Jeremy Web[b]

I'm just on my way back from an interesting evening at the Maddox Club in Mayfair, London. This was the venue for the second in a trio of lectures in the Esquire Magazine "Alternative MBA" dealing with marketing.

The guest speaker was Trevor Beattie, a name that you might not be familiar with, but you have almost certainly seen his work. His company, Beattie McGuinness Bungay is the creative force behind hugely successful marketing campaigns for brands like Wonderbra ("Hello Boys") FCUK, Carling, and now Virgin Galactic. 

Here is an example of his work:

As you can see, this is high budget stuff, but he made the valid point that even in this world where the tools of production are in the hands of many, (broadcast quality camcorders, and youtube to name just two) high production values are necessary when the creative has to withstand repeated viewings. The key IS the creativity, although the availablity of the tools to the many means there has never been a better time to be in the creative industry.

He went on to talk about the importance of talent, combined with energy, and this message certainly  chimes with me. When I look around the internet marketing world, in the networks, forums and on Twitter there seems to be many regurgitators of information and people that can do the easy stuff like SEO but few who really understand business and marketing , let alone come up with original ideas. It seems these guys just pick up an MBA online  and call it good.

Trevor Beattie has a reputation for making waves with his campaigns and within his industry and he is certainly forthright in his opinions, but why not when you have the talent and pedigree to back them up? A long time Labour supporter, there was a fair bit of discussion of the current political mess, but the nugget that came from that is that modern politicians "don't get it." By this he was refering to the fact that the modern world has changed and communication is now so fast that something said in jest at 0900 in London can be read worldwide at 0901. This puts new demands on everyone in the public eye, including businesses of all sizes.

Another political tangent involved Ester Rantzen standing for election in Luton. He argued that politics should not be the politics of the one but of the many; of policies not personalities. What Ester has, is what we would call in internet marketing is "reach" combined with a strong brand. Ester can attract broadcast media to give her air time, and we know who Ester is and what her values might be based on previous exposure to her on programmes like "That's Life." This is clearly an unfair advantage and would make her more likely to be voted in. Susan Boyle for Culture Secretary any one?

Back to the marketing, Trevor said he was most proud of his work on a video for the Global Fund for Children, which was released around the time of the FCUK campaign, but as it was not controversial attracted little attention. I have not been able to find a copy of this online, but it was another powerful and nicely put together piece based on the true story of an African boy, born with AIDS, who was not expected to live beyond 8. At 8, he began to understand what AIDS was, and the ways and means to combat the disease. He began giving talks to his friends, then to groups, then to audiences of up to 100. He became a well know AIDS campaigner in Africa, and although he defied the odds to live to 13, made more of an impact in that short time than many who live beyond childhood.

The other important point he made about marketing was that many clients expect instant results, but even big successes like Wonderbra, and FCUK took over 3 months to "ignite." The same applies to internet marketing in many cases, but for different reasons.

Work / Life balance is a nonsense he declared, and he is preaching to the converted here! He argues that your work should be your passion, and so the lines between the two become blurred. Of course there are problems with this approach, in the interface with your friends and family, but the general principle is sound! More advice followed to expose yourself to as many new influences as possible to keep creative juices flowing such as theatre and opera.

By this time, the complimentary Monkey Shoulder whiskys were taking there toll, but luckily Trevor finished his talk with a home movie of him being spun round in a centrifuge as part of his space flight training, as he is signed up to be one of the first Virgin Galactic passengers. Not many people's home movies feature Richard Branson watching on!

However, at the end of the night, the thing that came through for me was Trevor Beattie comes across as a normal guy from the Midlands, who through creativity and hard work has done very well, and that should be an inspiration to us all. 

A short Q&A concluded a very interesting night with an advertising legend.