richard takes time out from his hectic triathlon training program to join us in the pool for a bit.name: richard mccabe
d.o.b: ?
what you do: brand strategist aka ‘brandist’
p: what is a brand strategist doing in a triathlon?
rm: i guess, improving my own brand.
p: tell us your journey so far?
rm: wall street > ski instructor > club med g.o.> paper magazine> wired magazine > art school > asia > interactive > ddb > fluid parties > brand consultancy > the filter group > triathlon
p: highlights?
rm: besides my first triathlon –
- paper – incredibly creative team, meeting pedro almadovar, pulp fiction ny premiere
- wired – beginning of internet age, working with the founders/visionaries
- cambodia coup ’97 - bombs, machine guns, helicopter air lift, temples and beer
- fluid – founded weekend long getaways for creative interaction, music, sunrises, surprises
- london stint – excellent brands and clients, long lazy dog sundays, east london living, weekends in europe
- the filter group - great people, smart thinking, helping clients push strategic and creative boundaries
- sentosa integrated resort – developed genting/universal studios consumer/brand strategy
rm: ;) next question, please
p: what’s keeping you busy these days?
rm: currently i am working with an ultra premium tequila-patron on a series of exclusive ‘customer interactions’. i am consulting on a project for calyon investment bank, and a new tourism initiative in dubai. so really a good variety of interesting brand challenges.
p: tell us about an interesting brand story?
rm: i remember in particular working with emirates airlines on refreshing their frequent flyer program brand, skywards. we went through research, stakeholder focus groups and workshops, and loads of in-depth ‘brand dissection’. in effect as a frequent flyer program has no physical entity, its brand, the card and the website are all a consumer has to represent the brand. we challenged them to really ‘leap frog’ the competition and go in a bold direction with the website.
the head of marketing at the time was a sharp guy and after listening to our presentation of the strategy and creative, asked for a break. he took me aside and said “off the record, do you think this is the right way to go?” i firmly believed that there was a safe route and a brave route, and the only correct route was the one that the client could really embrace, ‘live’ and be comfortable doing so. i told him “do you want to tick the boxes or go beyond expectation? either route could work. i think you are ready to deliver a brave new offering”. he took a chance and went for it. skywards launched and won all the industry awards for best frequent flyer website, voted by the industry and most importantly, consumers.
p: what about a project you did when you were at the filter group, you guys had a reputation for breaking boundaries?
rm: i think my favorite was when we worked on the kotex re-launch. we were challenged with a brand that had an old image, a target audience that was hard to ‘target’ and a very tiny budget. how could we make a big impact, get people to notice and not just notice, but change their impression of the brand? we thought of a place that women gather in groups, but is the most symbolically masculine location in singapore... raffles place (a green open area in the heart of the financial centre). at lunch, groups of women gather to have lunch and were surprised, amused and pampered when kotex took over raffles place.
but it almost didn’t happen when the national parks board of singapore refused to allow us any branding for kotex in raffles place. now in a space regularly hired by all kinds of products, we were confused. why not? no response, just ‘no’. the client supported pushing harder, so i confronted the parks board with an email to the tone of…”surely ‘progressive singapore’ is not embarrassed of women’s bodies?”. they backed down and allowed the event at the eleventh hour and it was a huge hit not only the day of, but in the press as well. i admired kotex for believing in the strategy, despite difficulty and sticking it out.
p: how long does it take to build a brand strategy from scratch?
rm: 5 minutes to generate the quote, 15 minutes to sort out the strategy, 3 months of sitting by the pool, 30 minutes to present the strategy and 10 minutes to write the invoice. no seriously, it depends on the complexities of the brand, the amount of research already available and the commitment of the management team, so realistically 1 month to 6 months.
p: what is the secret formula to make a hit with the brand?
rm: get a real consumer perspective; get away from the ‘companies ego’, be true to what the brand really is and stands for(and embrace it), and build meaningful, not gratuitous, dialogs (communications) that respect consumers intelligence and respond to both needs and desires.
p: you have worked all over the world, us, europe, middle- east, asia. which was the most fun you’ve had and in which country?
rm: dubai – emirates was open to change and really going for groundbreaking work, that mixed with ‘dunebashing’ and kitesurfing on weekends – and amsterdam, working on abn amro private banking, who were serious about listening to their consumers, and…i mean it was amsterdam, need i say more?
p: branding, strategy, interactive, research, creative thinking…etc) which one of these would you turn a hot date down for?
rm: well... a hot date entails research, strategy, creative thinking, interactivity and hopefully a little… well you get the idea
p: creative or strategic which comes first?
rm: strategy is creative, it’s all about ideas and it needs to be incredibly creative given today’s increasingly sophisticated consumers. likewise, creative must be strategic in order to truly connect the brand with consumers.
p: what is the secret when dealing with senior clients?
rm: i am brutally honest, i see my value really as an “outside” part. i believe, that i am paid to tell them like it is - no bullshit. for a senior manager, this is valuable, they appreciate that i do not waste their time.
p: what kind of brand challenges turn you on today?
rm: i want to work with brands that truly believe in the power of brand. the ‘underdog brand’ that has the passion, (and not just in its b.s. list of values) real passion to change, make the brand a part of everything it does, and live and die by what its brand stands for.
p: what’s next?
rm: i have several trips coming up to dubai, hong kong for a conference on next generation marketing, and malaysia for some pro – bono work i am doing for a children’s charity. on a personal level, i am planning to be spending some time editing the hours and hours of footage i have been filming for a video exhibition. the footage was shot in california, dubai, egypt, uk, france, australia, indonesia, new zealand and malaysia over the past 4 years. then there is the phuket triathlon in december, i am going for a personal best.
p: leave us a few words of wisdom.
rm: ‘live it’.
richard is a branding and communications strategy consultant. his 15-year marketing career spans global financial, fmcg and lifestyle brands. he has spent the past 8 years based in asia working on local, regional and global strategic initiatives across the us, european, middle eastern and asian markets. in that time, he has worked with agencies including: ddb, bates/xm, the filter group, batey red cell, fin international(uk), strawberry frog(nl) and ion global on brands such as abn amro, nokia, ge, carrier, uob, credit suisse, emirates airlines, hp, p&g, volkswagen, espn, kleenex, tiger beer, kotex, mini & heineken amongst others.