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Articles by Peter Ignazi
Lessons From the Time I Threw Up on My Client
True story. I once actually threw up on a client. And it was the best thing to happen to me in my 40 years of advertising. I'll tell you what happened in a minute. But before I do, here's a thought to keep in mind about how agencies and clients work together that is germane to this tale. A business, especially one with a creative component, can be very emotionally driven. After all, it's what agencies sell as a product—passion, emotion, excitement, momentum and energy.
Is Your Brand Ready for 'Cocoon Culture'? Get Comfy
When Dorothy tapped those sparkly red shoes and said wistfully, "There's no place like home, there's no place like home," she had no idea how apt those words would become in the year that has been 2020. The word "home" found its way into our language via the Old English "hus," from the verb "to hide." And hiding is what we've been doing, with only 37 percent of adults now saying they feel safe when outside of their home and one in five of us now wanting to work from home all the time.
Advice From the 6th Best Agency in Canada
In 2016, Cossette was named agency of the year in Canada. In 2017 and 2018, we repeated that. Along the way we won Grand Clios, Pencils from both sides of the pond, a Grand Prix at Cannes and Canada's first and only Cannes Creative Effectiveness Lion. But I'm not going to bore you with how we did all that. Because last year we were named the 6th best agency in Canada. And how we achieved that honor is, in my opinion, much more inspiring.
Canceling the Confederacy
The dismantling of one of the most powerful brands in American history Rachel Scott Everett Rachel Scott Everett is co-founder and creative director at EVERGIB, a nomadic creative studio specializing in strategically led advertising and branding. Since the 2016 election, she's been a passionate resister, leveraging her expertise to raise awareness of, and advocate for, women's rights and social equality. EVERGIB works with ad agencies and clients directly to transform ideas into the tangible.
Adaptive Design and the Value of Being a Chameleon
If you've seen the sushi geek film Jiro Dreams of Sushi, you probably remember the bit about how Jiro's apprentices spend 10 years mastering their knife skills. 10 years. Can you imagine where you'd be if you had focused only on one skill for the last 10 years … in our industry? Sure, you'd be an expert. You'd also be a dinosaur in a media and business world where the rules and tools seem to change every few days. No offense to Jiro, but in our industry, being a specialist is out.
Being Human as a Brand Strategy
As humans, we have an amazing ability to create systems that strip people of their basic humanity. In a capitalist society, humans have become "consumers" generally and simply "users" in the Internet age. Companies look at the public not as fully functional humans, but as demographics and email addresses on a spreadsheet and in a CRM database. Cohorts of target audiences are broken down to the essential elements and organized by overly simplistic traits, such that they can be easily measured.
How to Evolve Your Agency Without Losing Your Soul
It's Groundhog Day. I sit across the table from clients. The clients change, but the conversation is the same. For one reason or another—people, technology, culture—their brand needs to change. If the business doesn't adapt, it faces a slow death. Or worse, an expensive, fast death, where millions of dollars get spent on the latest round of advertising wallpaper. This old, dear advertising brief: How do we change without losing what made us special to people in the first place?
6.2 Miles and the Case for Brand America
I go to our nation's capital for business three or four times a year. This is new for me, thanks to our new client, Marriott Bonvoy, in Bethesda, Maryland, and our new partner, Stagwell, which is just blocks from the White House. My preferred hotel (yes, it's a Bonvoy) is also blocks from the White House. Three short ones. As I do on business trips in every city to which I travel, each time I'm in Washington, D.C., I go for a morning run.
What Writers Are Grateful for This Holiday
The season of gratitude is upon us. As a copywriter or speechwriter, it can get easy to live in your own head—and sometimes that can be a jaded place. So, why not get a fresh set of opinions from some of the best minds out there? I asked a few writers I admire what they're grateful for this year. Here's what they said. Luke Sullivan Author of Hey Whipple, Squeeze This: The Classic Guide to Creating Great Ads "As a writer, I am thankful that I get to use my brain for a living and not my back.
Advertising People, Which Character Are You in Ford v Ferrari?
I'm basically the best dad in the world. I surprise yanked my twin 11-year-old boys out of school in the middle of the day and took them to see Ford v Ferrari. Great movie, blah blah blah. But as I sat there in the dark looking at the screen, I came to the realization that I was watching the last 20 years of my life play out before me. No, I'm not a professional racecar driver. I'm in marketing. Specifically, advertising. More specifically, a creative director.
Why It's Never a Choice Between Being Creative and Being Commercial
I've always thought of advertising as one of the "creative arts." For some, this helps assuage an artistic ego—a pretense at making culture. For me, it's because the artistic side of the industry has always been a vital servant to its commercial intent. Creativity charms and cajoles. And in doing so, it earns the right for a brand's commercial message to be heard. It's the sugar that helps the marketing message go down.
Advertising Has Changed a Lot in 15 Years, but Not as Much as My Trousers
The photo below popped up on the Clio Awards' Instagram and Twitter pages a few months ago, because I guess they hate me. That's me in the white pants and mandles winning an award for some Bud Light radio I'd done at BBDO. I'd like to say all cool copywriters dressed like bloated Russell Brands in Miami in 2005, but I don't believe that to actually be true. Anyway, it reminded me of another story from that same point in my life.
Why Marketers Need to Be Cultural Linguists
Amid the constant drumbeat of geopolitical and economic uncertainty, the latest news about the U.S.-China tariff battle, and the fate of Brexit, it can be difficult to keep sight of deeper, longer-cycle shifts taking place across the world's economies. Changes are now happening faster than most global brands are prepared to address, making it all the more urgent for marketers to find new adaptive strategies.
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