The Crows have been doing lots of work of late on customer journeys: bricks and mortar, online, Omnichannel, the lot. We’ve been getting our feathers around customer diaries, accompanied virtual shops, online groups, all sorts of interesting and innovative stuff around the path to purchase Give us a call if you’ve got a challenge or opportunity around your customer journey. We’ll help you work out caw-se and effect (*groan*).

We’re doing our fundraising this year for the wonderful Bumblebee Conservation Trust.

Bees are in trouble. In the last 80 years our bumblebee populations have crashed. Two species have become nationally extinct and several others have declined dramatically.

Bumblebees are familiar and much-loved insects that pollinate our crops and wildflowers, so people are rightly worried. We wanted to support The Bumblebee Conservation Trust because they’re a small charity doing vital work. They’ve set a vision to create a world where bumblebees are thriving and valued. And their mission is to increase the number and distribution of bumblebees.

So we’re going to be riding 165 miles off road, aiming to do it in 24 hours. That’s going to involve night riding by canals… what could possibly go wrong?

We’re not setting a date because the most important thing will be dry conditions and as much light as possible for the time of year. However we’re aiming for the 26th September but check into our social channels for updates (FB, Insta, or @crowflieshigh) – we might go earlier, we might go later. Whatever day it is, it’ll be slowly, slowly catchee buzzy on this one.

Please, please support the bees – even just a few Pounds make a big difference to the charity and it means a huge amount to us Crows too.

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/thecrowflies

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HERE’S a buzzy thought: if you have a garden, or an outdoor space, here are some great little tips for how you can make it bee and pollinator friendly! Give them a go!

Gardening advice

 

The coverage of the Autumn budgetary Statement has been fascinating to watch. And it underlines in an odd sort of way, the opportunity for brands in our society going forwards. Let me summarise the debate for those outside UK shores. Essentially, up to 2010 the Labour Government ran up considerable debt on the back of a buoyant housing market, a bubbling economy overall and incredible confidence. Disaster struck, and Labour were ousted by a new Coalition government. There was a new attitude of grim determination to get rid of the deficit. Grand promises were made: economists (amongst others) said, “really?” but the course was set. So yesterday, the Chancellor of the Exchequer attempted to paint a picture of how successful his government had been in reducing debt, cutting the deficit and building a sustainable economy. The data offered something for everyone: the government wanted to land ‘look how much progress we have made’, the opposition wanted to land, ‘look how little progress they have made’. For students of media management, it was a masterclass; for those interested in knowing what the hell is going on, it was a nadir of politicking emptiness. The morning after the statement before, Chancellor and his Oppo were doing the media circus and the stock phrases were abounding. As an example, Ed Balls, the Shadow Chancellor, had his phrases: ‘we’re going to make different choices; difficult choices, but be fairer’. On one interview on breakfast telly he said these words over a dozen times in a 2 minute piece.

This emptiness, the perceived vacuousness of today’s politics underlines the opportunity for brands in our society today. The bedrock institutions of the state – politics – and of higher authority – organised religion – are waning (plummeting) in trust. Is it any wonder? Nothing is being said. When pressed on what a Labour government would actually do to reduce the deficit, the answer was no deeper than ‘we would make different choices, difficult choices’. ‘If the Chancellor missed the targets he set himself than I’m not going to fall for that’. It’s the new politics of fearfulness. There are no absolutes anymore.

Why can brands benefit? Well, a theme running through most research nowadays underlines the pent up desire for honesty, for knowledge, for ridding of confusion – for some facts. For institutions (brands included) to stand up for something, with integrity. To say what they mean. When state bodies are seen to no longer deliver this; when most question religion and traditional belief systems, what else is there to believe in? Brands have the opportunity to fill the void, and in so doing build long term success for themselves. But it means a new dialogue with ‘consumers’, with real people. It requires a new foundation – on product truths, emotional meaningfulness – and making the brave step to cut the weasel words, the half truths and the foundations of sand. Only the brave need sign up.

David Preston is founder of The Crow Flies, a research, strategy and innovation company that helps brands find a direct route to long lasting success. david@thecrowflies.co.uk; +44 (0) 1889 725670; www.thecrowflies.co.uk; @crowflieshigh.

© The Crow Flies, 2014

We have a cockapoo. She is very much the hybrid of these two breeds: the bounciness of the Cocker Spaniel; the intelligence (and non shedding coat) of a Poodle. For the record, she is called Bonnie. And Bonnie likes tennis balls. In fact, she likes tennis balls more than anything else; more than other dogs, more than dog treats, more than her doting owners. She is ball crazy.

Consequently, the importance of Dog Ball Launchers has taken a disproportionate importance in our house. Initially we threw her the ball. But a couple of long walks in I realised that she could keep on fetching far longer that I could keep on throwing. So I traded up to a short Launcher. Grippy and fairly taught, it could propel a ball just about further than I could throw with much greater ease and much less fatigue. But for Bonnie it wasn’t enough; she barked for more. So I went further. Something more engineered, more industrial. In fact, pre industrial, using Roman Trebuchet siege launchers principles, we traded up to navy blue, extra long super-duper Launcher, about a metre long.

Now, you’re probably wondering what the point of this is to business?

Well it’s this. It’s about addiction to tinkering processes: tinkering that doesn’t deliver. It’s something that impacts innovation and brand planning processes in particular. The desire to ‘improve’, to add on. To look for marginal gains in areas not critically important, not understood or that won’t make a difference. And none of which will help when the basic process isn’t being followed anyway.

Take the super-duper Dog Launcher. It has been a total disappointment. Sure, it’s extra long and whippy, but here’s the thing. In terms of results, it’s no better than our original model. The ball goes higher but falls maddeningly short. If you use the Launcher as an extension of your throwing arm, it’s so flexible that the tennis ball merely pops out a few metres away. You can’t use a bowling action for the same reason. The reality is that like a trebuchet, the long swing arm is designed to work on its own. But when you tack it onto to a moving part – your arm – the forces counteract one another. To prove the point, the only thing that worked is a flick of the wrist – but the ball goes no further than me throwing the damn thing.

This isn’t a call to revert to chaos. A good back-bone business process is needed to make things happen. In innovation you need a process that joins insight start points, with idea generation (ideally a longitudinal approach) with co-creation or testing with consumers, optimisation and piloting, before linking into the business’ activity executional process. But like our original dog ball launcher – the basic process is the same; all the tinkering, time investment and money spent on minor improvements will not return if you don’t have the basics in place.

So I’m afraid Bonnie is enjoying the joys of a hand thrown ball again. It might be worth you trying the same.

David Preston is founder of The Crow Flies, a research, strategy and innovation company that finds the direct route to success for categories and brands, including company and brand purposing. We are passionate innovators; to speak about dog ball launchers, or perhaps innovation more generally david@thecrowflies.co.uk or call on +44 (0) 7885 408367.  

© The Crow Flies, 2014