Strands of Genius: Fern Miller + Positive Luxury 2024 Awards Winners Report
featuring: an interview with our guest editor and a research report
Welcome to the Bonus edition of Strands of Genius! On Fridays, we’ll be publishing interviews from our guest editors, and sharing a research report. Thanks for being along for the ride. Oh and by the way, you look great today :)
:: STEAL THIS THINKING | RESEARCH REPORT ::
Congratulations to all the exceptional luxury brands who have won at this year’s Positive Luxury Awards. The luxury industry has a vital role to play driving positive change for the good of all, setting new standards and creating new norms. All our winning businesses are at the forefront of the global luxury industry, galvanising others to take serious, positive action, and we are confident their actions will continue to help shape a sustainable future for people, nature and business. The spirit of innovation demonstrated so clearly in the winning applications inspired me, the judges and the Positive Luxury team. Thank you to all six brands for exemplifying what true luxury looks like.
:: DIVE IN | THE INTERVIEW ::
FERN MILLER, CSO, FOUNDER, UNCHARTED
>> Fern Miller guest curated Strands on July 25th, 2024. Read it here.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and what keeps you busy. How did you end up doing what you’re doing today?
Well, I left University (a fair few years ago) all eager and ready to go into TV, and the BBC for preference. Then I had a rude awakening when I was told they'd expect me to work in London for free for a year or so, which was in no way an option for a girl of my scant resources. On the way out of the careers office, feeling pretty despondent, I saw a brochure for an ad agency grad scheme - the last one with a deadline I could make. After an interview in which a very friendly man took me through a creative brief, he asked me if I wanted to be a planner or an account manager. When I looked a bit blank, he said, planning was what he did. Since he was wearing jeans, and the account manager was wearing a suit, and yes I had I quite enjoyed the conversation about briefs, I said, a Planner. And incredibly fortunately I got a place. (Yes, things were very different in the old days.) Since then I've been privileged to have worked with strategists who have continued to be very kind to me in the face of my complete ignorance, across creative, digital, commerce, consulting, and industrial design.
What excites you most about what you do?
Two things: Firstly, brand strategy, because good brand strategy reminds clients what they love about their business, and that can be extremely rewarding. And secondly, the ideation process with creative teams, which is really the best bit of agency life for me. Especially with the creatives in Uncharted who are phenomenal.
What beliefs define your approach to work? How would you define your leadership style?
I guess my advantage is that I have good instincts about what makes people tick. That's been very helpful in my role as a strategist but also as someone advising and coaching talent. So, what they perhaps don't get in organisational capabilities (of which I have very few) they get in understanding and useful direction. One of things I'm proudest of is that I am in touch with most of the people I’ve worked with in my teams over the years, and have often had multiple opportunities to work with them since, or to mentor them when needed.
What has been the most rewarding project you’ve worked on and why?
UNICEF. I was working at the Community (now Accomplice) and our role was to bring people from across this incredible organisation's complex functions of marketing/ fundraising/ advocacy together, to encourage others to join their mission. The size of their ambition, their unrivalled capacity to make important progress, and the way our storytelling brought it all together made this a very rewarding time.
We are big believers in diversity -- Not only because we believe in equality, but because we also think it’s better for business. How do you frame these kinds of conversations, both internally and with clients? Is there an emphasis on action, or are the conversations really more about communication?
It’s intrinsic to our model: We have designed Uncharted to bring together a diverse international crew of talent, in terms of skills, experience, background, identity, neurodiversity, ethnicity and physical abilities, and we are always actively seeking ways to give them the conditions that allow them to do their best work. We do that, and will keep challenging ourselves to do it, because we know it's going to give us the best creative work.
Switching gears a bit, how do you find time to balance personal interests with your career? Do you believe work/life balance is possible? Anything you’ve implemented that you recommend that others try?
My Nana once said, "the more you do, the more you do". I thought she was talking nonsense at the time but now I know what she means - unless I have other creative projects and plans in the pipe, I get very quickly de-energised. So, at various times I have run small companies and campaigns, helped my friends launch board games and banks, made and sold preserves, collected and made costumes for a doomed costume enterprise, drawn pictures, illustrated and written books that never saw the light of day. I have no other advice to offer others - for me, starting new things is the only way to keep me happy. We all run on different fuel right?
What’s your media diet? Where do you find inspiration?
I have long been a radio and podcast addict. From the daft (normal gossip, three bean salad) to the more culturally valuable (the rest is entertainment, electoral dysfunction) - there's always something nibbling away at my subconscious. I read avidly, quickly and without a lot of discernment (that’s what an English degree gives you) and I eat up comedy - stand ups, sit coms... Observational comedy is often overlooked as a source of inspiration.
What’s the best piece of advice/knowledge you’ve stolen, and who/where’d you steal it from?
Margaret Heffernan wrote, in her brilliant book "Uncharted" (yes, coincidence I promise, or at least, subconscious influence) "The only way to predict the future is to create it". Right now, that feels like the right strategy to me.
What's next?
No idea, let's make it happen.
You can keep in touch with Fern on LinkedIn.
If we can ever be of help to you, even outside of a formal engagement, please don’t hesitate to let us know.
rockON,
faris & rosie | your friends over at geniussteals.co
(still want more? @faris is still “tweeting” while @rosieyakob prefers instagram stories)