W&K: Culture is STILL a Differentiator

Media diet, AI talk, of course / Youtube graphics / AI Bubble popped?

Its the worst of times, best of times, at least for creative shops as the AI age emerges.

It’s timely, then, to get this discussion between a sorta-odd couple: a “high performance psychologist” and the CEO of one of the best creative shops in the world offers a realtime look at how Wieden is navigating a dramatically changing landscape.

The key takeaway: WK is doubling down on their culture as a differentiator

I loved hearing Neal Arthur discuss how they’re creating the conditions - through culture, through setting the right expectations about effort, through their hiring - where creative can still enable brands to unlock growth (as opposed to promotional efforts, direct response ads, efficient media buying, etc).

I also really appreciated their explicit commitment to their role as outsiders and truth-seekers for their clients. I’ve seen agencies get so embedded in their clients that they lose the audacity that comes from being a spectator on the outside. WK is working hard to keep that outsider perspective. (and note the insistence that creatives are by and large “outsiders” in life).

Some other good points in here about basing company growth in the “truth” of the brand and culture (it’s *still* harder than it sounds), creative collaboration and how great leaders protect their teams from the wrong kind of pressure.

Finally, i found it refreshing how little they actually talked about AI. It’s here, obviously, but WK is still focused most on how to play to their strengths. This is the right take: Rationale, curious, but not bandwagoneering.

The YouTube Presentation Compromise

Side note: I listened to the podcast audio, first. I didn’t see the YouTube video until I started writing this post. If you look at the YouTube video, consider how the presentation (the graphics, typography, the editing, the visual effects, the colors) changes how you perceive the content itself. I found the audio really compelling once they got into the conversation, but I don’t think I would have made it past the first 30 seconds of the video if that’s all I had. It looks amateurish, cloying, and a little bit “try-hard”, but I guess that’s what you have to do to get attention on YouTube.

If You Call it a Bubble, Eventually it Has to Pop, Right?

I really like Ted Gioia as a writer, critic and a biz guy. A former McKinsey consultant, he’s just got a great sense of how industries move. There have been so many folks talking about the bubble we’re in (including Gioia himself), but I don’t know many that are willing to call the top. In September he suggested the bubble might be ready to burst. Now, he’s making the argument that, with this week’s Facebook earnings, the bubble has popped. (note: I wrote this before AMZN and AAPL’s results)

The key problem: Circular deal making. That is, the small number of key players shuffling money between each other creating inflating revenue numbers. Here’s Bloombergs warning and their visual:

And here’s the META stock as a result of the pullback.

Meanwhile, the Media Diet

• I’m a big fan of what Adam Voith is doing with Little Engines. It’s like Sub Pop for lit. Now, i just need to find the SST, Twin Tone and Merge of short stories.

• I’m so glad to have found Steven Hyden’s Evil Speakers. I love a good opinionated rock nerd who can write circles around everyone else.

• The recent Geese record is as good as they say it is.

• Re-reading Lorrie Moore’s Birds of America and, no surprise, it’s still an incredible collection of short stories. Dance in America read by Louise Erdrich made me cry, it’s so good. This type of writing might not be in vogue, but it’s just absolutely excellent.

• This interview between Rick Beato and mandolin-monster Chris Thile is amazing for any music fan. To see an actual genius (Thile) who still has such obvious joy is deeply gratifying. You can kind see Beato fanboying over Thile. And, I love Thile’s take on how to deal with the stress of a big performance (at about 1:22:30): Take a deep breath… remove the ego, be of service:

• I’m a dad, i like rock. So of course I’m all over the new Tweedy record. Love the way the band sounds, and this song has been on repeat:

• If you like Guided By Voices, you’ll like what Sharp Pins is doing.