THE CREATIVE STRATEGIST

Interns – Blessing or Burden?

Internships have long held a place in the workforce in numerous industries. It has served as an important stepping stone to prepare young candidates of the “real” world that differs from the teachings and practices otherwise experienced within “four walls” albeit the classroom.

Now, many of you have undergone an internship, or you may be looking to get one – either way, this post looks to discuss the intern and determine to what extent they can be blessings or burdens.

Let’s start with the blessings.

Interns bring with them a fresh approach and different perspective, looking to make their mark and eventually do well enough to land a full time gig. They may also help alleviate stress on on current workloads, with interns taking on work of all form and function, never judging, always accepting. They are eager, hungry to learn, and are vessels that can be groomed to near perfection.

Interns are a blessing to many workplaces in that they bring with them the latest teachings and are skilled to be able to perform many given tasks without much guidance. The interns of today are also problem solvers, tech-savvy and probably could do 3 people’s jobs with their invested interest in learning and developing their repertoire of skills. It is not uncommon for a digital marketing intern these days who may have skills in photography and retouching images.

More than anything, interns are cheap labour (sometimes free). It is up to a good supervisor to really make the most out of their intern. I’ve heard terrible stories where interns have been brought in, and are subjected to such menial administrative tasks, that undermine the entire reason for them being there. Guide them, make them an extension of yourself and if they are capable and willing, they will do good for the business.

Next, interns as burdens?

Interns can sometimes be seen as burdens. They get in the way, they are opinionated and think their way could be better. They lack the experience (time + involvement) to be able to be able to make critical decisions. They have after all only been living in a simulation and have been ingrained with the philosophies of textbook wizards – whose very existence is to tell you what’s right or wrong (because they can).

I’ve personally had interns where they took matters into their own hands, and failed miserably. Why? Because they think they are doing the right thing and are too afraid to ask and seek counsel for milestones of projects. It’s as if they have to prove to the world that they know what they’re doing and can deliver. Nay my friends, when we are in the process of learning, ask the questions, challenge the responses, and always, always remember to check in from time to time. You’re interns – we know that you don’t know everything.

Interns also tend sometimes not to be proactive. They do their work, and God knows I’ve seen it before, chill and twiddle their thumbs. I learned a very important lesson during one of my earlier internships, where I excelled in my workload and finished tasks quicker than my fellow interns. What did I do? I basically twiddled my thumbs and thought it was ok to “chill”. My supervisor failed me for that internship with an important message – be proactive. If you’ve finished your work, go around and learn more about the company, put yourself in a position where you “appear” to be interested, and also be interested – because if not, this place isn’t for you. Ask others if they need help, ask your supervisors what the next project is, see how you can take some of the burden off of their shoulders. It goes a long way of just being that guy who does his work and leaves compared to the person that gets shit done for the company and collaborates and is always eager and willing to help others.

So then, what about the idea of internships? Do they work? It really depends on whether the company and supervisor lays out an appropriate internship training plan with relevant tasks and activities. I believe that a good internship should include:

Discovery

You are able to learn and discover more about the role, the organisation and have the ability to develop yourself.

Challenge

Your work is questioned. You are analysed and deconstructed and must be able to respond appropriately.

Competent

You must be able to perform the tasks designated to your position and specialty area (unless you’re floating around departments).

Resilient

You need to be able to take shit (within reason) and not give up or give in. Stand firm, but be prepared to be criticised.

Honest

Be honest, and open – always.

Internships can make or break your career pathway, but remember – you make it out to whatever you want to be.

As Shakespeare once said:

Men are masters of their own fate: It is not in the stars but in ourselves.

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Cheers,

DANIEL JACOBS
http://www.thecreativestrategist.com.au
https://www.linkedin.com/in/denialjacobs/
Melbourne, Australia

Why do we keep saying no?

Why are we more open to the notion of negativity or saying no as we grow older?

Why do we perceive change to be confrontational and even scary?

Why do we never question things around us and just accept things as they are?

The path to learning and development consists of multiple pathways of experiences via our senses – What we can see, hear, taste, smell & touch.

TRY THIS OUT:

Now, how about you close your eyes and touch your left ear?

Did you touch your ear immediately? Isn’t it bizarre that you could do that?

People tend to refer to this simple phenomenon as the 5++ sense of “self-awareness”.

In our lives, we undertake multiple paths to development and impairment at times due to our external environment which causes us to make do or replace some of our basic senses to help strengthen the rest.

Being self-aware is not just the understanding or comprehension of knowing our senses, being one with the universe or having an adverse sense of peripheral direction.

Now, how does the above actually relate to the first 3 questions presented above?

It is because, as we grow up and older, people make choices, and create strong barriers around their self-awareness to rationalize who they want to be, and filter what information tries to get directed their way.

Look at the way advertising has changed over the years, and the approach marketers are taking to try and fine those thin cracks in your “ad-permeable” receptor membranes to communicate with you.

We say no to things that we know little to nothing about. We see change as being negative and tend to stay on the safe side of what we feel we are “aware” about and are able to touch, see, smell, hear & taste.

Let’s move away from this and practice the Zen-like principles of deconstruction, and let go of everything you know, unlearn all that you have learned and start afresh, like a sponge.

In foresight, the creative adult is truly the child that survived.

Why? Because children start fresh, have no barriers and build their senses through the perception and experiences they encounter and are subjected to.

How can we, as adults then become children again?

You can start by saying yes. Accept change. Be the vessel of evolution and be open to discussion, debate and utilize the power of imagination.

More than anything else, live again.

—

Cheers,

DANIEL JACOBS
http://www.thecreativestrategist.com.au
https://www.linkedin.com/in/denialjacobs/
Melbourne, Australia

THE AGE OF DIGITAL DEHUMANISATION

We’re constantly connected – to our laptops, smartphones, tablets, smart tv’s, music streaming apps, social media apps, smart watches etc… The tech that’s been built to help make our lives easier, is actually disconnecting us from traditional human behaviour.

So much so that in marketing, we look at peoples behaviour via the data I.e. dwell time, impressions, clicks, user flow, acquisition etc…

Apparently, we know more about you, than possibly even yourself. Because, apparently, actions speak louder than words.

So if we claim that we know you so well, why are people so unsatisfied still in life? With all this rich data about a single person and a collective group, why do marketers still struggle to get it right?

It’s because we fail to understand or delve deeper into how people think, feel and do.
People have lost sight of what it is to be human, allowing technology and the digital realm to run their lives. It’s fucked…

Here’s a common scene:
A group of friends dining in at a restaurant. Sounds normal right? But what’s wrong with this common scene? Chances are, half of them are on their phones. Why? Texting, checking out their Instagram, looking at their shopping basket etc…
We are the company we keep, and I fear that people are going to leave future decision making to the robots of the world!

What happened to good old conversation? Sharing knowledge and social intimacy?
We are minimising what the experience is to be human. The world of what it is to be human is slowly getting lost. We really need to properly reconsider our humanity.

Enter human centred design.

Enter sensory branding. Enter opening your eyes and looking at all the wonder in the world around us. Enter listening to our surroundings, truly engaging with the many different sounds. Enter tasting our meals; every bite, every morsel. Enter feeling and engaging with everyday objects, embracing our human sense of touch. Enter the whiff of nature’s vibes (don’t enter a laneway filled with garbage bins…).

Enter back into reigniting our humanity, and disconnect from technology.

Cheers,

DANIEL JACOBS
http://www.thecreativestrategist.com.au
https://www.linkedin.com/in/denialjacobs/
Melbourne, Australia

The Trouble with “Value” in Society

The world we live in as consumers has blurred the reality of growth. Everything that we consume today is based on a value driven pricing model. Value-based pricing is a strategy where prices are based mostly on consumers’ perceived value of the product or service.

The value doesn’t need to be linked to price, but can be linked to prestige, or intangibles. Supermarket deals, sportswear deals, last minute deals, click frenzy’s, car deals, all enticing the consumer to take the leap – all for getting a better value.

Unfortunately, these very same consumers that now expect value in everything that they consume in their day to day lives start expecting it everywhere else… These same consumers are also key decision makers at large organisations, they are CEOs, they are juniors, they work!

But when it comes to paying for services and products that are work related, they bring this notion of expected perceived value even to these products and services.
I’ve heard stories from colleagues, friends and family about struggling to understand the charges of some of these services or have even been in a position where they have struggled to charge what they initially wanted.

All because we always want a better deal.

It’s human nature to always want a better deal – to feel an additional sense of accomplishment. Because we THINK that a better deal puts us in a better position, makes us look good on the books and is part of our KPI’s and this toxic mentality will only cause more harm if we preach it to our future generations.
Then, we FEEL good, knowing that we are getting something better than what was originally offered, and this comes from getting a discount, or by getting add ons thrown in.

This leads to actions that could cause more harm than good.
So my advice on this is to DO what’s right for your organisation and yourself, based on what you need and want, and not because how it will make you feel or look.
Don’t fall into the trap of Value based living.

Cheers,

DANIEL JACOBS
http://www.thecreativestrategist.com.au
https://www.linkedin.com/in/denialjacobs/
Melbourne, Australia

Effective Communications – Let’s be Honest…

Effective Communications
We’ve heard it before, and adhere to principles and rules outlining various ways on how to create and facilitate effective communication pieces.

I sought the counsel of my trusted advisor (Google), and this came up when I typed in “Effective”: adequate to accomplish a purpose; producing the intended or expected result.

For many of us, we still adhere to the doctrine of creating objectives / goals and ensuring that they’re SMART (Specific / Measurable / Attainable / Realistic / Timely).

In my time both client side and agency side, I’ve been exposed to many a brief (client / creative / mechanical) where objectives are laid out. In this day and age, I am still perplexed how many marketers still fail to understand the importance of setting SMART objectives.

Example of a Poor Objective:

We want Brand X to be talked about and loved by Australians.

Let’s Analyse the Above:

Is it Specific? Sure, why not.
Is it Measurable? It has the potential to be. But, what % deems the objective to be successful?
Is it Attainable? Sure, to an extend.
Is it Realistic? Possibly, over time…
Is it Timely? Not at all…

Example of a Better Objective:

Increase brand presence and share of voice in the marketplace through visibility in media, social platforms, buzz within the next 3 months.

How we could measure effectiveness: Media monitoring tools, social mentions, buzz created, website traffic, sales, growth in interest & followers, levels of engagement etc…

Note:

Notice how I state “Better”, and not “Best”, and also more importantly, how I statee “Could” rather than “Would”? This is because, objectives are subjective, and depends on the level of the Communications Funnel that it services.

Simply put, to ensure that your piece of communications is effective, just abide by this simple philosophy – “Putting the right content within the right context”. You’ll find the right people in the right context naturally. Just make sure you know who you intend to serve that message to.

Cheers,

DANIEL JACOBS
http://www.thecreativestrategist.com.au
https://www.linkedin.com/in/denialjacobs/
Melbourne, Australia

Strategic Planning – An Agile Approach

Photo by Francesco Ungaro on Pexels.com

Case Study: Getting to a Meeting

On my way to a meeting the other day, i had an epiphany. In my role within strategic planning, wonder how best sometimes to communicate the importance of good objectives and describe the planning process and measuring effectiveness, I could present a relevant case study.

So, putting it into perspective:

Job – Getting to a Client Meeting

Primary Objective:

1. Get from point A to point B, ensuring that I arrive 10-15 minutes prior to the actual meeting start time whilst avoiding any accidents

Planning:

1. I plan my route
2. I use tools such as Google Maps and Maps to determine the best route to take in the most efficient time to meet my objective/s.
3. I ensure that I have earphone plugged in, and can call the client if situations change
4. I ensure I have enough petrol in my tank
5. I listen out on the radio and view news reports prior to my departure, ensuring that there’s no accidents or heavy traffic on the route that I have prepared

Action:

Whilst driving (comparing this context to that of a campaign roll out), I start noticing factors out of my control. It starts to rain – heavily… There are erratic drivers who throw caution to the wind in their quest to get to their destination quicker. An accident occurs, causing the right lane to jam up. Someone’s going 60 on an 80 lane, just cruising along.

However, having experience driving day to day allows me to better “steer” my journey in a more efficient manner (you may call this agile thinking approach), understanding how things can change on the fly, and I start taking different courses of action, to ensure that I still meet my objectives. I know that the right lanes aren’t the best in the mornings on my route. The middle lane can get jammed up with people thinking it’s the least used lane. So I drive on the 2nd lane from the right, switching lanes depending on the various “notorious” intersections (safely, and well aware of my surroundings obviously) and continue my journey. I occasionally glance at my GPS to inform me whether I am on track (Distance left + time to arrive).

Result:

You win some, you lose some. I on the other hand, beat the system on this occasion and arrived 10 minutes early for my meeting.

Key Learnings:

If I had simply followed the one set plan, stuck to my route and followed my usual route (regardless of external influences), I would probably have been late.

In campaign planning and implementation, no matter how solid the direction (plan), prepare for the unexpected, and re-steer the direction as necessary to ensure effectiveness of reaching the objectives.

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Cheers,

DANIEL JACOBS
www.thecreativestrategist.com.au
https://www.linkedin.com/in/denialjacobs/

Melbourne, Australia

Approach your customers like children

Why you should approach your Customers like children – short attention span, rather than taking a cognitive approach to learning by learning rules, offers, content, they need a behavioural kind of inducement to stimulate a positive desired result.

CASE STUDY

Over the usual family gathering over the weekend, my mother introduced a board game for the kids (mostly for my 6 year old niece, Zara) called – Trouble! After settling down after a lovely lunch, the table was cleared to prepare ourselves for the game at hand.

I then proceeded to “attempt” to calmly & slowly explain the rules and the concept of the game to my niece. However, she has an attention span of a goldfish… She is easily distracted by everything around her and gave me the impression that she was interested to listen, but did not truly want to hear anything. The idea about the game excited her, and she just wanted to get on with the game. The thought process of learning about the game did not excite her and she soon lost interest, and proceeded to interact with the playing pieces, her necklace, touching and feeling the board etc…

At this stage, I almost gave up hope in educating her on the importance of learning, sitting still and paying attention. But then, my brother in-law chimed in and proceeded to just start the game.

To my bemusement, Zara was slowly able to comprehend and grasp the concept of the game by immersing herself in the playing environment, interacting with the other player (her father) and progressively learning along the way.

10 minutes in, and it appeared that she had mastered the art & function of the game that was truly intended to be played, but more importantly enjoyed.

WHAT WAS MY LESSON HERE?

1) Not everyone learns things the same way – one person may be better at listening and reading to learn, whilst others are better at just jumping in and getting “hands on, practical experience”

2) Instead of making assumptions over what is right, or what is wrong, observe your subject (my niece in this instance) and gauge what she wants to do, how she reacts to stimuli provided to her etc…

3) Patience is important to see the desired results, but sometimes you just need to get right into it and go with the flow and see how that goes.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR MARKETERS?

We think that we know what’s best for customers. We shove a large magnitude of information, advertising, promotions and content, trying to cause a positive desired result. Stop trying to change the way they think – instead, engage with them and get them to learn by themselves – guiding them along the way.

Your customers may not know what they want or need, and it is your duty to guide them through the consumer purchase decision making process. It may not necessarily be the path that you have chosen, but as long as the end result is acquired, learn, be agile in your future approaches, and no two customers are the same.

But more than anything, make sure they have some fun along the way.

—

Cheers,

DANIEL JACOBS
http://www.thecreativestrategist.com.au
https://www.linkedin.com/in/denialjacobs/
Melbourne, Australia

Most Valuable Person / Brand

Photo by Allan Mas on Pexels.com

How do people get noticed in the office or stand out from the crowd?

There are 2 paths to FAME here:

1) Famous for good things
2) Famous for bad things

Let’s start with Famous for Good:

Your name (brand) gets mentioned a lot (frequency) and more people get to hear your name (reach). Your work and performance has been spoken highly of, and others see the value and output (results). Stakeholders notice the return of their investment (ROI), and you progress in your career based on your return of effort (ROE) – which could come in the form of salary increases and promotions.
Then, in regards to how you are as a person (personality), people like you, and they want to spend more time with you. They couldn’t imagine a meeting or project without you (advocacy).

You’re the MVP that delivers the goods when required.
Your deliverables can be seen throughout the office and people start talking.

Now let’s look at Famous for Bad:

People don’t seem to like you. They don’t see Good Work and people don’t want you on their team. They feel like you say one thing and act in a completely different way (cognitive dissonance). Word spreads throughout the office of the negatives, and bad news travels faster. You’re on the reserve bench (out of sight, out of mind), being the last thing on peoples mind.

It’s tough to turn things around, but it isn’t impossible.

Because, it all starts with you. You have the power to change (transform) others perceptions of you – so what’s stopping you?

Now imagine if you’re a brand. You’ll notice key metrics of measurement and influence within the brackets above.

Wouldn’t you want to be your customers MVP in their life?

Before you point the finger at your marketing team, agencies, customers changing habits – stop and look within first. What can you do differently that will have a positive impact in your customers life?

What are you prepared to do…

Cheers,

DANIEL JACOBS
http://www.thecreativestrategist.com.au
https://www.linkedin.com/in/denialjacobs/
Melbourne, Australia

How many Millennials would it take to change a lightbulb? // Truth About the World

A staggering 84% of 18 to 24-year-olds admit they do not know how to change a light bulb, based on a poll conducted in the UK. 74% of them admit they would rather pay someone else to do it because they would only “muck it up”.

I find this piece of research highly alarming. In this day and age where we have access to information (articles, videos and instructions) on how to do almost anything, how is this even possible?

My best guess is on perceived convenience and fear of the unknown. Time is super important to (most people) , including millennials, where they value time over money. However, this generation has a different mindset from their parents. In my parents generation, these type of essential life skills were passed down (typically), from father to son, almost like a rite of passage into adulthood and a way of bonding.

However, in this day and age, we’re spoilt for choice, and rather than spend time with our parents to learn about these skills – we instead thwart it off, choosing to spend that time with our friends, or lost in the digital world (looking at your Fortnite gamers).

It’s no wonder they call us the “entitled generation”. This isn’t true for many of us within this age bracket (there’s the low’s, mid and high’s – each with different stigmas attached to it), but as an older millennial – I actually have to agree. Why? Because I would also prefer to pay someone else to do these tasks, if it saves me time.
We simply have a different perception of value these days.
In a study commissioned by investment firm Crowdstacker, the research appeared to show the younger age group are less concerned about their finances.
One in 10 millennials would call out an electrician to change a light bulb — rather than save money and do it themselves.
In contrast, 98 per cent of 45 to 54-year-olds would change a bulb and 90 per cent would wire plugs themselves to save money.

Experts say youngsters fail to learn DIY because they live with their parents for too long.

Yes, this has valid points… Especially when we’re finding more millennials finding it harder and harder to move out. High cost of living, slow wage growth and policies making it incredibly hard to afford your own place. This in itself hinders independence. But what happens when we do live with our folks? We take things for granted – and essentially grow up slower. This of course is a generalisation, but let’s face it – if mums still doing your laundry, there’s always food in the pantry and the lights remain on, why should we care? It’s their responsibility, not ours right?

We take things for granted until our environment changes, forcing us to take notice and actually have to do something about it.

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All it takes is 1 millennial to post about their experience of changing a lightbulb to create a new movement (or rekindle an old one).

Cheers,

DANIEL JACOBS
http://www.thecreativestrategist.com.au
https://www.linkedin.com/in/denialjacobs/
Melbourne, Australia

Men are masters of their own fate: It is not in the stars but in ourselves.

Why are we more open to the notion of negativity or saying no as we grow older?

Enter back into reigniting our humanity, and disconnect from technology.

Cheers,

Cheers,

How do people get noticed in the office or stand out from the crowd?

There are 2 paths to FAME here:

1) Famous for good things2) Famous for bad things

Let’s start with Famous for Good:

Now let’s look at Famous for Bad:

It’s tough to turn things around, but it isn’t impossible.

Because, it all starts with you. You have the power to change (transform) others perceptions of you – so what’s stopping you?

What are you prepared to do…

Cheers,

A staggering 84% of 18 to 24-year-olds admit they do not know how to change a light bulb, based on a poll conducted in the UK. 74% of them admit they would rather pay someone else to do it because they would only “muck it up”.

However, in this day and age, we’re spoilt for choice, and rather than spend time with our parents to learn about these skills – we instead thwart it off, choosing to spend that time with our friends, or lost in the digital world (looking at your Fortnite gamers).

We take things for granted until our environment changes, forcing us to take notice and actually have to do something about it.

All it takes is 1 millennial to post about their experience of changing a lightbulb to create a new movement (or rekindle an old one).

Cheers,

1) Famous for good things
2) Famous for bad things