Actually it was more than just remembering “that time” which prompted me to think about what shapes us. It was because of something that happened.
Someone I had worked with in my first real Marketing management role more than 20 years ago reconnected and so we had lunch. Was that a risk? Agreeing to meet someone for more than a coffee after all that time having not spoken or seen each other. What if it was awkward? A waste of my precious time. What if we had changed? What if we hadn’t changed!
She came marching over to the table I had booked for lunch and it was an instant familiarity and genuine mutual appreciation of this catch up opportunity. The risk was immediately worth it.
Of course many things had changed after 20 years – we were now proud mothers of adult children, we had held a number of different jobs in different places and industries, we had established as well as offloaded various professional and personal relationships, we had learned a lot – we shared our difficult times and we laughed a lot about the funny times. And we both wholeheartedly agreed we were wiser for our many experiences.
What things had remained? She was still the kind, generous, interesting and interested person I remembered 22 years ago. She was strong, smart and still working hard at delivering impressive results for others. Her style and the way she presented herself continued to be immaculate. We both concurred the place we worked for and the people we worked with all those years ago taught us a lot more than we realised, it shaped the direction we went in as well as encouraged the way we treated others. We were the recipients of impressive leadership and therefore a culture that was quite unique for its time.
The moral of all this? Age doesn’t need to weary us, it should energise us. Think of the workplaces and people who have shaped you. Think of how far you’ve come. Reach out to someone you always thought was worthwhile who you haven’t seen or spoken with in a long time and ask them to lunch. And then share stories about “remember when..” because it will make you smile, it will make you more conscious of what you have achieved, more aware of what you learned and went on to continue learning. But most of all it will remind you there is nothing more influential or important than human connection.
Oscar Wilde once observed that “Life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about.” The same is true of our industry marketing. It may be a serious business, but much more importantly it’s a human business.
]]>So let’s start at the first job, because on reflection now it wasn’t a coincidence I started where I did, and I am sure by the end you will get the irony too
So I want you to picture this… A 17 year old girl living in a town of just 60,000 people in New Zealand. She’s almost finished her last year of high school and she’s pondering her future.
1. Should she be the first in her family on either parents side to head to Uni to do…. but not sure what?
2. Should she follow many of her friends and go travelling for a while….but not sure where?
3. Or should she just get a job and start earning money while she ponders her future adventures….
She’s typical of her age. She loves music, a wide range but especially current, she spends a lot of time listening to songs being played on the local commercial radio station as there are no iPods, Spotify or the internet it’s 1984 – the dark ages really…!
She likes the personalities on the local commercial station – they sound fun, they love their city and talk positively about it, they clearly love people and they seem to know a lot about their music… But most of all, they get paid to talk… she loved talking, could she get paid for doing something she loved? Get paid to do something she got told off for doing at school?
She tells her father she wishes she could work in radio because she thinks she’d be good at it, but she has no experience and there aren’t any women…
He says, go and speak to them, you are smart you can learn and they should have more women.
So she did, the radio station said start practising in the spare studio and maybe one day you’ll get a chance. She does this, she also gets a voice coach and starts to learn how to pronounce maori place names correctly, after her practise shifts in the back studio she seeks feedback on her practise deejaying sessions, she keeps practising weeks turn into a few months and then one night she tells her Mother she is going to give it up as she probably won’t ever get an on air shift… The very next night the Program Director calls and asks “how quickly can you get to the station to fill the midnight to 6am shift?” It was 11.50pm….
..and there started my first career in commercial radio. And I loved it. A dream come true. 2 years on…
I left New Zealand to follow my ambitious parents to Perth with the expectation of working in radio in Western Australia – my confidence told me I would get work in the bright lights and big city of Perth (population then 1.6m – bit bigger than 60,000 I had left in small town NZ) but alas, I had a thuck NZ accent and wasn’t quite what 96FM were looking for. I hadn’t even noticed, wasn’t even aware…
Straight to the country for me so up to the regional town of Geraldton I went (population 25,000) so half the size of the small town I had just left in NZ!! But it was here I learned about resilience and adaptability.
Resilience because I didn’t sound like an Aussie and I certainly didn’t sound like someone who should be on air. I didn’t fut un. The locals didn’t like me much and they weren’t particularly forgiving.
So I figured out if I was to survive (not just keep my job but actually live to tell the story) I needed to change my vowels and sound more Australian, which I worked hard at and soon started to sound slightly better. The Geraldtonians appreciated my efforts and after a bit I could even trick some people into thinking I wasn’t a kiwi until I had a few drinks and/or was around other kiwis and I would soon slup back into my NZ accent.
Another two years on with ambition burning and the need to move on from Geraldton as my Mother’s greatest fear was I would marry a cray fisherman and never leave. Do you know how much they earn? Lucky I wasn’t motivated too much by money or it might have been a reality...
So off I headed to the largest town in the West, Bunbury and my radio career continued. This time I learned about taking on opportunity. When the sound engineer left suddenly I was asked to start making the ads as his replacement. I called my father again and said I can’t be sound engineer, I have never worked a 16 track desk before? And his response… if you haven’t done it before how do you know you can’t do it?
I spent the next 2 years juggling an on air role with making the ads. This taught me such an important lesson… you don’t know what you don’t know so always give it a go!
The next move was to follow the radio announcer boy I had fallen in love with, he was talented and secured a role in Canberra doing the breakfast show, so off we headed and it was in the Nation’s capital I discovered my passion for Marketing.
Joining AMP in 1992 as the Sales Unit Marketing co-ordinator my role was to help the 20 AMP Financial Planners (average age being 69 years old) move their customer records onto a computer database and introduce them to telemarketing nights! It was a fun gig, they indulged the bubbly blonde and her wacky ideas and it wasn’t until some years later I realised their client relationship model was the purest, most effective form of marketing. It wasn’t efficient, but deep relationships with their customers was effective and is still today something we all strive for in any industry. The learning this time… sometimes the new way of doing things isn’t always the best way of doing things.
From Canberra I joined a Relationship Marketing agency in Sydney and led the Telemarketing & Fulfillment division – my role was to ensure we had skilled staff who were capable talkers on the phones and capable packers of direct mail in support of the client accounts we managed. Here I learned about authentic leadership. I worked for an amazing man who started every day with “Happy Monday, or Tuesday or whatever day it was”.
John was the most intelligent and people loving person I think I had ever encountered. He took the development of his staff (both personal and professional) very seriously and invested immense amounts of time and money in his people. He set up a Uni within the agency which we attended 2 nights every week. I completed my ADMA certificate the other nights. He taught me that building positive relationships with others was the key to success. He taught me that most people get up every morning wanting to do their best and it is our role as leaders to enable this.
What a great foundation for what was to come…marriage! Our first child, a move back to Perth and then along came our second child! I started doing a little bit of marketing consulting at home with the infants so I could keep myself “in the industry” whilst I juggled motherhood, by far the hardest job I have ever had (but also the most rewarding). I started to get itchy feet after a couple of years so the next adventure took us all to Singapore.
I was curious about living in a different place and Asia fascinated me. My husband was born in Hong Kong to expat Australians and had lived there for a time as a boy, and he had such a worldy perspective so it was something I wanted our children to also experience. Another marketing agency leadership role and the biggest learning of my career… self awareness. Just because others speak English doesn’t mean they do things the way I do. Just because they hear me doesn’t mean they understand me. I was working with predominantly Chinese staff, all ten times smarter than me.
Culturally we were worlds apart and I learned this quickly when we were preparing for a big pitch to a key client. Working on this for a good few weeks before the presentation, I thought it was clear what we needed to do and my explanation of this, however just two nights before the pitch when I suggested we do a run through and they hadn’t done anything we had discussed, it dawned on me I would need to change my style. Less talking, more listening and definitely more checking in.
I moved on to a senior marketing role at IBM in Singapore, learned a lot about technology and also how a large US multi-national operates globally. I had a Thai boss who reported into a Chinese boss who reported into an Indian boss. Each had different styles of leadership and I learned so much from all 3.
Returning to Australia in 2005 and my career marketing banking and financial services commenced. I spent almost 10 years with ANZ here in Melbourne and loved the 3 different roles I had. The bank restructured every 2 minutes so resilience and adaptability were again needed. I worked hard, used creativity at every opportunity to solve business problems and achieve cut through in the communications and marketing initiatives we devised. I was grateful for the bank’s investment in me doing my MBA and ensured I used those learnings to help grow the people and areas I was in.
It was just over 2 years ago I was approached to head up the brand & marketing at the Bank of Melbourne and I think I might have landed one of the best gigs in town! I get to lead 10 marketing rockstars – all so very switched on, engaged and passionate about their city, state and the customers we serve. We are having a lot of fun ensuring our brand purpose of helping Victorians make it (The Makers) is amplified widely, creating platforms and communication channels to assist our hardworking staff reinforce why choosing a local bank with a focus on our community is the right way to go.
S0 here’s what I have learned along the way…
What remained constant in my career journey?
– Tenacity, if I wanted something I went for it. I didn’t let doubt stop me, however I had plenty of doubts!
– Self belief (or maybe it was naivety!) I never let my gender, my lack of tertiary education until four years ago, my small town NZ upbringing, my funny accent and my real lack of experience ever stop me from having a go.
– I made mistakes, heaps of them! Some were costly to the organisation, some were costly to my personal brand, but I came through. I wasn’t curing cancer so on a scale of little muck up to major balls up, I really didn’t make too many of the latter! You need to learn and you do this from experience, better to have given something a go and learned from it than not.
Best career advice?
Always display good manners, be humble and gracious, ask questions, curiosity is a mind evolving.
Don’t stress about things, they always work out. Unless you are saving lives, high stress isn’t useful, however energy and adrenaline are positive and we should use them to our advantage.
Stay healthy. Eat well, sleep well and exercise. It’s a jungle out there and you need to be able to fire on all fours. Balance is critical – all work and no play is dull and likely to see you with regrets later on in life. All play and little work is likely to cost your future… and your brain cells!
When people reach out to me, the first thing I note is their behaviour. Far more important than their ATAR score (I never ask this) or where they did their University degree, or their degree marks.
Everyone I know seems to have a great education today… this gets you the ticket to the dance, but if you want to win the job you need more than just the academic. Have you volunteered? Created something special? Written something? Acted, sang, danced – are you doing (or have you done) things which were meaningful and can add even more value to an organisation?
The second thing I note is communications skills. Can they look me in the eye when they speak? Are they passionate about things? Do they have a life outside of work/studies? What is their opinion? Do they listen as well as contribute to a conversation?
Be consistent. This is the hardest part – you need to display the good manners, the curiosity, the graciousness, the calmness EVERY single day. Not just when you’re trying to impress. People my age can smell a fake a mile away
Back yourself, especially if you’re female. Doubt gets you nowhere. Ask for help every single day; ask for experience, ask for a job.
…and finally, help everyone you can. Not only is this personally very meaningful but it means people will reciprocate and help you when you ask. Really simple philosophy but it works, trust me
So the irony… I am still talking… just not on radio for the moment! Every day I speak to so many people whether it be via social media, my external network, my team at the bank, my community initiatives, new friends.
The greatest passion I have is people – it’s where I get my energy.
I wish you the very best in your future endeavours.
]]>In the “olden days” you needed to combine your creativity with plenty of money to achieve reach, but thanks to the “connectivity economy” today, enabled by mobile technology + social media, we are each mini media companies and social channels are free to use, share and engage with.
However, free doesn’t always guarantee success. If what you’re selling isn’t packaged well, doesn’t tell a compelling story (even a one liner) and isn’t in the right channels, your message will fade into the great advertising Bermuda Triangle… as quickly as something can be posted on social media, it can also disappear if people don’t rate it worthy of liking, commenting or better still sharing.
The trick is to stop chasing eyeballs and instead create connections with customers.
Different scenario if your message is on a giant billboard in Times Square. You will likely capture eyeballs (especially if you follow the current theme of using beauty, youth and a clever headline in your ad) as you’ve paid for a commitment to be featured for a period of time so your message won’t disappear quite as fast, however there is no guarantee there will be a connection… or that it will be a) noticed or b) remembered.
It makes for an interesting marketing environment. No longer the domain of big business with deep pockets, attaining cut through today is dependent on being really clever. Creativity is king. Here’s some clever cut through and creativity which caught my attention in the big apple this week.
An actual apple! Sitting alone in all its glory on the Brooklyn Bridge with “Ask A New Yorker” written on it. I have no idea how long that 1 apple had been there for, nor how long it remained after many of the walkers that day took a photo of it. All I know is it cut through. I wonder how many people like myself checked out their website? I wonder how many posted their pic to social media and shared that website beyond the walker community that day? Simple and a great example of cost effective creativity. http://www.askanewyorker.com
Donald Trump = Simple. One of the best billboards I have seen because it demonstrates cleverness in a very intelligent, creative manner. No gorgeous young women wearing little clothing needed here… What many of us thought was the Economist was instead the work of a clever ad agency art director, Stephen O’Neill from AML, who with some elegant typography photoshopped into a New York billboard and won AML’s internal creative award. But then his idea escaped onto the internet. It was picked up by an agency staffer in Singapore, who shared it with his followers. Over one weekend it quickly spread round the world. I posted this image on Linked In and had over 700 likes, a number of comments and many also continued to share it. It connected with people. Sorry Donald, probably not a message you would find as clever as we do.
And then we get personal. Not a brand or a product message but a marriage proposal on a bridge in Central Park. A well written sign, a bunch of red roses and an impatient looking and hopeful fiancée… I asked around and he had been there for an hour already. I counted 20 people taking pictures of the scene in the 2 minutes I crossed the bridge so likely at least 100 more did the same in that hour. It cut through but did Sihana say yes? She did! You can see how it unfolded here thanks to video and photographic studio, Albapro who captured the scenes which unfolded http://albapro.com/photojournalism/
I will leave you with a fantastic headline I saw from a big global bank (who knew!) which has stayed with me during the week and well targeted to the diversity positioning New York celebrates:
Most people are here for the culture… you’re here to help build it.
]]>I am almost 17,000 kms away from Madeleine and Louis, my two stunning children (young adults probably a better description at 19 and 17 years respectively however to me they will always be my babies) as I embark on an indulgent opportunity of further knowledge seeking.
]]>I am almost 17,000 kms away from Madeleine and Louis, my two stunning children (young adults probably a better description at 19 and 17 years respectively however to me they will always be my babies) as I embark on an indulgent opportunity of further knowledge seeking.
I wasn’t even aware when I applied for a place at Harvard that if successful it would take me away on Mothers Day. I didn’t give any thought as I read through the dense academic pre-reading prior to my departure that I wouldn’t be with them today to share a family breakfast and some giggles about the time they were 2 and 4 years old and we were living in….
Selfish? Many may think so.
“Those poor children, she is often away for work”. But this wasn’t even work, this was purely self development and opportunistic pursuit. Worse!
When it was official I had gained a place, the ‘poor children’ seemed proud of my choice and excited, not only by what gifts I would bring back (some things don’t change irrespective of age) but also keen to learn through my observations and experience what the new location, new stimulus and new people I would meet would be like.
We didn’t discuss too much about the program I was embarking on before I left. They were doing their own interesting things which is what we tended to focus most on during the whirlwind of the former week’s comings and goings. They trusted my judgement and assumed it must be meaningful to me if it was taking me half way around the world, and away from them.
But here’s the thing. Everything I do, everything I learn, I do for them. The access to opportunities like attending Harvard, meeting and hearing from incredible people from other parts of the world are gifts I can share.
So what are just some of the key messages I take back after completing the Women and Power program?
For Madeleine, you can be and do anything you want but it isn’t likely to be easy if what you aspire to has traditionally been a role occupied by a male. Don’t let this stop you. You are deserved of authority and a position of power too but recognise if you adopt a style that is deemed more masculine, you will be evaluated negatively.
Essentially leadership and power has nothing to do with your title. It has nothing to do with authority, seniority or gender either. It is the art of persuasion and the ability to motivate others to make a difference. And every single one of us is capable of this – men and women.
Thank you Maddy and Louis for being the most treasured gifts I could ever have received – you make me very happy and so very proud.
Happy Mothers Day to the many amazing women I know, but especially to Linda, my beautiful, powerful mother and my biggest inspiration.
]]>But I haven’t just had another child - that would be a miracle at my age…I was at Splendour In The Grass, Australia’s biggest and most successful music festival in Byron Bay, with 42,500 other music lovers. But Splendour isn’t just about the music, it’s a three-day festival of experiences across performance, food, retail, science, comedy, culture and ideas. To quote the web copy “…the bands, beers, punters, pollies, panelists and performers collide in spectacular fashion”.
There are happy, smiling people everywhere at Splendour which isn't a coincidence because according to a new psychology study by Australian researchers, experiencing live music can make us happier and healthier. People who actively engaged with music through dancing and attending events like Splendour in the Grass, reported a higher level of subjective well-being. And as if that wasn't enough live music regularly, it can play a significant role in boosting your well-being, thereby increasing life expectancy by almost a decade" says behavioural science expert Patrick Fagan* who scientifically measured the impact of several activities associated with happiness and well-being. Living longer thanks to attending music festivals, who knew?
Splendour turns 19 years old this year and last weekend was my second time experiencing (you simply don’t “attend Splendour”) this incredibly well organised, beautiful and expansive assault on the senses.
To say I am a fan is being conservative, I am a serious advocate of this joyous festival - impressed by its scale, how it’s run, its content curation, its creativity, its overt care of all who attend and I am especially in awe of the team of creatives whose guiding principles for success start with collaboration. They make it happen, and they make it better and better, year after year...
So as I reflected on how long Splendour has been running, it made me appreciate how much you have learned when you’re the parent of a 19 year old. You know your ‘baby’ exceptionally well, you have watched them morph and grow into their own being, and you recognise much of yourself as well as delight in their uniqueness and how they are different to you. Importantly, you have also gotten to know yourself better during the process of influencing, guiding and supporting their growth.
Splendour was founded by Paul Pittico and Jess Ducrue and I had the privilege to sit down with Jess last Friday, during a lunch Visa hosted for invited guests to Splendour. I asked her about why their festival not only works, but also how it keeps getting better and what its future holds. The following are my takeouts from my conversation with Jess and my time spent at Splendour In The Grass this year:
So back to the raising of that 19 year old: Jess and Paul, congratulations on being such fine parents because the Splendour I witnessed again this year is inspiring, responsible and making a very positive difference to others. The ultimate creative achievement.
*Online article published by The Independent, 27th March, 2018 ^Online article published by Somerset Live, 1st September, 2018
]]>Correct.
But to be fair, if that is all you experienced at this year’s Cannes Lions (aka International Festival of Creativity) then you missed an exceptionally broad and compelling program with an underlying theme of generosity. Because what I witnessed at the Lions was an openness and sharing of truly world-class global thinking; the successes, the failures, inspiring ideas, insights and some very personal experiences from a wide range of global marketing experts. There was also some of the most outstanding marketing work on show that is shaping our future.
So why hold the Lions in Cannes? Ad people know a good looking direction – beauty and art should inform and destination is everything… and the South of France is a very inviting location to come together, however more importantly, Cannes as the host place for the Festival of Creativity also removes any one major market ownership or dominance of the Lions. It is a truly global festival with expanding international representation, either in attendance or award entries from every corner including markets like Guatemala, Pakistan, China, Ukraine, Finland and Peru.
Across the 5 days of the Festival we had access to over 600 speakers from thought leaders, brand marketers, media gurus, creative icons, artists, rappers, rockstars, actors, singers, and sports legends - all experts in their field and tapped into marketing’s biggest competitor...culture. They shared and we listened. There is nothing else like it in the world, as far as scale goes, and in its 66th year and with the largest attendance ever recorded in 2019 (more than 35,000 people), its popularity is roaring!
Every major media, tech or ad shop had a presence this year including Facebook, Google, Twitter, Spotify, Pinterest, Hulu, iHeart Media, MediaLink, Condé Nast, LiveNation and Snap. The main programming and awards showcase took place across two huge auditoriums (Palais 1 and Palais 2) whilst along the beach at branded activation pop-ups, hotel suites, premium apartments and on yachts, you could catch many other speakers on panels and doing Q&A formats.
After more than 25 years in marketing, 2019 was my very first experience of the Cannes Lions. FOMO became a daily grind as it wasn’t possible to physically experience every topic I had marked in the program app. To maximise the incredible opportunity Visa had granted me, I needed to be on my game... up early, bright eyed, bushy tailed and sporting a good pair of joggers to pounce with stealth. Informed and inspired, the following is a short summary of what I came away with.
The four new P’s of Marketing at Cannes - Purpose, Positivity, People and Partnerships.
Purpose - If I had a euro for every time I heard the word “purpose” I could afford a penthouse on the Croisette. This was a big focus and a consistent theme of the Festival program - driving change and a strong sense of purpose, especially on the big issues our industry collectively can effect like gender, the environment, diversity, well-being and poverty.
The health track’s purpose on how creativity can improve people’s mental and emotional well-being worldwide was cool, and unfortunately I missed a very good panel session called “Visual Diet” exploring the relationship between marketing imagery and mental health.
Unilever CEO Alan Jope said all of his brands will have to have a social or sustainability purpose or eventually be divested. Some Unilever brands were already achieving this objective, but others hadn’t started. When a behemoth like Unilever makes a call like this, you know it will have an impact on the future. Kudos to you Alan Jope.
So it was pleasing to see the majority of Grand Prix awards went to ideas tied to some aspect of social good, even outside of categories that are decidedly purpose-driven. Volvo earned the inaugural Creative Strategy Grand Prix for its E.V.A. Initiative, which opened up 40 years of collision data to other automakers so they could all make their cars safer for women, since most crash test dummies are modelled after men.
And the jury for one of the oldest categories, Print, granted the top prize to Lebanese publication An-Nahar’s blank edition – the printing of a blank newspaper aimed to propel the country’s politicians to finally break a long-running gridlock. Lebanese people used the opportunity to send their own messages back to politicians (vs politicians using the paper to spruik promises they never kept…) and in doing so An-Nahar generated $5m in earned media, and the blank issue became the best-selling edition of the newspaper, also was the number 1 trending topic on Twitter and received coverage in over 100 international publications.
Marketing’s role has always been to solve problems creatively to effect commercial growth, but today it’s more about effecting positive change. To be the voice for others. To make a difference. Community and cause. Because growth will follow.
How to take a stance against gender tax inequality in Germany? When women pay a 19% tax on a need deemed a ‘luxury item’ yet items such as caviar and art attracts a 7% tax in Germany, creative thinking is needed… Introducing the Tampon book because books, unlike tampons, are taxed at just 7%. This clever idea from The Female Company, an online retailer of feminine hygiene products, created a book to sell tampons. Containing 40 pages of content and 50 tampons in the back, the book sold out of it’s 10,000 printed copies in 1 day and the second edition within a week. It put the unfair tax system on the agenda of the world’s media and pressure was put on the German Minister for Finance. A petition on change.org received more than 150,000 signatures and the German legal system is now officially debating the tampon tax.
So we have moved beyond the “campaign” to the “solution”. Solving problems first rather than just telling stories because the stories (like growth) follow the solutions.
Positivity - “Less stuff, more joy” was the title of Marie Kondo’s session and within 2 seconds of walking on stage she managed to immediately command attention in a serene Kondo-like way… kneeling down with her eyes closed whilst at the same time saying how happy she was to talk to us, she encouraged everyone in the crowded Palais to all close their eyes and think about gratitude “for this place and for their hopes at Cannes Lions”. She left us thinking in silence for a good 60 seconds and then asked us if we all felt better? Kondo’s philosophy of letting go of anything that no longer serves you, which is bringing behavioural change across cultures, reminded the industry in Cannes the value of living a de-cluttered life. As consumers under assault 24-7 when it comes to content and message bombardment, our society (the one marketing influences every second) is ready for much “less”. It appears the Kondo way can even save marriages, Marie shared a story about someone who wanted to divorce her husband but after tidying up her things and then only surrounding herself with items which sparked joy, this friend touched her husband and felt joy so changed her mind about the divorce! Kondo also spoke about how Japanese culture uniquely promotes discovery, beauty and longevity and as marketers we should be thinking more deeply how these can be applied to the way we engage consumers.
Following on relinquishing the need to buy more stuff to spark joy, New York University academic (and sometimes comedian) Scott Galloway spoke to us about his Algebra of Happiness – the equation of a life well lived or a series of equations which distil insights regarding failures and successes in business, relationships, parenting and health. According to Galloway we are at our happiest between birth and 25 years old – he calls this the “Disney magic life stage” but after this time, and right up until around 50 years of age things get much tougher and he calls this the “shit gets real stage”. However there is light, as we head into the later stages of our life (over 50) you are likely to find more joy in simple things like nature, climate, food and other people – these things start to get more meaningful to you. But be warned marketers “The amount of time you spend watching television, is a direct correlation to what a loser you are, something you won’t hear about here at Cannes, but is evidenced with a number of studies,” Galloway adds “The more ads you see, the shittier your life.”
Essentially Galloway believes we overestimate the amount of joy we get from things and underestimate the amount of joy we get from experiences and he concluded the formula to happiness is family, friends and work recognition. Quite simply, happiness is love.
Now before you think all we did at Cannes was stare at our navels and chant Lennon’s All you need is love, there was something else I noticed when it came to the winning Lions awards, and that was the ‘seriousness of tone’. Maybe this is a reflection of how we all feel given the anxious state of world affairs, because along with happiness and joy presentations, earnest appeals also seemed to be the flavour of the week. Aussie expat David Droga who was Sustainable Development Goals Jury chair said “every category the judges looked at was emotional, because everything mattered that much and we all cried at different times during the jury.” Weeping Lions judges... brings a new vision to emotive advertising
People - Cannes Lions reminds us marketing is not an industry made up of agencies and brands alone, every person on the planet is marketing something, themselves first and foremost.
During the week we heard from people who are both influencing global audiences and at the same time each is constantly learning from culture; Ryan Seacrest, Cheryl Sandberg, BigSean, Dwayne Wade, Laura Dern, Jean Michel Jarre, John Legend, Cindy Gallop, Kerry Washington, Marie Kondo and Jeff Goldblum were just a handful of insightful speakers we had access to. And despite their various talents, every one of them had a similar piece of advice - curiosity is the key to being successful. Constantly asking questions, thinking differently, never settling for the status quo, seeing alternative opportunities. Here are two of my favourite questions posed to the audience at Cannes…
1. Ask yourself honestly, what would the world miss if your brand did not exist? How important are you to the lives of your customers? I found this an easy one to answer on behalf of Visa, however the point does reinforce the danger of ever being complacent in a world of disruption, so this question should be one every marketer asks themselves weekly.
2. Do you know your TAP? Don’t start with the total addressable market (your target audience) but instead think about the total addressable problem (TAP) consumers have.
The Partnerships - The ripple effect of brands... one starts something and others also get on board. This has powerful outcomes for societal issues. Whilst we all want to come up with the BIG idea that’s new and different, the days of seeing success as having not been copied or joined by other brands are over... the more groundswell support you can generate around your idea that does good, the more powerful the outcome.
Enter P&G who is calling on the industry to lead disruption by joining forces with many other creative worlds and announced several new partnerships across creativity, humanity, courage and collectivity:
P&G creative partner and singer, song-writer, actor, activist and producer John Legend told us “Now more than ever, it’s critical that those of us with influence use it to make a positive impact on the world. I’m committed to connecting people, opening their hearts and minds and helping them see each other’s concerns and aspirations”.
And of course, I can’t forget the entire point of the Cannes Lions is to acknowledge and amplify award winning marketing work. Work that inspires and entertains, informs and encourages action. Work that changes the game, work that makes a positive difference to communities, which fosters conversations to make the world better. Work that makes already good marketers want to try even harder and ultimately be remembered for creating something of value.
This year there were 35,000 entries into the 2019 Cannes Lions, of which just 10% got short-listed and a mere 1% won an award… so if you had anything to do with the 10% which got shortlisted this year then congratulations. And if you were one of the 1% of the Lions Legends who won an award this year, then we are all the better for having your thought provoking creative work driving change in our life-time. Work that came about thanks to those 4 P’s… Purpose, Positivity, People and Partnerships.
Long live Cannes Lions.
]]>Specifically, Sport at work and recognising those challenging people, those difficult tasks, that tough environment is your opportunity to create joy, to reframe the “stress” these situations can bring into something more “fun” and the opportunity to learn and grow from the experience.
Life isn’t easy and our work, where we spend more than half our waking lives, throws up challenges daily, so the trick to staying happy at work whilst succeeding, is to treat the things you think will be difficult, as Sport…
Let me explain the Jac Phillips Sport analogy.
When we “play” sport, we are using our physical ability and mental skills (strategy, anticipation, response) to compete, while providing entertainment - to ourselves, to our team mates and to spectators. And it’s the “entertainment” component I want you to stay focused on.
We also must train. We try to be prepared for Sport so we stay fit, we practise and we think through the strategy. We also reflect afterwards - what did we do well? What do we need to improve? We learn and grow. And the most important part of all this is…we have fun. We enjoy ourselves, because if we stop having fun, then chances are, we stop playing.
So next time you are entering a work situation (your “court” or “field”) that has you anxious, think how you can turn this into Sport and entertain yourself and potentially your competitors and other spectators.
Try the following:
If you can’t be the smartest person in the situation, then aim to be the funniest. It takes intelligence to create humour and those who bring light and laughter to work, are those we always remember, and want to be around.
So are you ready to go play some work Sport? Please let me know how you score ;-)
]]>How long is too long? I get asked this question regularly from people I coach. Sometimes they are referring to the current role they are in, sometimes it is the organization they are employed by and sometimes they ask this of the industry they are in.
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There is no “right answer” as it depends on so many things that are specific to you as an individual. But if I reflect on my own career path, this is how it has gone for me…
So I have moved roles approximately every 3 years – in some cases I moved roles within the same organization but in all other cases I have moved jobs externally at least every 3 years. There have been a couple of ‘false starts’ too where I was working for a complete nutcase at least once so I bailed within 1 year but that’s another story for another time 😉
To date, I have had 16 different jobs, in 7 different industries, working in 5 different countries with my latest gig being self-employment. Clearly I love change. I get excited by new opportunities, new leadership, new learnings. I am also a firm believer complacency can set in if things get too familiar… But not everyone is like me. I know people who have been employed by the same organization for 18 years… people who have been in the same role for 6 years… these are smart people but personally I don’t think they are advantaging themselves or their oganisations being there so long.
So why is it important to understand the ‘type of person you are’ in the context of when is a good time to ‘move on’ from a role, function, organisation?
People with strong self-awareness are conscious of their feelings, motives and desires. And a person’s belief in their ability to succeed sets the stage to how they think, behave and feel. For example if you have strong self-efficacy, you are likely to view challenges as mere tasks that must be overcome and you are not easily discouraged by setbacks, or in the case of taking on a new role, you are prepared to take the risk, because you see more upside. The opposite is a person who is likely to avoid challenges and quickly feels discouraged by setbacks. They may not be aware of their negative reactions and as a result don’t change their attitude. This can limit their scope for change.
One of the most valuable outcomes of leadership coaching is identifying where you sit on the self-awareness spectrum, and then working with your coach to actively grow your self awareness. It is a powerful tool for leaders because being more clear about where you are strong helps boost confidence, because it helps focus your energy on doing what you’re good at, which in turn increases your overall sense of confidence. It’s a virtuous circle!
So back to the reason for this blog…how long do you stay in your role? Maybe the question you should be answering first is how well do you know yourself?
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