Sunday, 9 November 2014

Writer

I used to be a writer.
A self proclaimed writer that is, whatever that means.
I wrote about a life I dreamed of. A life that only lived in my mind.
Through my childhood insecurities I built a figment of myself. This figment had all that I desired. She danced with the wolves, she played in the rain, she had no fear.
Through my writing I found an escape.
Though sometimes dark, and uncertain, if you looked deep between the lines there was a shimmer of hope.
Hope that the future would be similar to the dreams of which I wrote.

Years later here I sit and think about the days that I lived in my head.
Where one day I was a rock star on a European tour.
The other day I was a sailor, seeking adventures at sea.
Those days that I created a world so unreal that it shone like a bright light.
I remembered how I was a writer.

How I wrote about more than projects and briefs.
How the world in my head was vibrant and colourful.
It wasn't quantified, qualified, analyzed.
It was irregular, written and re-written, angry and somber, or excited and enlightened.
I was whoever I wanted to be. I lived wherever I wanted to live and my naivety made it all possible.
The stories I made into dreams, the figments that danced in my head,
Gave me the creative spirit to survive.

I still am a writer.
Sometimes more realistic. Sometimes more black and white.
I no longer write the great fairytale, the great love story, the great adventure.
I write what I see, I write what I feel, I write my story, my thesis, my terms.
The rainbow of colour has blended into a few pantones that stripe along the words that I paint.

Though I long to be a writer.
To once again live in my head of mystery, intrigue and passion.
To create a masterpiece, a manifesto, a manuscript.
Elicit the childish whimsy that I once used to exude
And take another minute, a moment, a second..
In my head to just be.

Monday, 30 June 2014

My Mission Statement

Do you ever notice that R&R makes your mind race, you think more, and leads to a bit of an existential crises?

No need to panic, I'm not jumping off a bridge.. well not without a harness anyway.


I've taken a few days off. And this is quite a feat because I am quite the workaholic.

But I had a tough week, and after a tough week my brain literally needed a few days of complete silence. And sleep - boy did I sleep.

So now I am rested. 

I am sitting at home alone in complete silence and my mind does not stop wandering.
I had a great brunch today with a friend where we talked about our lives and about how to find meaning in what we do.

That made me go back to my "mission statement".


See a few months ago I wrote my life's mission statement. It was possibly the toughest thing I ever did. It really makes you rise out of the superficiality of the every day to think through what is it you are actually LIVING FOR.


I know, deep stuff.


So I wrote my mission statement: 

"Live every moment with inspiration and creativity applied to all aspects of my life."

See to me creativity is a blessing. 

It signifies these rose coloured glasses I put on my eyes as I see the world. 
It makes me envision everything differently; everything is art, everything is beauty.
And when I'm wearing these rose coloured glasses I am learning, I am living, I am loving, I am believing, I am inspired, I see beauty, I am happy.

Now sometimes those glasses are foggy, and dirty, and dark. 

But the sooner I can put the creative lens back on, the better I feel, the more inspired my work and my life.

So I have decided to live my life in creativity. 

Bask in the glow of my rose coloured glasses and live in a world where a tree is not a tree - but is a beautiful photo opportunity for a piece of art that will hang in my living room.

And with my picture of a tree I ask you - what is your mission statement? What are you living your life for? And how do YOU want to be remembered?






Monday, 3 February 2014

Distraction and your "Oreo Moment"

Last week was an inspired week for me.

I learned a whole ton last week from Ad Week to the Superbowl (Ad Bowl).

The theme was simple though, DISTRACTION.

During a fantastic Ad Week session by Nicole Gallucci on her book Adversperience (shameless plug here, I work for NG, love the woman, but truly believe in the fundamentals she teaches.. read the book) we saw the shattering visual below:


Um that's pretty insane. So that said, let's pretend you unplug for one hour. 
During that time you miss 20,820,000 tweets.

NO WONDER we're distracted. 

So what does this mean for you brand marketer, brand builder, agency lead, creative type?

Let's start with yesterday, Superbowl Sunday. 
This was the biggest day in Advertising where some brands spent their entire marketing budget on one commercial (that hopefully for them aired in the first half of the game...)
This doesn't include the dozens of brands on Twitter trying to find their "Oreo Moment" (http://mashable.com/2014/01/30/brands-super-bowl-2014/)

As a consumer, an avid commercial watcher, didn't you feel overwhelmed? 

I am a marketer and I felt overwhelmed. And when I got overwhelmed I got even MORE distracted. I reached for my Facebook to see what my friends were saying about the game, and completely ignored what other brands were saying about it as they talked AT me on Twitter.

The only thing I really remember was Budweiser's Puppy Horse BFF ("leaked" and watched pre-Bowl) and Bud Light's "Are You In" (I know people who work on the brand...) and of course JC Penny's Colossal Twitter Failure... 


So as a marketer what do I say to all the brands that want their "Oreo" moment?

A big moment in marketing is about capitalizing on an opportunity.
In this day and age the opportunity appears and you as a brand must be nimble enough to jump at it. And if you are lucky enough to be the first (yes luck plays a part) you earn and can bask in that "moment".

Do you want an Oreo moment? Well first off, don't re-use an opportunity. All you brands that tried to do that yesterday were lost in obscene amounts of cyber noise.
No one heard you.. or heard very few of you (sorry).

Find YOUR moment by identifying

  • What you care about? 
  • What do your consumers care about? 
  • What is your online personality? 
  • Then consistently BE that personality online and wait for that opportunity that is unique to YOU specifically.
  • And now wait. It'

You know what the "Oreo moment" of last night was? Funnily enough....