Strands of Genius: The Stories We Choose To Tell, Who We Represent, What Type of Marketer Do I Want To Be

Guest curated by Ed Latham, Head of Marketing at Wahaca & Executive Coach

Aug 17, 2023

:: A BIT MORE ABOUT GUEST CURATOR, ED LATHAM ::

LOCATION: London, UK

Howdy! I'm Ed, head of marketing for Wahaca, a planet-conscious restaurant group in UK, an aspiring flying trapeze aerialist, and life coach. I'm hopeful for a transformative narrative shift in our marketing, our economies and societies to help lead us into a new period in which we prioritise feeling meaningfully connected, fulfilled and part of something greater than ourselves.

Editor’s Note (Genius Steals): We met Ed when we were all speaking at an event that ProQuo AI hosted last summer. He was smart, articulate, and had beautiful slides — and charming off the stage, too! We immediately knew we wanted to have him as a guest curator, but being the head of marketing for Wahaca meant he was a busy bee. Thankfully, we’re patient! And we’re so excited to share his edition of Strands today!

:: THE LINKS ::

THE STORIES WE CHOOSE TO TELL

As marketers we are so powerful because we craft the stories that feed into the societies we live in. We have a choice to promote fear, division, what makes people different from each other, or to talk to the possible emerging future. One which is kind, compassionate, in harmony with each other and the planet on which we live. What we say in our marketing messages, how we say it, what and who we portray and how can stand out as being hopeful and better, or form part of oceans of negativity and fear of click-bate news surrounding us. (Stories For Life)

WHO WE REPRESENT

As a queer cis-gender white person who growing up in UK in the 90s and 00s I remember the absolute absence of relatable role models and observe my joy at seeing so many more types of people represented today on social, in music, and less regularly in film, TV, or OOH advertising. From a marketing perspective, representing people in our advertising who aren't just the expected faces improves their cut through & ROI (Unilever have done all the data crunching to prove that). It's also an opportunity for us as marketers to have a positive impact on society by representing people in a real, honest and healthy way. Do we want more people to have Barbie as the reference for what beauty looks like? (The Drum)

WHAT TYPE OF MARKETER DO I WANT TO BE

Being clear about what impact we want to create in life helps us to find fulfilment, reduce our stress, and inspires confidence. Just like we want to be clear in our marketing campaigns about what we're trying to achieve, having a similar level of clarity about what we want to achieve in our life more broadly gives us focus. Defining our purpose is being clear how we aspire to serve others, something bigger than ourselves. (Life Coach Spotter)

Looking for more from Ed Latham? Coming Friday, look for an interview from him in your inbox!

:: AND NOW… SOME FAST FAVORITES ::

:: Game :: This month, it's been Uno Flip

:: City :: Takayama

:: Book :: Brené Brown, Dare to Lead

:: Podcast :: Feel Better, Live More, Dr Chaterjee

:: Album :: Not a full album yet, but I'm loving Troye Sivan's latest work

:: QUOTE OF THE DAY ::

”Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius — and a lot of courage — to move in the opposite direction. Modern man does not experience himself as a part of nature but as an outside force destined to dominate and conquer it.” - E. F. Schumacher 1973, Small is Beautiful

To get in touch or find out more find me at ed@edlatham.com or edlatham.com

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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 out of Washington, our company is registered in Tennessee, 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 :)

Strands of Genius