STRATSCRAPS_v199

The Life Bridge killeth.

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What a weird time to be writing about advertising. Feels irresponsible to pretend things are normal or ok.

One of the biggest mistakes we make is to view each new headline as standalone. That latest thing replaces that last thing.

But it is important to look at the whole. The aggregated sum total of what is happening in the united states at the moment.

So I took the time to compile a (running) list of confirmed news stories, facts, and resources to help me/you/us take a step back and see the FASCIST FOREST THROUGH THE FASCIST TREES¹.

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A quick reminder: these newsletters are not really edited for typos or clarity. this is a place where I offload thoughts, in the hope they are valuable or interesting to others. typos and less than clear writing are a reflection of the function of this newsletter, not my ability to write. I can assure you I edit my work when I am being paid for it.

Anyway, on to strategy things…

Some of my favorite Sketchplanations…

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this one is especially important to strategists to understand, as often we site farthest up the “whip” and how hard we push or what we deliver will have outsized effects down the line.

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Another take on management styles, following up on last week’s theory Y and Theory X.

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Shoutout Molly Barth for dropping this comment on last week’s newsletter; “I'd particularly be interested to hear about best practices around hiring junior talent. I think there's such a huge disconnect in the market right now between companies/hiring managers (candidates are lazy, unmotivated, lack social skills and professionalism, etc.) and junior talent (roles are so few, companies are asking way too much of them, want more work/life balance, etc.)”

I wanted so bad to have a clean little framework in response to this question. But my honest response is that when hiring junior talent, you are evaluating for potential over experience. Even when it’s not a entry level role. And so much of what you’re looking for is usually context dependent and about team fit.

BUT… IMO, potential can be reduced to a combination of two things;

1. Deep curiosity. Not that same as what they read or how much they read or what they already know. But the compulsion to want to know more about most things. And the tendency to question inadequate answers/explanations. A good measure of this is asking about what they have gone down rabbit holes on recently. Make it clear this doesn’t need to be related to work.

2. Ability to make something interesting. Have them create a presentation on a topic of their choosing. In the past I have used the literal prompt “choose an ordinary object and make in interesting” (see this example from an intern’s application. She ended up getting hired full time after the summer came to an end.)

If they have these two qualities, hire them.

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I think about this a lot when creative teams get feedback about the tone or message present in the work. REMEMBER – it’s not what is said, but what is heard/how it is received.

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damn there are some banger old ads out there.

Anticipated feedback these days:

“but the percent of our audience that likes onion sandwiches is negligible. We’ll alienate anyone who thinks onion sandwiches are gross.”

They ARE gross. thats kind of the point. You are appealing to people who think they have unique tastes of their own. And doesn’t everyone feel that way, regardless of how true it is?

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as much as I hate the word insight, this feels like one that would make for a strong creative brief:

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I love a good map that rejects the assumptions most maps make;

Read about this one here

more unusual maps:

Wiki of map projections

20 of the Strangest Maps Ever Created

Which also led me to this fun article: Mapped: The boundaries of human perception

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I am obsessed with the idea of wonky variations of normal sports. Three sided soccer is apparently a real thing, with a world cup and everything. How much fun would it be for a brand to sponsor a team or tournament?

A fun exercise next time you are stuck in line and tempted to pull out your phone… what other sport variations would be fun to watch? Where is the line between ridiculous and entertaining. What is needed to keep a sport from becoming pure spectacle without long term staying power? Could soccer work with more than 1 ball? What about other sports?

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Florian Schleicher’s trends report on Friction is live, featuring yours truly, as well as a lot of really smart people. you can download here.

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WEEKLY MONSTER

Sometimes photos turn out really cool because they werent what you intended. Yea, there is a moral there.

1. I’ll see you in the gulag.