Craig Briggs
Jan 25, 2010

Craig Briggs' New Year's resolutions for the industry

Craig Briggs, managing director of Brandimage Asia, boldly suggests a few New Year's resolutions for the marketing and advertising industry as we bid 2009 farewell.

Craig Briggs' New Year's resolutions for the industry
As we say goodbye (and good riddance!) to 2009, and the decade of the ‘naughts’, here are a few resolutions that I boldly put forth for our broad industry of marketers and creators.

May we understand that things in 2010 are not ‘returning to normal’, and that the consumer has changed, and demands new attention and perspective.

May we nurture and develop our talent better, and stem the decline in talent in our industries. Not just in our own houses, but also with our partners, showing appreciation for good work and loyalty.

May we value intuition more, while still respecting the role of research.

May we again understand that small can be beautiful.

May we embrace sustainability more, post-Copenhagen, and know that Asian consumers will now begin embracing the value of responsible brand behaviour.

May we forever dispel the convenient belief that a TVC is the singular, all-powerful brand statement and consumer message. Other touch-points, from packaging and CRM to social media and digital, are potentially just as - if not more - important.

May we take risks and experiment more with new ideas. Playing it safe for the sake of convenience, or doing things the same way as before, is lazy at best. Consumers and clients in the new decade may not welcome such conservatism.

May we invest in our worthy partners, and not treat every client-agency engagement as a trip to Wal-Mart (“lowest price - always”).

May we hire fresh graduates, keeping youth, enthusiasm and opportunity alive.

May we gain valuable perspective, learning from the transgressions of conscienceless investment bankers, that greed is not good (forget what Gordon Gekko may have said in a time of plenty) and that real, live, flesh-and-blood, hard-working people are our ultimate customers.

And, last but certainly not least, may we all find a better balance of work and play, making efforts to spend time with our families and friends, and keeping things in the appropriate perspective.

Got a view?
Email [email protected]


This article was originally published in the 14 January 2010 issue of Media.

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