The rise of the Holidork and 5 ways to spot one...

Holidork [Hol – ee – dork] - noun. Informal . a person who is unable to stop themselves from working even when on holiday. Comes from the combination of the words ‘holiday’ and ‘work’ with reference to the insult ‘dork’

By nature Hoilidork’s are guarded about their activity, they know that they should be relaxing but can’t help working – this forces the Holidork to be secretive about what they are doing.

To help spot the working holiday maker – better known as the Holidork here are the 5 defining symptoms.

1. Pre-Holiday

Along with the normal checks of tripadvisor, hotel.com and expedia. The Holidork will want to check geeky maps that show if the proposed destination has a decent data signal.

Long-time holidork’s won’t even have to check the map - they know for example that holidays to Tokelau, the South Sandwich Islands and most of Norfolk are simply a no-no (the latter for reasons that go beyond just a poor data connection).

2. On the plane

The holidork will be checking emails right up to the point where the stewards are threatening physical restraint and/or reaching to turn off the phone themselves. After which the holidork will continue to surreptitiously check for new emails even though logic, experience and science tells them that it’s impossible to get a signal at 30,000ft.

3. In the airport

Before the wheels have hit the tarmac the holidork will be checking, scanning, disconnecting and reconnecting their phones in search of the local network. The holidork will be operating safe in the knowledge that the ‘email police’ (stewards) are restrained in their own seats – the ‘crew prepare for landing’ announcement is the Holidorks cue. 

Desperately hoping for the new emails and activity that they need to positively reinforce their sense of self worth. The holidork can be spotted by their initial delight with the immediate advent of a new message only to be crushed by the realisation that it is just the local networks automated ‘Welcome to…’ message. Thereafter the Holidork can be spotted through Passport Control and at the baggage carousel by their smug, relieved expressions relating to a strong data signal and the banal nature of the conversation they are having with those around them about which carrier their phone has connected to.

4. In the toilet

The combination of peace and quiet, a seated position and a believable excuse make the holiday toilet the workplace of choice for any holidork with a significant other. Whilst this symptom is more difficult to spot the holidork’s estranged partner should be able to identify toilet based holidork-ing by: the lack of any odour resulting from a 20 minute visit, an uncommon frequency of toilet trips and continued tenuous excuses relating to ‘last nights dinner’ yet no interest in seeking pharmaceutical or other professional help.

5. At all other times

Sudden crankiness, mumbling under breath, a faraway look in their eyes, all of these are symptomatic of the Holidork. The added stress of dealing with work whilst away means that far from getting away from it all the Holidork has brought it all with them. However without the context of a working day and any visible reason for the pre-occupation the Holidork can seem as if they are not enjoying their holiday – which of course they are not due to the emails they received earlier about the new expenses policy or Nigel’s email about the new project he’s leading – leaving the Holidork mumbling and obsessing about the finer details and nuances contained within them.

Brilliant minds at Harvard, McKinsey and Dilbert are busy searching for a cure…in the meantime if you spot a Holidork, first take away it’s smart phone – then strike it with a bat, put it out of its eternal misery.

WHEN GOOGLE GOT SOCIAL

My view of Google+ for my employer Buro Happold

1st August, 2011

Google has said that ‘well over 10,000,000’ people are currently involved in the ‘limited field trial’ of Google+ surely proof (if any is needed) of its almost inevitable dominance.

Google unveiled Google+ on June 28th 2011 in beta form promising full integration with its Android mobile OS and Chrome Web browser. The company’s PR states that Google+ emphasises the ability to interact differently with separate 'Circles' of friends. It includes a sharing engine called Sparks, a many-user video conferencing platform called Hangouts, a group messaging service called Huddle, and a cloud-based photo and video album service with instant mobile-upload capabilities.

So what differentiates Google+ in the market and why should Buro Happold as an engineering consultancy be interested?

For a while analysts, journalists, pub pundits and end users have wondered when and how Google might break into social media. Indeed it has taken a lot longer than expected. With the change at the top as co-founder Larry Page took over day-to-day operations as CEO from Eric Schmidt there was an admission that they had ‘screwed up’ over social media. Unsurprisingly this coincided with the company’s change in focus.

Google has tried with social media in the past. They’ve tinkered and added bits and pieces. They bought YouTube in 2006, flirted with getting hold of Twitter and before that, in 2007, there was widespread gossip that they would buy Facebook for an estimated $25bn. Incidentally at the time this was seen as a ludicrously overestimated ‘hype value’. That now looks more like a bargain, with Facebook’s user-base having grown to 750 million and the site now valued at a conservative $70bn.
Google have added bits and pieces of social media integration. They integrated tweets into search results and more recently added the +1 function for users to ‘like’ Web content. But for a market leader of Google’s dominance this tinkering looked more like lipstick on a pig than the disruptive market leadership of a global giant.

Without a proper social function Google seemed to be going the way the dinosaurs of search (Alta Vista, Excite, etc.) once Google entered the market back in 1997.

Not anymore. Google+ is a game changer.

Not only does Google+ integrate with Google’s existing, burgeoning media empire – search, AdWords, YouTube and Chrome – it also integrates with the world’s fastest growing mobile channel: Android. Combine this with Gmail, Google Finance and Shopping and everything else that ensures that Google – more than any other website – is the default homepage of the world’s Web users and you have a compelling proposition. Then consider that rather than relying on co-operation between companies (never guaranteed – check out ‘frenemies’ Adobe and Apple) to drive integration, Google has stated that all employee bonuses will be judged on their personal success of integrating their products with social media (for ’social media’ read Google+).

The timing is impeccable. Questions are being asked about the long-term prospects of both Facebook and Twitter. Outside Tim Berners-Lee’s view concerning Facebook’s ‘compartmentalisation of the Web’ there’s an increasing disquiet about the ‘noise’ that users have to put up with at Facebook. The monetisation of the platform has certainly come at the expense of user experience and users seem to be increasingly intolerant of adverts and promotions clogging up their Facebook pages. There are questions over whether Twitter has a clear plan for how to monetise the business and no obvious answers. Meanwhile, Google+ doesn’t need to address these questions, nor does it need to clog user screens with paid for content. Google’s business already benefits from strong, resilient income streams and Google+ compliments these and its presence increases their value to all – the company, end users and advertisers.

However none of this is a game changer that would greatly impact an engineering consultancy outside of the marketing and IT teams.

The reason that Google+ is interesting to the likes of us is simple. Google, for the first time in the social media landscape, allows users of its service to create groups of friends and contacts. Google+ calls this feature Circles and it revolutionises how a social media site might be used.

With Google+ Circles a user is able to separately manage personal and business ‘friends’. So one moment you can share a business update about something you’re working on with your Business Circle and the next you can share the photographs of your mate’s stag do with your Personal Circle. This apparently small advance is a true game changer as are its implications for targeted sharing, exchange and social relationships in discreet, managed groups.

Let’s take education as an example. As a professional group, teachers have a difficult time dealing with the issues raised by social media. At the beginning of the year the National Association of Head Teachers called for new rules to establish how teachers should use social media with particular attention given to Facebook. The main issue the profession faces is striking a balance between having a ‘private’ life on Facebook complete with personal photos, opinion and discourse without being embarrassed by pupils finding out too much.

With Google+ this isn’t a problem – teachers can create student Circles and then actively engage in a social network for their classes. Imagine a university lecturer. He or she would be able to separate their personal life from their academic one. They would be able to concurrently manage multiple Circles and have a ‘Class of 2011 Circle’ a ‘Class of 2012 Circle’, etc. This would mean the class would be part of a discrete social network for sharing information. Email would become redundant. Communications would be easier. Thoughts, opinion, the wealth of data on Google and Wikipedia and YouTube, blogs, personal experience would be socialised and shared. Lecture notes stored in Google+ would be viewable on Android phones and tablets or on ChromeBooks. The traditional teaching paradigm is changed.Following graduation this Circle continues – helping the university keep track of alumni and ensuring that students going out into the world get the support of an established network.

Indeed with Google+ you needn’t even be in class. You could use another of Google+’ features – Huddle and Hangouts. With these teaching could be face to face without being face to face (i.e. via webcam) and rather than relying on a glitchy silo with issues of account sign-up and sign-in (such as Skype) it would be integrated and in front of you, right there in (what will quickly be) the world’s favoured social site. This then leads you to wonder about cross-border and distance learning. Access to guest lecturers and researchers in the field would also be easy and links no doubt quickly made.
So the role of the classroom changes. Pupils at all ages and stages could benefit from the same principles within a controlled environment. As can science or any other form of research. Indeed Circles and this sort of easing of mass global communication impact all industries and all sectors.

These changes impact on the demands of real estate. It’s this that makes Google+ relevant to Buro Happold:  Social interactions, social behaviour and social demand changes what we need or expect out of the places within which we live, work and play in civic and commercial society. A social media revolution which frees us of pre-existing boundaries changes the way we relate to one another and revolutionises our demands from those spaces and places. As engineers it is our role to anticipate change and to adapt our solutions so that they continue to be effective in delivering the visions of our clients which we can all share.

The world changes and with it the role of the engineer – we’re at the forefront of change.

Brand - A Q&A for the Benchmarks Brand Book

April, 2011

What are the key elements that make good branding design?

Deep respect and understanding for the client companies business strategy, it’s history and vision for it’s future. I truly believe the best work is borne from a partnership approach between the client and agency, the best work is done when there is no more than a cigarette paper between the client and agency team…this closeness forces the client to become invested in the outcome and the agency to feel engaged and responsible.

How far can a campaign stray from the original branding concept?

This is almost impossible to answer. Some brands have flexibility built in to their DNA, some demand consistency. Some brands are their campaigns, with very little manifestation outside of them, some don’t run any sort of discernible campaign and manifest themselves in other ways. In theory there is little or no reason why a campaign couldn’t stray an awful long way from the original branding concept, but in my mind there would have to be an element of truth that stems from the branding, some element of the promise - that relates to the customers expectation that enables an enormous departure but within the confines of the original brand truth or vision.

How important is the logo?

Very important. But only if it is part of a brand. Logo is easy, brand is difficult. Logo costs £295 and is available from your nearest crowdsourced logo monkey website. Brand is a lifetime’s work.

Can you cite any good examples?

Every time I see one of their vans the FedEx logo makes me smile - it’s a lovely little treat of clever typography and visual metaphor, consistently applied and I think it is yet to be bettered. The aol work is nice and I love the flexibility they designed in…I also think they have to be applauded for it somehow not coming across like they’ve ‘done a Google’ (although they have). I also think the essential Waitrose extension is a great example of how a brand can extend its range into potentially dangerous territory but through keeping to the core promise can fair extraordinarily well.

What skills and qualities do you look for in design groups you may hire to do your branding design?

This relates to my earlier answer. The key quality for me is to work with people for the long-term – with shared ideals about it being a partnership. I am a fairly trustworthy client with immense respect for the creative process, I therefore look for groups that trust that, have the confidence to work openly, have passion for what they do and above all else have a conviction for doing great work.

WHO'S ON YOUR SIDE?

The power of services such as the RAR and the DBA Directory

26th April, 2010

Just recently I’ve moved employers from Land Securities, a fairly large UK-focussed property company to Buro Happold, a consultant engineer working across the world.

One company a pillar of the FTSE 100, underpinned by a far-sighted and long term investment strategy in commercial property…the other a partner owned, fee earning business…

But despite their differences both had a torrid time over the last 18 months …Land Securities suffered a £4.8bn loss during the period…that’s 4,800 million pounds…Whilst Buro Happold saw their turnover fall and announced cost cutting measures across the business…

But today Land Securities have announced they are dusting off and readying themselves for £700m worth of development and Buro Happold are re-employing…preparing to open new offices in emerging markets and successfully won new contracts worth tens of millions of pounds in the first quarter of 2010 alone.

So it seems cautious optimism is seeping back into many companies. And even cautious growth is back on the agenda.

But the world doesn’t look like it did in 2006 or 2007. Fresh from the bruising suffered during the downturn - businesses have changed.  From my perspective at least, dealing with the boards at both Land Securities and Buro Happold I would have to say that decision making criteria have shifted.

Procurement processes and criteria put in place last year won’t disappear now and look like they are one of the many legacies created by the downturn...More than ever, Senior Management want to know that they’re management teams are making the right decisions. That those decisions will deliver value to the business and pose as little risk to the company as possible. And unfortunately when faced with difficult decisions marketers seem to outsource responsibility to the dreaded free pitch…the long standing dysfunction that our industry has to endure. Leading as it does to so many poor decisions on agency selection. I can never understand why the free creative pitch is used at all.

As far as I can see it has four major problems:

Firstly it can favour the weak. It is very likely that the least busy agency involved in a pitch will spend the most time preparing their response. This means they are likely to over deliver and perhaps unfairly influence the decision through sheer volume of work produced.

Secondly it sets up a dysfunctional dynamic between client and agency from the start that will last as long as it takes to recoup the money spent during the pitch. Having worked at agency myself I know that the time spent on a pitch is often recorded in the same way as it would be on any other live fee-paying work. It will then fall to the plucky account director to find ways to recoup this money during the first couple of jobs with the new client. In which case the client ends up paying for the pitch work anyway but has started the relationship with a dysfunctional, potentially resentful agency.

Thirdly what value has the creative work really got? After all even in the best of circumstances the work will have been prepared in a matter of weeks, without the full engagement of the client and without full access to all of the research and facts that the company is unlikely to have released even in the most confidential of pitches.

And finally it allows subjectivity into what should otherwise be an objective process. Deciding to use agency A over Agency B because the MD prefers purple to blue is never going to ensure best value but it still happens…all too often

And so get off of your soapbox Tom. Especially as most people already know all of this. And especially as I’ve said all of this before. And especially especially  after the industry has chosen not to listen and moved on.

So depressingly I have to concede that it seems that the unpaid pitch isn’t going anywhere soon and it is to the unpaid pitch that the majority of marketers will turn when making future agency selections.

In which case you need someone on your side.

And as far as I can see –  this is where the RAR and the DBA’s Directory service comes in.

In an age where I am able to browse Amazon, ebay, trip advisor, check-a-trade and endless other websites for user feedback on seemingly any product or service from plumbers to toasters. The RAR and DBA directory give marketers a similar level of user insight as these, more consumer focussed sites allow.

These services I am sure will become an increasingly relevant and vital resource for marketers. The sites offer an independent, agnostic view of agency performance through client feedback in the case of the RAR and a best practice guide to buying design and procurement process compatible downloadable information in the case of the DBA Directory. What better way of proving that you’re making the right decision to someone in procurement then showing them that numerous well regarded clients have heaped praise on the same agency that you have selected and that you are following the industries best practice in doing so...also what better way for people in my position to thank their agency partners for doing fantastic work than to give them a leg up with new business by writing a glowing review.

On top of this the systems offer agencies and clients their assurance that if they run a pitch or agency selection process they will guarantee the process to be run fairly. Free of cronyism, nepotism or any other ism that no doubt you have suffered during more old-fashioned and no doubt unfair pitch processes…

In a crowded, difficult, competitive and now procurement scrutinised marketplace it is schemes like these that are going to single businesses out as leaders in their field.

TIMES ARE TOUGH

Follow up article for Design Week about the downturn

June 9th, 2009

Not a great shock to the system. Not much of a 'hold the front page' scoop.

But it succinctly sums up the sentiment of the market and it is beginning to define how we promote ourselves; in fact it's beginning to define how we operate as a business moving forward.

Let me explain.

There has to be appropriateness to communication. When someone whispers we whisper back. When we are shouted at - so we shout back. The same applies to marketing. Our customers, retailers, are being told by their customers, consumers, that times are tough. They are being told directly through research and indirectly through spending preferences changing. Much has been written already about some of the more interesting changes to consumer spending - the queues outside the cobblers; the increase in demand for pastry and lasagne; as consumers look to make the items they already own and the cuts of meat from a Sunday lunch last longer and go further.

As a result and to ensure that they are promoting themselves appropriately the consumer brands are changing their messaging. This can be seen by a number of the more responsive consumer brands - the banks, the leading retailers - M&S reverting to their heritage and the 'penny store'; Honda pulling the life car from Formula One.

And so contextually it comes as no surprise that our customers are passing onto us that times are tough. We are hearing this directly in terms of the effort we make to sit down and listen to our retailers and also indirectly through anecdote and the decline in demand in the market for taking new space.

So how do we respond? What is appropriate? When your customer is telling you they want you to reduce your costs and pass the savings onto them by reducing service charges how do you promote yourself to the same customers without the activity coming across as indulgent and unnecessary.

Well firstly our competitors are broadly in the same boat and rather than looking for a solution many have simply pulled themselves out of the market and stopped promoting themselves altogether. So the first step towards an appropriate response is to do less. After all in a room where no-one is speaking at all you only need to whisper to be heard. So we are whispering.

The next is to get the messaging right.

The market has lost confidence so in a similar move to M&S we're changing the messages from the esoteric to the fundamental. On the much fabled hierarchy of needs we've moved towards the bottom of the pyramid. After all if your customer wants to buy reassurance sell them expertise and experience. Similar to M&S we're not in a world where we can sell our product from the point of view of the 'feeling inside' any more, now it's all about the bottom line. Research that proves the business case for taking a new store and underpins every opportunity. We then reinforce this objective evaluation with confirmation of our operational excellence - that we will attract more people to your shop (industry leading consumer marketing); keep them their for longer (excellent customer service provision); save you money (service charge savings and environmental initiatives that make business more efficient) and be more flexible to your business' changing needs (lease reform and monthly rents).

So we know what we are going to say and how loudly we are going to say it but where is design left. What role has design got to play?

We've got a fantastic track record for commissioning great design.

Beautiful, engaging, effective design work that has helped position us as the pre-eminent property company in Europe.

But when times are tough and your customers are telling you so, is it still appropriate to invest in design as we did when times were more buoyant?

I would argue more than ever. After all our messaging has become more complicated rather than less complicated and it is going to take some brilliant design to get the balance right - to satisfy our audience as well as our commercial needs. To ensure that our marketing materials continue to be effective within the context of an audience that might resent being 'marketed' to.

Our design roster is looking for the balance, finding the appropriate way to communicate, striving for the creative solution that will turn a tough market into an opportunity to position us not only as the company that was there when times were good - but there when times got tough.

We believe that design can do this; uniquely design over everything else can ensure that we are left in the best possible position to reap the rewards from a recovery in the market. After all whilst times are tough at the moment they won't be forever and I believe that the companies that have got the messaging right and continued to promote themselves appropriately (many aren't and are still using last years creative and looking a little crass) these companies will be in the best place to capitalise when the market comes back.

The do's and don'ts of commissioning design for (retail) property marketing

DO:

• Challenge conventional wisdom, there are many established 'norms' in property marketing - challenge them. In almost all cases the established ways of doing things have come about through habit rather than by design. A downturn is the time to challenge conventional wisdom - to propose a better way of doing things
• Remember that property is a people business. To increase effectiveness weave quality consumer research into your messaging. After all is said and done, a retailer simply wants to know who and how many people are likely to visit his shop and what they have to spend
• Research your effect. In the past property marketing has not always had the rigour it maybe should have had. This has meant that within some portions of the UK property marketplace marketing has a low perceived value, some of us are trying to change this....please do the same

DON'T:

• Use the hackneyed, obvious solutions. Monopoly boards are most definitely last decade (or possibly the decade before last)
• Chop and change design suppliers. Property is a long term business so should your relationships be with your design agency partners. A thorough understanding of your business and a campaign approach will make your design more effective
• not listen to your customers (!? A double negative I know but I needed three of each!). Your customers know what they want to buy, even if they don't know it yet. Find out the problems, challenges and opportunities they are faced with and think about how your building will address some or all of these dynamics. Finesse your marketing message and design solution to fit.

Aporia

Article written for Design Week on what agency's might do to prepare for more difficult times

16th October, 2008

Speaking to a very well read friend of mine at the beginning of the week I learnt of a lovely little word.

Aporia.

Meaning to be in two minds about where to start or what to say. Timely I should hear of this word in a week I have this column to write. And also timely in a week where the world is dealing with the current economic crisis.

I think it would be fair to say that it still isn’t particularly clear how painful the current market conditions are going to be or how long they might be around for. And it doesn’t seem to matter who you ask be it one of the many financial experts driving black cabs around the West End or one of the many market analysts interviewed on Breakfast TV each morning, every opinion is different.

One thing that does seem consistent is the gloomy outlook. I haven’t heard anyone yet say it might be over by Christmas or that it’s not as bad as it looks.

I was asked recently by one of the team at Design Week how agencies might be able to beat the Credit Crunch. My answer which might not sit very comfortably is that you can’t. Trying to beat it will be futile. Unless you have a government’s wealth (and even then Mr Brown’s looking scarily exposed) all you can do is prepare for it. But the question remains what are we preparing for?…and that leaves you back in the black cab with the opinionated Eastender opining his views on the pro’s and con’s of the Scandinavian bailout of the nineties and what we can learn from the great depression of 1929.

So a difficult one, an Aporia – where do I start and what do I say? Having now been kept awake by this for the last week I have come to the conclusion that all we can rely on is good business.

So I would suggest you focus on 3 main things.

Firstly, communication. Most things in life can be improved through better and more effective communication – indeed the design industry is built on that premise.

So is it a case of ‘the Cobblers children go the worst shod’ that the relationship between client and agency often suffers from such poor communication? Whatever the reason for it, your client is a real human being so treat them as such. Explain to them that you are looking for ways to prepare for more difficult times. Now is the time to speak to your clients and emphasise the importance of them to your business, always a nice sentiment for your client to hear. But this time its not the normal warm and fuzzy, sycophantic approach you are taking. No this time you need to emphasise how your business operates and the responsibility your client has. Explain the place your business is in financially, if good explain that you want to keep it that way and see if there are ways to streamline current processes for your clients (an your) benefit – in doing so emphasise your payment terms, etc. If not so good, explain this to your client, it won’t be easy but a lot easier than your client having to negotiate with the liquidators. Clearly illustrate you have it under control and a plan is in place, show your client where they fit in this plan. Good or bad, organise regular meetings  - I would suggest monthly meetings and a review of the WIP. Use these meetings to build a stronger relationship with your client.

Secondly, admin. I know it’s the unglamorous bit, but focus on it. Ensure that the whole expense/purchase order/invoice dynamic is in order. Keep an eye on your payment terms and make sure the balance between your debtors and creditors doesn’t put your company in jeopardy. Once this is done, take it all down to your bank and do a show and tell. Banks are probably going to be the institutions whose outlooks change the most – they will be more risk averse and much more aggressive in how they protect their interests. A bank manager who understands and has confidence in your business will be an absolutely priceless asset in the coming months or maybe years. Agree how often they would like to see you and if they seem ambivalent insist on quarterly catch-ups.

And thirdly, the work. Now is the time more than any ever to invest all of your and your teams efforts in creating the best work you ever have. Brilliant, effective design that fulfils and even excels the clients brief and expectations will ensure that your value to you clients organisation will increase. In turn this might lead to new briefs and certainly a more secure income stream. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve spoken to many friends and colleagues of mine at client organisations all over the UK, the story is consistent, marketing budgets are being scrutinised – not necessarily reduced but scrutinised. So do all you can to convince your client and your clients board that what you do should be seen as an investment in, not an expense to, the business.

The good news is that having had the honour and privilege of being asked to judge this years Design Week Awards and the recent DBA Effectiveness Awards collectively the industry is raising the bar ever higher. From what I have seen I am confident the industry will demonstrate that when times are tough continued investment in design is crucial.