plannatical

Hello. My name is Marco Ruckenbrod. I am a brand strategist. Currently, I am challenging my state of mind by joining the Miami Ad School's Planning Bootcamp in Sydney, Australia. This blog is about reflecting on my sabbatical as a planner. It's my plannatical.

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CATCH OF THE DAY #99 Finally. After twelve mind-expanding and breathtaking weeks my little Sydney adventure is over now. It’s hard to find the right words. Folks, it was terrific. THANK YOU. TAKE CARE, TAKE RISKS.

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CATCH OF THE DAY #98 I love it. Bold thinking. We are not just creative thinkers. We should see ourselves as cultural provocateurs. THINK BIG. 

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CATCH OF THE DAY #97 Is there a story? Back in the 1940s, the two American psychologists Fritz Heider and Marianne Simmel created a simple animated film. Heider and Simmel used it in their ‘Experimental Study of Apparent Behavior’: They asked people to watch the film and describe what they saw happening. Finally, 111 out of 114 people were able to recognize a story. The study showed that subjects presented with a certain display of inanimate two-dimensional figures are inclined to ascribe intentions to those figures. This result has been taken to establish the human instinct for storytelling. It’s really a great proof how people tick.

BTW: Back in 2013, the title of my Master Thesis was: Brand Loyalty Through Strategic Dramaturgy Why conflict-based arcs of suspense in narrative brand management are relevant to the relationship between people and brands WE ARE STORYTELLING ANIMALS.

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CATCH OF THE DAY #96 What a f***ing good read. ‘Two explorers are walking through the jungle. Suddenly they hear a tiger roar. One explorer sits down and takes a pair of running shoes out of his backpack.‘You’re crazy, you’ll never out-run a tiger,’ says the other explorer. ‘I don’t have to out-run the tiger,’ he replies.‘I just have to out-run you.’ ‘Predatory Thinking’ involves looking at a challenge you can't solve and getting upstream of it – changing it into a challenge you can solve. Written in the form of engaging, brilliantly lean anecdotes and stories, it is the philosophy that has underpinned Dave Trott’s distinguished career as a copywriter, creative director, and founder of some of London's most high-profile advertising agencies. CATCH ME IF YOU CAN.

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CATCH OF THE DAY #95 The power of storytelling ... Big one. IT TELLS ITS OWN TALE.

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CATCH OF THE DAY #94 Here it is – the most expensive Super Bowl ad of all time: Chrysler’s ‘Imported from Detroit’ (2011) – $12.4 Million This epic 2-minute ad for the Chrysler 200, features Eminem driving around his hometown of Detroit. It might well have been worth the staggering price tag, not only for Chrysler for but for the 700,000 people who call the city of Detroit home. In Forbes magazine, Rob Siltanen, founder and chief creative officer of ad agency Siltanen & Partners, called the 2011 Super Bowl commercial a “game-changer.” Not only have Chrysler’s sales improved more than 50% in the years since the commercial was released, but the ad has been credited with re-branding and renewing the city of Detroit and reviving the struggling American auto-industry. A GAME CHANGER.

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CATCH OF THE DAY #93 A classic. What a simple, but still brilliant cognition by Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon. BRANDS ARE OWNED BY PEOPLE.

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CATCH OF THE DAY #92 ‘It's a big ad. Very big ad. It's a big ad we're in. It's a big ad. My God it's big! Can't believe how big it is! It's a big ad! For Carlton Draught! It's just so freaking HUGE! It's a big ad! Expensive ad! This ad better sell some bloo-oo-oo-oody beer!’ This is what I’d call self-mocking. Nicely created by GPY&R, Melbourne back in 2005. And finally named as one of the 25 most epic ads of all time by AdFreak. IT’S A BIG AD.

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CATCH OF THE DAY #91 Bill Bernbach, co-founder of Doyle Dane Bernbach; nowadays maybe better known as DDB. Doubtless, Bill Bernbach is one of the biggest and the most influential legends in the advertising industry. Certainly, this is one of his most famous quotes. And still, this is so truthful. It’s such a great definition of what a consumer insight actually is. OLD BUT GOLD.

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CATCH OF THE DAY #90 Well, a couple of weeks ago I already posted a video of Kurt Vonnegut, an American author.  In order to dive a bit deeper into the world of storytelling, I’d like to share this little overview illustrating a variety of different story shapes. This gives a good point of reference how stories could start, progress and end up.  For marketeers, I think, it’s quite interesting to figure out which story shape seems to match best with their brand – especially when keeping in mind the brand’s tone of voice which obviously is different from shape to shape. SHAPE YOUR BRAND’S STORY.

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CATCH OF THE DAY #89 Sunday’s beauty: Whitsunday Islands. BEAUTIFUL AUSTRALIA.

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CATCH OF THE DAY #88 ... A SABBATICAL TRUTH.

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CATCH OF THE DAY #87 This is the way how communication in the financial sector can be: The Commonwealth Bank of Australia and their strongly emotive approach of ‘When we believe, we can.’, lovingly created by M&C Saatchi, Sydney. WHEN WE BELIEVE, WE CAN.

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CATCH OF THE DAY #86 During the past few weeks, I’ve blogged about purpose-thinking for several times. Now, this special piece seems to be a quite helpful framework to think in. And it illustrates how tough and challenging it is to actually find that purpose – as it’s just this little red space well-placed in the centre. FIND YOUR PURPOSE.

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CATCH OF THE DAY #85 Well, a couple of days ago I recommended a book called ‘Damn Good Advice’, written by George Lois. This is advice no. 87. And maybe it’s the most important question within the entire development process of creativity in advertising. It’s a way-in in order to come up with bold and world-changing ideas: What if? WHAT IF.

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5. Don’t boil the ocean.

5. Don’t boil the ocean. Three. Have a clue.

CATCH OF THE DAY #84 As a passionate football fan, this is a metaphor I absolutely love. Leon Phang, a smart strategic thinker from Sweden, boils the role of a planner down to the following essence: ‘The creative planning role is to be the midfielder: it’s all about deadly passes.’ Find Leon’s presentations on Slideshare. Quite interesting stuff. PLANNERS, WE ARE MESSI.

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CATCH OF THE DAY #83 Once again, this is truly a great read. ‘Exercises in Style’, written by Raymond Queneau, is a collection of 99 retellings of the same story, each in a different style. In each, the narrator gets on the "S" bus, witnesses an altercation between a man with a long neck and funny hat and another passenger, and then sees the same person two hours later at the Gare St-Lazare getting advice on adding a button to his overcoat. I suggest, every advertiser should read this smart book. Because it’s an inspiring illustration of how one and the same (brand) story can be told in numerous different ways in order to keep it thrilling. HOW STORYTELLING WORKS.