Sueamsterdam

Contrapopulisme - 5 manieren om het populisme van Wilders te bestrijden

tomdebruyne — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 12:55:00 -0400

Beste meneer Verhagen,
Beste meneer Rutte,

Gisteren keerde mijn maag bij het zien van het perverse spel dat Geert Wilders voor de camera speelde. Ik kan mijn walging voor deze manipulatieve prietpraat niet onder stoelen of banking stoppen. De twee pijlers van zijn discours konden haast niet platter en populistischer: 1. Die van Brussel (Europa) zijn de vijanden die aan onze portemonnee willen zitten 2. De arme AOW’ers (gepensioneerden) zullen het slachtoffer zijn van de maatregelen en dat pik ik niet.

Ik had met u te doen. U bent twee raspolitici, gedreven door een verlangen om goed te besturen. U neemt het er als een vervelende bijkomstigheid bij dat u ook de harten en de zielen van het volk moet veroveren om het mandaat te krijgen om uw werk goed te doen. U probeert het wel: Die net te kleine fiets is bvb echt leuk gevonden. Maar u moet toch toegeven dat die enge man - vergeef het me, maar ik mag uitgesprokener zijn dan u - het spel van massaverleiding als geen ander in de vingers heeft en meesterlijk de verleidingsprincipes gebruikt om de angsten en verlangens van mensen uit te buiten. Daar kan u gewoon niet tegenop.

Ik wil u helpen. Ik wil u absoluut niet vertellen hoe u aan politiek moet doen. Dat zou heel pretentieus zijn. Waar ik wel iets van afweet is overtuigingspsychologie. Ik ben geen politicus, maar als interactieve communicatie mens kan ik wel een aantal dingen vertellen over beïnvloedingsprincipes en hoe je gedrag ontwerpt. Mijn stelling is dan ook dat je die man niet op basis van rationele argumentatie moet bestrijden, maar op basis van dezelfde psychologische overtuigingsprincipes die hij zelf zo meesterlijk uitbuit.

Ik zou u willen oproepen om te investeren in wat ik contrapopulisme zou willen noemen: Het bestrijden van manipulatief populisme met eigen wapens. U en uw achterban zal nu wellicht argumenteren dat u dit niet amoreel vindt, maar ik vrees dat dit de enige manier is om uiteindelijk het mandaat te krijgen om aan goede politiek te doen. De filosoof Richard Rohrty zei ooit in een beroemde lezing voor de Universiteit van Oxford:

“We resent the idea that we shall have to wait for the strong to turn their piggy little eyes to the suffering of the weak, slowly open their dried-up little hearts. We desperately hope there is something stronger and more powerful that will hurt the strong if they do not do these things.”

Met andere woorden: we hebben slechts de instrumenten van de beïnvloeding en de verleiding om de macht te krijgen of te bestrijden. Het enige wat relevant is, is wat je met de macht doet. Rorty geloofde niet in de kracht van de ratio om mensen en machtswellustelingen tot inzicht te brengen. Behavioral economists en gedragspsychologen ook niet. De mens laat zich voornamelijk leiden door onbewuste drijfveren die de meesters van de manipulatie vakkundig weten uit te buiten. Ik geloof dat u vanuit uw politiek denken gedreven wordt om het goede te doen. Daarom heb ik alvast een voorzet gegeven om het destructieve populisme met contrapopulisme te bestrijden. Ik hoop dat u er wat aan hebt.

Contrapopulisme: 5 manieren om Geert Wilders te bestrijden

View more presentations from Tom De Bruyne

Oprechte groet,

Tom De Bruyne.

PS: U kent mij ongetwijfeld niet. Ik ben een Belg die intussen 6 jaar in uw land woont. Ik mag mezelf co-founder noemen van een ambitieus nieuw interactief reclamebureau, SUE Amsterdam. Vorig jaar werd ons vorig bureau - Boondoggle Amsterdam - zelfs uitgeroepen tot beste interactieve bureau van Nederland. Wij maken campagnes voor merken die zo ontworpen zijn dat mensen er over gaan praten. Wij noemen dat design for excitement. We geloven heel erg dat in deze digitaal geworden wereld, je niet meer moet proberen mensen te bereiken met je boodschap, maar opmerkelijke dingen moet doen, zodat ze er over gaan praten.

20 things about SUE Amsterdam we tattoo on our employee’s...

tomdebruyne — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 12:18:01 -0400

20 things about SUE Amsterdam we tattoo on our employee’s asses.

My presentation at Emerce Conversion conference: Why persuasion...

tomdebruyne — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 06:52:27 -0400

My presentation at Emerce Conversion conference: Why persuasion eats advertising for breakfast.

Someone, please shoot the marketer who invented this in the...

tomdebruyne — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 08:50:00 -0400

Someone, please shoot the marketer who invented this in the knees. And Edward Norton for participating in this campaign. And Prada for treating their brand like a cheap prostitute. And the people who are stupid enough to buy this piece of shit. It’s an insult. Someone in a meeting at LG must have said: “hey, I have an idea. Our mobile phones are just cheap imitations of all other smart phones. Why don’t we buy a Prada licence, glue a Prada logo on top of our new phone and do a campaign with, say… Eduard Norton”. In the review meeting with the agency, this same marketer - the one with the soon to be shot knee caps - will have said something like: “uhm, maybe you should write on the poster that this is Edward Norton, and that he is an actor. Because the people that will buy this are probably too dumb to know who he is”. This really pisses me off. Really.

Awesome. A little present from our first employee Louk. An...

tomdebruyne — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 06:38:45 -0500

Awesome. A little present from our first employee Louk. An original press of the single “A boy named Sue” by Johnny Cash.

This ad for First Bank was shown at the super bowl. This is how...

tomdebruyne — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 04:46:00 -0500

This ad for First Bank was shown at the super bowl. This is how you stick to your principles. It’s smart, it’s provocative, it stands out and it fits the context in which it is shown. I absolutely love this. (via @ief)

Column: Design for Excitement

astridgr — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:16:45 -0500

This is the column I wrote for Amsterdam Ad Blog today:

I have to admit. Lately I have an obsession. It’s a bit of a nerdy obsession. It’s about defining the agency of the future. Maybe this doesn’t sound dead sexy at first glance, but bear with me for a moment. In return I’ll promise you this will lead to excitement and I’ll throw in some relationship advice in as a bonus. But let’s first get back to the nerdy part. The part I’m diving into is defining the agency of the future. The more I am getting into that, the more I am convinced that the agency’s biggest challenge is not about understanding online or social media. The biggest challenge is a fundamental reboot of the way we define the concept of ideas. I think it’s unbelievable – and maybe even unforgiveable – that in the advertising business we seem to make everything we do important and big, but in the end we never truly rethink the essence of our ideas. To honestly ask ourselves if maybe a different type of ideas is needed to actually become measurably important in driving conversions. The large part of the business is still about the holy grail of finding the big idea. That one and only idea that can be campaigned 360 degrees – including social media and online, mind you! I think 360’s make you dizzy. And sick. Sick is not good. It makes you look greenish and, yes face it, unattractive.

In the advertising business we seem to make everything we do important and big, but in the end we never truly rethink the essence of our ideas

But seriously…what makes you a brand fan? What makes you buy them, tell your friends about them, refer them? For me this rarely is a big idea. For me it’s the daily experiences that count. But let’s keep it simple and do a little metaphoric exercise. After all I have promised you some sexiness. And nothing gets the sex in easier than the good old metaphor. So, let me start by asking you this: what is the relationship that gets you excited the most? Is it the guy – sorry straight guys for the example, just fill in girl whenever you feel it’s appropriate – that ensures you the big events, like the first kiss, a wedding, buying a house together, the birth of a child, but who is actually quite a bore? Or is it the guy that surprises you with little unexpected things that wins you over instead? Just to give some relationship advice. I would opt for the last. Blindly. ‘Cause how many big events in life are there anyway? You can’t build your life happiness on that. It’s the little moments of happiness throughout your life that make it worthwhile. And I think we all actually long for that exciting, dedicated lover instead of the predictable, indifferent husband.

To get back to advertising. I think that we as agencies are in the business of building relationships with consumers. So all the insights, communication models and research aside, as advertising agencies we need to get down to that essential business. Very simple. And for that we need to be able to get down to the business of developing ideas that spark excitement on a daily basis. And that’s not about the big ideas or solely the communication ideas. I simply want a product by how the packaging looks, the way I get positively treated by customer services, the way a shop makes me feel, the personal touches or the way a product is designed. I am a sucker for eye for detail. For twists that put a smile on my face. For little acts of kindness. I can add it all up to a – now publicly admitted – heavy addiction to smart ideas. Ideas that are designed to spark excitement. And these are the ideas that I want to share with you here on a regular basis.

We need to be able to get down to the business of developing ideas that spark excitement on a daily basis. And that’s not about the big ideas

I’m convinced agencies shouldn’t reinvent themselves by introducing yet another model, concept or online expertise. It’s about becoming fascinated by design for excitement and sweating the small stuff. It’s about turning creativity into business advantage for brands on a daily basis. It’s about understanding the skill set of the lover. I’m so bored with the perfect husbands. Aren’t you?

A door hanger that makes me smile and feel at home at The Michelberger Hotel, Berlin.

When people ask us “why SUE?” we always ask them if...

tomdebruyne — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:01:21 -0500

When people ask us “why SUE?” we always ask them if they know this song by Johnny Cash. We want to be that good in telling a story.

Brilliant presentation on the difference between game and play...

tomdebruyne — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 06:08:19 -0500

Brilliant presentation on the difference between game and play and how their balance can be used to motivate people to engage in the challenges that life, work or brands puts upon them. As opposed to: the dynamics that we as marketers can exploit to manipulate people to make choices in our interest.

Link: http://codingconduct.cc/#1523514/Don-t-Play-Games-With-Me

"A game is a series of interesting decisions"

tomdebruyne — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 03:14:29 -0500

“A game is a series of interesting decisions”

- Game designer Sid Meier, cited in this brilliant presentation by Sebastian Detinger.

"I am aware of Hitler. But I am not a Nazi."

tomdebruyne — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:30:15 -0500

““I am aware of Hitler. But I am not a Nazi.””

- Rob Campbell, cited by Martin Weigel in this brilliant blogpost on the absurdity of typical advertising metrics

5 Stand up comedians that inspired me

tomdebruyne — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 02:26:17 -0500

I stumbled upon an article by a Belgian comedian in a Belgian newspaper, following another story in another Belgian newspaper, that referred to the Facebook account of another Belgian standup comedian, who pointed at this article. (I’m just saying: this is how 90% of all my media consumption goes these days). Anyway, this comedian created a top-5 list of standup comedians that aspiring standup-comedians ought to know.

I don’t aspire to become standup comedian. But I do admire the performing skills of standup comedians. And I learned a lot from standup comedy to improve my presentation skills. So I thought it would be nice to share with you 5 standup comedians that inspired me.

1. Eddie Izzard - Glorious (1997) is definitely his most amazing show. This Chinese Youtube-like site has the entire show. Most amazing part: his version of the story of Noah’s arch. Also check his famous Dead Star Cantine sketch.

2. Eddie Murphy - Raw (1987) and Delirious (1983). Most people know Eddy Murphy from hollywood blockbusters. But back in the 80’s he did two standup comedy shows that were absolutely amazing. This is storytelling from another planet. You can watch them both on Youtube: Raw (full lenght) and Delirious (full lenght).

3. Ricky Gervais - Politics and Animals Tour. Ricky Gervais has recently become most notorious for his roasting of movie stars as host of the golden globes. I love his conversational style, his biting irony, the way he takes a piss of himself as stand up comedian. The Animals tour (in 8 parts) on Youtube. The Politics Tour (in 7 parts). Must see: Hitler interprets Nietzsche.

4. Mitch Hedberg, who died way too young in 2005 at the age of 37. He was the master of the oneliner. His show was nothing more than a compilation of oneliners, but his voice and his timing is so good, that it actually worked very good. Although I also admire Steven Wright as the master of the oneliner, I think Mitch Hedberg was unbeatable.

5. Kevin Smith. Definitely. Kevin Smith is actually not a standup comedian, but a movie director. He’s know for his cult movies Clerks, Malrats, Dogma, Chasing Amy and Jay and Silent Bob strike back. But a few years ago he did a college tour on campuses throughout the US, called “An evening with Kevin Smith”. Basically, he just got up stage and started to answer students questions. Simply hilarious. The man is a walking encyclopedia of funny and true anecdotes. Absolutely worth watching. Muse see: The story on how he got into a bit of a fight with Tim Burton, the story on how he got to work for Prince, the story on how he met his wife and the whole DVD featuring the guest appearance of Jason Mewes (aka Jay from Jay and Silent Bob).

Is the agency of the future a design agency?

tomdebruyne — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 00:04:00 -0500

Yesterday the Dutch marketing magazine Tijdschrift voor Marketing asked me if I could write some thoughts on the importance of design for marketers in 2012. This blogposts elaborates further on what I wrote.

To me, design is a really interesting concept. However, the problem with it, is that we limit its meaning to “design as form”. We talk about how beautiful stuff is designed or the importance of packaging design. Although I have a deep respect for designers, I don’t want to talk about “design as form”.

There’s another side to design that fascinates me much more and that’s what Tim Brown, the CEO of the innovation company IDEO calls “design thinking”. When you start to think like a designer, you’ll get to find creative solutions to all kinds of problems. Basically, because designers think in terms of solving problems. Design thinking is more of a method to come up with creative answers based on a profound understanding of how users think and behave.

Let me give you an example to illustrate this. IDEO developed for Bank of America a credit card with a service attached to it, called “Keep the Change”. Every time a user uses this card to make a payment, Bank of America would round it up and transfer the change to people’s savings account. Turns out people started to save quite a lot of money without ever noticing it. And it turns out people thought this was such an amazing idea that they actually started to switch banks in order to enroll in the Keep The Change scheme by Bank of America.

I wish that we as a creative agency would have come up with this idea. It’s design thinking at its best, for several reasons:

it starts with a profound understanding of human psychology and human behavior: people have a neurotic relationship with money. They know they should save more, but somehow they just don’t get started. Keep The Change is designed around that understanding.
it uses insights from behavioral economics. In stead of trying to convince people to save more through campaigning, they designed the product in such a way that the desired saving behavior is triggered in an unconcious and automatic way. Behavioral economists call this “choice architecture”.
it’s service design: They baked a service into the product that is so valuable that it’s actually worth switching banks for.
it’s designed for excitement and Word-of-Mouth: Keep the Change is a service worth talking and sharing. They didn’t call it “Luxor credit plus”. They called it “Keep the Change”. My mother would be able to explain and recommend it to me.

So how does this relate to “the agency of the future”.

I think there’s something profoundlly wrong with our creative methodology. We don’t put human understanding at the heart of our process. We put creative communication at the heart of our process. And creative teams. And they are trained to make impactful commercials. Back at Boondoggle Amsterdam, we killed the creative teams (amongst other things Astrid blogged so eloquently about in the past). Recently, when we started SUE Amsterdam we also killed the strategy department. If you use design thinking as your frame of reference, you need strategic creatives and creative strategist. A strategic planner is just a creative with a different toolset. What we do is putting these people together in a process in which they have to come up with creative solutions to the marketing challenges of our clients, based on profound human understanding and ideas that are stuffed with smart tactics and strategies to persuade people into action.

Therefore, creativity is not a department in an agency, It’s a process between a group of people that apply design thinking to solve marketing and business problems of our clients. And that is what the agency of the future is all about.

I’m going to elaborate further on this in upcoming posts.

Advertising as broken game design

tomdebruyne — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 15:32:12 -0500

This is the first of a series of blog posts in which I want to explore a subject that kept me thinking a lot lately and that is the relevance of advertising agencies and creative agencies. I think we’re fighting the wrong battle. The battle is not about online or offline. The battle is about persuasion. The way that people make decisions and choices today has changed dramatically. We google, we use reviews, filters, aggregators, we stumble upon excitement of others, we ask our friends, peers, followers for advice and we have become addicted to beautifully crafted impulse triggers like Groupon or auctioning sites such as hotelveiling.nl.

This is the game stage upon which we - as creative agencies - play. We’re in the game of influencing and shaping behavior. We have to make sure or brands act in such a way that people recommend it. We have to make sure that this consumer excitement pops up at the right places when prospects are on active search; We have to come up with smart persuasion tactics to boost the attractiveness of the ultimate choice. We have to deal with negative conversations that spread and with competitors that outperform our clients brand on the comparison battle every time.

That’s the game stage. Now, I don’t know about you but advertising doesn’t seem like the best possible toolset to play this game. In fact, it feels a bit like modern warfare: the old strategies that worked well in the beginning of the 20th century, turned out to have become completely obsolete in this high tech era in which digitally connected city guerillas outsmart armies time and again.

Game designers have a beautiful concept for this: broken game design. This is when a game is so badly designed, it’s simply not worth playing. Willem-Jan Renger (Dutch) once told the story of a musical academy that was struggling with a dramatic decline in students. From the perspective of a game designer, a musical academy is a broken game design: When you enter it, it feels like school, it even smells like school, you have to study hard and you get feedback at the end of the year. Compare that with guitar hero: after half an hour, you already get to feel the kick of performing.

I think this applies to what we as advertising agencies keep doing: we play a game that basically sucks. We act as if the game stage is still the same. Advertising is to marketing what music academies have become to learning to perform an instrument. Except for the scent of pee in the hallway.