art of conversation

MORE CONVERSATIONS

Being office workers and write-y types, we spend a lot of time sitting and staring at our computers, frowning.

Computers are like face magnets. It is hard to tear yourself away.

So Dominic suggested that we create a time every day when everyone is encouraged to switch off their face magnets and sit around and talk.

QUITE INTERESTING ...

… THINGS YOU MAYBE DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT BOROUGH MARKET # 7

A feast of quite interesting things happening down the Market the last couple of days, with the 'Taste Spain' festival – a celebration of Spanish food and culture.

For example. did you know that Spanish persim(m)ons are derived from the Kaki fruit and are related to the Sharon fruit?

And did you know that persim(m)ons have their own PR agency? (RED communications)

And that there is some debate over their spelling? (see comments)

DOES STRATEGY STILL MATTER?

The advertising industry is cock-a-hoop over the Sony Bravia campaign and the Cadbury’s Dairy Milk Gorilla ad, both by Fallon. Sometimes you just have to stand back and admire the work – so hats off to the agency, plus whatever art students may have had the original ideas.

But a worrying question for strategists is, if the Bravia and CDM gorilla ads are a triumph of the ‘entertainment / engagement’ school of advertising, rather than the old ‘story well told’ communication model, is it the end of strategy as we know it?

STILL QUITE INTERESTING # 6

ANOTHER QUITE INTERESTING THING AROUND BOROUGH MARKET

Actually, this is the same quite interesting thing that we mentioned before.

You know how once you notice something, you keep seeing other examples? We saw that someone's put a notice on the signpost around the height you might expect someone to see it.

Nowadays 'Bankside' (as parts of Borough are now called) is a popular tourist destination. We wondered if these signposts are designed for those Masai tribespeople who jump up very high? Not that we've seen many of them around, to be fair.

PLANNING BOOK LAUNCH

Not a lot of people know this, but Stephen King, the (co) founder of account planning, once proposed spray-on socks as a new product. Fitting that the APG-sponsored launch of a book of his papers took place in the Imagination Building.

There were speeches, a debate then conversations and canapes – all hugely enjoyable and good that one of Stephen's main pieces of advice was being upheld – to have fun.

IS THE MARKETING BATTLE BECOMING A LOVE-IN?

This is a map of the Battle of Hastings, and it represents the way that British consumers traditionally repel ads as well as how they traditionally repel Norman invaders. My little boy is pretty clear what advertising is about: they try to con you into buying things, and you try to resist. You can tell he has a planner for a mother and a researcher for a Dad.