Ian Pierpoint has worked in Marketing, Research and Planning for 30 years. To celebrate he posted 30 lessons on Linkedin over 30 days and people seemed to like it.

1. 30 lessons from 30 years in Marketing
PREPARED BY FURTHER&FURTHER, JULY 2018

2. Page X
WHO ARE WE?
We go further by treating
the people in our
research as experts and
partners, not just
respondents
We go further by seeking to
experience the research not just
observe and listen
We go further by spending more and
real time with people to get beneath
curated identities and herd opinions.
We are inspired by documentary making
techniques and follow the story
wherever it takes us.
We go further by focusing on
just your project; we only work
on one project at a time
is micro agency staffed by a small experienced team of
researchers, strategists and
FILM MAKERS.
We are obsessed with delivering authentic high quality
work…
Founded by Ian Pierpoint,

3. Page 3
Yeah, holy fucking shit.
In 30 working days it’s my 30th
anniversary of starting work in
Marketing (I started young).
From lazy hard partying marketing
trainee to lazy not quite as hard
partying CMO, it’s been a ride.
So for the next 30 days I’m going to
post 30 things I’ve ‘learnt’ along the
way…
HOLY
SHIT!

4. Page 4
Every successful idea I’ve been involved in creating
has been a battle to make happen. In fact every
business decision that made me feel uncomfortable
turned out to be good (well, most of them…).
So, if it's a polarizing idea it’s probably a good one
and if everyone likes it, it’s probably a bit shit.
Life is never easy.
BE
UNCOMFORTABLE
LESSON #1

5. Page 5
You're going to come across ego, politics and
agenda in your career. And it’s going to suck
and it’s going to make you think twice about
what to say and when to say it.
Relax. No really.
If you always remember that you’re hired to
tell the truth, no matter how inconvenient it
is, and that your loyalty is to the brand,
you’ll be fine in the long run.
The client might hate you today, but they’ll
love you tomorrow.
not to the client
Loyal to the brand
LESSON #2

6. Page 6
Whether you’re running an agency or crafting
a brand strategy or working on creative you
have to understand the difference between
why, where and how you’re going to make it
happen.
Over my career I’ve been endlessly fucking
amazed how much time is spent on tactics and
execution rather than focusing on the
strategy or nailing a big idea (which is
what you really should be worrying about)
So, a great execution can hide a multitude
of sins but if you’ve got the strategy wrong
or the concept is flawed, you might still
find yourself in a beautiful house with a
beautiful wife but you’ll ask yourself ‘why
did I get here?’
Avoid existential nightmares and focus on
the strategy.
DIFFERENCE
C
Between
LESSON #5
Know the
CStrategy
C
Idea
C
execution

7. Page 7
Apparently I’ve moderated well over a 2000 focus groups
and other interviews; I’ve interviewed DJs, anarchists,
lady-boys, strippers, drug dealers and even the odd
legendary ‘head of household’.
I can confirm lady boys were the most interesting.
In 30 years I’ve only met one or two people who I
didn’t like, who didn’t treat me with respect and who
failed to open up and tell me about their life. And
they tended to be clients.
99.9% of the real people I’ve interviewed, hung out
with, had dinner with and shared personal stories with
have been fucking awesome.
So it’s always disappointing when you hear clients
mocking the people who buy their stuff, describing them
as not knowing what they really want or doing weird
shit like requesting only ‘good looking’ people for
their research film. Yes that really happens.
Treat people with respect, never judge a book by its
cover, listen up and, most importantly, recognize it's
a privilege to be in their world.
PEOPLE
RULE!
LESSON #6

8. Page 8
If you want to be good at marketing,
strategy or research you’ve got to be
culturally engaged. If you want your
brand to be part of the cultural
conversation (and you do) then you need to
be broadly aware of what the cultural
conversation actually is.
So read a lot. Go to art galleries. Go
see new bands. Watch shit TV. Watch even
shittier things on YouTube.
If you don’t obsess about culture a day
will come when you’ll find yourself in a
meeting talking about what your kids are
into.
And that should be your last fucking day
working in marketing.
I hate
Your children
LESSON #7

9. Page 9
I’ve sat in too many meetings arguing with
people who want to create for the least
inspiring, creative or informed consumer target.
They will argue that bold work is too edgy.
They will argue that you have to include every
detail and tell people everything. They will
argue that you’ll lose customers if they don’t
‘get it’ right away.
They are very wrong.
Always create for the smartest, the most
creative and most leading edge target you have.
Be head of the pack, not in it.
FUCK
THE
LOWEST
LESSON #8
denominator

10. Page 10
No matter how hard you work or how smart
and experienced you are sometimes you just
can’t deliver good work.
Why?
Well, perhaps the brief was flawed and you
didn’t spot it until too late (although
that's your fault also if that's
happened). Or perhaps the client wasn’t
quite ready to be as bold as you think
they need to be. Or perhaps, you know,
corporate bullshit.
They say we get the politics we deserve,
and clients sometimes get the work they
deserve too.
Unfortunately this means that every so
often you’re going to deliver a Brexit
flavoured Trump sandwich.
Have a shower and quickly move on.
Not
EVERY
Bullet is
SILVER
LESSON #9

11. Page 11
A few weeks before the 1998 World Cup I got a call asking me to
do some fast turnaround research for a campaign for Adidas.
There were lots of concerns about the finished films; they had a
moody, dark and brooding vibe, in stark contrast to Nike’s ad,
which featured the Brazil team doing the samba through Heathrow
airport.
Understandably people were a little concerned.
And then they showed me the execution they were really worried
about; it featured the racially diverse French team challenging
the French people to re-think national identity and race; I seem
to remember Zidane and Desailly looking into the camera and
saying, ‘You think we’re shit? Well, we’re French and proud.
Fuck you’.
But maybe I imagined that.
Regardless, 27 year old me loved it as much as any campaign I’d
ever worked on.
Obviously it didn’t research well (because provocative executions
don’t tend to)… but what a creative idea! The last slide of my
shitty debrief was simply, ‘MAKE THIS AD’.
France / Adidas went on to win the World Cup and I’ve never been
more proud of something I barely touched.
In your career you’ll get to work on a few amazing ideas that
make you realize it’s not ‘just marketing’. Fucking cherish
those moments.
LESSON #10
WORLD CUP!
MARKETING
Can win
THE

12. Page 12
I’ve decided this morning to try and write my daily lesson with 6
strangers in my front room staring at me and taking notes.
One of them keeps checking their phone and laughing. Another
one seems to be falling asleep. They’re all dressed business
casual and none have a watch on.
One of them writes down everything I say. They’ve just written
that down too.
I just noticed there’s a tired looking camera guy behind the
plant eating my fruit.
This is fucking weird.
If your research agency tells you that it’s ok for you and your
team to tag along to in home interviews or ethnography sessions
then they’re not being entirely honest.
Sorry, it kind of fucks things up.
LESSON #11
EVERYWHERE…
CLIENTS!
CLIENTS!

13. Page 13
Its Monday so lets start with something cheerful and
positive.
Brand purpose is shit. Positioning is shit. Focus
groups are shit. Online research is also shit.
Advertising is shit. TV is shit. And so is everything
else.
In your career you’ll hear people saying that certain
models and approaches are shit despite others saying the
complete opposite. You’ll find yourself confused by the
certainty of these people and perhaps concerned about
what to recommend or do.
Don’t be.
Everything really is shit, if done badly. A focus group
where the researcher doesn’t filter out the nonsense in
the analysis is definitely shit. As is online research
if used to explore more emotive areas or complex
stimulus. And a brand purpose that over reaches is, of
course, outrageously shit (but funny, thank you…).
If you work with good people and good agencies and use
the tools and models in the right way at the right time,
you’ll learn they all actually work quite well.
People who say everything is shit are usually charlatans.
Avoid those people.
Everything
is SHIT?
LESSON #12

14. Page 14
When you walk into your office do you see people with headphones on
working silently?
Do you hear chatter that people don’t really enjoy working at your
company and that it used to be more ‘fun’?
Do you find yourself justifying the slight negativity by moaning
about ‘fucking entitled Millennials’?
Sorry, madam, you’ve got a culture problem.
The companies I’ve loved working with just felt right; people
laughed, people enjoyed the work, people went above and beyond for
the company, people bragged about working there… these are companies
where they understood the value of culture.
You want to be like those companies.
So, make sure you have a clearly communicated purpose, vision and
objectives. Make sure you empower your teams. Make sure everyone
has a voice and are listened to. Make sure that having fun is
something organic and not forced or, even worse, policed. Make sure
everyone can express themselves however they want to. Make sure you
treat everyone fairly and with respect. Make sure you celebrate
together. Make sure you have transparency. Kill your bullies.
Make sure you think about your culture as much as you think about
your consumer.
CULTURE
LESSON #16
CLUB

15. Page 15
If you’re making butter and people use it in
their hair, then you’re a hair gel.
If you’re making an energy drink that's used the
morning after, then you’re a hangover cure.
If you’re making a premium beer that's used for
beer pong, then you’re a prop for a game.
Your brand exists in the way that people decide
it does.
So, if you do some research and people perceive
you in a different way to what you expected you
can argue with the findings and say things like,
‘yeah, they don’t get it, they’re wrong, they’re
stupid’. But they’re not wrong and they’re
definitely not stupid.
What people believe you are is what you are.
Embrace your brand truth and celebrate it.
LESSON #17
BRANDS
are in the
EYE OF THE
BEHOLDER

16. Page 16
You don’t inspire the next generation by
working them to death and seeing if they
sink or swim.
Sounds obvious, but you’d be unpleasantly
surprised by how many agencies and leaders
think the best way to ‘teach’ is to push
young people to breaking point.
I actually think this is the real reason
the ‘quarter life crisis’ exists; who
wants to work 60 hour weeks and barely be
paid enough to live on?
Not this cynical Gen X bastard.
So those much-maligned Millennials leave
to go travelling or freelance or go back
to school or start their own thing. And,
you know what, it’s not because
Millennials are ‘entitled’, it’s because
they’re ignored and over worked.
Respect your young talent or they’ll go
somewhere that does.
YOUTH!
WASTED
LESSON #19

17. Page 17
I’m trying to write this whilst watching the
World Cup and I can tell you its not easy to be
engaging and insightful whilst…. oh hold on….
that was fucking close.
Anyways.
As a client when I hired an agency I did so
because I didn’t have the time to head out there
and focus on finding the answer myself.
The unfortunate reality is neither does your
research agency.
Most agency models are built on multi-tasking;
the best researchers (or whatever they call them
these days) are expected to sell, lead a team,
conduct interviews, craft great reports and
present the work. And they’re often expected to
do this on multiple projects for multiple
clients in multiple time zones at the same time.
It’s a credit to the amazing people in the
industry that all research debriefs aren’t tear
stained gibberish.
If your agency constantly brags about how
incredibly busy they are, find a new one.
THE
UNFOCUSED
LESSON #20
GROUPS

18. Page 18
There have been more than a few occasions in my career when I’ve
received a call where a client says, ‘We’re growing, we’ve done
nothing and we absolutely have no idea why… what the fuck is going
on?’
Now this is what’s known as a Hollywood problem and is pretty simple
to solve and leverage, but why does it keep happening?
Well, brands tend to be acutely myopic, existing in their own tiny
fake worlds defined by known usage occasions, known consumer targets
and known category trends.
But people, annoyingly and beautifully, don’t operate like that;
people exist in the real world. Rather than being influenced by
micro trends in ‘categories’ that no one really gives a shit about,
people respond to nuanced and complex shifts in our fast moving
global culture.
And that means your brand might unexpectedly become highly desirable
or, more worryingly, a fucking pariah.
Always think beyond your brand horizon, or expect reality to bite.
Somewhere
LESSON #23
over
THE
RAINBOW

19. Page 19
They’ll be a few moments in your career when the clown
car of life suddenly falls apart leaving you sitting on
a dusty road feeling confused as fuck.
At these times of personal disaster your career is
going to fade into insignificance; you won’t be able to
think straight and something that seemed so important
yesterday will suddenly seem pathetically banal today.
The lesson here is, really get to know your team as
people. Be genuinely interested in their real lives,
their struggles, passions, fears and motivations. Not
just because all relationships are more interesting
when truly authentic but, at some point, just like
yours, their life is going to hit the skids.
When it does, be there for them.
GRACE
AND EMPATHY
LESSON #24

20. Page 20
Some of you may have noticed that some lessons are
missing from my attempt to capture 30 lessons from 30
years in Marketing.
In your career you’re going to travel to some amazing
places and meet some interesting, odd and brilliant
people. And when you do, throw yourself into it and
experience as much as you can.
I’ve made 2 documentaries in Ibiza but I can only
partially remember one.
I’ve found myself drinking beer with respondents at 6am
in a gas station in Sao Paolo. At least I think it was
Sao Paolo; actually it may not even have been a gas
station now I think about it.
I’ve fiercely debated lady boy culture with a man
covered in swastika tattoos (that evening I do
definitely recall.)
I’ve twerked on stage in a fucking piano bar in Phoenix
(that evening I wish did not recall.)
The point being, rinse every moment of joy out of your
adventures in marketing and if you can remember all of
them after 30 years, you’re definitely wiser than me.
WHERE
ARE
LESSON #25
the missing
LESSONS?

21. Page 21
When you make a documentary there’s more than a
few similarities with a research project; you
have objectives, you have people to interview
and you have a story to tell.
But that's where the similarities end.
Why?
Well, in docs you treat the people taking part
as, well, people. There’s no dehumanizing name
for them; they’re never described as
‘respondents’ or ‘consumers’.
And’ unlike research, if half way through a
documentary a new angle emerges you head off and
explore it; you don’t go back to your hotel
room, order a club sandwich and take a
conference call from another client.
When you make a documentary, you live it and you
don’t give up until you have the fucking truth.
Market research has a lot to learn.
LESSON #27
What’s
up
DOC?

22. Page 22
If I had a dollar for every time poor
sales was blamed on poor sales I wouldn’t
be spending my mornings writing this
nonsense.
So, sales are down this quarter. First
thing to blame is obviously fucking Sales.
They must be doing it wrong, they must be
too comfortable, they need to work their
contacts harder and, of course, we need to
have more sales meetings.
Or it’s the weather. Yeah its fucking
Sales enjoying the weather that's causing
it. Lazy bastards.
Except usually it isn’t.
If your sales are down, talk to your
consumers and look hard at your product,
price and culture.
Sales are always a symptom and rarely the
cause.
OUT!
SOLD
LESSON #28

23. Page 23
Just 2 more lessons from my 30 years in
Marketing to go…. thank fuck (says literally
everyone, especially me).
So what’s to be my last ‘lesson’ tomorrow?
Avoid people who can only think in terms of
execution?
Focus groups are called focus groups because
no one is actually focusing?
There’s more to strategic research than making
up shit in the recommendations?
A researcher who calls themselves a consultant
is probably just a bad researcher?
Everyone knows you’re up-selling, fucking stop
it?
The Emperor never wears clothes?
Anyone who writes ‘30 things I’ve learnt in 30
years’ on Linkedin is far, far, far worse than
all the above?
I’m going to sleep on it.
That's always a good idea.
SLEEP ON IT
ALWAYS
LESSON #29

24. Page 24
Ah, 30 days of trying to make sense of my career in
lesson based bite sized witty nuggets is finally
over. Thank. Fuck.
Actually I’ve really enjoyed it. Why?
Well, over the last 30 days the lessons that have
generated the biggest response all related to one
thing; and that's people.
Not brands, not digital, not methodology, not purpose
or positioning or strategy or ideas or executions.
Yeah, people.
People rule, people define brands, listen to people,
people are your culture…these are the lessons that
you responded to.
And that's because you’re smart as fuck and you know
that marketing isn’t really about brands.
You know that marketing is all about people.
Never fucking forget it.
Thank you.
ITS
THE
PEOPLE
STUPID
LESSON #30

25. Call us when you want
to go Further&Further
✓A strategic high profile project that
requires a genuinely senior team
✓A contextual question that requires a
creative approach to get to fresh insight
✓Want to design or innovate against a niche
target
✓Want to bring to life your consumer and need
the actual truth, warts and all
✓Want to develop a brand positioning and in
depth early stage exploration is required
✓Need to immerse your organization in the
consumer or category, and are prepared to
show it as really is…
25

26. FOR PROJECTS
ian@furtherandfurtherstrategies.com
Get in touch…
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