Improving your resolution

Back in November we launched a new platform. We’ve talked before about the new features we think you’ll find the most helpful. But seeing as this is the time of resolutions and self-reflection, we thought we’d see if the new platform can’t help you with your resolutions.

(If you’ve decided to give up sugar or chocolate, then sorry but you’re on your own. We simply can’t condone that sort of behaviour.)

But if you’re up for changing the way you and your team work in 2019, then read the tips from our team on how they’re changing things, and how the platform can help.

Save more, spend less – Stephanie Nattu

The year starts out like any other year. Consciously and unconsciously fighting out my long list of regular New Year’s resolutions. Coming off the back of a month of pure indulgence – food, socialising and travelling. Something is different this year. A very loud voice in my head, saying this excess cannot continue. And I suppose I should listen to it. This year, it will be different.

I’ve decided the one resolution I will stick to and have to stick to it is to save more and spend less. It’s actually, something that I’m very aware of in my daily role of marrying up brands and agencies. Whilst an excellent agency partner is always at the forefront of what a brand is after, saving money (and spending less) is never far behind. The same can be said for agencies too.

Commitment is something I find absolutely linked to brands and agencies throughout the client review process. Commitment to the brief, process and really what is needed in the grand scheme of things.  Brands should be whole-heartedly committed in running a process that is bespoke to their needs and requirements. They need to be hard on themselves and really interrogate what’s important to them when it comes to appointing an agency. Asking questions like is it good for them and what is it they want to get from the process? Why have they decided on two workshops over one? Why did they decide on a four-hour pitch session? Do they really need seven agencies on a shortlist?

At the same time, agencies need to be committed to their new business criteria and clearly understand what type of a client they are after. They must be committed to their new business strategy, be bold and brave to simply say no when it’s just not right.

Thinking about these things can lead to saving plenty. Not only money, but time too – and for both brands and agencies.

Resolutions need encouragement, which is why I’m more than confident the new Creativebrief platform can be a real partner for this one. As a business, we are committed to finding the best brand and agency partnerships and now, processes can be personalised more than ever before, which means fewer instances of one being structured by default. I implore brands to really own it – find out what can work better for them, and then they’ll either make the money work harder, or end up saving lots of it.

We have so much change to create in how we work, so it’s about time we got started. 

Read more – David Sanger

I’m a fiend for books. They clutter up my flat, and when I finish one, I look beyond the dozen or so in my to-be-read pile and convince myself that, yes, what I really need to do is buy a new one. It’s a problem. And when space reaches crisis point, it’s the furniture I instead look to get rid of. Or even the housemates.

But when it comes to reading about new topics, I’m crap. I see colleagues or fellow commuters reading about a variety of topics that it would never strike me to brush up on. There are paperbacks about the nature of sleep or the Vietnam war; the diary of a junior doctor or a collection of feminist essays. I get jealous, thinking I should read about those things too – that I want to – right before I go back to my comfort zone. Because, well, it’s a comfort. So my New Year’s resolution is to read more that takes me out of it.

And not just at home either. This industry is filled with a multitude of opinions. Whether you agree with them or not, they help nurture a new way of thinking. A more informed way. How often do you find you weren’t really convinced of how you felt until you saw the contrary opinion before your eyes? Particularly in this current climate. Activism and having a point of view hasn’t really remained an option, but a necessity.

So how do you cultivate one? I’ve always found that reading more, leads to saying more, leads to joining in a conversation. Or perhaps even starting one of your own. If you’re of a similar mind, then oh boy have I got the right website for you!   

I’m responsible for the Press page on our new platform where our business-side content is located, so of course I’m going to direct you there. In fact, you’re here already, so job done. But truly I find it most interesting because it’s where the people I work with express themselves and share their opinions on the industry as a whole – be it on the pitch, working culture or agency brands. We’re individuals here and we don’t check that in at the door when we start. Nor would the company want us to. So hearing those opinions, those takes, those ways of working – that’s something I’m really hoping yourselves do more often. We’ve planted a disruptive feather in our cap, and you can see it here in how we’re trying to shake things up. 

Whether it stays as an opinion, grows into an event, or even a long-running series, these points of view will hopefully interest you, provoke you, encourage you. But most of all, I’m hoping they’ll keep us curious in 2019 and curiosity is essential if we’re setting our sights on transforming the industry.

Look outward – Izzy Ashton

We’re all time poor, are we not? As we frequently lament to friends, family, colleagues, we are just so busy. Too busy in fact. All the time. And so, if that’s the case, it becomes increasingly likely that your gaze is focused inward, on your world, on your sector and on the problems that directly affect you.

OK, but what’s the problem with that? Well, there isn’t one so to speak. But, as I’m writing to you about New Year’s Resolutions, I thought I’d ask, have you made any? I have one that I may be so bold to suggest.

In those moments where you feel the need to be inspired, why not look outward, beyond the constraints of one industry, one sector or one way of looking at the world? This is where BITE comes in. An editorial platform, BITE exists to inspire you, to give you a greater insight on the advertising and marketing world, through trend-led articles, in depth interviews and international campaigns.

Explore technology that will change the world as you know it. Read articles that stick in your mind for months to come. And delve inside the minds of people you’ve long admired to marvel alongside them at how far they’ve come.

By doing so you only serve to accelerate your growth and your development. In 2019, it is only going to become ever more important to maintain a broad grasp on the world around us. Look to BITE LIVE, our annual event where we pull together inspiration from actors to activists, adventurers and advertisers. This half day mental excursion will allow your mind to wander freely as you listen to stories of human endeavour and fascinating insight. And it’ll likely inspire you to think about and approach a problem in a totally new way.

There is so much happening in the world every single day so of course I’m not suggesting you try and stay abreast of it all. That would send even the calmest of minds into a spin.

But maybe this year choose one article, one interview, one podcast, one TV show to focus your full attention on. Devour it, muse on it, share it round the office but, most importantly, learn something new from it.

Work on your profile - Jimmy Wagstaff

I think the start of the new year is always a good time to reset. Plenty of people take it as an opportunity for reassessment, asking “am I doing what I really love?” That’s because work consumes a vast amount of your time and energy. If you’re putting that much effort into yourself, then that much of yourself into something, then it’d better be worth it.

January arrives and people might start working on their profiles. Job profiles, dating profiles, social media profiles. We resolve to turn over a new leaf, and put our best-self forwards. It’s a good attitude to have. Think of it as maximising your return – always pushing to work for your profile, and make your profile work for you.

This is advice I’d give to agencies, as well as individuals. Remember that you’re constantly in the shop window, and put yourself in the best position to grab anything that comes your way.

And equally, remember that there has to be a level of proactivity to this. As much as we’d like to think otherwise, good work alone isn’t always enough to get noticed. So it’s about maximising your exposure and making sure the people you want to know how good you are, do.

Our new platform launched in November and I think it’s great that we’re working more on helping agencies look good. Or more to the point – helping them help themselves look good. Agency showcases now give a better sense of an agency. Their case studies are stronger in their detail and variety – showing a brand how they’ve smashed it beforehand and their agency brand. The people, the opinions, the culture.

With these tools at agencies’ disposal, 2019 should see them putting their best foot forward. A new year comes with new opportunities for success. I’d say to agencies that it’s imperative they’re there to meet them.         

To find out more about the Creativebrief platform, drop us a line on 020 7478 8200