Our Marketing Myth Laid Bare!

Yes, that’s me, 52, overweight and frankly a shocking image that made you stutter mid scroll and read on.

This is about so much more than a naked bloke with blue hair or beans on a Weetabix, relying on a simple shock to get noticed. Our client/agency model, our marketing world, all the bullshit and promises – they’re broken and in as a bad a shape as I am to be frank.

We all promise partnership, all parties want to deliver excellence on day one and then we cut budgets, haggle on the minor points, rush those vital jobs and proceed with the status quo because we can’t afford to miss a step, stumble and fall behind the Tsunami of FMCG messages. We find ourselves building wallpaper campaigns lost in the cacophony and point admiringly at those braver than us who spent a bit more time and who wore their brave trousers one afternoon (Helen is wishing I hadn't found my brave trousers for this!)

For agencies, our services have been commoditised and now deliver the lowest daily rates and margins possible, making us reach for ever more junior help to find a solution and still keep the lights on. For you, our smashing brands and clients, you plan for the best possible delivery and then find yourself forced to trim for a budget you know won’t stretch as far as it did last year with ever more channels to tackle and that crusade for the magic megaphone that’ll make your voice rise above the crowd.

When I started doing this 33 years ago, I wanted to solve problems, work in partnership with exciting brands and make a difference. It’s time for us all to STOP and START thinking differently! Working together in true partnership, treating each other with trust and openness, cut the bullshit and made-up theories, share our fears, admit our weaknesses and share our successes. So, we’ve started our new business, one that solves problems, thinks progressively, ditches the agency bullshit and treats our clients as friends and trusted colleagues.

This is a tough thing we do, even when times are good and honestly, it’s been virtually impossible in these dark times. ‘Throw those curtains wide’ as another chunky Northern bloke once said and have a good look in the mirror, it’s time to press reset, understand this new digitally active market and find new friends to solve those problems with. Give us a call, I promise to put a shirt on!