Strong, Not Optimal

Occasionally when you talk to a client, they give you clues as to how the relationship is going to go later. But only if you know what to listen for. 

One of the most telling, in my experience, is whether the terms they use show the right amount of intellectual curiosity and complexity... or whether they are hoping to keep things as simple as possible, even if this leads to a drop in performance due to a lack of rigor.

Words, in short, matter.

Which leads to the curious quest for Optimal Creative practices... 

That, well, do not exist. At least, not eternally.

Now, does this mean that there aren't strong and weak tactics? Of course not. You may be using many strong practices already, from calls to action to front loaded subject lines, from easily parsed body copy to entry points above the fold and a clear offer hierarchy and so on. 

I could go on, but there's a lot of channels, a lot of strong and weak practices, and that's not the point of this little exercise.

But no creative practice -- not even the ones that I would be truly shocked to see fail, mostly because I've seen them win in thousands of executions -- is optimal. 

That's because they can't be. 

Optimal implies perfection, unchanging, unquestioned. Can't be improved. And that's just not what occurs in creative testing. Everything can eventually fail, go stale, become overused by competitors or frequency, to the point where it's absence could be a better idea than it's presence. And everything can improve, see a boost from better execution or timing, or relative rarity in the market.

There are no optimal practices. There are simply strong ones and weaker ones, points you are more likely to see a benefit from testing and ones that are (probably much) lower priority to test.

There is no Magic Formula or Holy Grail or Perfect Ad. And if there were, it would cease to be with a quickness, because it would be duplicated and driven into the ground by everyone in a similar market.

And if your client doesn't get this, uses the terms optimal and strong interchangeably, or doesn't seem to want to get into the nuance, or live in a world where testing and data drives, instead of simplistic opinions that reinforce their own sense of being a Marketing Super Genius?

Then you don't have an optimal client.

Or a strong one.

And, if past precedent is any indication, a long term one...

And... we're back!

(Nope, not a political post. Thanks for asking!)

It's never good when a content blog goes quiet for a long time, but since we've last put words to electrons, M&AD has...

> Worked on several start ups with NDAs (but I can say that we now know *way* more about medicinal cannabis and personal protection equipment than we used to)

> Completed a long-term contract with Creative Circle working for Google (and yes, that was also Highly Educational), and

> Executed exploratory calls on several new exciting initiatives in new consumer categories for us (and honestly, after 20+ years in the game, when something is new to us it's Downright Exciting)

All of which would be very, very cool if it made for more short-term billing, which it has (at least so far) not.

So... ping us! Bandwidth available, at least for a limited time. 

With fewer exclamation points in person.

Talk to you soon...

In The Succulent Belly Of The Beast

Not My Office, But A Reasonable Comp

First, the good news. For the past three weeks, and hopefully for a long time to come, I've been working a pretty fascinating contract job for a pretty Fascinating Employer.

They've brought me in for specific expertise that others do not have, and so far, it's been going really well. I'm a lot happier in this role than most of the gigs I've held in my life, my manager is incredibly nice and supportive, and the corporate culture is *astonishingly* better than some of the experiences that I've had.

Now, the bad. I can't say very much about it, really. I don't work for the Fascinating Employer; I work for a contracting company that sends people to the Fascinating Employer. Which means that while you get many of the bells, whistles and trappings involved, you don't *really* have the same status, and if you are wired like me, it also makes you *very* aware of how much you want to keep that status or better moving forward.

I also can't really get into any of the details of the Fascinating Employer's ample and over the top perks. So the moments that make my 9 to 5 feel more like Wonkaland, rather than just another office... well, the details are going to be lacking, because they have to be.

But I can, of course, hint.

I didn't think that the perks were this going to be that much of a deal, folks. I'm a grown up. I've worked at any number of start ups with any number of Costco-infused snack rooms, with the inevitable HR-driven cupcake and donut fetish, with the Oooh So Naughty cheap thrill of beer in the fridge for Friday Wackiness. If you've been in offices with ping pong and foosball tables and after-hour Work Drinks and off-sites at nice restaurants, it starts to feel like every other place.

All of that stuff becomes table stakes with a disturbing quickness, and the relative lack of variety and Hey, I Can Go To Costco And Get My Own Grub means that you still see people stomping off to Starbucks or into town because, well, food.

And then there's what the Fascinating Employer does, and... yeah.

I used to think I had personal discipline, folks. Thankfully, the Fascinating Employer is staffed head to toe with young and in shape people (many of them who avail themselves of the in-office workout equipment), all of whom subtly remind you that you are not the weight or age or height or skin quality that you want to be, so maybe mix in some (impeccable and astonishing) salad with your truffle-infused triple chocolate salted caramel and garnished with real unicorn shavings brownie. (Not a real thing, but you get the point.)

So just have some fruit, right? That's good for you and they can't do that better than everyone else and... oh dear God, the fresh pears. How do they get bananas that are just always perfectly ripe and massive? Fine, fine, I'll just have some coffee... that's freshly ground from beans that are just better than the beans the rest of the world uses, and I'm not even a coffee snob. But this place is going to turn me into one.

Oh, and there are web sites that list all of your menu options, because why wouldn't there be? If there's duck today at one of the ridiculous number of dining options, you're going to want to know about the duck, right? (It was so good. And I'm not a duck guy, either.)

And if you don't want to bring your laptop, there are loaners, and if you don't want to work at your desk, hey presto, just go wander and take any number of comfy chairs with fabulous views or secluded little corners if that's what helps you concentrate better.

And all of this means that you never, ever leave the building, because why would you want to? (Which is, of course, the point.)

It's the first time I've ever worked for anything this massive, or anything this pampered.

And it's making me wonder why I didn't do everything in my power to get into a place like this decades ago, honestly...