New Tumblr

I missed creating art, even though I am not a “creative”–at least not by the definition our industry gives it, so I decided to create a new mission for myself: rediscover the artist in me. I used to be such a artsy little asian girl…don’t know what happened to me! I used to do origami, acrylic paintings, sketches, sing a capella, knit, and even tried lockin’ one summer (so much fun). Why am I so boring now?!

So I created a new Tumblr with that mission in mind, and finally put up my first original artistic creation today, which was…a sketch of a tree. Unfortunately, there are more trees than humans around my neighborhood, so that’s what I ended up drawing as my first original creative post. Come check out the new Tumblr, if you’re interested. I’m planning on doing more original sketches, crafts, food, and maybe even makeup for my tiny asian eyes. For inspiration, self-motivation, and happiness.

Junior Planners: Areas for Improvement

1. In my search for the seemingly elusive junior planning position, I’ve come across a lot of posts on what makes a great planner, but very few on how often those attributes are actually being observed in reality. In addition to all the key ingredients, I think there is a big opportunity for [aspiring] junior planners to understand their commonly observed weaknesses to better position themselves in today’s competitive job market, especially within the planning discipline of advertising.

   The following is a collection of responses I received from senior planners to the question, “What are some common weaknesses you’ve observed in Junior Planners?”:

2. 1. Ignoring the DATA

3. 

   .@wendysungasong Starting planners should be sponges, breathing data in and insights out. Skip the inputs and the outputs are sheer vanity.

   
   

   Dan Ng@cubemate

   Wed, Oct 17 2012 05:52:00

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4. 

   .@wendysungasong Not digging into data is a common weakness of bad planners. “Not being good with numbers” is a cover-up for laziness.

   
   

   Dan Ng@cubemate

   Wed, Oct 17 2012 09:24:46

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5. 

   @cubemate @wendysungasong I know too many senior planners that skip the data too. When your insight is opinion it gets ignored.

   
   

   darrell whitelaw@darrellwhitelaw

   Wed, Oct 17 2012 05:53:52

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6. 

   @darrellwhitelaw @cubemate @wendysungasong data simply tells the best stories in our business. The Planner should be an engaging interpreter

   
   

   Reeder@thatreeder

   Wed, Oct 17 2012 06:03:27

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7. 2. Not using plain English

8. 

   @wendysungasong Plain English and informed, courageous thinking.

   
   

   Mark Pollard@markpollard

   Wed, Oct 17 2012 12:48:02

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9. Also, the ability to simplify a complex situation into a coherent story, and to narrate it with eloquence:
10. “Demonstrate how you’ve turned chaos into simplicity (can connect the dots and see the forest from the trees)…show that you can telescopically tell a story”- Anne Benvenuto
11. 

    @wendysungasong The most common ones are the same ones that I faced as a Junior = time mgmt, room presence, attention to detail.

    
    

    brian wakabayashi@brianwaka

    Fri, Oct 26 2012 14:18:40

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Great consumer insights are not discovered…

Great consumer insights are not – in my experience – discovered. They are thought of. Conceived in the mind of some smart, informed person. They are not found, they are intuited. They are not mined, they are identified and hypothesized.

- Emma Cookson, CEO of BBH

From: Stop Digging for Insights – Truth Be Told Creative

Planning: More Than Just An Opinion?

Coming from an agency where Planners were still a relatively novel concept, and thus often had Account substitute doing their work, I’ve started to wonder what it is that really sets Planners apart from Account Services. What is the value added that they bring to the agency?

If it is as simple as analyzing a problem and providing solutions based on already-produced research, why should an agency hire them for things that AEs can already do? Surely, they are getting paid for more than just offering an opinion.

Hence, I was pleasantly delighted when I came across this blog post by Martin Weigel(Head of Planning, W+K Amsterdam), on “What Makes a Planner”. He describes some of the “harder” qualities that planners should possess. I’ve summarized his points below:

[INDIA] Women Against Lazy Stubble

2011 Jay Chiat Awards Winners

Campaign for Existing Brand—Bronze
BBDO India
P&G/Gillette Mach 3 | “WALS: Women Against Lazy Stubble”

PSFK’s How To Be A Rockstar Planner

Great source of planning wisdom that I’m using to mine for “insights” into planners’ minds.

Is it better to get the campaign right…or to be able to prove it?

- Jon Steel, Planning Director of WPP

Bring Back Those Big Ideas by Jon Steel – WPP

I AM NOT A SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING CURRENCY

…well, that is, unless I get to see someone’s desk end up like that as a result of my “like”.

So, remember what I said about consumers feeling exploited by brands when they’re explicitly solicited to “like” or “follow” them just so they can reach a certain number? That people don’t like to “like”/”follow” just for the sake of doing so (especially when they really don’t feel that strongly about the brand or can’t be bothered with their their updates)? Well, I must say that the folks at Razorfish do a pretty good job at creating very “likeable” content for Cheez-It’s FB page.

They started by posting that they’ll completely cover someone’s desk at Cheez-It HQ with these orange post-its if they can get 10K Likes:

And look! 12K+ Likes! So I guess people don’t mind being asked to fulfill a certain “Like” quota if it’s something they highly agree with or a ruthless prank that they can take part in. Bottom line: if you’re going to explicitly ask for X thousands of “Likes” (liking for the sake of liking), I guess better make sure it’s gonna fulfill people’s SELF interests (talking to you, T-Pain).

But honestly, Cheez-It’s FB page is a great example of FB/social media CRM. Go check it out.

Axe Can Turn Lesbians Straight and Win You $65M

 

Well, played, Axe (aka “Lynx” in the EU and Asia)…well played.

Piggy-backing off the press generated by an Hong Kong billionaire’s award offer of USD $65m for any man who can make his lesbian daughter straight, Axe claims any guy who uses their product can win the challenge and thus the monnaeee.

They apparently posted these pics on their FB page. I wonder if they also used other media for this awesome ad. It’s aligned with their brand promise, albeit unrealistic, and is humorous as always. I always thought their messaging (use our product and boom—automatic chic magnet) was overly redundant and getting pretty overdone, but this is a refreshing twist.

Agency: BBH Singapore

In response to: Lynx Body Spray: Is it the Cure for Gayness?

TOTD (Thought of the day)

Do consumers feel exploited for their “likes” and “follows” being used as social media “currency” by marketers?

Just came across this FB post by T-Pain (Yes—I FB “liked” T-Pain. I happen to think he is a very amusing guy with sick dance moves and mad auto-tuning skills.):

Notice the 1st comment. Ah yes, it’s a clever play on one of T-Pain’s song names, but I think the underlying sentiment is shared among many in the online community. “Liking” someone/thing on Facebook or following them on Twitter was supposed to be a gesture of support or subscription for future updates. Many brands have abused this function by offering discounts or premiums in exchange for “likes”/”follows”, and then spamming their followers with irrelevant information. Well, Facebook IS trying to curb this “spamming” by changing their Edgerank algorithm to produce more “engaging” content, but the point is: consumers don’t like to be treated as mere NUMBERS.

There’s so much that’s wrong with this post, besides coming off as condescending to his fans, treating them like numbers just for the sake of getting more “likes” and “followers”. I understand the goal of expanding his social media reach, but it could work alot better if the copy were written in a less self-centered way, and maybe with a BENEFIT for engaging in the race. For example, when I saw “Let’s have a little race”, I got so excited, because it seemed like an invitation to some competitive game. To my dismay, it was nothing more than a misleading statement aimed at benefiting no one but himself (or his PR team—whoever posted that).

Then again, maybe I’m not representative of his target. Maybe his average fan doesn’t mind liking/following on demand. Hence, the proposed survey topic: “Do consumers feel exploited for their “likes” and “follows” being used as social media “currency” by marketers?”

Btw, just checked back on T-Pain’s post for new comments. See below: