Posts tagged Account Planning

On the Brink - The past, present and future of the networked society.

Just finished watching this wicked mini-documentary called ‘On The Brink’ which discusses the past, present and future of the networked society with a mix of people including David Rowan, chief editor of Wired UK; Caterina Fake, founder of Flickr; and Eric Wahlforss, the co-founder of Soundcloud.

It’s a really interesting, thought provoking film. David Rowan made some interesting points about the future of creativity as a result of the new, connected society.

“It provides borderless creativity. Borderless entrepreneurship. A more democratic feel, where it’s not only the big companies that can do things. But that does not mean that every idea is a good idea, or that everyone will succeed, or even that it’s easy to become successful. It’s no easier to become Lady Gaga today than it was 20 years ago. But just the fact that people can try is something that I like a lot…”

Anyways, check it out. It only goes for 20 minutes. Short but sweet. 

BMW Motorcycle Riders - ‘The lone wolves of the road’ This is quite a fascinating insight about BMW riders in contrast to their fellow Harley Davidson riders. The Harley Davidson brand myth is all about rebelling against societies’ expectations of one’s self. The Harley rider is an outlaw. A gunfighter. A rebel. According to Doug Holt, Harley’s brand myth represents a clique of men joined to a conservative vision to restore ‘traditional’ conservative masculinity (i.e. white, patriarchal, Christian, American) over the cultural free-for-all of the new global networked community. Harley riders see themselves ‘belonging’ to a brotherhood of outlaws.  BMW riders differ immensely. For them it’s all about the riding experience. They see themselves as the gritty warriors of the road. To the BMW rider, Harley riders are showboating, weekend warriors who spend most of their time polishing their bike rather than actually riding it. Whereas, BMW riders are the kind of people who ride 10,000 miles in one trip. They are the ‘real’ riders. The independent survivalists of the road. The lone wolves. The ones crazy enough to ride from the icy tip of Alaska to the tip of South America, and back again. If we used brand archetype theory, it’s quite obvious that Harley-Davidson would be the ‘Outlaw’, and BMW the ‘Explorer’.

BMW Motorcycle Riders - ‘The lone wolves of the road’

This is quite a fascinating insight about BMW riders in contrast to their fellow Harley Davidson riders.

The Harley Davidson brand myth is all about rebelling against societies’ expectations of one’s self. The Harley rider is an outlaw. A gunfighter. A rebel. According to Doug Holt, Harley’s brand myth represents a clique of men joined to a conservative vision to restore ‘traditional’ conservative masculinity (i.e. white, patriarchal, Christian, American) over the cultural free-for-all of the new global networked community. Harley riders see themselves ‘belonging’ to a brotherhood of outlaws. 

BMW riders differ immensely. For them it’s all about the riding experience. They see themselves as the gritty warriors of the road. To the BMW rider, Harley riders are showboating, weekend warriors who spend most of their time polishing their bike rather than actually riding it. Whereas, BMW riders are the kind of people who ride 10,000 miles in one trip. They are the ‘real’ riders. The independent survivalists of the road. The lone wolves. The ones crazy enough to ride from the icy tip of Alaska to the tip of South America, and back again.

If we used brand archetype theory, it’s quite obvious that Harley-Davidson would be the ‘Outlaw’, and BMW the ‘Explorer’.

Storytelling is joke telling. It’s knowing your punchline, your ending, knowing that everything you’re saying, from the first sentence to the last, is leading to a singular goal, and ideally confirming some truth that deepens our understandings of who we are as human beings. We all love stories. We’re born for them. Stories affirm who we are. We all want affirmations that our lives have meaning. And nothing does a greater affirmation than when we connect through stories. It can cross the barriers of time, past, present and future, and allow us to experience the similarities between ourselves and through others, real and imagined.

TED talk with filmmaker Andrew Stanton of Toy Story and Wall-E fame on the clues to storytelling. 

(via)

Isolation Therapy - A short-term escape for today’s hyper-connected generation. While catching up with my sister the other day, she started telling me about this friend of hers who has a very interesting method of relaxation and stress relief. He visits a spa retreat that specializes in isolation therapy.

 It involves is stepping inside a chamber called an isolation tank. An isolation tank is a lightless, soundproof tank inside which subjects float in salt water at skin temperature. When you lie back, you float effortlessly on it due to the density of the salt water. The body is perfectly supported by the solution which therefore creates the feeling of weightlessness. From what I’ve read, isolation therapy provides an environment that frees the mind and body from all external stimulation. The mind is therefore left free to drift into the deepest state of relaxation possible. With the body in such a relaxed state it will cleanse itself from stress related chemicals such as adrenaline, cortisol and lactic acid and replace them by beneficial endorphins. The body has the chance to restore its natural powers of self-regulation and healing. 

Isolation therapy was conceived in the 1970s, but it never really took off. At the time, it was seen as a fad and slightly extreme. However in the last year it’s been making a big comeback all over the world. You’re probably thinking that all of this sounds a little extreme. I did. Especially considering that my sister’s friend is only 20 years old. But when you think about it, it’s pretty easy to see why isolation therapy is starting to make a comeback. 

 Today’s young generation is surrounded by more stimuli than any previous generation. Information is all around us, and we’re ALWAYS connected. We’ve got multiple social media accounts that are constantly bombarding us with notifications, and our smartphones keep us connected to the workplace at all hours of the day and night. Quite simply, we’re hyper-stimulated. And all this stimulation takes its toll on the mind and body.

 This is why many city folk are drawn to holidays that take them away from the bright lights of the big city and into areas that deliberately cut them off from their normal, hyper-stimulated lives. Think of holidays to the country, to rural beach towns, and even into the jungles of the Amazon. Why are more and more people are going camping than ever before? Why are spa/spiritual retreats all the rage today? It’s because all these things are a form of ‘escapism’. They offer complete or partial ‘disconnection’.  

So when you think about it, stepping into an isolation tank might sound a little extreme at first, but it makes complete sense. It’s a short-term disconnection from our crazy ‘connected’ worlds. Just another method of escapism.

Isolation Therapy - A short-term escape for today’s hyper-connected generation.

While catching up with my sister the other day, she started telling me about this friend of hers who has a very interesting method of relaxation and stress relief. He visits a spa retreat that specializes in isolation therapy.



It involves is stepping inside a chamber called an isolation tank. An isolation tank is a lightless, soundproof tank inside which subjects float in salt water at skin temperature. When you lie back, you float effortlessly on it due to the density of the salt water. The body is perfectly supported by the solution which therefore creates the feeling of weightlessness. From what I’ve read, isolation therapy provides an environment that frees the mind and body from all external stimulation. The mind is therefore left free to drift into the deepest state of relaxation possible. With the body in such a relaxed state it will cleanse itself from stress related chemicals such as adrenaline, cortisol and lactic acid and replace them by beneficial endorphins. The body has the chance to restore its natural powers of self-regulation and healing.



Isolation therapy was conceived in the 1970s, but it never really took off. At the time, it was seen as a fad and slightly extreme. However in the last year it’s been making a big comeback all over the world. You’re probably thinking that all of this sounds a little extreme. I did. Especially considering that my sister’s friend is only 20 years old. But when you think about it, it’s pretty easy to see why isolation therapy is starting to make a comeback. 



Today’s young generation is surrounded by more stimuli than any previous generation. Information is all around us, and we’re ALWAYS connected. We’ve got multiple social media accounts that are constantly bombarding us with notifications, and our smartphones keep us connected to the workplace at all hours of the day and night. Quite simply, we’re hyper-stimulated. And all this stimulation takes its toll on the mind and body.



This is why many city folk are drawn to holidays that take them away from the bright lights of the big city and into areas that deliberately cut them off from their normal, hyper-stimulated lives. Think of holidays to the country, to rural beach towns, and even into the jungles of the Amazon. Why are more and more people are going camping than ever before? Why are spa/spiritual retreats all the rage today? It’s because all these things are a form of ‘escapism’. They offer complete or partial ‘disconnection’. 



So when you think about it, stepping into an isolation tank might sound a little extreme at first, but it makes complete sense. It’s a short-term disconnection from our crazy ‘connected’ worlds. Just another method of escapism.

What is luxury?

Relationships of substance and value with all the people in your world. The man who cuts your meat, grows your vegetables, fits your shoes, pulls your coffee.

Luxury is not being a slave to fashion, nor trend. Not shopping on sale, only to have more of what is not right. Luxury is having only in your life what is correct and right, and when the time is right.

Luxury is having an extra hour every day to read the paper, eat toast with your love before you leave the house, sit in a park at lunch and watch the grass grow. Even if it means you’ll never drive an S-Class Mercedes or send your children to Knox.


What is value?

Value is paying 20 or 30 percent extra not to shop on sale. Value is the extra 50c it might cost to have a coffee that is truly superb, or the extra $30 a year you might tip your barista to remember that you like a single sugar and the milk extra hot.

Value isn’t cheap. Value costs money, but it also costs time and consideration. Because if you value yourself, you don’t skimp on what’s important – time, quality, integrity.

- Ethan Desu

Sage words from Ethan Desu on the real meaning of luxury and value. Ethan is highly regarded in the classic menswear scene, and rightly so.

I think that many retailers and luxury brands need to realign their concept of seasonal sales due to the negative impact they have on their core brand value. 

OUR DIGITAL WORLD

This video does a wicked job of illustrating the digitally-connected world that our hyper-stimulated young generation resides in today.

A note from the video’s producer: “One day I got an email, an sms, a phone call, a Facebook message and two tweets all within about 5 seconds of one another. This video is a re-manifestation of my brain’s interpretation of that event.”

Source: www.chriscrutchfield.tv

Be more than just a magpie. To quote a great planner I spoke to recently, “It’s all about connecting the dots, mate!” When I first started out in planning, I was like a magpie. Magpies constantly collect shiny, interesting objects. Like a magpie, I was constantly searching for new and interesting things in the world - Things such as emerging trends, products, brands and ads. But I just wasn’t connecting the dots. One of the most important things I’ve learnt is that you need to dig much deeper than that! There are always going to be shiny, interesting things out there in the world. Shiny things aren’t hard to find. Anyone can do that. Our job as planners is to dig deeper and understand what they actually mean. We need to understand the cultural significance of them. We need to understand why they are emerging, and how and why they are connected to other ‘shiny’ things. It’s just so easy to be a magpie and look for shiny things with no real understanding of what they mean. But proper planning is all about connecting the dots in seemingly disconnected ideas in order to create something truly brilliant.

Be more than just a magpie.

To quote a great planner I spoke to recently, “It’s all about connecting the dots, mate!”

When I first started out in planning, I was like a magpie. Magpies constantly collect shiny, interesting objects. Like a magpie, I was constantly searching for new and interesting things in the world - Things such as emerging trends, products, brands and ads. But I just wasn’t connecting the dots.

One of the most important things I’ve learnt is that you need to dig much deeper than that! There are always going to be shiny, interesting things out there in the world. Shiny things aren’t hard to find. Anyone can do that.

Our job as planners is to dig deeper and understand what they actually mean. We need to understand the cultural significance of them. We need to understand why they are emerging, and how and why they are connected to other ‘shiny’ things.

It’s just so easy to be a magpie and look for shiny things with no real understanding of what they mean. But proper planning is all about connecting the dots in seemingly disconnected ideas in order to create something truly brilliant.

Consuming is construed as an affirmation of self, a way of acting in the world, of expressing one’s identity and difference and participating in something larger than oneself. Consumption is driven by the conflicting impulse to both belong and be different, to identify with and differentiate from.

Trevor Norris, 2005

International Journal of Baudrillard Studies

MADE BY HAND

At its core, “handmade” is a term that represents the relationship between the maker and the user of an item. Handmade often means community. It means that something is made with care or expert craftsmanship. Something that is made with passion and emotion.

In the last 30 years, Western society’s appreciation for craftsmanship had waned. We had become over-marketed to. We had developed new tastes for over-consumption.

However, we are now in a time of global financial and political turmoil, and we are becoming more and more cynical of big corporations. Mass production is now viewed as something that is ‘evil’, and we are becoming more aware of where the things we purchase come from. We’re actively seeking a personal connection in our products. We’re looking for that ‘human touch’.

Made By Hand is a short documentary series created out of the belief that the things we collect, consume, use, and share are part of who we are as individuals. For example, the food that we eat says something about each of us, as do the tools we use and the chairs we rest on. Objects that surround the space we dwell in tell stories, and not just about us. Where did they come from? Who made them? How were they made?

The second video in the series is about a writer turned knife maker, Joel Bukiewicz of Cut Brooklyn. He talks about the human element of craft, and the potential for a skill to mature into an art. And in sharing his story, he alights on the real meaning of handmade—a movement whose riches are measured in people, not cash.

Tis the season for trend reports it would seem.. Cheers to Northern Planner for keeping it real with this little nugget of wisdom. 

Tis the season for trend reports it would seem..

Cheers to Northern Planner for keeping it real with this little nugget of wisdom. 

The Art and Craft of Storytelling - “Legally Robbing a Bank”

The Moth is a non-profit org that promotes “the art and craft of storytelling.” Here’s a true story from one of The Moth’s events, about hackers who break into banks for a living.

“It is truly the first sunrise of the next phase of your life.” - Day 1 of retirement. 

Retirement. For 74 million baby boomers in the US, the prospect of retirement is quite real. If you think about it, the decision to retire after a lifetime of working is a significant one to make. It’s new life. A new beginning. For some, it’s even a second chance. For most, it’s a leap into the unknown. It therefore raises many questions in people’s minds. Do I have enough money to live out the rest of my years comfortably? How do I know it’s the right time to retire? What will my friends and family think of me? After a lifetime of being defined by what I did for a living, who will I be after I retire? It’s clear that retirees have many tensions, anxieties, hopes and dreams.

Unfortunately for advertisers, retirement is a topic that lacks immediacy. Droga5 and Prudential (a financial services company in the US) saw an opportunity to illustrate the tensions of retirement in a new advertising series. The series considers four retirees one at a time, in mini documentaries – Each on their very first day off after a lifetime of working.

The campaign is brilliantly executed and beautifully captures each of their stories of transition from their ‘old life’ to their ‘new life’. It’s emotionally moving. But not the sappy, artificial way we are used to seeing in advertising. The spots feel real. Each of the retirees admit some of their deeper fears and anxieties they had about their decision. Even some of their regrets they’ve had in life. For those frightened by retirement, it’s admissions of fallibility like these that will make the series seem honest, real and authentic—and Prudential, by extension, worth trusting.

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