Category: inspiration
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Google Firestarters Episode 12: Amelia Torode
I was really pleased that Amelia Torode agreed to come on Google Firestarters. When she spoke at the IRL event it was full of challenge, provocation and smart insights and this episode continues in that vein. Amelia spent many years running strategy at agencies including TBWA and VCCP but now runs The Fawnbrake Collective, a…
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Google Firestarters Episode 11: Tom Roach
The ever erudite and insightful Tom Roach (his blog posts are some of the best writing on advertising anywhere) is the latest guest on Google Firestarters and this episode was fascinating to record. Tom has a unique perspective, transitioning from a career at some of the most well respected creative agencies (BBH, adam&eveDDB, AMV) to…
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The Hardest Examination in the World
Via @jack.lawro over on TkTok: “I took the hardest exam in the world. Oxford University is made up of 45 different colleges these colleges work a little bit like the houses in Hogwarts so in order to study or teach at the university you have to be a member of a college – each of…
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Google Firestarters Episode 10: Lucy Jameson
I was really delighted when Lucy Jameson, one of the founders of the brilliant Uncommon London, agreed to be on Google Firestarters. Uncommon are uncommonly good (sorry). They were Campaign's creative agency of the year in 2020 and are responsible for some stand out work for clients as diverse as B & Q, ITV, and…
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Google Firestarters Episode 9: Andy Nairn
Andy Nairn is the co-founder of Lucky Generals, one of the most successful creative agencies in the UK. They've been shortlisted for Campaign Agency of the Year for 5 years in a row, and this year he was named by them as the top brand strategist in the UK for the 3rd year in a…
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Google Firestarters Episode 8: Thas Naseemuddeen
The latest episode of Google Firestarters features Thas Naseemuddeen, Chief Executive Officer of independent agency Omelet, out in Los Angeles. On her journey to running an agency Thas has worked in senior strategy roles at BBH and Deutsch and in this episode she talks about strategists becoming leaders, the future of the industry, and much…
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The Rule of Thirds
I really liked this point made by Olympic runner, filmmaker, and writer Alexi Pappas (video here) and it feels like something a lot of people need to hear right now (including me): ‘My Olympic coach told me after a particularly challenging workout where I could not hit my splits before going to the Rio Olympics,…
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Google Firestarters Episode 3: Sue Unerman
I'm really happy to say that the third Google Firestarters video chat is now up. This one is with the brilliant Sue Unerman who was wonderfully erudite, funny and insightful. We talk about a wide range of subjects related to the industry including thoughts on implementing agile processes in an agency, continuous learning in life…
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Google Firestarters 33 – Thinking Differently
Next Monday evening in London we have our next Planning Google Firestarters event and I'm particularly excited about this one since for a good while I've been wanting to focus an event on how perspectives from outside the industry can inform or challenge the practice of planning. I'm a big believer in the value of…
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Input and Outputs
Austin Kleon is unusually good at writing about the creative process. I've been reading his blog for years. He periodically writes about the relationship between ideas, information and inspiration that we take in, and creative output. Like this quote from Brian Eno: 'What I really like doing is what I call Import and Export. I…