021 [Marketing Dive] Launching the unique campaign will begin with a Times Square ball drop that counts down the days, hours, minutes and seconds until 2021. The accompanying “at least we still have the sandwich” message also kicked off a one day promotion at Popeyes that sees the chain offer free delivery on the Popeyes app August 19. From agency Gut
Hasbro Introduces Peaceful Bob Ross Monopoly Edition [HypeBeast] I have always loved Bob Ross. The latest edition celebrates the late American painter, art instructor and television host best known for his show The Joy of Painting. Despite the PBS instructional television program ending back in 1994, Ross has remained a pop culture figure achieving posthumous Internet fame in the 21st century. Included with the game are six collectible tokens, 28 title deed cards, 16 happy little accidents cards, 16 The Joy of Painting cards, 32 cabins, 12 covered bridges and a pack of Bob Ross money.
Department of Boring but Good to Know Work
KFC suspends "It's Finger Lickin' Good" slogan amid pandemic [CBS News] "We find ourselves in a unique situation — having an iconic slogan that doesn't quite fit in the current environment," said Catherine Tan-Gillespie, global chief marketing officer at KFC. In the meantime, they're going with "it's good." Inspiring. Fun fact: the slogan was not created on Madison Avenue. The 64 year old slogan was created off the cuff by a restaurant manager in the 1950s. Nice
Department of Bad Work
Applebees is using classic 80's theme songs in their commercials [Cheers Theme Song] [Welcome Back Kotter] I feel like the conversation went something like this: "Well we had all this money budgeted for production. How are we going to spend it if we're just doing standard product shots? I know - expensive music rights!" At least Cheers is on brand but have you ever listened to the lyrics of that theme song? It's basically about how when your life is in shambles you just want to go to a bar and drink. I am disappointed in Gray.
6) Platform Updates
Facebook 'danger to public health' warns report [BBC] Health misinformation on Facebook was viewed 3.8 billion times in the past year, peaking during the Covid-19 crisis, a report suggests. The top 10 websites identified by researchers as spreading health misinformation had almost four times as many views on Facebook as information from official sites, such as the World Health Organization, according to the report.
Facebook to Limit Political Ads Week Before Election, Label Premature Calls [WSJ] Facebook Inc. will prohibit new political advertisements in the week before the U.S. presidential election in November and seek to flag any candidates’ premature claims of victory, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said. The steps are meant to head off last-minute misinformation campaigns and limit the potential for civil unrest, Mr. Zuckerberg said in a statement Thursday.
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