Alice Goodrich

Interesting but not surprising read this morning. Clients across every discipline are continuing to squeeze budgets but so few are reflecting on whether previous budgets were well spent to create what is needed and create work that works. 90% of global toolkits not being used by local markets is mind blowing - and I know how much those global toolkits cost. There are now so many measurement tools to prevent this happening but adoption remains low. It almost seems like it's a distraction with time better spent creating the next project to drive results - of course the irony is the time spent reviewing and using this data would make the next project more effective and probably far quicker and cheaper. I really hope with all things AI and tech integration we start to see more opportunities to bring in data to inform what we do next, across every marketing discipline.

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A Flex Creative Director is a bit like a freelance one, in that you bring them in on a temporary basis. But the Flex CD is so much more than that – and here’s how. The Flex CD can flex across any sector or project you care to mention, as 25 years’ experience across all kinds of clients and comms will give you that ability. The Flex CD also fits instantly and belongingly into your set-up, rather than just doing the work. He brings:  -  Creative muscle where and when it’s needed most -  An energetic spring to your collective creative step  -  The spreading of the sheer joy of creativity. Finally, the Flex CD is fiercely intelligent, can understand immediately what the client or brief needs strategically, and rapidly throws out smart and quirky ideas “like a conceptual machine gun”*. So if you’re an agency or business facing leaner budgets and rising client expectations, but without the budget for a permanent creative senior, then maybe it’s time to Flex. Whether it’s just a couple of days a month or a couple of weeks, you’ll see the difference right away. Just get in touch if I can help. * Genuine quote, though I sadly can’t remember who said it.

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Creativity is the beating heart of Two Degrees Below. It shapes everything from our work to the advice we give clients to enact change. But it’s not the only thing that can propel ours, or any other business forwards. As Dani Batty, our Executive Creative Director explains, culture is the invisible force that catalyses creativity’s metamorphosis into something concrete and tangible. Read her blog to understand the defining traits of a creative culture – which include collaborative working, creative bravery, adopting a growth mindset and fostering a diverse and inclusive environment – are all essential for building successful, forward-facing businesses, today. https://lnkd.in/er9zhE42 #creativity #creativeculture #creativebravery #creativeagency #communications #strategy #creative #change #twodegreesbelow

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A little while ago, I had the pleasure of sharing a cuppa with the brilliant Mark Denton and Kate Henderson about an exciting project they have in the pipeline. And as Mark is the #66YearOldIntern, we obviously got a-chatting about what the industry is like now compared to when he began back in the 80’s. And NEWSFLASH! It’s like, really different. Less lunches, more meetings, and according to Campaign UK, a dearth of Don Drapers. But something that really stood out to Mark was seeing how creatives now present their ideas. As more and more people use the likes of Photoshop’s AI and Midjourney, less and less are using ‘scamps’. Remember them? Black ink, white paper - often with a wobbly box around the edge? Handrawn. Quite rough. Sometimes a bit shit? Well anyway, Mark still swears by them - and yes it helps that he’s good at drawing, but it made me wonder. Has the magic of AI taken away the magic of our imagination? Don’t get me wrong, it has undoubtedly helped the ‘sell-in’ - it literally brings our visions to life before our clients' eyes. But, in essentially being able to create the finished Ad before the concept has gone anywhere near a photographer, a director, an illustrator, or a DoP - has it left us with less room for interpretation, experimentation, R&D, and a little serendipity in the production? Possibly. I’ve certainly seen it push the creative boundaries on projects to the next level, but I’ve also experienced the awkward situation where a photographer has been asked to ‘just match the reference that AI sold in’. So it begs the question: Would you rather a world where concepts are sold in with nice scamps or perfectly formed AI images? Click 'like 👍' to vote Scamp or ' heart ❤️' for AI. Of course, there is merit in both. But if you put a gun against my head and said ‘pick one’, I’d say ‘Please put the gun down, it’s just a LinkedIn post’ but then I’d say (probably still a bit miffed that you’d threatened me with a gun in the first place) ‘AI’. Yes, it may sometimes lead us to - somewhat ironically - trying to recreate the images that the robots have created from images we created originally, but, overall, the rewards have got to outweigh the risks. What do you think? #AdvertisingDilemmas

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"Loneliness is one of the most pressing health threats of our time and yet we’re not talking about it." Our creative director Ben Clare spoke to LBBonline - Little Black Book about how our Social60 campaign with Wayside Chapel is using social media to make us less lonely, and the unique challenges that came with such an approach. Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/guBeZBD4

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The results are in from launch week of 'The Climb', McCann Bristol's debut ad for plant-based VOOM Nutrition. Over 130k Plays. Engagement up by a multiple of 22. Sales traffic more than trebled. Which dispels some popular myths: 1. You absolutely do not need to land the brand name or logo in the first 6 seconds. 2. The above also applies to social channels. If your creative commands attention, your audience will give it their attention. 3. Funny sells. Never be told that using humour means you aren't taking the brand seriously.

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📺🔜💻 The digital ads are taking over traditional TV ads, marking a pivotal moment for advertisers. Understanding this shift is crucial for modern marketers. Here's why I believe this knowledge is paramount: 🎨 Tailored Creativity: Embrace tailored creative processes tailored for digital platforms to maximize impact. 🔄 Integration is Key: Bridge the gap between media and creative strategies for seamless campaigns. 📈 Research for Success: Dive deep into digital format effectiveness for optimized advertising strategies. 📺 Digital TV Evolution: Witness the rise of digital TV formats offering high attention and interactive features for brands. 📚 Storytelling Mastery: Learn to weave compelling narratives across diverse digital channels for brand success. Let's adapt, innovate, and thrive in this digital advertising revolution! 🌟💻 #DigitalMarketing #AdvertisingTrends #MarketingStrategy

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Imagine if TV creatives were asked to do the concepts, write the scripts, then do the production, manage any talent, find location, direct, shoot, edit, do the sound, the grade, sort out any usage rights of music etc, all themselves... not even as a creative team, just as one person. Imagine. Nuts how that's what we think social creatives should do (whose content is arguably more important for craft and often garners far better results). What a silly industry this can sometimes be huh?

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Congratulations to everyone all the winners in Cannes last week We are continuing the theme of great OOH with our Poster of the Week. This week we are looking at the best creatives on our Supermarket channel. The perfect poster guidelines we created with System1 last year suggested that a product should take up 50% of the poster. This is even more important at a Supermarket where you are outside the front of store just before the decision-making takes place. It is great to see that the adverts tested this week are following these guidelines If you'd like to see who we have tested this week please look at the link in the comments and get in touch to see the JCDecaux UK attention scores and the System1 Test Your Ad OOH reports. We are keen to help brands test ads to ensure their OOH works as hard as it possibly can... In the graphic below you can see how simple it is for us to generate fast insights for brands wanting to take learnings. Don't forget that we can also measure sales using NielsenIQ sales data to understand the impact of OOH campaigns in the retail media space. To find out more check out the link in the comments. Andrew Tindall Chiara Manco Nick Drewe Mark Bucknell Juan Perez

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Inspired by John Dyer’s post about overcoming loss, here’s a story for the weekend about Love Shack by the B-52s. Now, back in the mid to late 1970s in Athens, Georgia a group of friends who didn’t have enough money for food shared a flaming volcano cocktail. Afterwards they went to a friend’s house and jammed. Switching instruments and roles they ignited a fire in each other. Soon this group of friends were playing at College parties and one day the guitarist, Ricky Wilson, wrote a catchy riff that would become a song called Rock Lobster. The band were suddenly thrust into the limelight. Bowie and Lennon praised the song and they did a standout performance on SNL that led to tours of Australia and Europe. The band released a couple of follow up albums but during the recording of their album Bouncing Off Satellites, Ricky discovered he had AIDS… a diagnosis he kept from the rest of the band including his sister Cindy. Ricky died before the release of the album and the band went into hiatus. I suspect many had written them off but the drummer Keith Strickland learnt how to play in Ricky’s unique style and became chief songwriter. The band went back into the studio and recorded an album called Cosmic Thing which yielded the track Love Shack… which was a huge global hit. Their biggest yet. Interestingly they wouldn’t be the first or last band to lose a member and turn adversity into success. The Shamen did it after member Will Sinnott sadly drowned. Feeder did it after drummer Jon Lee died. And famously the Manic Street Preachers achieved wider recognition after losing Richie. It’s clear that whatever the loss, it can stir something in us that helps us create something wonderful. And with that I’ll avoid a ‘top voice’ business or life lesson and leave you with Love Shack! Btw… my favourite B-52s song is the amazing Give Me Back My Man. Altogether now… The love shack is a little old place where… Happy Friday. #creativity #advertising #marketing

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Put me in, coach. I'm ready to play. Admittedly, I'm spending too much time reading up on industry trends. Still, it's a crazy exciting time in the media industry, with so much opportunity for disruption. Making the right call on your marketing tactics means putting the right players in the right positions. It's surprising to me that it's taken so long for Meta Ads to overtake traditional TV, but now that milestone has been achieved, it must unlock a new wave of creativity. As Andrew Tindall mentions below, selling your brand 30 seconds at a time is no longer necessary and, in my opinion, hasn't been for a while. At MotorTrend, I worked extensively with our social media and creative testing teams to build content strategies that went way beyond duration limits and front-loaded creative strategies. We used flexibility to create new compelling storytelling formats that were effective across organic and paid social. This is not to say that a 30-second promo isn't valuable; it's a time-tested tactic that works well on broadcast, cross-channel, in-platform, and some paid placements. However, strong marketers must understand how to craft content for the intended platform and how to prioritize their distribution channels. This new data is incredible news, but your team needs someone who understands it and develops new tactics and opportunities to win. Put me in coach. #humanresources #hr #jobinterviews #hiringandpromotion #jobalert #nowhiring #job #gethired #jobopening #jobfair #recruiting #jobopening #hiring #jobs #jobsearch #jobsearching #jobseekers #hire

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Here's a handy reminder of what's expected of a Creative Director. My A to Z guide is not comprehensive; I cover more details when coaching people, but this is a good start. ⚡ ⚡ ⚡ ⚡ ⚡ ⚡ ⚡ ⚡ ⚡ ⚡ ⚡ My 'HOW TO BE A CREATIVE DIRECTOR WITHOUT SUCKING AT IT' Coaching Course starts on June 26 - there are 2 spots left. Sign up before the end of June 17 for a 10% discount. Message me or comment for more details. #creativedirector #creativecoach #advertising

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Not all airlines or airline crews are the same, and not all passengers are the same. For airline passengers who rely on a mobility device for their independence, the odds are unacceptably high that those custom devices won't arrive intact, in working order, or at all when they arrive at their destination. Imagine an airline breaking the legs of random passengers, then leaving them to fend for themselves after landing, with no recourse or accountability. That's the ongoing reality for travelers with mobility disabilities. Now imagine being carried like a sack of spuds into the airplane and your assigned seat. You may be smashed into armrests, dropped in the aisle, or have your pants or skirt torn off in front of the other passengers when they get caught on an obstruction. All these are common occurrences. When wheelchair users say they have a fear of flying, it's not a mechanical failure or crash they fear, but the incompetence of baggage handlers and insensitivity of flight crews who may lack any training on preserving the safety, dignity, and human rights of passengers with mobility related disabilities. Finally, it's worth noting that in 2019 alone, 27 million travelers with disabilities made 81 million trips, spending $58.7 BILLION on travel (up from $34.6 billion in 2015). And those folks often travel with family, friends, coworkers and colleagues who spending even more money. #AccessMeansBusiness #AccessMeansDignity #AccessMeansIndependence #AccessMeansFreedom #AccessMeansProsperity Delta Air Lines United Airlines Southwest Airlines Federal Aviation Administration U.S. Department of Transportation United States Access Board

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🔴 Breaking news: Havas agencies lose B Corp status over work for Shell. A good decision by B Lab, and well done to Clean Creatives for putting the pressure on. https://lnkd.in/eQksNxNU B Corp faces questions every day about legitimacy. It must continue to uphold standards and scrutinise companies as much as possible for it to mean something. Make it tougher. Make it true. Remember, the future of creativity is clean! Sign up to the 'Clean Creatives' pledge here: https://lnkd.in/e3r2RYur You'll be in good company with other 2200 creatives and 1057 agencies. 💡 🌳

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Mid-weight Creative teams - make the brave choice I, and we at MadeBrave are creating a culture where We seek people to ‘add’ not to ‘fit’ Where trust is given not earned Where being your weird self strengthens everyone Where ideas always champion over egos Where your opinions will be sought and valued, in return for being open to challenge Where you will challenged to make your ideas a reality, guided by some of the best Creative Directors around. Where ‘getting it’ is never as good as ‘feeling it’ Where trusting your gut is a superpower Where you can never go wrong by doing what’s best for their brand Where we fear ‘not trying’ over failing Where creativity is seen as the best way to an unfair advantage and commercial success Where craft is as important as ideas Where we believe we don’t get to where we want to be, alone Where we don’t try and be like someone else, just the best version of ourselves Where we seek to tell a simple truth in an unexpected way Where you will be part of building a brand not just an agency or simply coming up with ideas If this sounds like a place where you think you can do your best work, challenge and push yourself beyond where you thought was possible, and find joy in all of it, then you know what to do - https://lnkd.in/efAbhZRz Not you, but you, know of some others who it might be, share and send them my way Don't quite fit the Mid-weight ask but want to be part of it? Give me a shout. See you soon #CreativeTeam #ArtDirector #Copywriter #WereHiring #AgencyJobs #MadeBrave

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With White Ribbon, as always, our goal is to speak to men and allies about how they can help prevent gender-based violence. Last year, the conversation was continued with a short film that called attention to the shorter life expectancy trans and non-binary people face. But it was also created to celebrate their existence and their right to a full experience of one. I'm so grateful to every person who brought this work to life with their whole hearts, and it's incredibly moving to see what it can mean for others. That was really the point. As peers and allies, I hope we continue to advocate for the rights of trans and non-binary people to live their full lives ✌️ Talk to your mans ✌️ "Anyway, there I was, a half-Chinese trans girl, six days into hormone replacement therapy, looking at a slideshow of the moments I had experienced, as well as those that I knew would or could happen (although, hopefully not the ending). And while terrifying and emotional, it nevertheless made me feel seen. Not only do I imagine that all these scenes serve as snapshots of a reality not necessarily understood before by my cis counterparts, but for me, they were a promised reality - my imminent future. And to have this depicted in such an honest, authentic way - that was incredibly powerful for me. [...] So, what’s the takeaway from all of this? I think, most importantly, it’s a reminder that when advertising tells a story in an authentic way - one that’s true to the lived-experiences of marginalised demographics - it transcends the genre. Regardless of your knowledge going into the first viewing, you walk away enriched, enlightened, and in some ways, upset, but that’s the power of writing with emotions. None of that is bad. If you feel something, it worked. And at the end of the day, isn’t that the point?" (Jordan Won Neufeldt) ❤️ Bensimon Byrne NARRATIVE PR Angie Bird Westside Studio School Editing Inc. Izzy Ehrlich Ana Segurajauregui Sanchez David Mueller Debbie Chan Cole Douglas Katie Link Patrick Martini Oliver Glover Rebecca Milner Rachel Romu ❤️

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I’m so proud to have worked on this campaign with a hugely talented team across Dove and our agency partners. I remember the first ever Campaign for Real Beauty ad when I was in my teens and the impact it had on me growing up in a world where there was no representation of real beauty in the media. I honestly can’t recall any other moment in my life where an advert had such a positive impact on the way I think about how I look - it was a game changer for the industry and for women. To work on this campaign is a real career highlight, thank-you Firdaous El Honsali Lynsey Smith 💙 What kind of beauty do we want AI to learn? 💭 As we enter the 20th year of the Campaign for Real Beauty, Dove’s work is not done – our biggest ever study of beauty around the world reveals that women and girls still feel great pressure to be a certain type of beautiful. And that one of the biggest threats to the representation of real beauty is AI, which is predicted to be 90% of the content online by 2025. AI generated content is perpetuating unrealistic beauty standards and lacks representation, and even when women and girls know the images are fake or AI-generated, 1 in 3 feel pressure to alter their appearance when exposed to these visual representations. 💔 In Dove’s new campaign, The Code, we reflect on the fact that AI, like any new technology, has the power to become whatever we want it to be, it’s up to us. AI can mirror the societal biases we have towards women’s representation, but it also can learn to become more diverse and inclusive. The campaign does this by showcasing the irreversible change Dove has already made even for AI, creating a universal code for changing beauty. Today, Dove renews its vows by committing to #KeepBeautyReal, by never using AI to create or distort women’s images. We are also taking action to equip creators, brands and anyone using AI, with the Real Beauty Prompt Playbook, a free tool to create visual content that widens the representation of beauty on the most popular GenAI tools. Let’s #keepbeautyreal. Even in AI. 💙 Head to Dove.com/KeepBeautyReal to find out more. https://lnkd.in/eg8qky2B #KeepBeautyReal #LetsChangeBeauty #DoveSelfEsteemProject #Dove Alessandro Manfredi Leandro Barreto Pau Bartoli Victoria Floyd Sarah Potter Claudia Tezcan Lucy C. Amalie Thompson Stacie June Shelton, MPH Kathryn Fernandez Stella Megalou Harriet Howell Grace Bradbury Dana Paolucci Zeba Irani Lucy Warren

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💡A great reminder from Nadja Lossgott (joint CCO AMV BBDO) of the importance of originality of ideas and great craft when it comes to making truly stand out work. And that it isn’t easy but is certainly worth fighting for. Have you checked out this years D&AD award winners? — #advertising #maketing #creativity

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EVERY TIME SOMEONE BOASTS ABOUT THEIR CANNES WIN THIS WEEK... ....another creative gets laid off. And the dull thump of humblebragging can be heard from here. But, of course, the big agency networks and media owners care not one jot. It's a reward for all the hard work that they've put in on the case study supporting something 'purposey-driveny'. 'You're just bitter you didn't get an invite this year', they clang together. FFS, it's only $1000 for an entry. You know what, I think that it's great that we celebrate our creativity, even with a daft awards show on work that no-one remembers in a week's time, but this year is not the time. So many being laid off, so many struggling with their mental health, so many freelancers struggling to get any work. Maybe someone could give a talk about this at Cannes.....maybe not. Are you really that tone deaf? Or do you simply not care that our industry is seen as probably the least trusted profession in the country? Show some humility. PS Clients, this is where your budget is getting spent.

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