Mark Boyd

🚨Pitch Positive Pledge only works when its two way…how can we expect clients to learn better behaviours if we don’t teach them. Behaviour change takes years of undoing and nudging towards the end goal. 💡It’s important and OK to say no if those behaviours aren’t observed. More importantly let the client or intermediary know why you have declined and what they could do better next time. It’s not a game of stick or twist…positively we are trying to do this every day Publicis Media Starcom but it’s a collective and considered decision. Our people 🙌 need to come first and that’s where it starts. Second, third and fourth is every other factor.

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A fascinating read about a key moment in the history of advertising self-regulation, thanks to Sue Eustace and the team at History of Advertising Trust.

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Shooting in small spaces for client work can be difficult but is also very common. Here is a 3 step guide of how I moved through the challenges of this small production space: 🔒Locking down a solid plan for camera placement and subject’s looking room first, before placing lights. ✅ Understanding how I want to shape light in a way that is flattering to the subject but also makes sense for the scene that was created. ⛓️‍💥This example shows when and why I would break the rules of filmmaking: What made space for camera placement, looking room, lighting and eye line didn’t work with available space for staff, crew and safety but the image is still very solid. Know the rules and when to break them. Each scanario is different, at times we face challenges with audio or incidental light that isn’t part of our scene. The important part as an experienced filmmaker is to make an educated decision and build a strong, well exposed set of clips for the editor to work with in post. If you work with small or large studio spaces, how are you lighting them? Interested to see some behind the scenes of what people are working on and creating.

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Vorsprung durch Technik. Last week, while washing the pots, a familiar yet elusive voice on BBC Radio 4 caught my ear. It was Sir John Hegarty on 'The Media Show,' discussing AI. His voice & words catapulted me back in time. Reminding me about an anecdote about Audi’s legendary slogan, 'Vorsprung durch Technik,' which means 'progress through technology.' Interestingly, this slogan was serendipitously discovered on a wall during a factory tour in Germany. This line has long resonated with me, but its significance has deepened amidst the current surge in emerging technologies and the dramatic shifts we’re witnessing in consumer behaviour, media, and marketing. Today, as we navigate these changes, reactions vary widely. Some view rapid technological advancements as a threat, akin to a horror movie peering through their fingers, terrified that AI might replace their jobs or that blockchain is merely a scam. Others, however, are the adventurers who embrace these innovations, using them to enhance and transform their work, creating better rewards, experiences, relationships, ideas, and deliveries. What excites me the most is how emerging tech combined with evolving brand values is crafting a vast new playground for creativity. Marketing is no longer just about selling, it’s about creating genuine connections and sparking meaningful conversations with communities. It's about resonating with fans through active participation, engaging experiences, rewarding behaviors, and sometimes even shared ownership. To me, 'Vorsprung durch Technik' has evolved from a mere slogan to a personal mantra. It’s a call to arms in this brave new world of brand interaction, continuously pushing my thinking towards innovations like Immersive Access, Blockchain, and Advanced Computing. It challenges me to question how and if these advancements can truly enhance our outcomes. Embracing this philosophy is where the magic happens. Progress through technology isn’t just a pathway, it’s the journey I’m excited to be on. #Marketing #Advertising #Web3 #AI #Blockchain #ImmersiveAccess #Community #Audi

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Is the answer to the race to the bottom for agencies to become more consultative ? Excellent provocation as always from Omar Oakes who makes some great points about the lack of challenging behaviour in agency/client relationships today and the lack of growth in revenue leading to decline in agency fees. There’s a lot going on here. My tuppence worth from the purview of running a media agency group then setting up and growing a marketing consultancy for the last 4 years: * Holdco agencies lost their way when they 1) started to take a principle not agency approach to media buying 2) started to compromise the craft of planning * Creative thinking and innovation has suffered as a result - too much sameness in strategy and reliance on performance marketing * It’s not about brand/the big idea OR data driven activation, it’s about AND i.e finding the right balance and impact from both but most agencies are so siloed they can’t join this up * There’s a big difference between being “consultative” and being a consultant. The latter is focused on business outcomes and the levers that deliver revenue growth not all the noisy media and advertising metrics. This is as much about process and capabilities as it is about platforms and spend.. * Agencies in general commoditise their service and struggle to get paid fairly for the strategic and transformative work - this is largely client and not agency driven and marketers need to be prepared to pay accordingly for genuinely differentiating analytics, strategy and innovation.. * Consultancies scope precisely and instil a robust project management, gated approach to projects minimising scope creep and enabling value based pricing discussions Agencies are full of incredible talent who want to help their clients grow but too often the commercial constraints in the agency business get in the way of good work and partnership. When we consult we see great thinking and talent but it’s often the contractual constraints and the siloes that get in the way.. The major gap we see at CvE - Marketing Consultancy is between the high-level operating model and transformational thinking of the management consultants and the often narrow advertising/media/campaign thinking of most agencies. Brands need expert marketing and media practitioners to bridge this gap or else the promised revenue growth never materialises. This is an opportunity for everyone in the ecosystem but mostly those that lean in to client-led, business outcome focused thinking. Bravo Brian Jacobs & Nick Manning for continuing to bang this important drum and Omar for focusing on journalism focused on the issues that really matter..

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During my time at ITV I worked on short-form edits in Premiere Pro, these then went into After Effects for Graphics. These were to advertise and tease shows that were available on their streaming platform ITVX (https://www.itv.com/). Here is an asset I made for them, I have written some details about my choices etc below... This is a film range asset, namely 'Top 3', film ranges required the most cutting down as films and film scenes are generally longer then scenes in shows. It meant a little more editing before taking the work over to After Effects. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - The original scene for the Harry Potter extract is actually over 11 seconds and I have managed to cut that scene down to the sweet spot of 6 seconds. Using editing tricks like dropping shots, extending non-dialog cutaways, cutting pauses and shortening dialog altogether to get a bite sized version. I wanted to hero 'Harry Potter', and have done with a dramatic piece to camera so that this title was super recognisable. Hot Fuzz - I wanted to choose a scene which includes the dynamic duo Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, not only are they main characters but often work well together ('Shaun of the Dead' and 'Paul' for example) and are popular with a large audience. Jurassic Park - I wanted to hero the iconic 'T-Rex', known well as the kind of 'King' of the Jurassic period and a big part of the Jurassic park films. Partnered with a cheeky shot of Chris Pratt. Again this was a much longer scene I have drastically cut down to fit our short-form format. #freelance #editor #motiongraphicsdesigner #postproduction #video #content #editing #motion #media #advertising #ads #agency #brand #AfterEffects #PremierePro #Photoshop #Illustrator

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Will the next government bring increased regulation for the UK advertising industry? The UK general election falls on the last day of MAD//FEST LONDON, so by the time Grace Carter gets on stage to start the party in E1, many of the votes for the political parties will have already been cast. One change that the new government could oversee is increased external regulation and governance of the advertising industry - would that be a good thing or a bad thing for you? Let's take AI for example. Katherine Viner, editor of the Guardian, recently called for AI regulation. She said, "Without quality journalism to train and ground large language models, these technologies would struggle to make sense of the world around them." Without quality, trusted data to train the AI models on, it is easy to see how we could get into a vicious circle of AI choking on its own exhaust fumes: 1 - Incorrect content published 2 - AI reads that incorrect content 3 - AI therefore writes incorrect content Crap in, crap out, as they say in the trade! ;-) I would also add that digital advertising relies on quality content that consumers spend time with, so that the advertising has a chance of having an impact. For example: The difference in dwell time on an MFA site, which uses GenAI to create the content and click-bait to get somebody there, to a page with 10 ads, is a world away from the experience of a subscriber to a premium publisher site, who logs on to consume the content they pay for and only sees a single ad next to that valued content. 💬 - What do you think - more government regulation or not? #ai #regulation #advertising

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Omar Oakes in The Media Leader UK on the increasing gulf between the media that produce content with its attendant cost and risk versus those that take their content from users, without risk and where the 'cost' is revenue share (hardly the same thing). Advertising spend performs several functions including provision of the funding for high quality content to advertise in. Making good content is a risky business and if media owners don't get the ad revenues they need, they will rely more heavily on lower cost and less risky content. Or eventually disappear. Too much of advertisers' money goes into their extended supply-chains, intermediaries and media that has no content cost or risk and which is less effective at reaching audiences and delivering business. Time to reassess... https://lnkd.in/emDgMxQN

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"Many agencies and consultants will tell you they want to be a bolt-on to your team, but Big Black Door walk the walk. They are good people, incredibly experienced and they have captured that rare art of making the very complex work simple, effective and accessible." That's how one of our recent clients described working with us. As a Marketing Director, you’re inevitably balancing multiple projects, and we know there’s always that one — the one you know could make a real impact—that’s delayed because your team is stretched too thin. At Big Black Door, we seamlessly extend your team, bringing the expertise and resources you need to get that critical project across the finish line. Imagine having the support to turn your vision into reality, without adding to your already packed schedule. Book your FREE 30-minute consultation today and let’s discuss how we can help you deliver on your annual ambitions, effortlessly. Click below to schedule your no strings call!

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Recent Jaguar ads are the result of hype getting in the way of core advertising principles. We are at the height of this problem where the packaging of the direction (eg purpose, cultural relevance etc..), and of many agencies’ approach to their work disregards the quality of the ads and the creative. The greatest modern artists understood ‘the basics’. Our business has a strong list of those principles from its deep and rich history. This effort is ‘hype’ without principles. I’m not even commenting on if it’s woke or not. Just not good advertising. Maintain basic principles AND be fresh. That’s the job and it’s not easy. #creativitymatters

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There is both a democratic and business benefit for advertisers to support news brands in the lead up to a general election. When accuracy and fact-checked information is an absolute necessity, such as with a general election, news brands really come into their own, and it’s really important that advertisers support that. This is a cornerstone of democracy, and it costs money to provide it - can you imagine a world where deepfakes and influencers tell us how we should vote!? 👀 Not only is there a democratic need for advertisers to support trusted news brands, but there is also a huge business benefit as well in the shape of more attention. For example, The Spectator sees a 30% increase in audience numbers as we approach a general election, and the dwell time on an article pertaining to the election is also increased. In short, more people spend more time on our content, and I am sure other premium news brands see a similar trend. On top of that increase in audience and dwell time, there is a higher share of voice because the UK government, one of the biggest advertisers, stop activity in the run up to the election. I think that’s what they call a win-win? #ukelection #news #advertising

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Pleased 👇 Right now the creative industries play a larger role than most realise in the path to the growth that the UK is capable of Then creator economy (which we are focussing on all week next week at OTTRED) will have a large part to do with this The spectrum of things that now constitute “creative” is larger and wider than ever, but with the security that the government not only recognise, but also support it, there is also hope this will have a knock on effect for the streaming industry and content creation https://lnkd.in/dhWerf98

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So there have been some really prominent film flops in the last month... Well-reviewed films like The Fall Guy, or Mad Max: Furiosa, each with enough buzz to power a small city, just….. failing to hit the mark. It seems that the blockbuster machine that Hollywood has managed to construct might be grinding to a halt. 𝐒𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧? Well there are short-term issues - like specific movie performance - and a lot of the doom will be removed by Bad Boys: Ride or Die released last week (which is seemingly doing well, bizarrely well considering Will Smith!) but there should be a greater realisation going on that regards behavioural and financial economics. 🧠 𝐀𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐫 In 1999 you would have had to wait just over 6 months after release to see ‘Star Wars: the Phantom menace’ at home. In 2006 you would have been waiting for 4 months, but today, the average theatrical window is … 30 days. Exclusivity and a tiny theatrical window are levers relied upon in order to drive subs and digital sales, but clearly it’s to the detriment of the volume of audiences trotting out on opening weekend who instead, can just wait a month for the in-home experience on their 55” TV’s (now the most common TV size in North America!) 💰 𝐆𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 Interestingly, the avg price of a cinema ticket over the last ten years hasn't changed that much when inflation is taken into account, but viewers expectations of value are of a vast library of content at a fraction of the cost of a single movie ticket. Adding fuel to the fire, the post-pandemic economy has all-eyes on discretionary spending making entertainment and the ensuing costs a luxury. ❌ 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 The actors/writers strike last year halted the production and development of several large releases. Marketing and promotion at the time was directly hit, but what has to be accounted for are the development issues that must have taken place to the detriment of both momentum and the final product. 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 The entertainment industry is at a turning point. The recent box-office performances aren't failures, they are a re-engineering of the economics of entertainment and a quest to understand: - How to stay relevant? - How to source audiences, understand and influence their behaviour 𝑛𝑜𝑤? - How to market and position more effectively in collaboration with streaming industry dynamics. Every title released without answers to those questions will be planning against a decade-old understanding of the entertainment landscape, instead they must re-learn, harness innovation and bottle up the new unique experience of cinema. Or Bad Boys did well, so everything's fine now, what do you reckon?

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Tomorrow is World Suicide Prevention Day. And today marks the start of the next chapter in our campaign to unite the nation against suicide. Together, adam&eveDDB, the Campaign Against Living Miserably and ITV are launching Missed Birthdays. A campaign to draw attention to the fact that suicidality amongst children and young people is at a record high. 10 years ago, the single biggest killer of young people was accidents. Today it’s suicide. It has claimed the lives of 6,929 young people. Every single one of those lives is represented by a missed birthday balloon: a simple, powerful symbol of the hope, happiness and humanity that has been so tragically lost. It should make you angry. It should make you feel outraged. But it shouldn’t make you feel hopeless. Because we can all play our part in ending youth suicide, for good. Today, we aren’t asking you to donate. We’re not asking you to sign a petition. We are simply asking you to CARE. C: Check In with the young people in your life. A: Ask if they’re feeling suicidal. R: Remain close and remove them from harm. E: Escalate to emergency services - like CALM’s suicide prevention line or 999 - if necessary. To understand how to use CARE more, please visit care.thecalmzone.net Please share if you see fit; one conversation can be the difference between a life saved and a life lost. Today, tomorrow and every day after, we are #unitedagainstsuicide.

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Need a podcast for the weekend? Well here are two absolute belters: 1. Uncensored CMO hosted by Jon Evans has become a firm favourite and the latest episode with Greg Hahn is terrific. The co-founder of Mischief @ No Fixed Address asks the question "What would you do if you weren't afraid?" Think about it. Greg explains how fear plays a big role in our decision making and stops us from doing what we should be doing. 2. Plus check out the latest from the ministers of marketing mirth at ...Gasp! and their Call to Action® podcast. Mimi Turner of LinkedIn's B2B Institute explains why 'Brand' matters more than ever in B2B marketing. Giles Edwards you're spoiling us! #podcasts #marketing #fear #brand

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There’s currently a huge appetite for video content, with YouTube receiving 1108bn+ views on health videos in 2023. This once expensive format is now the most common and expected from audiences - whether it’s film or animation, promotional or educational. Unleash the power of video with Wallace Health. #VideoContent #HealthComms #HealthVideo

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Here's a handy reminder of what's expected of a Creative Director. My A to Z guide is not comprehensive; I cover more details when coaching people, but this is a good start. ⚡ ⚡ ⚡ ⚡ ⚡ ⚡ ⚡ ⚡ ⚡ ⚡ ⚡ My 'HOW TO BE A CREATIVE DIRECTOR WITHOUT SUCKING AT IT' Coaching Course starts on June 26 - there are 2 spots left. Sign up before the end of June 17 for a 10% discount. Message me or comment for more details. #creativedirector #creativecoach #advertising

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