ODE TO GEOF PARRY….SEVEN NEWS….
This is a call out to a journalist for whom I hold immense respect and for whom I share the unique experience of once having him as a boss and then years later me becoming his boss.
I am sure many of you know him — his name is Geof Parry. That is Geof with a single “f”. Geof is one of those unique individuals, in my experience, who has never lost the passion for journalism — which may be one of the reasons he has sometimes been thought of as something of a media bulldog. I should stress that I like bulldogs.
In this case though, I want to use Geof as a case study in how a curious idiosyncrasy can play its part in developing a personal brand.
For those of you who don’t know, apart from his pugilistic and passionate approach to his job, Geof is also renowned for what in television news is called his “sign-off”. I am sure many of you have heard it repeated regularly on the nightly news, and over the years many, many people have asked me about it.
You know the thing: Geof Parry……….Seven News. The line of dots is significant because they are indicative of the very long pause between Geof stating his name and the final two words: Seven News.
At this point, I must confess that for many years, when I was Geof’s producer and later his boss as News Director, we fought an often unspoken battle over the 1-2 seconds he insisted on inserting into his sign-off. At first it was overt: Geof, can you please get RID of that ridiculous pause in your sign-off! It drives people crazy! We are getting complaints!
Geof would smile at me…and then completely ignore me. As the years went by, I got desperate and took matters into my own hands. To be specific, I issued an edict to the video editors in the Channel Seven Newsroom who cut Geof’s stories, that they should “edit out the gap” to eliminate the pause in the audio. I think it worked for about a week, at which point the razor-sharp Mr Parry worked out my little ploy and promptly instructed the video editors to keep his sign-off exactly as it was, thank you very much. They obeyed. Geof was far more influential than me, it would seem.
Eventually, I confess, he won. I gave up. I still had people (even management) commenting to me — at which point I would roll my eyes, sigh heavily and admit he had won, and I had lost.
Years later, out of the game for more than 20 years, I have to confess that I secretly respect Geof’s stubborn refusal to obey instructions. (It is in the tradition of good journalism to be dismissive of authority, if nothing else).
But the real reason for my respect is the understanding, in my later years, that even the smallest idiosyncratic quirks can be extremely powerful when it comes to success in differentiating a brand. I could cite numerous examples, but there is one defining principle that I have come to believe often sets them apart — they cut across the grain, verge on the annoying or are even considered old-fashioned. To use a phrase that no doubt shows my age, they could be described as “daggy”. (Not stylish, unfashionable).
One example is those giant plastic “big bucket” signs that sit on a pole outside a KFC store. They have been around forever, look ridiculous but do an amazing job of triggering a psychological response directly connected to the stomach and onwards to the wallet. To quote Bart Simpson, “Mmm, fried chicken!” And to the great credit of the company, witness the amazing success of the use of the so-called “big bucket” in promoting KFC’s sponsorship of Big Bash Cricket. Dieticians will demur, for me, it is marketing brilliance.
Likewise, the weekend sausage sizzles at Bunnings stores. A very smart industry insider once disclosed to me just how much money this seemingly simple brand activity generates for community groups. I can’t remember the precise amount, but I am pretty sure it was in the tens of millions, and the brand beneficiary is Bunnings.
My point is that the best and most successful brand promotion often comes from the most surprising places. Dare I say it, even annoying places. (Who amongst us can avoid the temptation of fried onions on a Saturday trip to buy pool salt.) In fact, I have come to believe that the greatest errors in brand strategy are based on a simple precept: Marketers get bored or “shiny bums” in management seek to control outliers — the rebels of this world. In short, they want to move on and create more sophisticated, nuanced brand markers.
I don’t know if Geof Parry even has a LinkedIn account, and I am damn sure he never bothers to read the rants of his former colleague (me). But if anyone is still in contact with Geof — I am not going to text him (because why would he want to speak to an irrelevant “old fart” like me?)….but anyway, (dots intended), if you DO speak to Geof, let him know that I now accept he has every right to quote the title of the famous philosopher, Edward de Bono: I am right, you are wrong! (Cobber).
Geof, you were right, I was wrong. It’s only taken me 20 years to work it out. Sigh.
For more insights and ramblings on strategic business communications and marketing from JLCA Director John Le Cras, visit the JLCA Journal page.
