Hello, is there anybody there?

A little over a fortnight ago, I had a very curious phone call.

It was the Managing Director of a packaging agency calling for a quick hello and my email address so he could invite me for a coffee. Nothing too unusual about that, although I did feel a little uncomfortable as I've never really met this person for more than 60 seconds or so – and even that was more than 5 years ago.

Nonetheless, I quickly drew up a list of possible reasons for why he'd want to meet.

1. He wants to hire me.

2. He wants me to hire him.

3. He wants to see how much competitive information he can get out of me about our own agency's plans.

4. He's read my blog and wants me to ghostwrite his autobiography.

But the sad thing is that we'll never know, because he never did send me that email invite afterall.

Nature or nurture? (*conditions apply)

One of the eternal struggles in our society is the tug of war between nature and nurture. It's the fundamental question of human behaviour, and the extent to which we are the product of our innate qualities from birth or our personal experiences as we develop.

It's a hotly debated topic – and one that is yet to be conclusively argued one way or the other – but there can be no doubt that our behaviour is shaped over time by the world around us.

You only need to take a quick flick through Jane Fulton Suri's book Thoughtless Acts to see all those intuitive ways we adapt, exploit, and react to things in our environment; things we do without really thinking – the result of her work as a partner at groundbreaking design and innovation firm, IDEO.

And so it is that we act instinctively (nature) or we are conditioned over time (nurture) to respond to our environment in intuitive ways.

One of the ways in which we have been more aggressively conditioned is the concept of fine print, a perennial bane of the modern world that allows businesses to make grand offers in ways that attract you, while at the same time limiting these offers in ways that suit them. We're used to having to read the fine print wherever we see the ubiquitous *conditions apply, and to ignore them is often perilous to say the least.

But last week, the tables were turned when Grill'd, the burger chain, seemingly forgot to include the fine print on this ad promoting 2-for-1 burgers for university students.

As it turns out, what they had intended to include was a disclaimer that limited the offer to the readership of the Uni Times publication in which it appeared. However, it wasn't long before consumers took advantage of the great deal on offer and starting making their way to their local Grill'd.

And that's when the real problems started.

Grill'd realised their error and naively tried to pass it off as a simple oversight. They wrote on their blog that they hoped all of our customers can appreciate the good faith in which the offer was released. But as you can read for yourself in the comments that follow, their customers held them fully accountable.

As it turned out, Nando's then dived in to exploit their competitor's error of judgment by offering to accept the vouchers at their own restaurants.

And only then did Grill'd apologise (finally! – with a message from the founder on their homepage), and agree to accept the 2-for-1 vouchers.

Ultimately, Grill'd failed in their bid to have customers overlook their error. Not simply because they refused to take responsibility and apologise, but more so as a result of the years of conditioning by corporations that have nurtured us to read the fine print.

*Because when any society is exposed to such a sustained effort to nurture our response in a particular way, it isn't too long before it switches from nurture to become second nature.

Up wallaby creek without a paddle

I've always found honesty a particularly admirable quality.

And the other day, I was looking in my local bottle shop for an honest bottle of wine when I stumbled across this brand, Wallaby Creek.

But what really caught my attention was a note from the winemaker on the back label.

I appreciate how you saw the stereotypical Australian label and didn't dismiss Wallaby Creek as another "me, too!" wine. We have three generations of experience and we think we make fantastic wine. Once you try a bottle we know you will see the difference. – signed, Rex D'Aquino.

I can't say I know Rex, but I'll certainly be on the lookout for more of his honest marketing truths next time I'm in the aisle – fancy reading such a brutal critique of a brand's packaging when looking to make purchase. Maybe it's an over-reaction to the time in 2007 when his company was fined for selling fake Scottish whisky, but I can't help but wonder if it's actually a question of not understanding the value of branding, even in a market as competitive as wine. That said, the wine industry is one of the most conservative, least innovative categories in retail. Ever.

Following clichés and category conventions doesn't do anything to distinguish a brand, leaving the product to become nothing more than wallpaper for the shelves. And Rex knows it. But Rex is a honest bloke and, at a paltry $5.99 a bottle, at least the price is fair.

Agencies get the clients they deserve

If it’s true that you do your best work for your best clients, then it’s also true that agencies generally get the clients they deserve.

As in life, like-minded people gradually build a pool of like-minded friends, and the same is true in any service-based industry like ours.

Businesses that value creativity gravitate towards agencies that put creativity at the heart of their own business. People who thrive on collaboration and partnership will work with agencies where close relationships are high on their agenda. And, clients with a firm focus on operational excellence will seek out an agency with a strong track record in heavy duty implementation.

So it came as a massive surprise to me this week when I discovered that one of our competitors was seemingly happy to undercut us by 75% to win a pitch.

Maybe it’s a sign that desperate times call for desperate measures, but I don’t envy any agency in a position where it’s building a portfolio of low-revenue-high-discount clients.

And, what sort of a client does an agency deserve when it offers 75% discounts to attract their business? 

To be perfectly honest, it scares me even to contemplate what that must be like – so I’ll leave it to your own imagination.

Every agency wants to win every pitch, but sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for.

The power of imagination

You’ll know from my last post that a good quote can go a long way, so it’s fitting that this post starts with one.

“We have to believe in the power of imagination because it's all we have, and ours is stronger than theirs.”

I found it written in the booklet that came with “Out Spaced”, a B–sides and rarities compilation album by Welsh psychedelic rock band, the Super Furry Animals. Not the most obvious place to find a quote for a blog about branding, but then Super Furry Animals have always been a band full of surprises.

What I like about this quote is not so much the point it makes about reliance on our imagination, but the fact that it presents imagination as a competitive element.

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve heard so–called brainstorms begin with those infamous words, “There’s no such thing as a bad idea”, only to have those very same words prove their author a liar at least half a dozen times within the first five minutes. All too often, people view creativity as an excuse to express their artistic alter ego, without actually applying their imagination to the problem at hand.

Imagination in branding is critical.

And it's even more critical to remember that ideas are not simply good or bad, but actually better or worse. That's the real difference that makes not only great brands but also great agencies. A refusal to settle for the mediocre in the dogged pursuit of creative excellence, even if it means having to deflate a few dreams and even shatter some egos.