by Charl Thom, Group MD, FoxP2 The seminars and speakers over the Cannes Lions week are some of the most inspiring and informative an advertising or marketing person could hope for. Here are a few of the many notes I made during the week, and a few interesting quotes (some more colourful than others) that stayed with me.
Tag archives: by charl thom
Focus groups and ‘the observer’s paradox’
by Charl Thom. Early last year I shared some thoughts on advertising research and why I thought it was often a case of precious marketing dollars down the drain.
Charl Thom on the role of industry awards
by Charl Thom. Enough has probably been said about media accreditation for the Loerie awards over the last couple of weeks.
Charl Thom tackles current agency compensation models – “we need to move from cost to value”
by Charl Thom. To date, the advertising industry has still not figured out the perfect compensation model.
The Value Of Creativity
I have a long-held view that highly creative work is also the most effective work.
Mind the gap? Not anymore.
Over the last number of years Cape Town has come to the fore as the “Creative Capital” of South Africa’s advertising industry thanks to the consistently high ranking of a number of Cape Town agencies at local and international award shows.
Pitching Shouldn’t Be Speed Dating
by Charl Thom. Being appointed as the agency of record for a brand can be a process taking place in various guises
The agency as an idea incubator
At the recent memorial and tribute to Steve Jobs, Jonathan Ive, Chief Designer of Apple, had the following to say about ideas: “Steve treated the process of creativity with a rare and wonderful reverence. You see I think he, better than anyone, understood that while ideas ultimately can be so powerful, they begin as fragile, barely formed thoughts. So easily missed. So easily compromised. So easily just squished.”
Free your agency from fear
It’s the secret ingredient. It’s what, when all the other fundamentals are in place, will make the difference between success and failure, between being good and being great. If you currently have it, keep it that way, if you don’t, do what it takes to get it.
I’m talking about the liberation of your employees, your clients and your business, from fear. This is probably the single most important message I took away from my recent visit to the 58th Cannes Festival of Creativity. It also confirms what I have long believed to be the single biggest factor in creating great work in an advertising agency (or any other business for that matter).
What 1984 means to 2011
The Super Bowl commercial break. The most coveted and expensive piece of television media real estate on the planet. This is a broadcast that reaches more than 90 million people, and 30 seconds of advertising time will set you back around US $3 million, or R22 million.