Sir John Hegarty on How the Ad Industry Has Lost Its Courage

Sir John Hegarty seems to be saying this a lot lately, but a good article in AdAge nonetheless.

Sir John's first job was at Benton & Bowles' London office. "I was this upstart young creative who was very lippy, who had all the opinions going for me in the world." And he soon found out he was dealing with people "who just didn't get it."

But he kept offering up his unadulterated opinions on how things should be, "and in the end it was kind of, 'John, I think our paths should now part and you should seek your fortune elsewhere.' It was a very nice firing in a way."

I can't help but feel an affinity for his first job where people 'didn't get it' to how many people today don't really 'get' content marketing and how to be truly effective in marketing their brand/product/service by using content properly (not just using it as a way to get your logo on minutes of video, for example). (It's funny how he even places disdain on "some bloke in a sweaty T-shirt who's 18-and-a-half has said to you, 'You don't need to do that.") Does Hegarty now not 'get it'? (don't shoot me!).

With regard to content marketing, it certainly feels there's still a lot of educating to do to bring people (agencies, brands, colleagues) around, and in line with Hegarty's point - everyone needs to be brave and courageous with their budgets to really be successful.

Make the most of your platform

This post from Brendan Gahan really nails some key points with how to get the best out of YouTube, and the audience you want to reach. One point really sticks out though for me, the use of gadgets or microsites embedded into a YouTube channel. It doesn't make any sense, there's a website for that.

Use YouTube for videos, not a website jammed into a separate tab on the channel.

Oh yeah, it doesn't work on mobiles or tablets either.

Lot’s of brands use channel gadgets (here’s an example of one). These gadgets are apps in an iframe on the Youtube channel. It interrupts the user experience and forces viewers to interact with the brand in a manner that they’re unfamiliar with. As a result there is a ton of dropoff (50% fewer viewers convert to subscribers, and there are 15% fewer shares than brand channels without gadgets).

Gary Vaynerchuk: How to Tell Stories in an A.D.D. World

Loved this talk from Gary Vaynerchuk. His intensity is something to behold - and he makes some great points. One that really stuck out was using all the different platforms we have access to in the right way. Instead of just whacking links on twitter (something I'm guilty of) use it to connect with people on twitter.

Don't just use these platforms to link people to content that lives elsewhere.

Create content that's native to that platform, or don't bother.

What does an editor do?

This film uses motion graphics to great effect to explain what an editor does. This would certainly come in handy explaining to the parents and grandparents of all editors the world over in explaining what they do.

John Hegarty on Creativity

Great list to refer back to be more creative...

1 Be fearless - be single minded in the face of opposition

2 Keep it simple - don't try to say or do too many things at once

3 Stop thinking, start feeling -creativity is driven by the heart, we respond more to emotions than logic

4 Get angry - channel the things that annoy/upset you into more creative tasks rather than getting stressed

5 Juxtaposition - don't be afraid to place two things next to one another that wouldn't normally sit together - even in your head

6 When the world zigs, zag - look in the opposite direction to everyone else

7 Avoid cynics - they drain your confidence - see number one

8 Ask Why? a lot - question everything like a child

9 Philosophy - always be looking, thinking, watching. Absorb everything around you

10 Remove your headphones! - don't cut yourself off from your environment.

The book is out on the 10 March 2014.