Hey friend β Rob here. Movember is upon us, and so is what many are considering "the masculinity election" in the US. Over the past few weeks, i've been reading, reflecting and riffing with others on modern masculinity. And because this is a platform about helping strategists grow, there's tons of growth we as men owe to ourselves. Not to mention to others. So, here are 30 personal mini-reflections on being a modern man. (And so it's 100% clear, i'm writing this as a cisgender man, there's...
8 days agoΒ β’Β 2 min read
Hey friend β Rob here. I recently went back to my vault of notes from the IPA Eff Test, something i do now and then. And boy do i have a nerdy new set of fun ways to think about effectiveness, hand-rolled just for you! I did this because a recent conversation emerged in our private community, on objectives and KPIs. So here's how i usually talk about it with clients, and yes this should be even before you brief the work. Broadly inspired by the wisdom of Binet & Field, who if you don't know...
8 days agoΒ β’Β 6 min read
Hey friend β Rob here. Memes are more than time wasting. They're research and development. You know why? Tension. Tension is interesting because it's hard. It's hard on our egos, who want it easy. It's hard because it signals trouble. It's hard because it's not linear. And yet, tension creates vibration. And vibration gets us hooked. And thatβs what every successful meme has. Tension. Followed by punchline. Plato was onto something similar: "Serious things cannot be understood without...
11 days agoΒ β’Β 1 min read
Hey friend β Rob here. System1 and The IPA are two of the most legit evidence-based bodies out there. And they recently co-released a research report on the importance of creative consistency. Or as they call it β compound creativity. (Goodness me, i love a financial analogy.) The full report is at the bottom of this email. But because i'm a nerd about this stuff, i clipped the 7 most useful charts for your β¨ pleasure β¨. Hope they're useful for when making the argument for... not changing...
11 days agoΒ β’Β 1 min read
Read online Hey friend β Rob here. Two lessons i learned this week: When you worry more about character counts than your own character, the real problems creep in Content by itself is a commodity, but community spaces are where the premiums lie Thank you to Rachel for helping calm down an over-existential elder millennial on a Monday evening. Back to basics. Here's a short but sharp email, hand rolled just for you. Plus a bunch of links that deserve to be set free. But first, let's talk about...
13 days agoΒ β’Β 3 min read
Hey friend β Rob here. I'm a sucker for blending modern social thinking with classic effectiveness thinking. The first go at this was on how Byron Sharp can help pump your social strategies. Today, chapter 2 of this definitely-not-a-book endeavour. That's right kids, we're going with Binet & Field. And how they can help you bust your social feeds more effectively. Or, at the very least, help justify why feeds need busting in the first place. Let's get into it. First up, the reason i write...
14 days agoΒ β’Β 8 min read
Hey friend β Rob here. Every now and then, i like to reflect on short and sharp quotes. They help the introspective side of me feel seen, which in turn makes me better around others. Here are five quick bites to get you in an introspective state as well. Mindfulness music optional! "Everybody wants to save the earth; nobody wants to help Mom do the dishes." P. J. O'Rourke Careful not to indulge in ego-driven productive procrastination, especially when the job is right in front of you. "It is...
15 days agoΒ β’Β 1 min read
Hey friend β Rob here. There are two fundamental stages of creativity: The surrendering part The structuring part Surrendering is what needs to happen at a conceptual level. Structuring is what needs to happen at a craft level. The same dynamic happens in other parts of the job too: Surrendering to algorithmic distribution vs structuring the results we see (or don't see) Surrendering to instinctive strategic territories vs structuring their implications Surrendering to what you feel vs...
15 days agoΒ β’Β 1 min read
Hey friend β Rob here. Old school ways of working: clients want the answer. Modern ways of working: clients want options. It's insane that so many places still refuse to accept this, or work with it. The body language of doing so suggests they think clients are idiots. When in fact, we see different market dynamics vs "the good old days": Business structures are more complex Timelines from brief to delivery are shorter We operate on less clear information More stakeholder input is needed...
15 days agoΒ β’Β 1 min read