We’re nearly finished with the first month of 2021, so now would be a good time to stop wishing each other a Happy New Year, if you haven’t already. But this week’s Four P’s is chock full of happy news to start the year, as well as a critical reflection of creativity, focus and justice. As always, you can WATCH or LISTEN to this week’s content…. or just scroll down for some things personal, professional practical and political:
Exclusive Merger & Acquisition update
Creatives and creative
Drowning Out the Noise
Doing the Right Things
But first, grab a snack, because this week’s Four P’s is presented by Ben and Jerry’s chunks. Go straight for the good stuff with a bag of totally snackable Cookie, Brownie and Half-Baked Dough Chunks!
SOMETHING PERSONAL: Merger and Acquisition
So let’s start with some personal news to share, a Four P's exclusive… Something that's been in the works for months, and I've loosely alluded to in the previous weeks.
The digital marketing and content agency that I lead, Revelation, has been acquired by - and is proud to join the incredible Jellyfish Group as of January 1. (Happy New Year!) Jellyfish is a global digital partner offering clients a unique blend of agency services, creative, technology, consultancy, and training to support their digital journeys and transformation.
Over the past few months, I've been blown away by the passion, the expertise, the leadership, the innovation, the collaboration, the culture and the commitment to clients. Together, we will be operating as one truly integrated agency team, under one global brand, to serve ALL brand marketing and digital media needs. No holding company bullshit. Not "house of brands" with behind-the-scenes in-fighting and backstabbing. This is truly a new approach with a global, integrated specialized team.
This outcome would not be possible without the right outputs: the brilliance and incredible drive of the Revelation team, our clients and the Webedia network. I'm proud that we will now help round out a best-in-class insights, strategy, omni-channel content and creative model for our brand partners, one that can truly achieve new levels of greatness together as part of this team of over 2,000 digital experts in 40+ international offices.
Jellyfish already works with many of the world's leading brands including Uber, eBay, Samsung, Spotify, Nestlé, Netflix, Danone, and UGG. Together, we represent a new kind of digital business. I'm excited to further develop the platform for global content and creative production...one that combines cutting-edge technology with award winning creative talent to deliver a ‘one-stop’ solution for global brands and ecommerce companies wrestling with increasing demands for efficiency, scale, impact and outstanding creative quality. You ready? Because we sure as hell are! And we’re hiring for hundreds of roles.
SOMETHING PROFESSIONAL: Creatives and Creative
Do you consider yourself to be creative? What about Creative with a capital "C?" I've had many conversations over the past few weeks about the definition of "creative" as an adjective, a noun and a proper noun. Creative as a process. Creative as ideas. Creative as content. Creative as a person. With a multitude of creative teams and capabilities now coming together at Jellyfish - through innovation, evolution, and acquisition - the different applications of creative ideation, direction, experience, development, production, distribution and optimization require a new common language and vocabulary.
Outside of the marketing profession, results and performance are measured by the quality of the outcome. Did the firefighters put out the fire? Did the electrician get the lighting unit properly installed? Did the physician administer the correct medication to heal the patient? Yet, for Creatives, too much of an emphasis on outcome can be discouraging. In truth, every great outcome typically is the result of an optimized process. Companies, agencies and in-house brand teams that require collaboration for creativity cannot have many individual, separate creative processes. It has to be more connected and consistent. So trusting the process, even if it feels uncomfortable, is usually the first step in the process.
Process is different than purpose. But whether you’re free-flowing or working to an outline, creative purpose is the one thing you always need to establish before you start working... as well as balancing personal creative purpose with collaborative creative process. The hardest thing in the world is TRYING to be creative. Ok, maybe not THE hardest, but forcing things rarely works. The internet has democratized creativity, with anyone and everyone capable of making and posting content. But does that a creative make? Of course not.
Creativity is truly evaluated by critical response. Which may, at times, include negative feedback, revision and constructive direction. So choosing to be a professional Creative requires bravery. Being creative in marketing and advertising also requires a broader understanding of the business: the brand objectives, the consumer targets, the KPIs, the platforms/channels and measurement tools. Having worked with some of the most incredibly talented, high-achieving, award-winning, best compensated Creatives, I've also learned that creative success is not directly tied to creative genius.
The best Creatives are committed to improving their crafts. They recognize and can adapt the function of the work, whether it’s to entertain, to educate or to inspire emotion. They understand the context beyond the creative. They are curious, constantly reading, learning, listening, engaging, pushing beyond their comfort zone. Creativity can feel spontaneous, magical, and – unfortunately, if you’re a creative professional – unpredictable. But thinking about your intentions, your target audience, and your skillset can turn anyone with creativity into a professional Creative success story.
SOMETHING PRACTICAL: Drowning Out the Noise
Given the insane amount of tasks and responsibilities associated with integrating a business, I can honestly say that I've never had more going on. HR, IT, Finance, Operations, logistics... new teams and collaborations, processes, tools, capabilities to learn... not to mention expanded client opportunities.
Staying organized, proactive and on top of things has been no easy task. This is actually something I've prided myself on for my entire professional career. But given the volume and frequency of everything happening right now, I've found myself occasionally struggling to stay focused. Information overload can severely impair our ability to think, but right now, I cannot afford any distractions. No careless mistakes, no sloppy thinking, no dropping any of the many balls in the air at any given time.
Many people confuse busy-ness with business. Yet ironically, the more information we consume, the less intelligent we become. We're surrounded by nonstop digital chatter all day and night: - emails, tweets, snaps and texts compete for our attention – and it requires increasing discipline to resist the temptations. Did you know that when we multitask, switch gears and jump from one screen to another, we cannot fully process information or let our minds settle? Our brains then adapt to the need for constant stimulation, and ultimately require it. Instead of being content to settle down and engage with a task properly, we need hit after hit of gratifying, but ultimately superficial, stimulation.
A London psychologist believes that multitasking depletes our IQ by 10 points, and says it's more dangerous than smoking pot. It harms our ability to communicate and connect. Believe me, I'm as guilty of this as anyone. The information on our phones is definitely more stimulating than having a conversation with family at the dinner table. But it's ruining our kids. Their brains are not full developed, making them more susceptible to the hyperactive risk-reward system and more vulnerable to addiction. They end up unable to tune out the noise, more distractible and less able to emote and relate to others.
So if you've made it this far, I'm sorry for having contributed to the problem. However I do hope you've at least stayed focus on the task at hand. And realize that attention is currency. Invest and spend it wisely. Save it and store it properly. A focused mind is sharp and precise where as a distracted mind is dull and throbbing. A recurring theme here over the past few weeks has been about prioritizing our goals and laying out a clear plan of action to achieve them. When the noise gets loud, focusing on the goals at hand can help us minimize the distractions and temptations. This means identifying everything that’s good and necessary in your life while getting rid of everything else. Simplicity is your watchword here.
Another way to avoid distraction: declutter. Set clear boundaries and compartmentalize. For example, I have a separate email for all of the newsletters and work-related thought leadership to which I have subscribed. It keeps my personal and even work email inboxes free from distraction. Some things I know I need to get better at: refining my own listening, written and verbal communication skills to keep myself and others from getting distracted. And knowing now that your mind is probably already starting to drift means I should get to the point. Plain and simple: keep things plain and simple.
SOMETHING POLITICAL: Doing the Right Things Again
As the Biden Administration is off and running, with some major actions and accomplishments already in motion, this will be the last time I mention Donald Trump in this space (hopefully). He is no longer the President, but his role in the insurrection at the Capitol earlier this month has resulted in an unprecedented second impeachment. So… what now?
While many argue a compelling case for the Senate to just let it go, precedent, legality and moral accountability preclude them dropping the case. There have been many lower-profile impeachments of federal officials in the past that the Senate has managed… and this gives us a playbook for how I'd like to see this go: Keep this as relatively unassuming as possible, limit the media spectacle and public discourse. But we cannot afford to just dismiss it outright. Justice and the constitution require a trial now to determine accountability for crimes allegedly committed and lives lost. President Biden said last he wouldn't mind if the impeachment trial started after the Senate was able to confirm more of his Cabinet nominees given the pandemic and other challenges his new administration faces, a position some Democratic senators have backed.
The upcoming trial is unprecedented in several ways. No president had been impeached twice and no president has been tried by the Senate after he left office. In 1974, the House abandoned impeachment after Richard Nixon resigned. But, unlike Trump, Nixon had already been elected twice – and therefor ineligible to run again under the 22nd amendment to the Constitution. There was no need to disqualify him from future office, nor was there an opportunity to hold him accountable after President Gerald Ford granted him a full pardon on September 8, 1974. The likelihood of Trump running again, IMO, is low. But this is as much about punishment as it is deterrence.
For the rest of us... Onward. As we discuss things political, it's important to distinguish between politics and government. Noting the distinction earlier, politics is the process whereas government is the outcome. Governing means writing, passing and executing laws that improve our way of life. For now, the priorities that the legally-elected houses of Congress and the President - which comprise the action-oriented branches of the United States federal government - have defined are: COVID-19 management, prevention and treatment, the restoration of our sagging economy, a commitment to leading the world on curbing climate change, social justice reform and disarming the violent, disturbing intentions of a small fringe of right wing extremists. That's governing, not politics. Sure, the minority party will attempt to negotiate, force compromise and potentially even delay the reforms needed, but let's all agree to ignore the politics for a short time, and give this newly-installed government a chance to bring about meaningful, lasting change and progress.
I cannot tell you how optimistic, how hopeful, how supportive my colleagues and friends in other nations around the world have been these past few months, and especially since the Inauguration last week. While we cannot erase all of the damage overnight, we are back on track again. Our happiness and relief is very much theirs, as well.
Many people have wrongly attributed a quote from Sir Winston Churchill about us: "Americans will always do the right thing - after exhausting all the alternatives." We have certainly tried one alternative these past few years, and it failed miserably. America's role as a democratic leader and a force for good may have taken a hit these past four years, but the world needs us to be that shining beacon of light for democracy, the city on a hill once again.
It's time to do the right thing.