Strands of Genius: Mike Kasprow + Dentsu Consumer Navigator: American Mindset
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 ::
In a world where brands are increasingly being seen by the public as platforms for change, do CMOs’ views on their mandate align with consumers’ expectations? How are CMOs preparing their brands for what's next in an environment where business is increasingly being disrupted by global crises? To what extent do marketers reflect evolving consumer sentiment? Dentsu's bi-annual survey reports on the priorities, opportunities, challenges and areas of investment that are top of mind for North American CMOs.
:: DIVE IN | THE INTERVIEW ::
MIKE KASPROW, AETHER LABS / ADVISOR WHILE LOOKING FOR A NEW ROLE
>> Mike Kasprow guest curated Strands on April 25, 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?
Hi. Im Mike and I'm unemployed. I worried that saying that may seem trite, but hell, it's mostly true. I am a Creative Director and business designer who is currently helping in a part time advisory role for Aether Labs in Toronto, a brilliant CX consultancy. I took time off, in retrospect probably ill advised, after my last role as President of a small digital innovation shop to recalibrate and read, read, read some more. (I've also really fallen in love with sound baths and sound healing but thats a series of crazy stories best enjoyed over a glass of weird). As a strategist and creative I am now singularly focussed, maybe manically, on the re-integration of channels and building out their ability to communicate and deliver on a promise in real time. I've come to the realization that a great deal of advertising (by no real fault of the practitioners) is work that's overcompensating for deficiencies in product or service. If we are to believe Roger Martin (fellow Torontonian) that a brand is "a promise to a customer" it seems rather ridiculous to spend time, effort and money restating or recontextualizing the promise endlessly if you've spent little to no time making sure that you can deliver on it...and it would seem, from Governments to Fast Food outlets to fad diets that's where we are. So, yeah, spending a great deal of my time now, between advisory and keyword bingo on my AI challenged resume, imagining how to fix that and whether or not I am totally alone.
What excites you most about what you do?
Illustrating the benefits of a solution by combining abstract data with observable behaviour...which is just a more complicated way of saying selling a good idea.
What beliefs define your approach to work? How would you define your leadership style?
We are all Creative, ideas are everywhere and we are all users first..embrace vulnerability, be a listener, patient and verify against what you know. Do you believe the client can deliver on what you are saying?
What has been the most rewarding project you’ve worked on and why?
The redesign of the LINQ Casino in Las Vegas for Caesars Entertainment. I loved the scope and size of it, that I was able to integrate partners from other parts of my life (namely Refik Anadol with whom I worked when I was leading the Design Expo at MS Research), and that the unabated obstinance of knowing a solution was right meant that, though it took 7 hardcore pitches, we never heard no and ultimately got to YES! The promise was evident the moment you stepped inside.
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?
Admitting that, despite even best intentions, we all have blind spots. Nothing triggers the imagination like lived experience, and the more lenses you have on lived experience, the better the solutions will be. Its a mystifying conversation to me and one I have, fortunately, not had to engage in very often. What's the cost of not reflecting the communities you serve? If you need to scare a partner or client into humanity, do it. If it doesnt work, bye.
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?
Yes, and my god its important. I do think the balance is possible, however I wonder sometimes if aligning personal curiosities with those that inspire your work is the best of both worlds. If you have a passion for turning bowls on the weekend, imagine how you may use tactile, diy creativity in your work or how it can inspire others with whom you work. It creates new perspectives and allows people to see things differently. I have always been amazed by "advertising creatives" who spend hours pouring over other advertising creative...Don't do that.
What’s your media diet? Where do you find inspiration?
I’m a voracious consumer of all kinds of media. Since I was a pre-teen my greatest inspiration has been music. All genres, all kinds. I am inspired by the fearless improvisation of jazz, the structure in minimalism, the emotion and prodigious talent in blues, the beauty in ambience, and the tightness and poetry of great songwriting. I'm not a meditator, my mind is too consumed by my neurosis but when I put on music I love or music I’ve never heard I am totally and completely out of body...which is a problem when Im driving.
What’s the best piece of advice/knowledge you’ve stolen, and who/where’d you steal it from?
My wife. During the pandemic and recently this jobless spate, I am often muttering “things are going to be okay, right?” invariably she rolls her eyes at me and simply says “things are okay”. Soothes me immediately, and I have since started using that in conversations with colleagues, it works...being present, when you think about the future often, is a learned skill.
What does success look like for you?
It's a question so easily answered by reference to things like status or specific achievements, or even by quite baggy phrases like "doing work I love/am proud of". But to answer it properly involves a great deal of self examination. If you have a high external locus of evaluation, then it may involve fame, awards and so forth - and you should go after that. If you have a high interpersonal locus of evaluation, then those things may not satisfy you as much as knowing that you have made other people happy, and enabled them to meet *their* goals. And so forth. You have to really pin it down or you'll end up taking an "off the peg" model of success, chasing it, and then wondering why you don't feel as good as you thought you would, even if you smash all your goals. I've learned that for me, it's about getting to do work that is both intellectually satisfying, and genuinely experienced as helpful by the people who've asked me to do the work. As long as I tick those boxes, I'm succeeding.
What hours will you work?
Depends on the commute.
You can keep in touch with Mike 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)