Nick Meikle

📣 UPDATE ANNOUNCEMENT: I have made some changes to this - it is now One-To-One - not a group. Why? Well, I have had some requests for this, as it can be difficult for some people to stick to set times - life and work can be hard to juggle, so it helps if there can be some flexibility in things like this. There are limited spots available - you can start now, or sometime in September or October - whatever works for you. I'm offering a 20% discount if you sign up before August 29. The current group taking part in my Creative Director programme is about to wrap up, so it’s time to get started with some new sessions. You can see more details in the carousel below - but ignore the whole group thing and dates - LinkedIn won't allow me to replace the carousel. 😎 What can you get out of it? ☑ New perspectives. ☑ Inspiration. ☑ Answers to burning questions. ☑ Advice on how to navigate certain obstacles. ☑ Creative leadership advice and insights. ☑ And much more. And if you want it…I'll share my guacamole recipe. Better creative leadership skills lead to better work, happier staff, and stronger client relationships. There are limited spots available. If you want to get on board and benefit from a discount then sign-up before August 29. Oh, and don't forget about the guacamole recipe. It's pretty good. Just sayin'. If you're interested in joining please email me for more details - [email protected] #creativity #creativeleadership #advertising

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This is important media.

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At the Cannes Lions Creative Academy in June, we were bombarded with insight, knowledge, advice & wisdom from some of the industries top minds. The theme of the week was 'human intelligence'. A response to AI and it's impact on advertising and creativity. Here's a summary of my top 10 takeaways 🦁 ✨ #CreativeAdvertising #CannesLions #CreativeAcademy

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#CreativeForAll Tip 1: No gimicks. The best way to sell an idea is to simply demonstrate its benefit. #simpleSells #LessIsCreative #Simplycreative ==== "I was inspired by this post to launch a daily creative tips series “CreativeForAll” where I’ll be sharing ideas and insights (thank you Andrew Tindall for the inspo). This series will explore the transformative power of creative thinking—how it drives change within organizations, shapes personal brands, influences consumer behavior, and inspires innovations. Each post is short, simple, and snackable, yet thought-provoking. I hope these posts will spark new ideas and inspire you to think creatively. Follow along for more. This is Tip #1." ====== Have you seen other #SimplyCreative examples?Share and comment!

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The RA Summer Exhibition whittles 30,000 entries down to 1,000. The selection committee offered some excellent advice to artists entering their work—which are creative principles for everyone: • Allow others to interpret your ideas. “It could change how you look at what you create and develop your work in a direction you hadn't considered.” • “Spend time with like-minded artists. Share creative thinking and learn new techniques. Get inky together.” • Never follow trends. “Don’t try to produce work you think will fit the mold. Trust your judgment, but be critical of your work.” • Ambiguity is okay. “The work must engage the viewer.” Raising questions is often more interesting than having all the answers. • Do not fear rejection. “Self-belief and courage are essential to realising your work and taking it somewhere, such as the Royal Academy. Never doubt yourself.” • Persistence and practice. “Be in the studio as much as you can.” • Don’t overthink it. “Do as much work as possible and enter your best. What have you got to lose?” The show, as always, is total creative immersion. Get down if you can to fill your head with good stuff. Or check it out online: https://lnkd.in/gHWNua7W

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Experimenting with Lumalabs AI Dream Machine. Imagery: Midjourney Motion: Luma AI Dream Machine Edit: Premiere Pro/After Effects Music: PPK (Robots Outro)

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I know that what we do today has to drive sales, well, today. But our inability to track the value of when a little kid sees an Air Jordan ad on TV in 1990, and then grows up and buys only Nike shoes and apparel for the next 35 years and counting, is a damn crime against the real value we bring. Even if their men's apparel has realllllly fallen off lately. #advertising #marketing #creativity

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Video Client Weeps at the Thought of Another Award-Season Snub 🏆 Awards are nice. Clients like winning them. And I like winning them, in fact hundreds of them. So my advice is to pay special attention to the quality of your work, then enter select award shows, walk off with some iron, proudly display the trophies on your desk and point to them while requesting your annual 15 percent (or thereabouts) annual raise. That can help make the stress of your job all worthwhile. Deep breathing? Transcendental meditation? Primal screaming? How do you handle the stress of creating video content? Let us know in the comments below. Beardboy.com

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Thanks to Tom May and Creative Boom for the insightful and SHOCK HORROR *positive* feature about the future of commercial creativity… My view? Running a creative practice has never been dull. That theme appears to be enduring, I fully expect next year to continue the roller coaster. Beyond tech, messaging, optics and channels, 2025's deeper challenge lies in the creative industries' quest to demonstrate the value of a product, organisation or services disposition over its more obvious positions. Far harder to measure, but arguably far more important. https://lnkd.in/e9AhJ-M6

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The message is clear and simple. The power of design.

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The power of sound. An often overlooked distinctive asset, but research from Ipos Views supports that sound is one of the most effective drivers of brand growth through increasing brand recognition. I believe many marketers hear the word *sound* and instantly think *jingles*. Who can blame them, we all have our favourites, but the world of sound offers a wide range of possibilities, from cuing category entry points to reinforcing reasons to believe. Could a tummy rumble cue lunch? Could a sharp knife scrap across a crispy texture reinforce a RTB? Note to self: don't write content close to lunchtime. As with all distinctive assets, they need to be carefully managed and measured with sensitivity but I would encourage those who have historic vibrations to get them out for a test drive. #sonicbranding #distinctiveassets #Ehrenberg-Bass

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In this week's blog, we explore Powell Robinson's cinematography tips, the tough side of freelance TV production, and a new Rod Serling documentary. #Filmmaking #Cinematography #TVProduction #Documentary

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Love it or hate it, Jaguar's rebrand has everyone talking. Attention is currency – and Jaguar just made a massive deposit. However, rebranding isn't about shock value. It's about evolution that respects brand DNA. Where the leaping jaguar once symbolized automotive excellence, the new brand feels disconnected from Jaguar's heritage of luxe perfornance. A logo is more than a visual mark – it's a storytelling device. Strip away a brand's essence, and you risk turning everyone against you. Successful rebrands progress, they don't depart. The focus should be on preserving the emotional connection that originally captivated your audience. #DigitalMarketing #Branding #BrandStrategy #JaguarRebrand

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Re: the ongoing topic of "Bringing Brands to the Stage", I was lucky enough to see the new adaptation of "Fawlty Towers - The Play" at the Apollo theatre, London, last night... no spoilers here, as Manuel says; "I know nothing.... "😉 The superb cast brings three of the classic TV episodes to life; cunningly woven together to become one greater story. The set is cleverly designed to mimic the TV version, and sound, costumes and lighting are all wonderfully faithful to the source material, but I think that this is where the problem lies. In such a literal interpretation from the TV to the stage, having a live cast that doesn't acknowledge the audience somehow seems very distant. We're not involved in any way and the first half seems flat, as we haven't been "warmed up" as an audience at a recording of a television show is, other than by a 30 second audio intro by John Cleese. We as a modern-day audience need more. Everybody in that audience LOVES Fawlty Towers, and we would have adored a rant from Basil aimed straight at us all, whether being irked by our annoying "arrival", or telling us all to go home at the end, but sadly, this play stays well and truly on the stage, and doesn't break the 4th wall to include us, its greatest supporters. My thoughts are that in bringing classic brands to life in the real world, we need to feel involved with them there and then. We're already drawn to our favourite brands and IPs, so it's a great chance for them to give us something back. Live shows don't have to become pantomime-esque to acknowledge us as an audience, but the source material and parameters of it need to be cleverly bent occasionally to make us feel part of it. We need that live connection, to keep us coming back for more. What do you think? #FawltyTowersWestEnd #Nimaxtheatres #FawltyTowerstheplay

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If you think content inflation is a problem now with all these streamers producing more content than we can consume, imagine when creators no longer need to rely on big budgets and big studios to bring their ideas to life. Yes, Artificial Intelligence willl likely reduce the number of people needed to do anything, including movies and tv series. On the other hand, it will also allow a lot more of those to get their ideas off the ground. That may reshape the ecosystem, change the current notion of what a career is, or how one thinks of their specialty… it will be dramatically and unfortunately some people will have a rough time, but looking at the transformations only through its challenges may hold us from tackling the opportunities it also presents. For more on this topic, listen to Paul Trillo ‘s interview below. Paul is a director and a pioneer in the field of AI-powered film making and when he talks about the subject, he’s not discussing what he read or heard. He talks about the future he had the chance to see while he kept his hands in the mud.

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The most compelling AR ads will be those that combine the best of both worlds — the brand narrative and user experience — to create a seamless brand engagement. 💪🏻 Mixed reality advertising is not just about adding some AR to a product, but about creating a new way of experiencing it. As the line between the physical and digital worlds blurs, MR is redefining the way we tell stories and interact with brands! As Aundraj says in the article, "Mixed reality is not just about making things look cool; it's about making things feel cool.". #AR #MixedReality #AdTech

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Fair amount of people popping off in the creative community about Jaguar's new rebrand with some pretty heavy comments. Am I defending the choices and is it for me? No. But here's the thing: how many dropping these clever and scathing comments about "death of British icon and its heritage" were actually ever planning to buy a Jag? Or even considered it a viable car they'd be looking to buy in the next 3-5 years? 10? Truth is, heritage brands like Jaguar face an impossible task. Stay the same, you're dinosaurs - sales fall off as only 65-year-old blokes are buying them. Try to evolve, you're "killing an icon." It's a poor rebrand (or a very clever stunt), but at least they're taking a swing at reaching a new generation. The execution might not land for everyone (or at all) but from one creative to another – sometimes you need to break things and upset a few people to build something new. And sometimes you have to fail. #Branding #CreativeDirection #Jaguar

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One of the key elements of design, is balance. Creating harmony between different visual elements - media, colour, texture, light, text - so if they were to be placed on the hands of a scale, they'd be of equal weight.⠀ ⠀ If the balance isn't quite right, the design will feel out of kilter. One of the simplest ways to achieve balance is by using symmetry.⠀ ⠀ When you next peek at your website, think about the use of symmetry. Have you achieved the right balance?⠀ ⠀ #design #websitedesign #visualcommunication #designprocess #designtips

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