Rob Morrice: Why I'm done with Vision+Media
Rob Morrice: Why I'm done with Vision+MediaRob Morrice has had enough of Vision+Media. Here he tells The Drum why he's taking matters into his own hands.
I joined the Vision and Media Steering Group last year and volunteered myself on to the Client Group. I was ably joined by Peter Cobley (now of Home James in Leeds), Simon Rhodes (the principal of Smiling Wolf, a great little creative design company in Liverpool).
There were others, but they remain nameless because they did sweet f.a. They, like many volunteers had good intention. It’s just that their intention didn’t turn into action. We also had a ‘contact’ at V&M, whose role I thought was to facilitate us, but that didn’t happen either.
However Peter, Simon and I pride ourselves in being ‘men of action’ so we put together a simple plan, which Peter outlined to the Steering Group at the end of last year and which we further developed and finalised last Tuesday at a meeting in Liverpool.
The plan is simple. Develop a Website and Book to be marketed to the UK client community. The content would be a series of white paper ‘style’ articles by industry figures in the North West, educating clients about how the creative and marketing sector has developed in the region and what’s on offer here.
We intended to cover Ad Agencies, Design Companies, Media Agencies, Social Media, Digital Agencies, Branding Experts, B2B Marketing, Public Relations and Experiential. We also had a guru lined up to write about Creativity, a client to cover Agency Brokers and a Procurement expert to tackle that thorny subject. Added to that we were developing a Glossary of Terms, a list of worthwhile Award Schemes and a rundown of Trade and Accreditation bodies.
For clarification, it was our fourth meeting and we spent significant, if not quite substantial, working time in between. Then I received an email from Enda Carey (head of games, digital and creative services at Vision+Media) saying our project was ‘being brought to a close’ at the end of March due to withdrawal of funds by NWDA. In other words ‘thanks guys, but no thanks’ .
Actually, no I take that back, he didn’t actually thank anyone in the email, which is surprising because he’s not that type of guy. I reckon I can forgive him because likely he is even more pissed off than me. I will, however, be waiting for a thank-you letter from my local MP, George Osborne, the very man who ultimately took the dosh away. Some hope.
Truth be told, I wasn’t surprised to receive the email. I knew it was coming ages ago. If Peter, Simon and I were cynics, we would have downed tools ages ago. But we are not. We three come from the school who believe if you say you are going to do something, you do it. I wish successive UK governments were the same.
We’ve been hogwashed for years about how there’s going to be substantial, meaningful help for the creative industry and it virtually always coming to nothing or the money allocated goes into the wage packets of civil servants, consultants or research companies. I’ve never seen a halfpenny of it and I don’t ever expect to.
But what sticks in my throat is the endless twaddle spouted from Westminster about consultation with industry. Consultation my ass. Nobody in government has ever asked my view on anything and I was a Board Member of the IPA for ten years and currently run the No 1 B2B Agency in the country. And everyone knows I am more than willing to put my tuppence worth in on subjects I feel strongly about.
Anyway, I’ve had enough of it. Enda said in his email we could target Creative England. That’s a laugh – if not a contradiction. More chance of getting through to Fabio Cappello.
Instead, with the support of Peter and Simon, I have put it to Gordon Young that we go ahead and do the Website and Book in conjunction with the Drum and even extend it to other regions. He’s said yes so now we are going to do what maybe we should have done in the first place - take it into our own hands. At least that way, we’ll know it’s going to happen.
Rob Morrice is the managing director of Cheshire agency IAS b2b Marketing.
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Comments
Maybe it failed because the first rule of advertising was ignored: Keep it simple stupid. This was way too complicated with no clear objectives, I'd guess from what I've seen and read.
you'll need to make sure you get an awards event up and running as well as a book and website.
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Isn't this a load of stuff that already exists, e.g. the website of the IPA.
Also there's a bigger underlying issue here of why do people think that the Government or Westminster should provide or help the creative industry in anyway financially? Personally I'd rather my taxes went to hospitals, schools, the police, etc... rather than to help increase the size of privately owned companies such as Mr Morrice's.
For more, check this out: http://tinyurl.com/6jj764v
Yes, that film's been doing the rounds last couple of weeks. Almost as embarrassing as the Resign London movie.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha aha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
(Ooops just piddled)
Bloomin eck; I just watched the video clip via that link....Talk about completely undermining your case...!!!!
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Would be good if people backed up their comments on this by not being Anonymous. It could have been successful but they should have engaged the agencies they were representing. Its come up at every event ive been to since release and mainly negagtive.
I hope that in the future anything like this should build on the positives we have here in the region.
What Rome-gate?
"Nobody in government has ever asked my view on anything and I was a Board Member of the IPA for ten years and currently run the No 1 B2B Agency in the country."
Probably because nobody cares what you think Rob!
I've never laughed so hard in my life than at the Rome video.
http://tinyurl.com/6jj764v
If your agencies' creative is as good as that video I think a few awards may be coming your way in the future!
This piece contradicts itself and what aims to be the main message is flawed. Awful journalism around a nothing story of a weird man trying to promote his business by slating someone else.
The video rocks though. I'm sure that's a Zulu shield on the window sill.
I smell a sequel!!!!
Anonymous Mon 28 Mar 2011 16:19
http://tinyurl.com/6jj764v
You actually could do well to take a lesson from the Romans, but only if the Roman in question was a qualified psychiatrist. Take a black magic marker with you so when you are sectioned you can expand on your theory by drawing all over the soft white walls without hurting yourself.
With apologies to the bard.
Friends, Romans Countrymen. Lend me your ears. I come to bury Rob Morrice, not to praise him.....
The last time I saw an Aberdonian with a helmet was the night Aberdeen won the Uefa Cup in 1983. That was in Gothenburg and the helmet had Viking horns on it, very fetching it was too. Was that Aberdonian Rob and could this simply be history repeating itself?
No 1 B2B Agency in the country?
http://www.b2bmarketing.net/node/12623
When Caesar spoke - everyone listened.
When Mark Anthony spoke - they marched on Rome.
When Rob Morrice spoke - everyone pissed their sides laughing.
IAS b2b Marketing cannot possibly for its size generate an annual turnover of 10.7M. I suspect those figures are massaged somewhat to include all the operations held within the IAS SMARTS holding organisation.
I reckon if Rob was honest their turnover is around the 3-4M mark at best and that would put him somewhere between 10th and 18th. Hardly number 1!
Perhaps Rob should have bore in mind his Shakespeare.
'Beware the ides of March'
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the more this gets discussed in public, the less attractive the NW becomes. Steering committes, regional funding......
Far better if agencies had a platform to show off their work as a way of attracting recruits?
Maybe this is the purpose of the "book" that gets a mention?
Sorry George but no it isn't. 'The plan is simple. Develop a Website and Book to be marketed to the UK client community. ' The book will be nothing more than an extended creds document for the chosen few.And call me cynical but I bet Robs plan was to freeze out any other organisations with even a sniff of b2b on their books.
Perhaps I could suggest a follow-up article?
The North West Creative Community: Why we're done with Rob Morrice
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Who cares?
While people are pissing-about with petty-regional marketing jealousies and taking a pop at Rob Morrice, there's someone the Creative Community should be hating much more than him. David Cameron!
StartUp Britain (which features his mugshot) is a government-endorsed initiative "to make it easier for new companies and innovations to flourish and encourage people who aspire to start new businesses to work for themselves".
As long as that business is not design or creative marketing.
See the list of four Top Tips (website link below) to start you on your way. Number 4 is "create a logo", guess where that links to?.... Not a nice list of UK based creative agencies. No, it takes you to 99designs.com. A US-based site where designers compete for 'logo' jobs. Logo Monkeys, basically.
And folk are worried about what Doric Demon, 'the Robster' is saying?
Sheesh, talk about fiddling while Rome burns. Come on Drum, get some bleeding focus on the REAL issues affecting our industry! Basically, we're deemed to be SO below (or even off) the radar that our own UK GOVERNMENT points people to a 99 Bucks website in California!
If Gordon Young doesn't head down to Downing Street and instantly demand a 'square go' with Cameron, I'd suggest that The Drum has lost any credibility as an Industry mouthpiece. Same goes for Rob Morrice. If he REALLY cares, he'll be using his clout to try to do something about our non-representation.
We're more anonymous as an Industry than any of the sad and anonymous saps on here. And they are a collective bunch of pussies, very sad and anonymous. At least Rob stands up to be counted.
http://startupbritain.org/
He may stand up but I can tell you now he's standing up for one thing and one thing only Rob Morrice.
I am embarrassed to be a part of this discussion now that it's been derailed by what can only be described as hate. That's at least one good reason to remain anonymous. People talking about psychiatric hospitals with such abandon should be ashamed of themselves, or seek help. Would the Haters on here like to tell us what it is Rob has done to them to make them so bitter that they threaten death and wish a good career that supports many families in the North West to crumble? What was it? You have to justify this or keep your bitterness to yourselves.
Well, I don't know about you but I'm off to rustle up some business while the rest of you argue about this kind of crap. These quangos exist to (a) employ a few unemployables, and (b) help Ministers tick boxes.
Good on Mr Morrice for going public about these loons.
Anon 10:00 I think the reason Cameron's website points people to Canada is that they've seen this year's Roses nominations.
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Well-said, Rob.
One of the roles of a Personal or Business Mentor is to use our greater experience - and hopefully wisdom (!) - to advise, guide and develop others, mainly the next or younger generation.
For example, as a Mentor with many more years experience in this industry than most of serving clients in this business, I am giving my Mentoring clients the benefits of this long experience in the rights and wrongs of relying on public funding, how it is un-sustainable, un-economic, anti-competitive, and discriminatory, and has led to so many of the current problems both for the British economy as a whole and for individual businesses and agencies in particular.
I warned the Marketeer Association (now the Marketing Industry Network) about this many years ago - and I was shouted down. Now I have been proven right. But let's move on, look to the future. In addition to the other initiatives, let's also re-develop a panel of Mentors so that those who wish to do so can learn from others about the successes and the mistakes from the past.
@ John Arden.
Why are you plugging yourself on here?
My previous 'helmet' comment got removed. So here's another:
That helmet's ridiculous. How can you take it seriously?
I thought Roland Rat was dead.
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