3–from–1: "the only constant is change" #133 💯
3–from–1 by arnt eriksen
"The only constant in life is change"
— Heraclitus
INTRO
It's been a while since I sent a newsletter — in short, it comes from many different reasons. As I mentioned in my last email, my mother passed away on April 1st - after she lost the fight against cancer.
Needless to say, it has been a tough process to get passed the intense sadness and manage the grief to transform into gratitude and evidence of the love I have for my mother. She was my protector and fiercest supporter, and I will forever keep her in my heart, and do my best to make her proud and become the man, the human she would continuously be proud of.
This situation also brought reflections on my overall life, goals, and ambitions and made me face some challenging questions. Who am I and what is my legacy?
I needed change — even though I have had 12 fabulous months working together with some amazingly creative people at Poppins Agency, I decided I needed a fresh start. Doing a month of mental detox and reflections, made me realise I have to push myself to make the personal projects I have in the pipeline come to life. If I am truly committed to my vision statement of using my knowledge, passion and curiosity to make a positive impact on people around me, I need to push myself to deliver the projects that will be most impactful to my tribe (you) and live up to that statement. Hold that thought.
These past months have also challenged me to hone in on what I truly want to be focusing on moving forward. I mean, I started as a graphic designer, art director, then creative director, Chief Innovation Officer, and now a creative Strategy Director. At the core, I am a storyteller, either through visual or verbal content. I understand human behaviour, and my curiosity comes to play in gathering insights, data and proof of concept.
This newsletter will be the journal of me sharing value under these three pillars; Brand, Strategy, Marketing, and how it is all connected through great storytelling.
My ambition is always to provide value, and make a positive impact, so do hit that reply button and tell me if I am successful, or not. The only way I can be better is by constructive feedback :)
Ok, let's move on to the next part of the newsletter
INSIGHT: BRAND
"Recession fears, a tight labour market, and skyrocketing prices are changing the way brands think about ad spending in the second half of 2022.
Ad budgets are one of the first places to see cutbacks during a recession, and with economic uncertainty on the horizon, multi-location brands are beginning to take a closer look at what they’re really getting for their money.
Global ad growth is expected to come in at... READ MORE"
Why it matters
Calculated risks will always be the best bet, especially as the market is as uncertain as it is at the moment. Now more than ever it comes down to the survival of the fittest, but also — as the article mentions, the noise will be less in the coming months, as more brands will reduce or cut down on their marketing efforts, which means there is more space to get your message and narrative across. Done right, this can be a way to elevate and transform your brand.
INSIGHT: STRATEGY
"Now more than ever, brands need to focus on strategy and use a model fit for the current climate. Sophie Cork, Senior Account Manager at Leeds-based agency Boutique, explains why.
Customers are harder to acquire than ever before. The tighter the cost of living... READ MORE"
Why it matters
As the quote at the top of this newsletter states, the only constant in life is change. That is true for the funnel, the customer acquisition journey, or the customer touchpoints if you will. That means that the old ways of thinking – the AIDA model, even though the principle idea still is solid, the process and funnel is much more fluid and ever-changing. I have always been an advocate of data-supported insight, which governs the discovery, insight and strategy to create ideas and concepts that are relevant, emotional, engaging and different/remarkable. Challenge your agency, and make sure you know who you are targeting. GenZ and Millenials is not the right way to define the audience, you need to be more specific, as the lines between generations are more fluid than ever before.
INSIGHT: MARKETING
"I am writing this article with sufficient concern for an economic recession on the horizon. As I write this, the Dow has dropped more than 700 points as of June 2022 and dipped under 30K, gas prices continue to rise, inflation is nearing double digits, and tech companies are laying off huge swaths of their teams.
Times are precarious. I am not going to sugarcoat that. I will, however, use times like these to take stock as level-headed as possible regarding what is within my (and your) control as we approach what is to come... READ MORE"
Why it matters
I fully agree with the last article, as there are so many benefits to keeping your cool and reallocating and rethinking your marketing strategies and budgets. I wrote in my book about the concept of putting back the plug in the bathtub. This means; that the tub is your market, the water is the existing customers, and the tap fills it up with new customers. Now. As the plug is not in, you are just spending a lot of effort on refilling your customer base. It's time to really take care of your existing customers, retain them, and meet and beat their expectations so that they become advocates that share your narrative.
END NOTE
To quote one of my favourite actors, Tom Hanks - from one of the actor's round table discussions, he said something that I find strangely motivating in these times. He talked about how when you’re feeling down, defeated or bad about yourself, remember “this too shall pass.” When life doesn’t seem great, work is challenging, or your personal life is a mess, remember “this too shall pass”. All of this is momentary. — Then he flipped it around. If you’re feeling good about yourself, your personal life is great, business is amazing, feeling on top of the world, guess what? "This too shall pass"
The only constant in life is change — and it is all about how we deal with, adapt and conquer the change that will make all the difference.
Thanks for reading.
If you liked this week’s newsletter, please forward it to someone. I’m edging towards 2000 subs and it’d be nice to hit that number for no other reason than vanity 🥰 (or just tell me - either work)
Be safe — stay awesome!
