We are not Lemmings.

This blog is one of my university assignments and as part of that, I need look at the skills and structures that I believe are needed in current agencies for the type of role I would like to gain in the industry. Secondly, I need to explain why I think this may change. 

The role I would like would be one to do with planning. That's a very general statement, I know, but I haven't started my graduate job yet so I don't have the experience to pinpoint exactly the job role I want. I do, however, have enough experience to explain why I like planning.

Anyone remember this? 

This is Lemmings, a very popular early 1990s computer game. You have different kinds of Lemmings for different purposes, for example digging, climbing and building stairs. At each level of the game, you have to get as many Lemmings as you can from the hatch they fell out of into the passageway that leads them to freedom. Of course there are obstacles along the way, in the example above all you have to do is get a digger to dig a whole and they'll all be safe. I'm quite certain this is Level One. 

In this game, you always know where the Lemmings will appear from, what their roles are within their little society and you can be sure they will head straight out the door you choose for them when given the opportunity. Consumers are not Lemmings. Take the digger Lemming, we don't know how many children he has, whether or not he's into art or is an avid TopGear watcher. We don't even know for sure if he's male. 

This is what I like, I like getting to grips with who people are and what roles they play in their lives at different times during the day. My favourite module in the first year was 'Understanding the Customer' because I was learning so much about the way people's minds work. I had absolutely no idea that advertising involved so much psychology, to think that I didn't know that three years ago seems a bit ridiculous to me now. However, my understanding is struggling to keep up with my fascination. I now know so much more about what goes into advertising and I think it needs to be done better.* I mean this in terms of more sophisticated and respectful targeting, and there is absolutely room for improvement. It's possible because the advertising industry is made up of such incredible, talented people.

Someone I know in the media business  describes media planning as a craft. A combination of science and creativity. From this I took that a media planner is a bit like a creative scientist, which to me implies that you need extreme attention to detail and the ability to use your information in an unusual way. I would love to become an expert in this, and that's why I want to go into planning and play around with this plethora of information we have in order to find that little gem - insight. Whether I end up in media or creative planning, who knows?

As I've been writing this blog, I have been trying to get people to see the nicer side of advertising. How it always stems from society and culture, that it benefits the economy (£6 for every £1 spent) and what makes a good advertisement. I've tried to highlight that advertisers aren't a bunch of drunk, power hungry executives who want to make you feel fat but are actually a group of people desperate to understand why consumers do what they do. I maintain that consumers will always be more powerful than advertisers. And so, with my very limited experience, I will tell you what I think the advertising industry needs to do.

I have noticed that when a trend is spotted in the industry, everyone jumps on the bandwagon and hangs on for dear life. From the rise of digital to the current obsession with content and big data. I am in no way saying trends are irrelevant, they are essential for an agency or a client to remain profitable. My issue with trends is that people get too caught up in the them. Yes set them, follow them, learn about them, but don't become encapsulated by them. As these topics come and go or become best practice, we need to remember that brilliant advertising doesn't necessarily win awards, it simply generates a profit for the client, a large profit ideally. 

Advertising which does not respect its target or give that person an opportunity to use their own beliefs, experiences and intelligence to process it will only annoy them. I think the industry is getting better at respecting consumers, particularly now we are in an Age of Dialogue and there is a lot more interaction between consumers and brands. I think it's important not to lose sight of the people we want to reach. We can basically find out everything about them but how much do we really need to know?

There's a lot of talk about media agencies eventually becoming obsolete. Because of this and the economic climate, I think some agencies aren't very selective about the clients they work with. Be picky about the clients you take on! Not only because you need the right relationship for the partnership to work, but because your work, whether it be in creative or media, will be judged by the public solely on the activities of the brand you work with. When the public is demanding honesty from brands, how can you deliver that in your advertising if the brand isn't truthful? It won't work. Above all, agencies are bursting with creativity, intelligence and insight, make sure you know your worth. 

So what skills are needed in the industry...? Bravery, knowledge of the world around you, enthusiasm.  The ability to use Excel and Powerpoint is key. You need numeracy skills, definitely. To be honest, I think if you are willing to work hard and have a real interest in advertising and people, then you're on to a good thing. These are skills I don't think will change. The advertising industry changes at such a rapid pace, so you need the ability to learn and adapt. Just like the best advertising is simple, the skills required to produce it don't change very much despite how it transforms over time. These skills I have mentioned will, I believe, serve this year's graduates well, as well as those who graduate in a few years. It worked for the Mad Men, although they didn't have the luxury of Excel and Powerpoint.

What do I need to get into the advertising industry? All of the above, determination, curiosity, and passion. What do I need to survive in it? I'll let you know. 

*Copies of my dissertation available on request. ;-) 

Advertising, Culture & Postmodernism

It would be impossible to argue that advertising and culture are not intertwined. By looking at advertising over the decades, it provides an accurate reflection of what was going on at that time. It's clear to see the artistic and musical influences as well as the prominence of social classes and the clearly defined roles of the genders. This came particularly clear to me when I read 'Hegarty on Advertising: Turning Intelligence into Magic' by John Hegarty. His passion for creativity and art is evident, but the way he thinks about ideas highlights the importance of culture in advertising and therefore in advertising in history.

"Ideas are the most incredible thing we possess. They can change the future of brands, of countries and of course of history. They engage, entertain and stimulate, encouraging debate, dissent and adoration."

(Hegarty, 2011, p24)

Here's what's on my mind - if advertising is a reliable indication of what life was like in the past, that means those of us who are producing it now are essentially creating little anecdotes of what our lives are like now so people in the future to look back and try to understand us better. The thing is, I don't wake up everyday and analyse the culture I live in, I just live my life. Yes I might whinge about the government with my friends or have a fleeting moment of feminism, but I hadn't really considered the stage of culture we are currently in. It's not modernism, is it postmodernism? I don't think it is. 

This is an extract from my dissertation, explaining the way culture has moved on and affects consumers and therefore the way advertisers should aim to reach and engage with audiences. 

Advertising is born out of culture. Based on the statement ‘advertising [is] a meeting point or mixture of two distinct forms that may be termed ‘culture’ and ‘economy’’ (Malefyt and Moeran, 2003, p77), Bailey (2013) concluded that social culture plays a strong role in advertising and marketing content and direction. This is supported by Leiss et al (2005) who believe that primary determinants for purchase behaviour are based on cultural decisions. From this is can be implied that advertisers must appeal to cultural beliefs or draw from aspects of modern society to engage with consumers.

The fifth stage of Goodyear’s Evolution of Marketing (1999) is postmodern marketing, this means consumers are marketing literate and multifaceted, knowledgeable and cynical. In the 1980s, the idea of postmodernism began to engage professional philosophers. (Bertens, 1995) This is when it moved away from a method of defining the arts and architecture and became a way to describe society. Postmodernism can be described as ‘a… concept whose function is to correlate the emergence of new formal features in culture with the emergence of a new type of social life and a new economic order’. (Jameson, 1991) At this time, individuals were starting to recognise and showcase their individuality rather than follow traditional social norms. However, Kirby (2006) states that ‘the terms by which authority, knowledge, selfhood, reality and time are conceived have been altered’ which leads to the notion that postmodernism is being surpassed.

It has been suggested that society is moving past postmodernism into a new age potentially called the Age of Authenticism. (Partial Objects, 2011) This proposes that specificity, values and authenticity are at odds with postmodernism and therefore will not work in a time when consumers are demanding transparency from brands. Partial Objects (2011) believes that what comes after postmodernism is something ‘more authentic, more sincere, more earnest, less ironic and less sarcastic’ which may underpin the UK population’s deviation from dishonesty in brands and their communications.

Alternatively, Kirby (2006) suggests the era after postmodernism will be pseudomodernism, when people move away from ironic and playful towards ignorance and anxiety. He states that people will no longer believe in postmodern ideas and instead favour critical realism. This theory aligns with the UK public’s cynicism towards advertising whilst also supporting their desire for legitimacy. Furthermore, Kirby (2006) believes pseudomodernism will be a ‘new paradigm of authority and knowledge formed under the pressure of new technologies and contemporary social forces’.

The internet has changed the way information is exchanged and gathered and has resulted in a more sophisticated population with the power to share their views. According to Kirby (2006), the emergence of new technologies in the late 1990s and early 2000s re-structured the nature of the author, the reader and the text and the relationship between them. This draws on Bullmore’s message delivery process which highlights the consumer’s need to participate in messaging rather than simply receive it. The internet has given individuals the sense that they are managing their own involvement with a product. (Kirby, 2006) Postmodernism fixated on the author whereas pseudomodernism would put emphasis on the recipient in that they become a partial or whole author. This means more people contribute to culture and it is not lead by individual concepts but the interpretation of concepts put out into society. Postmodernism is a stage where ‘culture is a spectacle before which the individual sits powerless [whereas] pseudomodernism sees an individual’s action as the necessary condition of the cultural product’. (Kirby, 2006) Advertising can no longer broadcast to consumers, the content and context of the message must be relevant in order for the consumer to create a meaningful connection with the message and the brand. 

• Bailey (2013) Advertising doesn’t sell things; all advertising does is change the way people think of feel (Jeremy Bullmore) evaluate this statement with reference to selected critical theories [online] Available from: http://francesbaileycop.wordpress.com/2013/03/19/advertising-doesnt-sell-things-all-advertising-does-is-change-the-way-people-think-or-feel-jeremy-bullmore-evaluate-this-statement-with-reference-to-selected-critical-theories/ [Accessed 5 April 2013].
• Bertens, H. (1995) The idea of postmodern: a history. London: Routledge.
• Docx, E. (2011) Postmodernism is dead [online] Available from: http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/postmodernism-is-dead-va-exhibition-age-of-authenticism/ [Accessed 11 March 2013].
• Goodyear, M, (1999) The Evolution of Marketing. In Esomar Research Congress. Paris, September. Amsterdam: Esomar.org. 2.
• Hegarty, J. (2011) Hegarty on advertising: turning intelligence into magic. London: Thames & Hudson.
• Jameson, F. (1991) Postmodernism and consumer society [online] Available from: http://evans-experientialism.freewebspace.com/jameson_postmodernism_consumer.htm  [Accessed 4 April 2013].
• Kirby, A. (2006) The death of postmodernism and beyond [online] Available from: http://philosophynow.org/issues/58/The_Death_of_Postmodernism_And_Beyond [Accessed 11 March 2013].
• Leiss, W., Kline, S., Jhally, S. and Botterill, J. (2005) Social communication in advertising: consumption in the mediated marketplace. 3^rd ed. London: Routledge.
• Malefyt, T. D. and Moeran, B. (2003)Advertising cultures. Oxford: Berg Publishers.
• Partial Objects (2011) What comes after postmodernism [online] Available from: http://partialobjects.com/2011/08/what-comes-after-postmodernism/ [Accessed 11 March 2013].

Having a goal is not enough.

I recently attended a Bucks AdSoc talk by David Wethey, Chairman of AAI who advises clients on choosing the right agency to work with on their advertising campaigns. He spoke about the importance of being able to make decisions, and make them well. Seems a bit of an odd topic, at least I thought so. However I left the talk having learned something I think I've  always known, it's not enough to have a goal, you have to have a dream. 

We have all been educated to look forward rather than back, but childhood is where your determination comes from. Perhaps that stems from all the times you said, "When I grow up I want to be..." regardless of how many times you changed you mind, or maybe it simply comes from wanting better for yourself. Whatever the reason, when you're a child there are no limits and it's a shame that so many of us stray from what excited us when we were little. 

When my sister, Hannah, and I were younger, we made sure everyone knew what we were going to do when we got older. She was going to travel the world and cure AIDs and I was going to own my own business and have a big office. OK she hasn't cured any diseases and I'm many, many promotions away from a corner office, but she left for New Zealand three years ago and never came back and I'm about to graduate university and enter the corporate world. The basic drive is there and luckily for us it didn't completely disappear.

Hannah with her patient and me with my box of stationery. 



This isn't turning into a blog about my childhood, I promise. There is a point. David said that all the people he interviewed were exceptionally successful and exceptionally good at making decisions. Furthermore, they all had dreams, not just goals. The correlation between making good decisions and having dreams  is a result of the fact that the way we make decisions is naturally emotive, not logical. We've trained ourselves to think logically, likely because we have to consider those things that limit us, like money and time.

According to David, decision making is the number one life skill and most of us aren't any good at it. He once went into a bookshop and counted 83 titles on leadership and 3 on decision making, which highlights that it's a skill that is often forgotten about, hence why I thought it was an odd topic. It turns out it wasn't.

The thing that I think confuses people when making decisions, particularly in business as your reputation and someone else's money are often on the line, is that you feel you have to think it through rationally, applying logic and getting as much advice as you can. This just complicates things, normally, your gut feeling is often right and you end up a lot happier with your decision. I'm not saying you should abandon your sense of rationality, just ease up on it a bit. 

It's the same in advertising. Having a goal is not enough. Having a dream is what drives us as people, our emotions, motivations and aspirations are what drive us as consumers. You'll never achieve your personal goals if you don't respect your instincts and you'll never get through to a consumer if you don't respect their motives. 

As David said, "Decision making is like advertising, it comes from inspiration and intuition, but it does work better within a disciplined process."

Advertisers and consumers... I guess they're not so different.

Well done to Ian for running his first AdSoc event since he took over as President!