https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/16/22388548/edward-snowden-nft-freedom-of-the-press-stay-free “If journalism is the art of today’s chip wrapper, then what is what we make?” she thought in her darker moments. She held on to purpose as a justification for why she’d ended up here and tried to convince herself it was popular cultural art but deep down she knew. It was all transient, … [Read more…]
How to Balance your Brand Communication Plans Clients wanted people again, not just AI advice. The driverless car, thankfully one with a vaguely interesting TaxiChat algorithm, dropped them outside. Their faces got them through security and into the conference room. They were ready. The positive dialectic of real consultancy; when black and white turned grey; … [Read more…]
https://www.ft.com/content/a41b34e7-a8fc-4bce-92e4-508cd1c83ba9 I’d always wanted to get a job in advertising. Well alright “always”, when i was a kid I didn’t know what it was and wanted to be an influencer but later… When The Great Compression happened and ad jobs disappeared, I thought my dream was dead but then I saw an ad about how … [Read more…]
https://www.thedrum.com/news/2020/11/16/why-linkedin-put-real-people-its-ads Colleagues. It’s been another successful quarter particularly in terms of productivity. Well done. The number of ads we are now producing is at an all time high. Clients know we can turn work around faster – and of course cheaper – than our competitors, still failing (in my opinion) to embrace the potential of … [Read more…]
https://www.thedrum.com/news/2020/11/12/anatomy-merger-akqa-group-s-ahmed-and-houston-share-their-candid-thoughts A merger’s been on the cards for some time. The CEO wanted to make her mark and ‘refreshing’ the portfolio is a quick win. The trade press has focused on the name and staff on the redundancies but at my level, it’s more fundamental than that. Existential, even. Merging, it speaks of a loss … [Read more…]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QX2XCBH-6zQ As we emerge into Normal 2.0, it is time to think again about our position in the new marketplace. As you know, from last week’s “fireside chat”, we have said goodbye to a number of valued friends as we have doubled down on leveraging our OmniAI system within the creative process. We have also … [Read more…]
https://www.adweek.com/agencies/havas-launches-customer-experience-network/ The “people formerly known as customers” have always been at the heart of our work for clients. In The Before, we prided ourselves on not just knowing them through data, but really understanding them. Things have changed. People have changed. Home Space Blur; Circuitbreak Compression; Stop-Start socialising; Lockdown Syndrome have all had their effects. … [Read more…]
https://www.ft.com/content/b50d22ec-db98-4891-86da-af34f06d1cb1 I need to update our About Us page. New pictures. I feel we need to appear younger, but somehow more serious. We’re trying to position ourselves as a business service. We’re not the scrappy disruptor any more. We’re not a big team – although I might consider adding a couple of new faces. Our … [Read more…]
https://www.engadget.com/oldest-computer-manual-zuse-z4-161214346.html It had been a themepark for a long time. Students came on fieldtrips and marvelled at the rows of desktop computers, giggled at the printers and looked puzzled at the meeting rooms. The guide was programmed as a Don Draper-style CD, from The Before. He talked about pitches and client meetings, and told tales … [Read more…]
https://www.engadget.com/nfl-microsoft-teams-covid-19-coronavirus-180945560.html Running a start-up has never been easy. Your team needs you as founder, your personality. And you need them; their energy. But as you try to build businesses in the New Normal dispersed across Office 2.0, there are no TGIFs, no chance for you to use their feelings towards you. But with Adore (™) … [Read more…]