The Two Marketeers Podcast

What Happened to the Brief?

Welcome to a less-than-brief conversation all about the brief! As creative strategy people in the marketing and advertising industry, The Two Marketeers co-hosts, Sean Patrick and Lindsay Waugh, are obsessed with the brief. And rightfully so! The brief is the kick-off to brilliant (and, unfortunately, mediocre) work. But, it should NOT be the beginning of the work being done. In this episode, Sean and Lindsay discuss and debate the role of the brief, all that has to go into creating one, and what to do in the absence of a great one, or let's be real, one at all. 

Happy listening, Marketeers! Then, get out there and craft better briefs. 

For reference: 

MarketingWeek, "Mark Ritson: The idea that marketers need to be creative is a load of baloney, we’re useless at it."

Is AI Going to Take Our Jobs?

Watch out, The Two Marketeers are fired up! Co-hosts Sean Patrick and Lindsay Waugh take this episode to unpack a controversial article published in CMSWire with the headline, "AI Will Replace 95% of Creative Marketing Work". And as you may imagine, Sean and Lindsay call BS.

The article, linked below, starts by stating, "Goodbye, marketing. Hello, AI. Or AGI. OK, that's totally dramatic. But it's kinda what a top executive in the generative AI space says. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, says in the new book, "Our AI Journey" that AI will mean that 95% of what marketers use agencies, strategists, and creative professionals for today will easily, nearly instantly and at almost no cost be handled by the AI — and the AI will likely be able to test the creative against real or synthetic customer focus groups for predicting results and optimizing. Again, all free, instant, and nearly perfect. Images, videos, campaign ideas? No problem."

As with any new technology birthed into the world, it begins with collective excitement and intrigue, quickly followed by the fear that, once again, technology is set to take over the world and make us all unemployable. As Lindsay so eloquently states, bologna.

Tune into this lively discussion with The Two Marketeers as they debate and discuss the role of AI, what it is good for and what human elements it cannot replace-at least today.

For reference:

CMSWire > "Sam Altman: AI Will Replace 95% of Creative Marketing Work"

Pushing Creative Process Over Creative People

In this episode of The Two Marketeers, co-hosts Sean Patrick and Lindsay Waugh dive into a recent article from Ad Age that sheds light on a critical shift in the advertising industry. Agencies are increasingly pressured to sell their cookie-cutter proprietary processes over their people, talent and creative chops. Sean and Lindsay unpack the why behind this trend and its implications, discussing its impact on agency culture, creativity, and client relationships.

Sean and Lindsay offer insightful advice to agencies facing this challenge, suggesting that while having a process to sell is important, it's crucial to look at the bigger picture. They strongly (ha!) advocate for agencies to change the narrative about what best-in-class agency talent looks like. Instead of focusing solely on processes, agencies should prioritize getting the right people (as full-time or contract resources) and creative capabilities, emphasizing the collective value they bring to clients beyond a one-page process.

Join Sean and Lindsay as they explore how agencies can adapt to this changing landscape, redefine their value and how they make choices (and money!) for the future of the ad industry. 

For reference: 

Ad Age, "Why Agencies are Obsessed with Pitching on Process Instead of Talent"

Guilt Tipping & The Customer Experience

On this topic, The Two Marketeers cannot remain silent any longer! That's right; the world has reached a 'tipping point' where tip culture is spiralling out of control. Across North America, no matter what businesses you patronize, you'll likely be prompted to offer a tip. However, the rapidly changing tipping culture raises questions about its fairness and effectiveness.

As Forbes states, "A recent survey by Bankrate found that roughly 66% of Americans have a negative view of tipping. Around 30% of respondents think that tipping culture is "out of control," with more companies encouraging customers to tip at their counters than ever before. Patrons find the pre-entered tip screens aggravating (32%) and think businesses should pay their employees more rather than rely on gratuity (41%)."

Sean and Lindsay, co-hosts of The Two Marketeers Podcast, are taking a step back and putting their personal opinions aside in this episode (ya, right!) to examine tip culture from a brand experience design perspective. They candidly discuss consumer sentiment around tipping and the desired consumer takeaway from the experience, especially in the 'moment of truth'—the last mile of the consumer journey.

Listen and weigh in on Linkedin, Marketeers. This is going to be a fun one!

For reference:

Forbes, "Tipflation: Americans Think Tipping Culture Is ‘Out Of Control’ And Workers Should Be Paid More"