art of conversation

SOMETIMES IT'S HARD TO BE A BLOGGER

So much to say, so little time.

We are well busy with work - furiously frowning into our face-magnets - but we didn't want to miss all the interesting goings-on in Blogoland.

John Grant has some brilliant pieces on EVO and (further down) on possible effects on green-consciousness of a recession.

Gareth talks about the implications of Google going Green.

Mark is exercised by the limitations on the strategic planner.

Richard's crew are getting all hot and bothered about innocent drinks and the true meaning of brands.

And from us, a picture of a flying cat in someone's bedroom. Source here.

Call us shallow. Say it's meaningless. But we think it's funny.

And you can think (plan/strategise/rationalise etc) too much. Sometimes it's all about timing.

ALL MODERATING STARTS WITH ONE SMALL GROUP

Luke poked his head into the studio.
“They’re ready Simon”.

[Deep breath, nice and calm, be yourself - they won’t bite]

My experience of moderating my first ever groups was nerve-wracking. You certainly feel the anticipation.

In they came. Six of them. They were real, human and sitting right in front of me, expectantly. Now what?

QITABM #8

(ANOTHER) QUITE INTERESTING THING ABOUT BOROUGH MARKET (the 8th)

You have meandered the market, grabbed the grub, practised the pictures .... now you can buy the book!

The book is the The Borough Market Book: From Roots to Renaissance by Ptolemy Dean; Sheila Dillon; Henrietta Green (Author), Miranda Glover (Editor), Jason Lowe; Photographer (Illustrator).

You can buy it here via Amazon.

Christmas present perhaps? Any book by someone called Ptolemy has to be worth a look.

GREEN IS THE NEW GREEN

Yesterday the PM announced that he was setting up a new ‘green hotline’ to advise people on what they can do to cut their impact on the environment, as part of a new Green Homes Service, a single point of contact for people who want a "home energy audit".

So green is becoming mainstream. But why would the average UK householder want to do a 'home energy audit' who is not yet ‘converted’ to the green cause? And what would effect a change of heart?

Looking for answers, I went listen to John Grant, launching ‘The Green Marketing Manifesto’ at the AKA bar.

I'M GONNA BUY BUY BUY THAT BRAND

For years I never spent any money. Of course I bought my lunch, plenty of drinks, even very occasionally a car. But all the real spending, the month in, month out spending (food, clothes, everything) was all done by my wife. She buys everything the children need and until recently she bought everything for the home.

It's a cultural thing: men overestimate their influence as consumers, the real power in any market place is generally female.

On Your Marks

Christmas is coming and so are Christmas ads. Marks & Spencers’ contribution sees Elizabetj Jagger, Laura Bailey, Noëmie Lenoir, Erin O’Connor, Twiggy Lawson on the prowl for a hunky Antonio Banderas in an extravagant 1940s/50s outing, thanks to the creative talents of Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R.

James Surowiecki noted that advertising is less about conveying information about a product, than 'signalling confidence' in it. In this instance, M&S is signalling in a brilliant and safe way. It probably works perfectly for those who shop - or might shop - at M&S, to add a bit of glamour this Christmas .

Thinking back two years and before, M&S would have struggled to resonate with consumers with this style of communication, but on the back of successful campaigns with Take That and seductive food advertising, this latest ad exemplifies a drastic turnaround in fortunes from an old-school retailer to a new-school destination of choice.

This confident piece of festive communication from M&S continues the strategy of playing to their strengths as a retailer that offers exclusive range, glamorous quality and, dare I say it, no more of granddad’s cardigans.

Simon.

Colour. Like Another

Slumped on a hotel bed in York this weekend watching TV, I noticed Orange's latest 'never-ending' TV ad, young people exploding coloured ribbons, rolling colourful carpets (and so on) in the urban outdoors.

My mind turned to the Sony campaign (balls, paint, rabbit); I drifted back to those funky iPod adverts; then Persil's 'small and mighty' exploding clothes ad sprang to mind (reminding me again of Sony's 'Paint' ad).

Are we entering a new creative phase where brands battle creatively to 'own colour'?

WHAT ARE WE LIKE?

(Picture © PJ Miller)
It was fitting that we met at Congress House, home of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), location of this Sir Jacob Epstein statue, because I have rarely felt more ‘at one’ with my profession than I did on Friday. Camaraderie is underrated.

‘AQR@QRCA@AQR: changing times and challenging values’ wouldn’t mean a lot to anyone outside the rarified world of qualitative research, but this half-day conference was a great chance to get together and to look into what we do – as hosted by Peter Lovett and Julia Gartside-Spink and as already delivered to the QRCA in Atlanta last year and Vancoouver recently.

Nobody plans to become a qualitative researcher, we tend to fall into it. Despite the current media obsession with ‘focus groups’ (or maybe because of it), most people don’t understand what we do – including quite a few clients!

THE SUN SAVED MY BACON

I was puzzled stopping off at Pret for a late sandwich. The shelves were empty, all the good stuff gone, except for the BLT's. Plenty of bacon for anyone who wanted it. Then it clicked; there was a Sun headline two days ago, to the effect that bacon gives you cancer. Actually I think the Sun was in scoffing mode, but even so, the bacon scare has surely begun.
Makes you remember how much faster bad news travels than good news. And how the 'behavoural change' so beloved of advertising planners is so easily achieved by a 'scare'. And how quick people are to give up something that isn't addictive, compared to cigarettes for example. Oh well, at least the pigs will live a little longer.
Dominic