Hey friend – 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 that’s what every successful meme has. Tension. Followed by punchline. Plato was onto something similar: "Serious things cannot be understood without laughable things." And even a serious category has a funny take on it. This doesn’t mean ‘make the work funny’. It just means ‘look at the problem in funny ways’. So next time you work on a brief, consider the meme. Look up subreddits of your category. Meme accounts adjacent to your product. Gags others have shared on Twitter/X. Funny TikToks about your brand. And then consider, among the truly funny stuff:
After all, sometimes the best unlocks start with this question. "You know what’s funny about this problem?" So don’t obsess with formalising your thinking just yet. Find the funny first. Keep swimming, Rob
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Helping strategists grow with compassion, clarity and creativity.
Hey friend – Rob here. "Shit, i'm losing control again." This has always been my reaction whenever i get emotional in an argument. And i hate that feeling, thank you very much. Of course, i've been getting better at handling it, through a fun little process called emotional self-regulation. Part of it comes from reframing what an argument is really about. Old me: "arguments are two people who hate each other." New me: "arguments are two people shaping each other." Especially if said argument...
Hey friend – Rob here. I spotted this last week at Droga5's offices. And you know what, it's great advice. Especially for the over-thinkers out there (HI!). Those of us who show up with a rattlebag of: Intelligence Cultural references Peer reviewed studies Specialised words because why not (Latest for me is "category entry points".) And yet, there is a danger of being so good at thinking. We over-think things. And as a result overload others that work with us. Not a very good place to be.And...
Hey friend – 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...