Octavian Mihai

Context: Advertising & marketing agencies, creative class, creative-on-demand. Brand keepers, creative directors and strategists need to have a deep understanding of the client’s business strategy, the creative direction and customer insights. Intent: This post presents a simple framework to get around the business strategy question. Note that the creative direction and customer insights will be analysed in [...]

TL;DR: Get real, know yourself, get things done. CONTEXT: Jonathan suggested to me to write a post about results. However, one cannot write about results without mentioning successes and failures. INTENT: No particular intention. Just some insights while exploring the success, failure and results’ concepts. 1. BE PROACTIVE AND A CLOSER Close the door to your room. [...]

We are alone. Yet we are together. This is the age of responsibility. Others vs us is a losing dichotomy. I am my brother’s keeper. Information is and will stay free. More than ever our choices and actions have direct impact and are game changing. More than ever we are responsible. This is the age [...]

Got some mail today. I was told that my writings seem to support a pretty square vision of advertising. My personal position: I dislike hypocrites. Our society and tribe will not get anywhere unless we accept our human condition. I’ll stop here. Catch me for a beer if you want to get philosophical. My official position: Everybody should do [...]

TL;DR (TooLong; Don’t Read):  Creative on-demand workers, particularly those in the marketing sector, are in the business of selling stuff.   Context: marketing, advertising, entrepreneurship, marketing agency, digital marketing  Intention: There is nothing new in this post. I just intend putting things in perspective a bit and simplify the relationship between creativity, marketing and advertising. [...]

Context: Carrier, devices, telecommunication, iPhone, history, disruptive innovation Intention: As usual, I was writing another post and I got sidetracked. MC Gets Sidetracked Easily. This is just a small rant about mobile carriers and business model disruption. Apple Apple’s iPhone launch stunned many mobile carriers.  They suddenly realized that the customer chooses the device, and don’t really care about [...]

Context: Let’s talk about internet usage, social media stats and the speed everything is changing at. It’s not a big deal. Take a deep breath. Agreed, things are moving fast. But you don’t have to follow them all at once. Keep your eye on the ball. Imagine being blindfolded in a forest. You hear a sound. You [...]

No networking events. Don’t waste your time. Unless you’re a rockstar. Context: I am talking about so-called networking events, breakfasts, career fairs, etc. Networking events only work when you already are someone and want to show off. It’s about working on your personal brand. Usually these people don’t pay anything, and are there as a bait. [...]

and the other 35% say that they’re right around the average. Great somehow related article by Robin Hanson.

This is a hard sell. I know you’re hooked on the high that creative existential anguish provides you. However, if your job is to create concepts and ideas you have 3 choices: 1. Paralyze everything by over analysis 2. Copy an existing idea 3. Be remarkable The choice is yours. Here are some tips. 1. Don’t be creative: [...]

Here is my take on the creativity debate. The concept of creativity has been diluted to a homeopathic level. Meaning, it is empty of substance and its only impact is a feel-good placebo effect. And as always there is hope. Let’s get this show on the road. Who are the truly creative people? You answer: Plato, Da Vinci, [...]

I was asked the following question during a seminar I gave a couple days ago. Consider this, a large public company is hurting. The board decides to invest in a marketing campaign. What is the best digital strategy? Strategies of Tactics Just to get this out of the way: there is no such thing as a digital [...]

Synthesizer Last week I was reading Larry Light’s book about his time at McDonald’s and branding methods and insights he used in the turnaround. The following paragraph particularly resonated with me. “It is important to identify trends. They are ideas and concepts that happen around us and influence the way and manner in which we behave. Trends are valuable [...]