Back to the love...

Is it just me or have you too stopped bothering to read the articles about the changing nature of the advertising industry? Like a twisted self-introspective fairy tale, articles depict a combination of sky falling, big bad wolf coming, ark-building, fleece-chasing and the search for El-Dorado.

It's boring.

Isn't a industry which exists to help brands and people connect meant to be all about them, not us.

Call me (happily) simple.

In the words of David Ogilvy, A good advertisement is one which sells the product without drawing attention to itself. Works for agencies too.

Stop talking about yourself. I'll try to stop talking about myself.

Let's talk about amazing people, amazing brands and what makes them great.

Always great for inspiration...http://www.lovemarks.com/ (Dettol is trending up - who would have guessed!)

Photo credit: The Chicagoist

Day 30: Where am I?

Observation: It takes too long to find where I am and therefore where I need to go next on the London tube map.

Opportunity: You are here stickers. See the video below for how this could look.

Short and sweet for Day 30. Hope you found some interesting inspiration in the observation to creation challenge!

Day 29: Religion, self and finding a path between

Observation: Whilst at a local community boxing group, a teenage girl joining the boys for a workout. She was wearing a full headscarfe and full length track suit. At one point she was so hot she stripped to her tank top. It felt shocking and intrusive seeing her flesh and I had to look away.

From my own perspective I was delighted to see this tough, challenging girl doing what she wanted. However I was dying with her as she overheated under her coverings.

Having read this guide on proper behaviour and had a brief look at the fashions and articles for women wanting to do exercise, I cannot see how in any way a Muslim woman doesn't feel at least a little compromised when exercising, even if it is completely in line with their faith to look after yourself. It got me wondering...how to stay healthy and stay comfortable as a Muslim woman?

Opportunities:

All of these would need to be vetted by people of the faith, but some ideas to begin with...

- More structured, flexible clothing that does not cling like lycra, but enables easy, enjoyable movement. Perhaps building on the structured, floating forms of Japanese designers Issey Miyake?

- A muslim woman only fitness club, complete with pool and outdoor family play area. This way women are more free to wear more comfortable clothing whilst getting healthy.

- A healthy Muslim women community group - online, social and with localised chapters. Sharing healthier food and lifestyle options, providing support and tips to get healthy and company to make exercise amongst peers safer and more appropriate.

- An exclusive his and hers Muslim fitness club where couples can each go, providing a shared but appropriate activity where they each work out in the separate male or female areas. Add exclusive couple work out rooms for hire. Kind of like a cross between the exclusive karaoke rooms model and couple's beauty treatments. Hire for an hour with your choice of services.

Image credit: Muslim women in sports

Day 28: Showing love, of anything, draws you in

Observation: A crazy picture of a dog with a sausage balanced on its nose. A sign for a seafood restaurant!

Huh? But it did stop me in my tracks and I did immediately think a) that's a little nutty and b) I love it too. Their love of the nutty and being true to it, drew me in.

Opportunities:

- Put your crazy on the outside. If your team is obsessed with your puppies, lattes, donuts, gardens, children, small green men...putting the real you on the outside will draw people in. At least it will start a conversation! And even the biggest corporate buyers are still just people.

- Continuing from the previous point, will outing what you, personally, love help internally too? What about starting an old-fashioned show and tell once a week - for 5 minutes each person tells a story about something they love. It breaks down barriers, brings fresh perspectives and who knows, could lead to some interesting new collaborations!

- Going for that next job? Share a little of what you love. I hear time and again of people looking for passion in new additions to the team.

Fundamental to driving the success of many online businesses - the shared love of different subjects and people. Parallel to Seth Godin's notion of tribes. A clear signal of what you love brings those who will tell your story, share your brand, closer to you.

Day 27: Smile, its raining

Observation: People stop smiling when its raining (except me, who loves it with a giddy delight).

In the midst of lovely spring days people seem bereft at the return of the rain, grumpily getting out rumpled umbrellas and huddling determinedly forward using their shield as an aggressive response to their loss.

Opportunities:

- Start a 'sunshine' cafe. On properly rainy days, give people a small token to make them happy, be it chocolate, a fortune cookie or a simple smiley sticker. Or an extra shot, free, to help kick start them on the day. During winter, have artfully arranged "SAD" lamps and sunshiney flowers and plants. During warm weather, open the windows, the roof if possible and serve tropical breakfasts. The team could wear flowers in their hair. A little dash of unashamed sunshine in the rain.

- If you are a high-foot traffic business, offer free re-usable umbrellas for people to take if they need it, returning it if they are able, bringing return foot traffic and regular customer love.

- Start a small, mobile rainy day business - from a cart. Have an enormous brightly coloured umbrella awning, the ability to play upbeat tubes and sell umbrellas from 'just get me to the office price' to premium. Add hats, scarves, boots, ponchos and hot chocolate and warm cinnamon donuts. You only need to work when it's raining!

Day 26: But where's the Tapas?

Observation: When I go to a festival called Taste of Spain...I expect to be able to taste Spain. It may have been the unfortunate weather or I may have missed it... but with every sense...I did not taste Spain.

There was no paella, tapas or sangria, just two churros vans parked at either end. Local restaurants were getting into the spirit of festivities...but not offering more than a token Spanish dish, if that. The music may have been by Spanish people, but the songs I happened to hear were not.

A large proportion of the festival was given over to sporting displays of basketball, football and golf. Don't even get me started on the random display of tents from a retailer on the street.

It seemed like Spain was going for a re-brand as a sporting destination, but forgot why it is loved by people from the world over.

The horses however, were amazing. Sadly, I heard the whole festival was amazing the year before.

Opportunities:

- Firstly, when it is your brand (i.e. Spain), help participating partners understand the vision and experience you will be creating and how that will positively impact them, so you don't end up with bands in sloppy board shorts singing covers at your event. Instead, work with them to connect with the right people to do this.

- Create a research business for events companies - researching the concept and elements of it with target attendees right at the beginning of the event. The aim - test the brand experience you are creating is the one you want. Plus a great opportunity for co-creation too.

- People were barely buying at this event. Create a show-bag style system which would help subsidise the event where people could purchase different flavours of Spain to them take home and share with others. Taking taste in a broader sense it could be music, it could be travel vouchers, it could be famous perfumiers or candle makers from Spain.

- Create an evening event where the colours of Spain are literally projected on the walls of the buildings lining the street, with images denoting the many different facets of Spain projected around the street.

Day 25: Chain mine in the middle

Observation: Bikes chained to the pedestrian crossing railing in Notting Hill in the middle of the road.

Individuals have taken matters into their own hands to ensure that their bikes can be locked securely and are under constant surveillance by passing traffic.

Opportunities:

- The local council clearly needs to put in new bike stands! Local council staff before removing the bikes forcibly could leave a note on the bikes asking people to submit feedback and ideas on how and where the bike stands should be laid.

- A local cafe with some unused space and a local bike enthusiasts could start a cafe with bike concierge service!

- A local bike share group could be started, with people all agreeing to keep an eye out for each others' bikes stored in a single location and with a bike-share scheme to enable people to share the use of a bike if they have very different schedules, kind of like zip-car.

- Nearby car parks could offer bike storage in unused spaces in the angles of car parks, a great community service or at a small charge of 50p a day.

Photo credit: The Hungry Cyclist

Day 24: Direct logic brilliance

Observation: This inspiring bit of photography is actually the side of a traffic light controller. Not smooth, rough. Black.

How to stop graffiti artists and bill posters? Mess up the surface so it is almost impossible to write or stick anything upon it. Direct, effective and lowers maintenance costs whilst gaining kudos with your client for minimising impact on a beautiful street.

Opportunities:

- A great example of direct and effective is having multiple pay points + point of purchase impulse buys. Primark is a great example, the quicker they get people through, the more transactions they will have because their main limiter is store capacity. The success of Apps is partly driven by the same notion - purchase on the spot, the moment you want it. How can you simply, directly create more purchase occassions in your buy cycle? Is it giving a fast, low cost trial to start using your service, right at your very introduction?

- Building hoardings (mentioned in a previous post) - could they be texturised to stop the addition of bill posters?

- Perhaps using the opposite notion, could a safety jacket be invented that is so slick, not one could ever grab hold of you (i.e. for female runners who run in the dark).

- For a brand, would it make more sense to spend ALL your advertising budget for one year to completely focus on making the BEST ever widget? If it's better, be it in price, function, appearance or another significantly differentiated way, consumers will WANT to by it. Direct logic says that this will help sales.

A good post by @brandautopsy describes a company doing exactly that. And winning.

Day 23: The underlying sameness

Observation: There are some situations where we all become equal.

Sometimes, by doing the same physical actions, we enter the same space emotionally.

Opportunity:

- Could be the starting point of communications for global brands? The global brand may need different names, flavours and styles of information. However, is there a physical moment that all people experience the same way? For Schweppes it is the moment of fizz, for Nike it is that moment of personal physical challenge. For hotels it is that moment when you flop onto the bed when you get in. What is a physical gesture that is your clue to the emotional commonality around your brand experience?