Year: 2011

October 14, 2011

Tourism Asia. One word says it all.

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Tourism Asia. One word says it all.

Something is going on in the world on Asian tourism advertising, and it can be summed up in one word. Literally. And it’s usually an over-the-top adjective.

Incredible India. Amazing Thailand. Exotic Cambodia. Wonderful Indonesia.

It seems as though there is has been some sort of revolutionary new breakthrough in research informing us that the less said the better when it comes to travel. Or is there a current shortage of English copywriting resources in the region that has resulted in one lucky freelancer getting all the jobs? Like, he or she has got it nailed.

When it comes to copy, it was drummed into me at a very young age to keep it short and sweet. Say what you need to say and don’t encumber the reader with unnecessary fluff.

But this inexplicable trend for single-word descriptions is taking it a bit far. At least Malaysia has managed to come up with two words in ‘Truly Asia’ (at least that seems to have a modicum of strategic thinking implied in it, as with 100% New Zealand).

What makes it even more ominous is that in almost every case, the absence of a proper strategy is underlined even more when these ‘slogans’ are seen as the exclamation mark dotted on the end of up old-as-hat clichéd television commercials which are consist of the same tired old vignettes which result in nothing more than a filmic guide through that country’s holiday brochure.

Stunning, beautiful landscapes. Pristine blue water with untouched natural wonders. And the same old perfect thirty-something Caucasian couple having the romantic time of their lives interacting with healthy looking natives who have inexplicably beatific smiles on their faces. It all results in a tourist wonderland at the end of which you can plonk one word which sums it all up.

Fantastic. Remarkable. Spiffing. Jolly.

Try irritating. It’s a better way of describing the effect these bland, predictable marketing efforts have on the average poor viewer.

Where will it all end? Who else will jump on the bandwagon (or train, boat or plane)?

Here are a few suggestions then, just to jump the gun.

Awesome Australia.

Unstoppable China.

Mysterious Japan.

Expensive Hong Kong.

Crazy North Korea.

I could go on but I might be doing some unsuspecting freelance copywriter out of his or her job.

September 27, 2011

China’s creative challenge

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Just recently at the 2011 Cannes Lions awards, JWT Shanghai won the Press Grand Prix.
An amazing achievement from an agency consistently producing the goods under the leadership of the visionary Lo Sheung Yan. Hopefully it will be seen as further encouragement to a generation of young creative hopefuls that China can excel on the world creative stage.

However, undermining this is a worrying trend that could prove to undo all
of the good achieved by those striving to raise the bar.In 2010 I was invited by the
China Advertising Association to make a presentation at the China Advertising Festival in Nanchang (the venue changes every year, it was Nanchang for 2010).

Usually with this sort of invitation I am inclined to tailor whatever I might present
to be relevant to that particular audience. What is the theme? What might be of interest to them?

And while what I did prepare was an historic overview of the development of
creative advertising in Hong Kong (which I think is of great interest to young people
coming into the industry in China), the organisers made a specific suggestion that
I touch upon the problem of ‘copycat creativity’ in China. Which I thought was an interesting request.

Not knowing too much about the size and scale of the problem, I began to do some research into it and what I discovered blew me away. Upon asking around, I was pointed in the direction of one or two websites where I could find examples of the copycat phenomena. I found ads completely mimicking other ads, identical in every way except for a different logo.

Entire 30 second TV commercials which were copied, frame for frame, from other commercials. The examples featured listed dates when the originals were created, and nearly all of the copycat versions were from creative people in China.

Now over the many years I’ve been in Hong Kong, there have been one or two cases
whereby I’ve seen creative work which has felt uncomfortably similar to something
done elsewhere at some point, usually overseas, seen in an award book or something.

Some cases were clear cut, some were perhaps, coincidence or perhaps ‘influenced
by’ other work in terms of style. Usually these have been rightfully frowned upon
by the Hong Kong creative community. (We’re not talking about creative work which
has ‘borrowed’ from references like illustration or photography, I’m referring to ads copying ads. Designs copying designs.)

But in China, this is not the odd case, it’s something of an epidemic. And it does not
look like going away. I did some asking around via people with solid market experience,
either from China cities or having been based there for a few years, and it seems that
what is wrong with all this is that young people in China don’t see anything wrong with it.

To them, what they do is simply a means to an end. If ripping off other work gets them a
job, then so be it. The objective has been met. How they got there doesn’t matter.

How on earth did this get so out of hand, and who is doing anything about it?

To my (mostly young) audience in Nanchang, I did not hold back. First of all I showed
some of the examples (I hoped and wished that there were some uncomfortable bodies
in there). Then I showed the dictionary meaning (in English and chinese) of what it means to be creative.

And emphasised that it is about being original. About solving old problems in new and
different ways. Etc etc. And I stated loud and clear that unless there is a change of
attitude about this among the young creative industry in China, then the country will be frowned upon and laughed at on the global creative stage.

Time and again there have been examples from China whereby the originality of ideas, of brands and products, have been in question (has anyone seen the retail chain Vancle for example? Hm, wonder where that name came from? ).

It would be shame if the nation became famous for creative advertising which follows
the same shameful and sorry path. Especially as we see from JWT Shanghai’s recent achievements, there are those doing their honest best to take China further.

August 31, 2011

Relationships, the success factor.

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Speaking as an experienced creative person I firmly believe that the most important factor in building a successful creative agency isn’t creativity.

It’s the client relationship.

Don’t get me wrong, I still have some creative fire in my belly after many many years, and I believe the quality of the work you produce is definitely what sets one agency apart from any other as much as good food distinguishes a quality restaurant from the riff raff. But the quality of your relationships is how you get there.

If you are not working with clients who believe in what you deliver, who respect you and are prepared to listen to you, then effectively your role is no more than waiter, to use the restaurant analogy.

I once remember a client, in fact, the son of a family business owner who, upon hearing the account service director state he would pass his comments on to the creative team and ask them to look into a problem was told “No, don’t ask them, tell them to do it. Just remember who is paying the bills.”

What a brat. Looking back today I can laugh at the naive arrogance of this, not uncommon among usually the more junior people who clearly misinterpret the idea of a working relationship. As an agency proprietor, such a person would not last 5 minutes with me today.

Because to me, the saying ‘the customer is always right’ does not belong in the world I live in. That of delivering effective creative solutions for clients.

It’s an expression from the world of sales which effectively means ‘make a sale at all costs.’ That’s the end goal.

In the world of marketing, a good creative brand expert is not there to make a sale at all costs. You are there to understand a client’s business and the challenges they face, in order to find creative solutions which can help.

Sometimes that means recommending things which perhaps the client may not agree with. And in this world, the customer is not always right. Especially when that customer lacks the necessary experience.

Most importantly, the respect must be a two way street, and I’ve no time for creative arrogance either.

To me, if I have found a good client with whom I enjoy a constructive, mutually respectful relationship, I will devote blood, sweat and tears to helping them. I’m not just after their money (frankly many agencies are, it’s all about meeting budget at all costs). Need urgent help on a holiday? I’m there.

I genuinely want to add value and do the best job I possibly can.

But I place great emphasis on the ‘mutual respect’ part. Once that is established, everything else falls in place. And I believe that’s the secret to success. Well, for the most part (I may disagree next week).

June 13, 2011

Why most outdoor is a complete waste of money

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During a workshop I conducted a few years ago, I put participants through the old ‘three second test’. That is, I showed examples of some outdoor ads that I had gathered on my travels around town, but only for three seconds at a time. Which is generally acknowledged as the time you supposedly have to get your message across to the average person on the move. I then asked participants to tell me what the ad had said.

Bearing in mind that these were executions featuring, in many cases, around twelve to fifteen messages per layout,, needless to say, nobody passed the test. In fact in most cases, I reckon even a World Champion Speed Reader would have struggled, frankly.  Such was the chaotic, unfathomable nature of most of the layouts sporting these messages.

But the important question is, what on earth was an ad featuring fifteen messages doing in an outdoor site? On an escalator panel, no less.

Clearly these were advertising executions assembled by, and approved and paid for by, people who hadn’t the faintest clue what the role of outdoor advertising is. Or how it’s supposed to work. (Which was the whole point of the workshop in the first place, which was I’m happy to say attended mostly by marketing people.)

Now I’m no Warren Buffet but you don’t need to have even an ounce of his financial acumen to have a grasp of how much money is being wasted here.

And the scary thing is, these executions were not the exception. They are everywhere. Cluttered, useless postings which often amount to no more than a Jamie Oliver fruit sundae masquerading as a bad leaflet stuck up on a wall in the bizarre notion that people are going to stop dead in their tracks for five minutes to have a read. “Excuse me, can you stop the escalator as I have just have to read about how the Lucky Gold Jewellery company summer promotion and I don’t care if I am late for my interview.”

I would actually love to be in the room when some of these monsters are being signed off on. I’d love to interview the perpetrators . Know what makes them tick. And ask them – ‘You wouldn’t waste money on a pen that doesn’t write, so why waste thousands of dollars on an ad that’s as useless as a perforated condom?’.

The sad reality is, in Hong Kong at least (although I wouldn’t be surprised if many other countries in Asia share the problem), the best of most outdoor executions are just the ones that are, at best, the least cluttered. (Let’s not even go near the word ‘idea’) Even more worrying, if you are a media owner, is that media owners are being held accountable. Outdoor, as with any medium, is measured on effectiveness. But if an advertisement is so incompetent in its general make up that it would fail even if it were the only thing you had to read while marooned on a desert island, it’s a tad unfair to blame the medium.

What on earth is going on? I asked this question of my class, and they were as clueless as I am. Even though many of them are actually paying for this stuff.

 So I’ll hazard a guess. Some of it could be because economy-minded clients who book their media directly, triumphantly attempt to save money on the ‘creative’ by getting their neighbour’s nephew with a knack for Photoshop to knock up a quick ‘design’, copy written and provided by – guess who?

That might explain the smaller sites, but how do you account for the consistently atrocious 48-sheet billboards that greet you at the cross-harbour tunnel entrance? Be honest, when was the last time you saw a good one?

The situation is very worrying.  As Julia Singleton pointed out in her MEC Sensor study report a few years ago  “The message must work with the medium and understand the consumer it is targeting in order to gain any noticeability.  I think we have passed the stage where plastering a giant logo, image and strapline will get your ad noticed.”

Frankly, from what I’ve reviewed recently, even that would be a start