We’re not giving Australians enough of what they want
What succeeds in the boardroom does not necessarily succeed on the streets, argues Host/Havas and Havas Labs chief strategy officer Olly Taylor.
From my first days in the industry as a wide-eyed young planner, I was surprised to hear how much disregard there was for the very people we exist to persuade…consumers. Even the term is a touch disrespectful – not people or audiences or even customers, but simply people who consume stuff. Objects, waiting to be fed.
The general view back then was that consumers killed ideas in research, didn’t get what we were trying to say and were generally written off as an impediment to creativity. Twenty-five years on it can feel like little has changed. What has dramatically changed over that period is the explosion of choice, channels, and the ever-growing number of ad free entertainment alternatives. Back then, people could not avoid our comms. Now they can… but we’re not giving them what they actually want.
