Head of Strategy + Research @DifferenceNGN, using research to help leaders make big decisions. Co-host: @IntheDemoPod Also: @twofivesix @uosojc @cardozolaw
Aug 2, 2022 • 11 tweets • 3 min read
So last week on @PivotPod, @profgalloway said he thought students would not "give a good god damn" about abortion policy where their preferred schools are. We were curious, so we asked 100 college aged students what they thought. Here's a quick thread:
We listed 7 policies that are matters of public controversy - 2 abortion policies (6 wk & 15 wk bans), 2 gun policies (no background checks, no permit for concealed carry), anti-LGBTQ+ policies, marijuana criminalization & the death penalty. Which would make you reject a school?
Jun 15, 2022 • 14 tweets • 5 min read
Ok, business journalists, it’s really long last time to cover the advertising industry.
$120bn in fraud.
121% year on year growth of fraud.
40% of total US ad spend.
Virtually unregulated.
Advertisers (firms) & agencies (incl exchanges) & media platforms are all participants.
But fraud is widespread & evenly distributed so nobody cares?
Jun 13, 2022 • 11 tweets • 3 min read
I’m going to do it. A short thread on how public radio funding actually works.
All of this is easily searched but wingnuts gonna wingnut.
Okay, here we go. Is @NPR taxpayer funded? Yes, but indirectly and in such small portions!
National Public Radio is funded mainly through 2 about equal sources: corporate sponsorships, and fees paid to it by member stations - for access to broadcast signal NPR owns, membership fees, and fees for NPR produced programming. This is 3/4 of their revenue.
Jun 12, 2022 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
Listening to the Revolutions podcast about the Russian Revolution and reminded again that, well, if you want to achieve your politics without becoming your enemy, coalitions can be good, actually.
I guess you could just decide to turn your party over to the craziest, loudest and most violent among you, and if you work hard enough to undermine the motivations, rights, and access of everyone else you can still “win” elections. There’s ample proof of that.
Sep 3, 2020 • 23 tweets • 5 min read
A few thoughts re shame/shaming in the national political discourse:
To begin, democracies rely on the concept of shame. What I mean is: They rely on ideas of decency & fairness (to whom & according to whom vary over time/place). The penalty for indecency & unfairness is SHAME.
Because it’s not a fine or jail, shame is a penalty you have to cooperate with society to experience. The society tells you “this is shameful” and you respond “I feel ashamed, know why this is shameful and will not do this again.”
That is a big part of the social contract.
Jul 17, 2020 • 12 tweets • 3 min read
This is tyranny.
There is no constitutional provision for “federal police”. These are LEOs plucked out of executive branch agencies and sent to protect federal property.
Oh and, “throwing animal seed” hardly warrants much less “forces” the use of “crowd control spray”.
Also, a little background here:
Portland has a history of protest. George HW Bush’s staff called Portland “Little Beirut” because of a variety of rather theatrical protest tactics: wweek.com/culture/2016/0…
Mar 15, 2020 • 14 tweets • 3 min read
A message to clients working with agencies during the pandemic: 1. Most agencies work in person, in offices, collaboratively. 2. A lot of creative work happens in the casual conversations that occur between coworkers. 3. A lot of decisions get made over the ping pong table. 1/4. Agencies have a cultural legacy of being 'always-on' to respond to client requests, but this is enabled by a system that is changing radically. 5. Agencies depend on contractors to complete a lot of your requests - especially the ad hoc, last minute, or 'special' requests. 2/
Nov 26, 2019 • 15 tweets • 3 min read
Dear strategists,
I just spent 4 hours touring my client’s brand as an observer & customer. I talked to people, looked at stuff, ate a donut, had coffee, took loads of pictures & video, made tons of notes. It cost less than $20. I even made a friend. Do this as often as you can.
Dear managers of strategists,
If you won’t let your people leave the building for a few hours (or if necessary, a few days), in my opinion you are doing it wrong.
Dear creatives,
You should also do this!
It’s fun! Did I mention the donut?!
Jun 4, 2019 • 12 tweets • 3 min read
Dear agency friends,
What are your unpopular opinions about creative briefs? I’m writing about some of mine, but I’d love to hear some of yours.
🎶 I have the honor to be your obedient servant,
F. Bos 🎶
Ok I’ll go first. I don’t think clients should see briefs and/or approve them. They’re written for creatives. If the creative team says the brief is useful, and it’s consistent with the client approved strategy, then it’s done. I also don’t think planners should write taglines.
This thread + discussion is fascinating, in large part because most of the discussion misses Rosen's argument almost completely. He's questioning the entire _premise_ of election reporting, and the responses seem not to have noticed. @jayrosen_nyu twitter.com/i/moments/1084…
For my planner/researcher/strategist friends, it's like this:
A client wants you to test three product or campaign ideas. They've done no exploratory or observational research, and they haven't been thoughtful about the category for a few decades.
