Skills 2.0.

While I was a bit sceptical about some of its assertions and assumptions as regards the causes of "The Rise and Fall of the Ad Man", the recent BBC3 documentary of that name (which UK readers, at least, can view here) has certainly produced a lot of discussion online.

Drawing some parallels between the allegedly changing media landscape of the late 80s and today Iain Tait has mused upon the skills needed for the creative organsiation of the future. Coincidentally and serendipitously, Mark McGuinness has produced a great overview of the specialist/generalist argument which lies at the heart of the matter.

My inclination is towards the generalist, as long as the aim is to have depth as well as breadth of expertise. Generalism today is not about being a jack of all trades and master of none, it's about diversity - all the more so in our fast-changing times. Crucial also is the ability to see the overview - strategic and analytical thinking are skills through which specialist input can best be filtered, assessed and directed.

In a way I suppose this reflects my general marketing philosophy. The user/customer is essentially the generalist in the equation, certainly in comparison to the creators of a product or service and it is crucial for all those specialists to focus on using their skills to meet generalist needs rather than to overcomplicate things. So don't be beholden to the specialist. Yes, they can supply very specific skills, but in too many cases they do so from within a very specific silo mindset and there are commercial and creative dangers inherent in that.

By way of illustration, let me return to "The Rise and Fall of the Ad Man" and the comment of the brilliant John Hegarty - a man who has thrived in both the 80s and today. His defence of the quality of modern advertising, specifically the Sony Bravia work, finished with the assertion that it had picked up all the awards going. True enough, but those are awards that are given to specialists by other specialists. The aim should not be to win awards. It should not be to focus on the specialism. It has to be about an outward focus on people who are not specialists.

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Intuition Is Not Intuitive.

"I know it will take me months to master maybe 40% of its functionality, so why would I put myself through that?"

A typical and unsurprising comment from some technology focus group research that I saw recently. But what's the solution? Intuitive interfaces for sure. But let's not forget what intuition is - it's defined as immediate cognition. The trouble is cognitive biases mean that cognition (and thus, I assume, intuition) can differ greatly between individuals.

Along with others, I've recently been testing the new xda Orbit 2 from O2. It's elegant, has great audio quality and made me want to use it, but that's where my problems started. I've finally got around to locating a helpful and extensive online pdf instruction manual (sadly not a website). But the crucial "out of the box" experience was, for me, not what it should have been and I understand that some more technically-astute users have also been "unintuitive" - in one case being unable to find a feature that was heavily touted on the website. It's a salient reminder for any company, not just O2.

Supplying a tiny "getting started" instruction booklet may seem like smart, unintimidating marketing but if it leaves a user floundering, it's been counter-productive. I'm a great fan of Apple and many would argue that their interfaces are the most intuitive around, but regardless of he truth of that I'm also very aware that they supply extensive help menus and support materials both in the box and online. It's crucial that you do so what ever your product/service.

The "instruction manual" is your marketing. It's crucial to those two great drivers of product loyalty and love - customer experience and usability. Rule 1 - get average "users" to write it and to do so from the viewpoint of a novice not someone who's been using your product/service for a long time (i.e. you). Indeed, I'd go so far as to argue that you should be thinking about the "instruction manual" while youre creating the product - doing so will stop you overcomplicating both things because if you can't pitch it, nobody will buy it.

The bottom line is this - nothing will turn off a prospective user more than being made to feel stupid or inadequate. People are inherently inquisitive, they like to explore and learn but you have to make it easy for them. Reward their effort with feelings of mastery and they will be hooked, make it difficult (especially at the outset) and they'll stick with what they already know or find a company that understands how they feel.

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Tribal Gatherings.

To reposition themselves from dusty department store to modern retail destination, Selfridges has often hosted art exhibitions. In their Oxford Street basement, you can currently find an exactitudes show featuring Ari Versluis's photographic documentation of group identities.


This time they've extended the idea into their merchandising.


That's joined-up marketing.

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Be Original Or Shut Up.

I've followed xkcd.com for its cartoons, but recently came across this brilliantly subversive idea on their blog. What they've done is incorporate software that blocks your comment if it repeats what somebody else has said. In their words, be original or you can't belong because you're just adding noise.

Something all marketers should live by.

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It's Not Easy Being Consistent.

The merits of consistency in marketing/advertising tone have been debated ad nauseam and, for the record, I'm fairly ambivalent because I think it's the viewer/reader who ultimately deciphers the tone of your message and does so on a personal, individual basis. You can be different things to different customers. The big problems only really arise when you are contradictory and that is why this effort from EDF Energy caught my eye at a friend's house.

As you see above, there's a big splash about being green on the envelope and they urge you to recycle it. Since that recycling involves opening the envelope in a slightly different way, it's a pity they give that instruction on the back and run the risk of the envelope being opened before the message is read. But that's quibbling isn't it?. But, then so is pointing out that each of these envelopes still contains one of these.



Of course, this ensures they receive their payment or meter reading slip and that's fine with me, but I'm not sure what it does for the environment. And yes I did say this was contained in each envelope, because here's a company who like all the rest uses CRM only for selling purposes. They don't use it to ensure that a customer who buys both gas and electricity from them doesn't receive two lots of meter reading slips and envelopes within two days. Every billing cycle.

Now perhaps these are small blips in the grand scheme, but small things matter. They matter both in terms of mirroring a genune conviction and in terms of appearing competent and capable of joined-up thinking. Customers expect that of you. No it's not easy being green. But it's surely easier not to contradict yourself.

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Tell Me Something New.

So, it's criticise advertising week apparently. Here's a visually confusing billboard that's about ethical investment funds and not coffee. But the thing that caught my eye (and for which you'll have to click on the image) is the list of attributes on the right hand side.

Claims two and three both refer to "our award-winning" investment team and not much else. Repetition aids recollection, but if you do it too obviously, you run the risk of appearing either patronising or having not enough to say. If you've got my precious attention, tell me something new.

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Fly Singapore Airlines Why?

I've never flown Singapore Airlines but their TV spot this weekend completely amazed me. I know they and their Australian tour partners wanted the viewer to fly with them but their voiceover justifications were as follows.

They use new planes - cue picture of plane but no technical specifications.

They offer "thousands of entertainment options" - but give no details.

They provide "great service and comfort" - again no evidence.

USP stands for unique selling proposition. If you're buying expensive advertising, I think it helps if you've got something unique to say.


Addendum: If anybody can find the ad online, I'd love to have the link because I failed in my search and it would help people judge.

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