Take 2 – Visit My New Blog

Like dieting, blogging is mere aspiration for me: love the idea, think about it a lot, but execution? Meh.

Come witness my new blog. Same cast, new location. I will no longer be updating this one. See you at my new place, Planner at Large.

The difference between a good planner and a great planner

Last week, I saw a great presentation from Dean Sciole, the Head of Strategy for Saatchi & Saatchi China. He talked about advertising development and mentioned that sometimes all it takes is one conversation with a person to spark the insight and idea for an entire campaign. Good planners know how to have lots of different conversations with people to develop a ‘consumer insight’, but it takes a great planner to identify the one conversation that ties together the team’s thinking and provides a platform for creative communications.

UNICEF China gave Saatchi & Saatchi a brief to increase awareness and financial support for their programs, which helped provide education and support for children growing in poor, rural areas of the country. This was a tough ask – especially considering that the support needed to come from affluent families in Tier 1 cities like Shanghai and Guangzhou, where the one child policy meant that every dollar earnt was spent on each family’s Little Prince/Princess. When Dean would talk to affluent urban parents, he realised that they saw little reason in giving money away to another child when they could invest properly in their own. Urban parents simply didn’t see the ‘value’ in helping someone else’s child. Dejected, Dean and a creative director went in search of a different view by talking to the rural poor. It was here that Dean made the connection. He spoke with a rural Chinese mother who said she would donate money immediately. She reasoned that the people she relied on – her doctor, the police – were, in effect, someone else’s child. Suddenly, the brief became clear. This wasn’t about a handout or malnourished children. It was a simple story: help someone else’s child, for some day, they may just help you. Dean and his CD worked up a script overnight, the ad was shot and the resulting campaign became one of the most successful drives in UNICEF China’s history.

I’ve had the privilege to learn and work with some great planners. And one of the things I’ve learnt is that their ability doesn’t lie in how well they tell the story, but instead in how they listen for a story.

Why I work best at 3.30 in the morning…

 

3.30am - My Primetime

The favourite part of my job is when I conduct ethnographic research, or as Saatchi calls, “Xploring”. One of my most memorable assignments was in New York City where I spent an evening in a stretch Hummer limousine ferrying about several groups of friends around Manhattan. We would drop them off at a bar and would act like a town car – all for the privilege of helping us (and the potential alcohol client we were pitching) understand what it was like for young professionals to ‘have a big night out’. This shot was taken at 3.30am in the morning where Heather (on the left, me on the right) was fielding a phone call from one of our (now very drunken) research subjects. We were in some horrible Turkish restaurant serving even more horrible filtered coffee, but it was enough caffeine for us to keep filming and observing as we pulled together a funny documentary on the nightlife of twentysomethings in Manhattan.

As usual, we had little budget and little time to do the project, but thanks to Craigslist we pulled together a great bunch of people and thanks to Dunkin’ Donuts, we later pulled together a strategy and territory that blew the client away. We ended up winning the pitch.

Get Your Stimulus Money Ready: The 2-in-1 Toast & Eggs Machine!

 

What will they think of next, ay?

Presenting the Tefal 2-in-1 Eggs and Toast machine – where you can finally escape the tyranny of attending to a toaster and a nearby frypan/pot. Only $80 – and just in time for Mother’s Day!

Inside the new Australian Ghetto

 

Summer Hill, NSW: A new Ground Zero

New ghettoes are forming in urban Australia, but they’re not what you think. Far from the crime and drugs of inner-cities, these are instead middle-class ghettoes where there’s no hardship, but there’s certainly a spirit that defines whether you belong or not. I’ve found in my research over the years that the epidemic has spread out of the Balmain district of inner-west Sydney and into other areas of Australia, as Gen Xers claim their stake and renovate their nests as they welcome in Australia’s new Baby Boom.

Get Set

HiLux TRD. Enough Said.

The best thing about working on an account like Toyota Australia is getting behind the wheels of some of the cars, especially ones like the supercharged HiLux TRD we helped to launch last year. We raced the HiLuxes on a track about an hour out of Melbourne, near some town where we enjoyed ‘tiddly oggies’ (aka cornish pasties). In the shot, you can see the back of Pete Buckley, one of Australia’s best creatives who has gone onto do bigger and better things with his new agency, Disciple.

Why Comedians Are Better At Tragedy

For the last couple of years, Scotsman Craig Ferguson has hosted the Late Late Show, a latenight variety program that follows the venerable David Letterman on the American CBS network. Whilst rival NBC fumbles around with its trio of Jay Leno, Conan O’Brien and newcomer Jimmy Fallon, CBS has built a loyal audience for Craig’s unique brand of storytelling, wit and candour. The above clip is one of the best examples of Craig’s style, a moving eulogy he made to his late father when he passed in 2006. Instead of the usual comedy monologue that is par for the course in the latenight format, Craig usually opens the show with a 20-minute set on his thoughts for the day. The whole set is not designed to be full of jokes, but Craig will find a way to blend in sly jokes and references to keep the mood light when the need calls for it.

There’s something I find intriguing when it comes to how comedians deal with tragedy (also take a look at Jon Stewart’s first show after 9/11 or Kathy Griffin’s first set just days after her own father passed). There’s a definite skill when it comes to blending humour with the gravity of loss and death. I think it has to do with the fact that the best comedians also have the best insight into people and culture, as its their job to identify the truths that are common to both them and their intended audience. The feeling of loss and despair is universal, but so too are optimism and positivity. The best comedians are able to walk directly into the darkness of a situation and usher the audience towards a positive place.

People certainly don’t tune in to comedies or stand-up shows to cry, but I don’t think people realise that sometimes our need for comedy is actually just our need to hear some truth for once.

Why Pancakes Are Better Than Uluru

The Azns love their Pancakes!

One of my most interesting clients at work are Australia Network, a division of ABC International Projects. They operate three satellite feeds that reach 44 countries, all the way from India through Singapore, up to South Korea and then southward (and east?) towards Fiji and the Cook Islands. Working for them requires an intricate understanding of the cultural nuances of the different countries in which they operate – no easy task when you consider the ramifications of showing daytime staples like ‘Home & Away’ in countries like Malaysia and Indonesia (the world’s most populous Muslim country). 

On the other hand, you learn some interesting things along the way, especially when it comes to what young South-East Asians, for example, think of Australia.

A Fish Called Stephen Hodges

 

Stephen Hodges (left), one of Sydney's best seafood chefs and part inspiration for my blog.

The inspiration for writing this blog came a few weeks ago when I was asked to cover for one of our other planners on a job for a food client of ours. The job was simple: visit Fish Face, one of Eastern Sydney’s most popular fish restaurants and follow Stephen Hodges, the owner, for an afternoon. The idea was that the afternoon would be spent learning about the secret behind the success of the restaurant: which, in itself, was a cosy space for about thirty in Darlinghurst, a two-minute walk from nearby Kings Cross.