August
August has always been a weird month for me, maybe it’s because my birthday starts it off on the `1st (subtle hint for bday messages), or because I have many family anniversaries (good & bad) this month. Either way this is an unusually reflective blog, so turn off if you hate this type of post.
My best friend at school was unreal talented in all sports. He captained or vice captained cricket, football, rugby, tennis or gymnastics at school. I also have a 15 month younger brother, who was beyond talented in football, tae kwon doe and rugby. We pushed each other to the point of relative exhaustion, but all got better in the process.
Two cents - Where am I going with this? You learn from those around you. With my best mate and my brother we weren’t trying to beat each other. We were focused and supportive. No ego at all.
August is a month to recover. Enjoy your summer holidays! When you come back, think about how you can surround yourself with people in the industry or company who can support you in being the best work version of you. It’s one of life’s simple pleasures.
Media planning
Media planning is front of my mind at the moment. Our company doesn’t do it but we train and evaluate it. I delivered a training session to an advertiser on media planning last week and afterwards I was BUZZING. I love it. It’s such a fascinating discipline when you start burring the lines between technical and strategic.
Ultimately, connecting business challenges to media planning & to media performance, is a huge area for most brands to grow or sustain. Theory is as important as practical when you have finite budgets and resources. Agencies can really differentiate here and add value (I do like being the other side of an agency pitch these days!), so long as they put aside some of their biases.
Slightly more reflective post this week but I have a cracking AdTech one lined up soon. Enjoy the rest of your week.