A few years back, I remember a pretty senior client being damned by one of his colleagues. "Ah 'xxxx.' He is an ocean wide but an inch deep." He sprung to mind this morning when I spent 20p on i, the newspaper "designed for people with busy, modern lives."
The product itself reeks so much of a supercilious focus group, you can smell the lukewarm samosas.
Indulging in uncomfortable business small talk, we invariably ask 'how's business?' The guaranteed answer is always the same. "Busy." (Focus group = tick, they're busy).
It's only after the meeting, and several more, plus a few pints one night that those same people admit that they watch X Factor and quite like Aiden. You don't get that insight in a one hour focus group of showboating strangers. The result - i is a smartly designed Metro without the pictures of Lily Allen. And you have to pay for it.
Turn to Kelner's opening editorial and the insecure get more reassurance. i is "the perfect way for an intelligent person to start the day...at a more affordable price than a cappuccino."
I prefer to start my day with a double espresso. It delivers. It doesn't fanny about. And that's the issue.
If I'm busy, am I better to read, think and learn from 2 or 3 pieces of quality writing in the morning? From learning and engaging in a piece, we absorb and think. From understanding comes knowledge, ideas, insight and ultimately, output. Sounds pompous but I think that's true.
It's tempting though to spend 20p, skim read and bullshit your way through til 6 o'clock. Worked for client xxxx and a load more I've met since.
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