a w e e kly diges t of t he best i n m e di a, cu l t u re a n d t e ch n ol og y f ro m yo ur friends at Goodst u ff
100th issue
featuring content and editorial from:
L a ure n ce Green, f o unding p a r t ner 1 0 1 ; V i c t ori a Woollasto n, edit o r W I R E D. c o . uk; N ick S ou th gate, behav io ur a l ec o no mist ; M a isi e M cCabe, ac ting UK ed it o r C a mp a ig n; D a v e B u on aguidi, UnLtd- Inc ; a l o ng si d e a f ew Go o dstuffer s w e p ress g a ng ed in t o th i s: Paul Gayf er, An na M a y, H a nna h J o nes, Si m e on A d am s, Tim Whatley, a nd d r a w ing t h e sh ort straw – Andrew St ep hens.
Paul Gayfer Goodstuff planning partner
Grab a brew, sit back, and have a proper read
They were always the best emails to get. The ones from a colleague a few desks away enthusing about something brilliant they’d found that a brand had done. Something that you could learn from, something that you could steal, something that upped the bar of what you were aiming for with work of your own. Even if it wasn’t in a relevant category, even if it was a competitor, there was always something in these sporadic mails that would make you aim a little bit higher. I’m not sure why, but those emails seem to have gradually slowed over the years. Maybe we’re drowning in this kind of inspiration from other places: Twitter constantly feeding us snippets of brilliance from a myriad of sources, sharing done easily and indiscriminately via a click of the retweet button. Hopefully the last 99 issues of Friday Reading have been some of the best emails you’ve received - a return to that feeling of an enthusiastic, curated inspiration. One that you’re excited to see drop in your inbox every week, and one that has maybe even helped to unlock the solution to a knotty brief. All of this is largely due to one man who deserves a huge amount of credit – our Editor at large, Tim Whatley [I’m blushing – Ed]. He, along with a handful of willing volunteers has been solely responsible for bringing you the last 99 editions, and he wanted to do something a little special to celebrate the century. We wanted to give you something more permanent that took you away from your laptop or phone, something that gave the ideas and thinking some room to breathe. So we made this, in itself inspired by the brilliant resurgence of publishing in the form of niche special interest magazines. This 100th edition may be the most niche of all of them, with only 1000 copies printed and specifically targeted at you lovely lot, our committed Friday Reading subscribers. We hope you enjoy it, and once you’re done maybe drop it on to that colleague’s desk who is still shouting about finding stuff they love.
friday reading 100
I have a confession to make. Friday Reading might not be the original work you might think it to be – this is the 100th edition of the current format, but much like the Olympics, there was a forebearer. Starting as a list of links sent around the office for a month or two then promptly forgotten about, it wasn’t the most auspicious start in life. So when we moved offices to Wellington street nearly two years ago now it seemed the right time to dust off the old idea and rekindle the creative tinder, so to speak. Since then it’s somewhat taken off – below are a few choice stats (we’re still a media agency after all, couldn’t resist some analysis). In that time it’s grown from a one man band and a few dozen readers to a real Goodstuff team effort and over 500 subscribers who appear, somewhat amazingly, to actually enjoy and gain something from an email circular. If that’s not a demonstration of the virtues of creativity to breathe life into tired channels I don’t know what is. We even printed the thing, and look, you’re still reading it. Tim Whatley Friday Reading editor and occasional media strategist.
some facts and figures
Seeing Ghosts? Friday Reading was always about linking you to great stuff we’ve found, but that’s tricky in print. So we’ve had some help from our friends at Snapchat, just take a Snap of the icon to be sent straight to the right page.
friday reading 100
technology
"But should the actual concern be whether us humans will become obsolete?"
Technology The most inventive and interesting applications of technology, not necessarily the bleeding edge of what’s possible, but ideas which look beyond the obvious and use technology in new and exciting ways. guest editors
Victoria Woollaston + Wired.co.uk digital editor
Anna May Goodstuff head of digital strategy
“‘Sup’ is apparently 8% more polite than ‘Yo’”
CES 2016 had been throwing up all sorts of interesting technology over the week of the show, from its mainstay in TVs, camera and audio gear, to the more recent automotive additions to the show. Shortly after the show, Rob Norman pointed out that the explosion in automotive tech has raised some interesting questions around planned obsolescence. We don’t seem to mind too much when our phones ‘conveniently’ stop working at the two year mark, as the pace of innovation means we’re keen to upgrade to the latest thing by then. But with a car, can we really afford - both economically and environmentally - to be so disposable? (#29).
Refining the perfect email tone is a skill that takes time to master. But if deciding whether to sign off with “Best” or “Regards” is causing you undue stress on a daily basis, then look no further than a new AI tool developed by FoxType – the tool analyses your writing style, and provides you with a score based on your level of politeness. We can’t be entirely sure how accurate it is, but there are some interesting results. For instance, ‘Sup’ is apparently 8% more polite than ‘Yo’ – but we wouldn’t recommend beginning an email with either of those, dawg (#40).
Anna May Goodstuff head of digital strategy
We all know that big data and AI will continue to be important themes in 2017, and where this feels like an obvious place to talk about data versus creativity, I won’t. This is being thoroughly covered in all sorts of areas across the industry. I am more concerned about big data/AI versus stupidity… Planned obsolescence is certainly a concern for more than just smart cars, as we see a cultural shift towards ‘keeping up with the Joneses’. But should the actual concern be whether us humans will become obsolete? Technology makes our lives easier (and certainly a lot more fun), but I don’t
agree that it should be there to encourage laziness. Tools which claim to enhance our lives by writing emails, articles or magazine based agency opinion pieces for us could be costly for future generations who could learn to rely on technology to think and create ‘opinions’ on their behalf. Of course there is absolutely a need for tools and products that supports those with disabilities and this is where such technology can add amazing value, but let’s make sure we support the right technologies to keep our future selves brighter, sharper and still thinking for ourselves.
friday reading 100
Victoria Woollaston Wired.co.uk digital editor
technology
Big data is often discussed as a future technology, the ability to one day track ever more stuff coming from a proliferation of web-connected and smart devices, and using that data to uncover new insights and patterns. But this information has always been there, it’s just that tracking it has required a bit more diligence. Nicholas Felton has been painstakingly manually logging data on nearly every aspect of his life since 2005. What do we learn from the most recent report? That in Q1 he weighed an average of 158.8 lb, that he drove a
total of 459 miles, and that he took a whopping 685 photographs. Why do we care? We’re not sure, but it’s utterly compelling. The annual publication of the Feltron report (the added R signifying a detachment from the real him, and adding a pleasant robotic tinge to the name) is a lesson in how to make utterly mundane information into a compelling and fascinating story. Something to bear in mind when the old “data vs creativity” debate is raised, data can enable true creativity - if it’s used well (#19).
The most significant difference that separates humans and machines is our innate ability to be creative. The most interesting, and far-reaching, part of that tech section for me is about robots creating art autonomously. I don’t believe we’ll ever get to the point where machines will be creative in their own right; they will always need a human touch to truly understand the nuances of culture, design and art.
This understanding is said to be what separated us from Neanderthals and will be what continues to set us apart from our AI assistants, robot butlers and mechanical mates. Instead, robots will help humans release their creativity in increasingly interesting and elaborate ways. Robots will free up our time to allow us to set our imaginations free and that will be their contribution to the future of creativity.
It’s been a while now since articles written by algorithms, rather than humans, first hit the headlines. But as machine learning continues to “evolve”, our ability to differentiate between human and machine hands may continue to diminish as the technology becomes more and more sophisticated. Far from pulling together purely informative copy from a range of data sources, can algorithms produce art autonomously? When will the first robot writer win the Man Booker Prize? A million monkeys with a million typewriters might not be able to produce the works of Shakespeare, but maybe an advanced algorithm one day will (#18).
We first mentioned Google’s AMP project on Friday Reading what must be nearly a year ago now at the time it was a fairly low key release, but one that had the potential to shape the mobile web, and drastically improve the mobile ad experience along with it, helping publishers embattled by ad blocking. AMP has been growing significantly since that time (you’ve probably seen the news articles appearing in your search results), but it seems early results from publishers are more mixed than first hoped. It seems somewhat inevitable that the push for higher quality standards in mobile ads means that there will be more money to be made in the short term pushing for invasive (sorry, engaging) interstitials and other pop ups. But for advertisers with a long term view on their brand who have always avoided interruptive ads anyway, the payoff will come with innovations like this (#71).
"at the time it was a fairly low key release, but one that had the potential to shape the mobile web"
friday reading 100
Design Visual inspiration at its finest. Covering commercial and non-commercial work which demonstrates our core requirement of interestingness. Most commonly covered are (but not restricted to) photography, graphic design, and illustration. guest editors
Dave Buonaguidi + UnLtd-Inc
Andrew Stephens Goodstuff founding partner
"Back when dungarees were chic, hair was big and patterns could never be too loud"
In the restrictive political climate of the 1950’s Soviet Union, access to more expressive foreign music was banned. Soviet stilyagi (similar to our modern-day hipsters) found a way around this by copying what vinyl records they could get hold of onto x-ray film salvaged from hospital bins. What we’re left with are strangely beautiful, but functional works of art - counter cultural music imprinted on the shattered bones of a long gone stranger (#9).
John Malkovich is one of Hollywood’s more expressive and interesting players, so working with photographer Sandro Miller - known for his portraiture - was always going to produce interesting photographs. This series recreating famous historic portraits using Malkovich might not be what you’d have expected from the collaboration, but it is a bizarrely wonderful collection of images.
If I can be allowed to stretch the date range back to the late 80’s, then for me the most interesting piece is Adrienne Salinger’s 90’s bedroom design article from issue 42, for both professional and personal reasons. On a purely personal level her work reminded me only too painfully of the visual identity contradictions on display in the hovel that was my own teenage bedroom. On one wall of my sleeping pit you would have found Duran Duran’s ‘Notorious’ poster, yet on the opposite wall proudly hung a poster of Metallica headlining Castle Donnington. Make of that what you will… But the professional side is much more interesting – in 2017 teenage lives have fundamentally changed thanks to technology. More recent studies have found that their visual identity doesn’t so much hang on bedrooms walls, but on the feeds and ‘walls’ of social media. Here teenagers can express themselves on a 24/7 shared and live platform; without the need to print and frame photographs, or buy posters of Drake.
Prepare yourself to be smacked in the face with entertaining nostalgia from this wonderful series of images from the heady days of the early 90s. Back when dungarees were chic, hair was big and patterns could never be too loud. By photographing teenagers in their bedrooms, Adrienne Salinger gives us a fascinating sense of her subjects lives through the way they shape their own space at a transitional point in their lives. The glorious retro vibes only make this series more engrossing (#42).
Andrew Stephens
Dave Buonaguidi
Goodstuff founding partner
UnLtd-Inc
design
There is an interesting question at the heart of all commercial creativity: who is the audience? I would say that 99% of all advertising is aimed at podgy white boys from London who work in advertising and not real people…civilians. As a result we are bombarded with things that are ‘really fucking cool’ to twats that work in advertising but totally meaningless and hollow to people who don’t. I totally love the story about the Soviet stilyagi, who in the restrictive political climate of the 1950’s Soviet Union, when access to more expressive foreign music was banned, found a way around the rules by copying what vinyl records they could get hold of onto x-ray film salvaged from hospital bins. What we end up with are totally functional works of art – but what is so beautiful about them, is they are a very creative solution to a big cultural problem and the end result has a random aesthetic that could never have been designed. It’s real shit. It just is what it is and it’s beautiful.
friday reading 100
ads and media
Ads & Media
The work which showcases some of the most interesting, talked about and inspiring work in media and advertising. Particularly looking at smart examples of media and creative being fully integrated into one central idea. guest editors
Maisie McCabe + acting UK editor Campaign
Simeon Adams
So you’re the marketing director at 20th Century Fox, you have the highly anticipated Deadpool movie coming out soon. Deadpool is a huge fan favourite comic anti-hero, a perfect mix of action and humour. You’ve teased the fans, built the hype. But how do you extend the appeal of the film beyond young men? Well, ermm. You lie. This mock rom-com poster campaign is in real keeping with the self aware, fourth wall breaking humour of the film. Clearly not a genuine attempt to deceive, but a great example of playing with convention (#29).
Goodstuff creative partner
"thinking outside of the conventional boundaries of what marketing and media should be"
A brilliant example of thinking outside of the conventional boundaries of what marketing and media should be from Transavia – the low cost airline brand operated by KLM in Europe. In their #snackholidays campaign by Les Gaulois they created a variety of snacks that each represented a different holiday destination. These could then be purchased at supermarkets and vending machines across France, each containing a code that could be entered in return for a flight. A really smart way to frame their low fare rates against a cheap, easily thought of purchase; rather than the usual high involvement way we buy travel (#28).
"But how do you extend the appeal of the film beyond young men? Well, ermm. You lie."
Maisie McCabe acting UK editor Campaign
I’m totally fascinated by the fight between State Street Global Advisors – and its agency McCann New York – and the Italianborn artist Arturo Di Modica. It raises profound questions about art, copyright, feminism, commercial messages and who owns public spaces. Di Modica created the statue of a charging bull following the crash of 1986 to encapsulate the American spirit at a time when Wall Street was in the midst of crisis. State Street Global Advisors’ Fearless Girl statute was designed to commemorate International Women’s Day and promote the investment firm’s Gender Diversity Index, an exchange-traded fund featuring companies will high levels of senior female executives. But it totally twists the message of the bull, where as once it was a rallying cry, now it looks like the bad guy. In a welcome distraction of the never-ending nightmare that is Donald Trump’s Twitter feed, the latest twist has seen Di Modica create another statue and place that next to Fearless Girl. The newest statue, Pissing Pug, is of a dog that is appearing to wee on the girl’s leg. He even says he made it particularly poorly to reflect how Fearless Girl is a “downgrade” from the original bull. I love the symbolism of Fearless Girl. I am also happy that the State Street Global Advisors’ female-led fund exists and impressed they’re promoting it in such an original way. But I can’t help but feel a bit sorry for Di Modica. Even if getting an animal to urinate on someone is a totally immature way to try to win a fight.
friday reading 100
Rembrandt, widely considered one of the most influential Baroque artists of all time, died in 1669. So it may come as somewhat of a surprise to learn that in April 2016 a brand new Rembrandt painting was revealed. Fortunately, there was no messy resurrection involved, just some of the most cutting edge technology in the world. JWT Amsterdam has worked with ING to cleverly analyse and scan every known Rembrandt painting, creating an extremely sophisticated algorithm along to the way, plugging this into a 3D printer to create a completely new painting that Rembrandt himself would be proud of. Watch this four minute video, and prepare to be amazed (#41).
“..promote the importance of female leaders in the modern world.”
ads and media
It’s easy to restrict ourselves to traditional channel thinking when we try and conjure up a great campaign – TV spots, radio airtime, posters, etc. McCann have shown exactly why it’s always worth thinking outside of the box – their latest campaign (for State Street Global Advisors) created a statue of a fierce young girl confront the Wall Street charging bull, in a poignant act of defiance. The bull, originally intended to represent American spirit, has now had its symbolism twisted by the reputation of Wall Street workers – something McCann expertly capitalised on, in order to promote the importance of female leaders in the modern world (#86).
Up front, I have to say, I love breakfast cereal. I mean LOVE it. As an irritatingly fussy child and teenager, I practically lived on the stuff. More recently, when the Cereal Killer Café opened up in Brick Lane, to great outcry and controversy, I seemed to be the only person that found it a perfectly sound, nay appealing, proposition. I realise this all might make me a bit weird, but it certainly made me somewhat biased towards the Kellogg’s partnership with Dominic Wilcox. Apart from the guy being a genius, I like what it says about Kellogg’s (and
I’m saying this as a mainly Cereal Partners kinda guy). They have a genuine love and enthusiasm for their products. They are fun and playful and inventive. As marketers, they would also appear pretty brave. This isn’t serious NPD, this isn’t art, nor advertising. I guess it’s a kind of branded content, but a brilliant, tangible, physical bit of content that shows an understanding and love of the product and how real people think about it. Especially those that eat a little too enthusiastically, like me.
Simeon Adams Goodstuff creative partner
friday reading 100
trends and culture
This is the internet. Or as close a representation of it as you’ll find in a single image. Last week the social linking platform
Trends & Culture
This is less about the theatre section in the Sunday Times, and more the macro social trends which are emerging and shaping popular culture. From the Attention Economy, to Reddit’s social experiments, to the growth of Snapchat and short form media among Gen Z. guest editors
Wilt Chamberlain was one of the most talented basketball
Nick Southgate + behavioural economist
players of the 1960s, but with one crucial weakness - he couldn’t make free throws. Until he started throwing underarm, when his accuracy went up to
Hannah Jones
well over 80%. But then he
Goodstuff head of insight
Gladwell’s excellent podcast
Reddit embarked on a social experiment, or art project depending on how you look at it. Place allowed anyone to place a single coloured pixel, every five minutes. This limit means people had to work together to create, requiring concerted group thought to build or destroy. Place existed for just three days, but it’s fascinating to watch a timelapse of its lifespan as the hivemind battles itself for control of different areas, and new ideas take hold. From the Blue Corner, to the tale of Darth Plagueis the wise, to The Mona Lisa - it’s a canvas of extraordinary detail and remarkable cooperation, with only a small minority of stray pixels. (#90).
switched back. The third episode of Malcolm Revisionist History asks why
"How many more cheeseburgers will you eat in your lifetime?"
good ideas aren’t always
Have you ever thought about
adopted, even when they deliver
how many more times you will
superior results. Why smart
swim in the sea in your lifetime?
people knowingly do illogical
What about the number of
things. It’s well worth listening
books you have left to read,
to, but Gladwell boils it down
or how many FA cup finals
The digital consensus used to be broadly utopian. The internet
to the idea of Thresholds - the
you’ll witness? Rather than
created communities and made communities creative. Information and
number of people who have to
the conventional means of
data made life easier. Silicon Valley’s liberal leaders saw the internet
do something before it becomes
visualising average lifespans
as creating a world they approved of. The internet reflected the best
socially acceptable to do that
in terms of time, Wait But Why
of us. Then Trump happened. The first Twitter President was backed
same thing. Underarm throws
have looked at your inevitable
by Breitbart and the Alt-Right. Our enemies created a digital caliphate
are statistically superior - you
mortality through the things
to recruit for a real one. The consensus shattered. Internet dystopians,
will win more if you use them
you will do. How many more
once dismissed as Luddites, became sages. The internet reflected all
- but almost no professionals
cheeseburgers will you eat in
that was worse in us. We come together not to create and celebrate,
do, because the social pressure
your lifetime? How many times
but to destroy and denigrate. We need to reflect that this despairing
to conform is too high to even
will you go abroad? How many
pivot is about an internet that is young and crude. It takes what we
override the desire to win. It
books will you read or times will
do and makes it easier to do more of it. If we shop, we shop more. If
also explains crowd mentality,
you hang out with old friends
we hate, we hate more. Corporations use data to mirror consumers.
why good people get swept into
you don’t live near now? A great
Yet, the real challenge is for data to allow people to understand
a riot - it’s the social permission
example of using data in an
granted by the size of the crowd
unconventional way to make a
(#88).
real impact (#28).
Scan the snapcode for a higher resolution of the final image.
Nick Southgate behavioural economist
themselves better: to see what is underneath the image in the mirror. That is when we will get an internet that will make us smarter, healthier, richer, more productive, more secure, perhaps even kinder.
friday reading 100
trends and culture In 1938 psychologist B.
addictive nature of the modern
F. Skinner conducted an
internet. Many websites and
experiment where pigeons
services are particularly adept
were trained to earn food by
at encouraging repeat use,
tapping on the walls of their
with the understanding that
box. After a regular interval,
after a point, we’ll get more
things would reset, and tapping
and more hooked ourselves. Is
the wall again would release
the answer, as it is with many
more food. But when this
other addictive substances,
regularity was removed, the
actually regulation? He argues
pigeons went nuts, one tapping
that regulation would actually
the wall every 2.5 seconds for
benefit both parties, helping
16 hours. Without predictable
to balance quality, interested
reward timings, they just kept
audiences for publishers, and
going for it. All the time. We
helping to qualify choices for
were inspired by an article
consumers. Thought provoking
from writer Michael Schulson
stuff, and well worth a read if
which uses this reference as
you have ten minutes (#24).
"Confirmation bias is well-documented, but has particularly worrying consequences for society today."
an interesting parallel to the
Our relationship with facts and
Everyone loves to be right, don’t they? Whilst most of the articles are
truth is particularly topical
linked by a fascinating glimpse into our ‘irrationality’, the one that
at the moment, in the era
struck me most was Elizabeth Kolbert’s ‘Why facts don’t change our
of ‘fake news’ and the echo
minds’. Confirmation bias is well-documented, but has particularly
chamber of social media - the
worrying consequences for society today. Communicating the truth
objectivity of truth is under
isn’t enough, as our energy-conserving, pleasure-seeking brains
threat. You might reasonably
instinctively look for information that supports our point of view, and
think that this is a product of
discounts those that don’t. How do we combat this? Farnham Street
the information age, that when
suggests that we could try to apply the scientific rigour of testing a
anyone can create and distribute
theory by trying to prove it wrong (Sir Karl Popper’s ‘falsification’) –
information without checks and
but given the effort that this would take, and a world of ‘alternative
balances, how do we know what
facts’, this seems unlikely to provide a mass solution. One glimpse
to believe? There’s certainly
of hope provided was that there is some indication that appealing to
an element of this, but The
people’s emotions, rather than providing accurate information, might
New Yorker have published an
work better for changing persistent beliefs. Indeed, this chimes with
interesting article on the subject
increasing evidence from the world of communications that emotional
by Elizabeth Kolbert recently -
advertising campaigns are more effective for long-term brand building
pointing out that this isn’t a new
than rational ones. Whether we are trying to change someone’s mind
phenomenon. Once formed,
about the safety of vaccinations or their favourability towards a brand,
opinions and impressions are
playing to people’s emotions appears to be key. After all, as Dr Jill
remarkably perseverant because
Bolte Taylor noted, “we are feeling creatures who think”, not the other
of the heuristics, or mental
way around.
shortcuts, we all are subject to. It’s not a long read, and well worth five minutes over your mid-morning cup of coffee (#83).
Hannah Jones Goodstuff head of insight
friday reading 100
great thinking
Great Thinking Ideas which are pushing the boundaries and questioning the status quo – this is the realm of chin stroking planner blogs and thought provoking editorial. If trends and culture is about what’s happening in society, this is where we dig out the best thinking and reflection on what that means for communications.
Marketing is a notoriously fickle world, where constantly looking for the next big thing means the fundamentals tend not to stay fundamental for long. For a number of years, fostering customer loyalty was a dominant school of thought. Then came along Byron Sharp and some convincing data which suggested brand loyalty doesn’t meaningfully exist, that brands tend to grow by bringing in new customers, not
guest editors
Laurence Green + 101 founding partner
Paul Gayfer Goodstuff planning partner
"It’s brands who are the audience of people - not the other way around"
“Audience” and “consumer”
convincing existing ones to buy
are terms so hardwired into
more. From this, Sharp reasons
marketing people’s brains we
that brands should target the
don’t tend to give a second
whole market, using broadcast
thought about what they really
channels to reach as many
mean, or why and how we use
people as possible. Rather than
those terms. That’s why we
targeting specific segments
liked a short piece from the
or audience groups. This has
blog of W+K’s Martin Weigel,
become influential thinking, not
Jon Steel reminds us that the role of the planner is “to bring common sense to the advertising process”.
who reminds us that it’s brands
least because it’s grounded in
Common sense rarely deals in absolutes. These articles demand that we don’t fall into the trap of hype,
who are the audience of people
solid data and logic. But that
hyperbole and bandwagon-jumping, and instead appreciate that (as the ever astute @faris recently tweeted)
- not the other way around.
doesn’t mean it’s infallible, or
“binary thinking on any subject is usually naïve or self-serving”. It’s why at Goodstuff we avoid a singular
When you think about it, we
represents a universal law. Mark
agency mantra or planning philosophy that forces our work down a pre-defined path before a brief has
spend such tiny amounts of time
Ritson has written a good article
even landed: no one belief or system will ever answer all clients’ needs. AI vs attention, “audience” vs
thinking about any one brand,
in Marketing Week arguing that
“consumer”, breadth vs targeting, innovation vs the old guard. All important and intricate debates, but none
it’s remarkably self-centred, and
segmentation (now that image
which deserve a single victor. Pragmatism and the ability to shift your view of the world (as demonstrated
seriously misleading, to consider
makes sense eh?) still has huge
by Martin Weigel’s piece on audience) should be at the heart of any planner’s toolkit. Staying in touch with
your target consumers as an
value for many brands, large and
great thinking both old and new as contained here is the key to keeping the brain warm, agile and open
‘audience’ for what you have
small. He points out that almost
minded. Without any visioneering in sight.
to say. It implies a captivation
half the recent IPA effectiveness
that just doesn’t exist. Perhaps
award winners targeted a very
‘consumer’ is better, it reminds
specific audience. Is it possible
us of people’s choice – so what
that they’re both right? This isn’t
we produce had better be damn
a simple business, and there
good if we’re going to earn their
aren’t simple answers which
attention (#30).
apply to everyone (#79).
Paul Gayfer Goodstuff planning partner
friday reading 100
"The more complex your language, the more people think you’re a complete twonk (and less intelligent)"
We work in a funny business
The modern advertising
In this classic example of his
really, where the one constant
practitioner is navigating new
swashbuckling style, Ritson
is being told that there are no
terrain. Content is famously
takes on the new ‘anti-
rules - to break the mould, try
oversupplied and attention is
segmentation’ orthodoxy
new things, swim upstream etc.
fleeting, assuming it can be
proposed by Dr. Byron Sharp as
etc. So it’s quite refreshing to
won at all. And it’s as true of
a central plank of his theory of
have finally stumbled upon
our own relationship with our
“How Brands Grow”. Whether
the set of unequivocal rules of
24/7 village newsfeeds, blogs
you agree or disagree with his
advertising from our favourite
and shares as it is of our end
premise - intelligently argued as
northern planner, PHD’s Andrew
consumers’ real world media
always and heretical as it is to
Hovells. Your tongue should
habits. Besieged by a torrent of
the Byronistas - is besides the
be firmly in your cheek at this
opinion and ephemera, we’re
point. Because, in the end, it
point, but it’s a brilliant mix of
easily drawn to the new and
doesn’t matter what you think.
genuinely useful insight and
the shiny. To the soundbite.
It matters that you think. And
entertaining observation. If you
To tactics, not strategy; the
Ritson always makes you think.
scan the Snapchat icon you can
urgent, not the important.
get the full list, but here are a
In that context, big picture
few choice quotes:
commentators like Mark Ritson
1. Anyone using the following
are worth their weight in gold:
words in any situation will be
as our prophylactic against
henceforth known as a complete
nonsense and groupthink.
dickhead. Ideation. Interface.
Ritson reports from the junction
The rise of the information age was supposed to bring about a 21st century version of the great enlightenment, ubiquitous access to knowledge was to enrich and educate us all for the betterment of humanity. But it turns out that now vast quantities of information can be produced for next to nothing, it becomes relatively unimportant. Truth and quality of information is no longer as important as capturing the now truly scarce
of marketing strategy and
resource, our attention.
business outcomes, rather than
In a thought provoking article
from further down the food
for WIRED, Rowland Manthorpe
chain. In so doing he reminds us
argues that this ‘attention
all to fly at that higher altitude, since execution should always
great thinking
economy’ is the mainstay of our
spring from and ‘report back to’
Laurence Green
times, and the bread and butter
some masterplan. (Does yours?)
101 founding partner
for clicks and views, not quality
of the tech giants who compete or impact. From Brexit and the US elections to clickbait, what
“If content is king, we need
problems, eh? It’s an interesting
the content actually says is
a revolt and someone needs
build on the previous article,
increasingly less important than
to kill him” - as blog titles
rather than a future dominated
the extent to which you can’t
go, this one certainly gets
by shallow flashy demands on
help but watch.
your attention. Tom Goodwin
your attention, Tom suggests
He suggests the next logical
Visioneering. In fact anyone
3. Post rationalisation isn’t a
makes an interesting point in
we’ll see one where we’re
step in a world where attention
caught using overlong words
crime (as Russell Davies would
an excellently written article,
helped to make simple choices
is the most valued resource, is
will have a drink spilt in their
say) it’s a valid way to get great
arguing that human beings have
between fewer options. Which,
for AI products to sidestep the
lap. The more complex your
ideas made. Never sell great
evolved to deal with scarcity
after all, is what brands are
natural limits of our attention
language, the more people think
ideas if they are not right for
and grab what we can when the
supposed to do in the first
by completing various tasks for
you’re a complete twonk (and
the brief, but if it’s great and
going is good. But the modern
place. But rather than Enterprise
us. Freeing up our capacity to
less intelligent).
it’s right, no one cares if the
world is defined by excess. As
being your first choice of car
consume. What does this world
2. Never kill an idea by
strategy came before or after
he puts it “the true scarcity
hire because they have a catchy
look like for brands? Perhaps
speaking before thinking. Our
apart from the strategist.
of modern times isn’t stuff or
ad, they could be so because
an increase in utility, along the
industry is supposed to be
4. Work is to be measured by
entertainment or even attention,
they know you’re most likely
lines of Domino’s chatbot? Or
about originality, and our first
quality, not quantity. That goes
it’s clarity”. We don’t need
to want a van with a sat nav
greater reliance on short form?
reaction to new stuff is fear and
for how long your hours are, the
more stuff, we need better stuff.
available in Bath next Thursday;
Maybe even catchy jingles are
rejection. You’re first response
length of any document, the
Stuff that makes it easier, and
without you having to fill out a
due a comeback. Now there’s
will be wrong, live with it for a
number of slides or any work
reduces the cognitive overload
load of forms to get there (#27).
something we can all get behind
while - and shut the fuck up.
you are doing (#30).
we’re blessed with. First world
(#72).
We hope you found this useful, interesting or at least entertaining – please send any feedback to tim@goodstuff.co.uk
We’re already looking forward to the 200th edition. What next? A radio show? Podcast? Daytime TV show? We’re always open to ideas for media done properly.