Strands of Genius: Happy New Year, Psychology of Color, Simple Brands
Plus: a red Thai curry tuna noodle casserole
WRITING FROM | Beersheba Springs, TN
WORKING ON | transitioning back to real life
LOOKING AHEAD
Jan 12 - 21st | Beersheba Springs, TN
Jan 22 - Feb 15th | Chattanooga, TN
Feb 15 - 17th | Atlanta, GA
Feb 17 - 23rd | Seattle, WA
Feb 23 - 25th | Los Angeles, CA
Feb 25 - 26th | Atlanta, GA
Feb 27 - April 4th | Chattanooga, TN
April 29th - May 17 | London, UK
:: WHAT’S NEW & WEEKLY GRATITUDE ::
Hello and happy new year! We rang in 2024 with some of our closest friends from… wait for it… *our house* (eeeee!!) We were nowhere near as ready as we thought we’d be, but it definitely didn’t feel like camping, either.
Then, we drove up to Beersheba Springs, TN to host our 9th Annual Wholemeal Whiskey Weekend, and hosted 20+ friends from all over (including Alex who came all the way from Sydney, Australia!), drank all of the whiskey, and played so many games — Splendor, Sequence, Code Names, Wingspan, Mario Kart, Mario Party, Ticket to Ride, and Camel Cup were the favorites with the group this year.
Last Monday, it started to snow and we ended up with 8 extra people Monday night due to flight cancellations and the inability to get down the mountain. Some people got out on Tuesday, but our friends Erin & Eric and Alex & Collin were trapped with us for an extra week, until yesterday. We dealt with heaters breaking, multiple burst pipes, having to hammer/pry up tile in order to pull out a dishwasher, and on top of all that, we almost ran out of firewood. Thankfully, we were with our friends who in addition to being incredibly attractive, also happen to be smart, handy, optimistic & enthusiastic.
If it had been Faris and I on our own, we probably would have walked to the neighbors’ house in tears, but instead we survived an extra week, and managed to have fun while doing it. A super big thanks to past Rosie who wrote down exactly how to turn the water off, because with an indoor waterfall it was a very great gift to have given myself ;)
And now, it’s already almost the end of January. We thought we’d have all last week to work, but with all the snow drama, we got very little done apart from fire-building and cooking from whatever we could find in the kitchen. So we’re officially back online and starting our work year — feeling a little behind and more than a little cold (ha), but also excited about what the year ahead could bring.
On that note, we’ve gotten several emails asking if we’re taking on new clients. For the first time in more than 6 months, we are taking on new clients! If you’ve got any challenges relating to strategy or creativity & creative effectiveness, please don’t hesitate to hit reply and let’s set up a chat :)
We love especially love hosting strategy training sessions and workshops, working with senior leadership on teams & processes, working on live briefs, facilitating brainstorms, and helping agencies think about how to market themselves. If you are looking for weekly status calls and hand-holding, we aren’t the right partners for you. If you’re looking for kick-ass thinking from a very broad purview across the globe and clients, agencies of all flavors, media companies and beyond, hit reply.
For those of you that are US-based, we’ll be stateside until mid-July (except for a quick trip to London.) ….which means cheap airfare if you’re looking for some in-person help, or easy time zone management if you’re looking for remote help. We start each year with a mostly blank slate, and so January always feels a little scary as a small business owner. But this year feels particularly exciting. We’ve already got some great clients on board, new and existing, and have various exciting introductions lined up. We are very keen to see how work works for us when we don’t have to spend so much time in transit.
This week, we’re especially thankful for:
Alex & Collin and Erin & Eric for making our snow days the most fun adventure, and for helping us with ALL OF THE THINGS, to all our whiskey weekend meal leads for stepping up to the plate and cooking delicious meals for all of us, to Chef Tev who cooked for us on Friday night, to the HVAC man that couldn’t get to us and so he parked his car and walked, to Billy and Audra for hooking us up with some meat and warm conversation on the coldest day of the year, Survivor, Twisted Metal, & YOU.
:: THE LINKS ::
WHY SIMPLE BRANDS WIN
We loved reading about how the burger chain Five Guys came about, and the correlations to simplifying. The three things to consider are below, but this is a fun (and easy) read:
1/ do less, but better
2/ take the complexity away from the customer
3/ be unapologetic
(Frontera)
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF COLOR - WHY WE BUY WHAT WE BUY
Color is important, y’all! Up to 90% of an initial impression comes from color, and color can increase brand awareness and recognition by 80%. It’s not that surprising considering so many of us make purchase decisions based on visuals. This infographic from Hubspot highlights traits that are often associated with colors, with examples of brands for each color. (Hubspot)
THE YOLO ECONOMY - WILL IT LAST?
Throughout last year, the economic battle has been about central banks raising interest rates to control inflation by suppressing demand. The cost of living has grown apace and yet consumer demand has actually risen. Faris thinks he has worked out why and also why it won’t last much longer. “This is the YOLO economy, where people that can are focusing on the moment because planning for a future requires near-infinite discounting due to perceived maximal uncertainty. Pent-up demand is part of it but it’s also pulling demand from the future.” (WARC)
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:: IMPROVISING WITH TUNA NOODLE CASSEROLE ::
As I mentioned, we were trapped because of the snow for much longer than we planned, with more people than we planned for. It meant we went through our fresh food much more quickly than we anticipated. And so when it came time to our last night, I was feeling a little uninspired. We’d made and eaten plenty of soups but all I could see in the cabinet were more cans. I figured maybe we’d just have a tuna melt for dinner. But then… I saw an unopened jar of red Thai curry paste and thought “Hey, maybe I can make a tuna noodle casserole that doesn’t suck.”
(Maybe you are of the group like Faris that thinks a regular tuna noodle casserole doesn’t suck, but to me, it’s a bit bland.)
I wanted to share my recipe because 1) it turned out so freaking well and 2) it feels like a great base to innovate on.
First, I cooked and drained ~8oz of pasta. I used mini elbows bc that’s what we had, but most recipes recommend egg noodles. Here’s where you can improvise and use whatever you have in your pantry!
While that was boiling, I whisked together:
- 1/2 cup of mayo
- 1/4 cup of milk
- 3 teaspoons of Thai red curry paste (I tasted as I went like the professional I am, and you should do the same in case you prefer a spicy or more mild taste)
I also sautéed a red onion and a handful of kale that I had, and once that was softened I stirred that together with the saucy mixture, along with a can of diced green chillies (along with their delicious juices.)
I folded in 6-9oz of drained tuna, and then stirred the pasta in.
Finally, I put it in a casserole dish and toped with slice Swiss cheese and dollops of chili crisp. I baked it at 375 for 40-ish minutes, until the top was bubbling and the cheese was starting to brown on the edges. YUM, YUM, YUM y’all!
:: AND NOW - SPOTTED IN VIETNAM ::
A lovely person called Bleu at my publisher sent me this picture of my book Paid Attention in a bookstore in Vietnam! I still have never seen one in a bookstore myself but whenever I get sent one it is very exciting.
Since I haven’t mentioned it in a year or so and it seems to my blinkered eyes that every media conversations turns to attention nowadays - please allow me a quick plug for the book.
“Paid Attention is the most stimulating and useful blueprint for genuinely fresh thinking about advertising and communications that I have read in the last ten years."- Adam Morgan, author of Eating The Big Fish
“In a world where the rate of technological change is ever-faster, this new edition is a must for any ambitious marketer, strategist or creative.” Laura Jordan Bambach, Chief Creative Officer, Grey London
“A must-read for anyone in the communications industry.” Lisa Batty, Head of Brand Strategy and Planning, TikTok
“The most useful, entertaining and insightful examination of communication theory and commercial creativity that I have read.” Catherine Coleman-Jinks, Head of Marketing Excellence, Twinings
Thanks.
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 & ashley | your friends over at geniussteals.co
@faris is always tweeting
@rosieyakob hangs out on instagram
@ashley also writes for deaf, tattooed & employed
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It's called Genius Steals because we believe ideas are new combinations and that nothing can come from nothing. But copying is lazy. We believe the best way to innovate is to look at the best of that which came before and combine those elements into new solutions.
Co-Founders Faris & Rosie are award-winning strategists and creative directors, writers, consultants and public speakers who have been living on the road/runway since March 2013, working with companies all over the world. Our Director of Operations is nomadic like us, our accounting team is based in Tennessee where our company is registered, our admin extraordinaire is based in Playa del Carmen, and our collaborators are all over the world. Being nomadic allows us to go wherever clients need us to be, and to be inspired by the world in between.
Hit reply and let’s talk about how we might be able to work together :)