From the pulpit
Issue 29 | December 2013
Welcome dear reader to the latest issue of Directory
We have seven pieces of Direct Mail for you. (And if a 'wired' agency like CP+B sees a role for mail in its integrated campaign planning, isn't that a large hint to other agencies to remind themselves of this oft-forgotten platform?)
We have 15 digital ideas. 11 Outdoor/Ambient/ Guerilla campaigns and 5 integrated campaigns.
Compare and contrast with Issue 1, which had 17 examples of Direct Mail, five digital ideas, five Outdoor/ Ambients and 12 Integrated campaigns.
Today, digital is at the heart of over 90% of the work we showcase. In 2007, when we first started out, it accounted for around 30%.
Another significant change is the kind of agency that submits their work. Seven years ago, 21 specifically direct agencies had their work accepted. In this issue, it's five.
What hasn't changed is what floats our boat at Directory and that is any idea, which is in any way innovative.
For that reason, in this issue alone, we admire Clemenger BBDO's "Remote Control Tourist" idea for Tourism Victoria (pages 38-39), a use of technology, which
will be much imitated in the immediate future.
Happiness Brussels created a software for Lexus (pages 64-65) which allows a portrait of the driver to be created by the on-board computer in the manner of his driving style.
Who would have thought seven years ago that the vending machine would become a communications platform in its own right? But it has. With winners at Cannes in 2011 ("Friendship Machine") and 2013 "Small World Machines" for Coca-Cola. In this issue, Pepsi are in on the act (pages 78-79) with their "Like Machine", which accepts Facebook Likes rather than money.
We applaud any idea, which looks at the tried and trusted and finds a way to do it fresh and to do it different. For that reason, we gave a thumbs-up to Leo Burnett London for looking at the "Skip Ad" function on YouTube and making it the focus for their idea for the Ban The Box movement of Business In The Community (pages 46-47).
As Directory has evolved and the nature of the work we get excited about has evolved, we felt we needed to change our positioning.
We now believe we represent innovations in communications.
Advertising today may as easily be an app as an ad, a game as a spot. It can be an action or a movement, a tweet or a takeover. It can be a text or a VINE, an event or a blog. Occasionally it might even be a mailing, an insert, a commercial or a poster. Whatever it is, if it encourages any sort of response, be it a click or a Like, a share or a phone-call, a coupon clipped or an email reply, if it has been done inventively we will want to showcase it in Directory.
Thank you all for the Andi Emerson Award
I suppose the big news is that I was honoured at The Caples Awards in New York on Thursday November 13th with the Andi Emerson Award. Duncan Gray, a colleague, a friend and a regular contributor to Directory, handed over the gong. His short speech is on the following page.
It has become something of a cliche´ for award winners to say "I accept this not for myself but for everyone else involved..." However, in this case it really would be a travesty if the many people who have made Directory possible were not included.
Firstly, John Gordon, who, at Xtreme Information, had the original idea for the magazine and got it off the ground.
Secondly, Georgia Malden, who was our first publisher and whose business sense I miss greatly.
Also, Dorte Collister. Chief bottle-washer, chaser-upper of unpaid invoices and lapsed subscriptions, wife and Number One enthusiast for our “labour of love”. She does all the admin and without her I would be on Crapola Mountain without a macintosh.
A big shout-out too for Julie Charlton. Julie has turned into a brilliant researcher of innovative work and a pretty sharp judge of creativity. Her contributions to the editorial committee, when we vote on what gets in and what doesn’t, are always important.
She deals with the work. She organises it when it comes in, sorts the clearances and writes the tough emails to those who didn’t make the cut. Then she turns her eagle-eyes onto the proofs and gets the magazine ready to print.
Then there are the boys at Brilliant Path. James Henderson revamped the design of the magazine and the website with great elegance a year ago. And Warwick Leicester has been helping us manage the website and The Big Won database with great patience.
Darren Eagles has been there for us whenever we have needed help with design work or IT support with our computers. And Mark Jeffreys at Typecast is more helpful and supportive than any printer I’ve known before.
Thank you all.
Finally, though, I would like to share the award with everyone who has ever had a piece of work showcased here. What makes Directory useful and valuable is you. Your ideas, your solutions, your successes. Our readers buy and study Directory to be inspired by what you do.
So, to anyone and everyone who has ever sent us their campaigns, thank you.
