So, five days in to Step 2 of the “Roadmap out of Lockdown” and I’ve already sorted out my “personal grooming” issues, sat outside a freezing boozer and had some retail therapy. Now I feel ready to take on the world again and, once I’ve had my Covid jab, I’ll be invincible.
Good job, too, as now that life is gradually getting back to some semblance of normality, guess what, my two bosses have decided to “wind down” by taking even more of a backseat (any further and they’ll be in the boot with a bit of luck).
That leaves me, Roxy, Peggy and Meggy to run both Decision Marketing and McContent & Design. (Remember us? We put craft at the heart of your business).
Now even I’ll admit that the new business operation at McContent has had a challenging year. (The thing is, McKelvey hasn’t been able to go out and get hammered with prospects so they agree to sign up and Zoom doesn’t quite cut it.) However, inevitably, that has allowed us to give our existing clients the best service they could get, anywhere (references on request).
But this being the cut-throat world of commerce, we’ve got to crank up the new biz machine again and spread the word about our marvellous creative heritage and services, which, I might add, include content creation, content strategy, editorial services and PR, thought leadership, illustration and design.
And, would you believe it, no sooner had I taken over the reins than an apposite email hit my inbox, forwarded by a contact, all about The Creative Salon, launched on the same day that Campaign’s School Reports came out to show how much they care about creativity.
Of course, dear Foxy fans, this is the new venture from former Campaign luvvies Claire Beale and Jezza Lee, who have joined forces with Sonoo “is there anywhere she hasn’t worked in the marketing press yet?” Singh.
According to their own blurb, they “genuinely love the ad business and we think that our passion for – and commitment to – the brilliant people who lead it really sets us apart from most other companies that serve the industry”.
Blimey, that’s some boast, I thought, best read on. “Between us we’ve been writing about advertising and marketing for over 70 years and we’re not slowing down: we want to harness our experience and our influence to help score a strong future for the best agencies and the best people.”
Well, I was convinced. Surely, the Creative Salon would be a great place for McContent & Design to be seen. After all, they have three ambitions: “To support and showcase the brilliant people and outstanding companies that make the advertising and marketing industries such powerful levers of growth; to help the industry attract a new generation of exciting, diverse talent; and to have some fun.”
Not only that, but for a fat fee (apparently about 18 bags of sand or 36 monkeys): “At Creative Salon we also want to help CEOs and leadership teams build their own brands and unlock new growth opportunities. Alongside our editorial content, our Salon member companies will be awarded a package of content marketing opportunities to showcase themselves and their work, so that together we can underline the powerful role that advertising and marketing play in propelling business growth.”
Yep, you get to post SIX OF YOUR OWN PRESS RELEASES (sorry “creative content”) and attendance at some dinners.
And it was all going so well until I read this: “We only work with leaders we admire and respect and our bespoke consigliere services cover personal brand-building for CEOs, CMOs and industry leaders; agency positioning and communications strategy; mentoring; media training; content creation; event conception and hosting; and a writing bureau which crafts everything from awards entries to marketing collateral and article ghost-writing.”
Ah well, that blew it for us. McContent & Design has only ever been “admired and respected” by our clients not Campaign, so sadly I guess we won’t be allowed to join the inaugural “admired and respected” members Bartle Bogle Hegarty, Creature London, Droga5 London, Engine, Goodstuff, Gravity Road, Havas London, Leo Burnett, Lucky Generals, McCann London, MSQ Partners, Ogilvy UK, Saatchi & Saatchi and St Luke’s, after all.
Still, we wish them well but that “spare” 18 grand will go a long way here. Bung McKelvey a few quid to get back on new biz and we’d still have plenty left over for a year’s worth of weekly dinners at the Indian Cottage Tandoori.
You can now follow Foxy on Twitter and Instagram (although don’t expect too much)