The Strategy Blog.
-
Forget mutual respect, a warm mutual disrespect is even better.
“We often hate each other, but it’s the kind of hatred like flint and steel – the sparks that come out of it make it worth the while”, Penn on his magic partner Teller. One of the hardest fought categories in the Media Week Awards judging was Large Collaboration. …
-
Slogans are not enough
Ian Katz, editor of gladiatorial Newsnight, wrote recently about an impasse in journalism suggesting a deal to allow politicians to get their point across in traditional media and to be less defensive. As the general election approaches I think that politicians should focus on their direct channel to the public…
-
Fine words and good looks are not enough
In 1946 Bedouin shepherds stumbled on a huge archaeological discovery. In caves near the Dead Sea they found a series of scrolls housed in jars. By 1951 a full excavation was under way and in the end nearly a thousand documents were discovered. The documents were dated to the…
-
Nostalgia ain’t what it used to be.
Can we stop with the nostalgia for what media used to be about please? Some say: the art of the media agency used to be to find the perfect spot for a TV ad. I say : this is targeting the right audience at the right time and in…
-
World’s toughest job
Nice framing of a human truth
-
Fewer cocks in the Cabinet.
Comedian Andy Hamilton summed up how most of us feel about the injection of women into the new Cabinet when he said :”it’s nice that Cameron has discovered women so near election time.” The reshuffle, which means that there are now 5 women in the Cabinet again (back to…
-
“One night stand” or “Secret affair”?
News breaks this week that Air New Zealand is withdrawing its safety video after thousands signed an online petition claiming it was “culturally insensitive”. What could possibly offend in a set of bikini clad Sports Illustrated models telling you to keep your safety belt fastened !? It’s still available at…
-
Don’t exploit the stack, if you should be exploiting the mesh (and vice versa) !
If you haven’t spent half an hour in the company of brilliant and charming, Controller of Commercial Digital Products at ITV, Jon Block, then I suggest you do so at once. He’s got a list of user needs from the second screen while watching TV which is well worth…
-
Always keep moving forward.
At our conference this week we heard case studies of two connected partnerships which truly use TV to its full advantage. Both Iceland’s sponsorship of I’m a celebrity and WKD’s association with TOWIE make the most of ITV and every kind of second screen. They also both had…
-
We must pray that God is on England’s side because the ref won’t be.
The ex-chief rabbi Jonathan Sacks tells a story that when he was appointed he discovered that he shared a love of Arsenal with the Archbishop of Canterbury. They decided to have their first official meeting in the box at the next game. Where Arsenal lost, and lost badly. The papers…
-
Inspired by your team
This week saw the anniversary of the D Day landings. The invasion of Normandy that changed the course of the Second World War. Coverage in The Guardian said “Seventy Normandy summers ago, as the ships and planes and gliders disgorged 156,000 on to beaches and into the smoke, flames…
-
Can too much loyalty be bad for you?
Too much loyalty can be a double edged sword. Whether you’re a pop icon, a business leader, a sports team or a brand. My favourite pop star is famous for his uncompromising live gigs where he reinterprets his old classics so that they’re unrecognisable to casual fans, refuses to…
For your bookshelf
