Brief moment on camera

I spent most of the last week working on upcoming features and The Drum's latest week-long series, this time on retail. But I started the week doing something I normally despise – getting in front of camera.

On Tuesday, I moderated a discussion hosted by the IPA (Institute of Practitioners in Advertising) and BetterBriefs between some top marketers and agency veterans, on the topic of making better briefs. We spoke about common flaws and how to fix them.

Usually, I'm jelly in front of a lens. I can't hold a script in my mind's eye, can't find my mark, can't understand how anyone doesn't sweat buckets under lights. It's often just as spooky working in front of an audience on Zoom as it is on stage. It's not the crew, or the environment - it's fear of the audience, right there judging you. Nerves don't really come up in regular interviews, but last year I came off a stage in Cannes and immediately necked a cocktail.

But this topic was close to what we like to explore in our reporting, and I figured the only way I'll get more comfortable in these things is to, you know, actually do them. Turns out, it's quite fun when it goes well.

We talked about:

• How do argue for more time when the client doesn't have much of their own
• How do argue for more budget, if a client's brief is asking too much of a small sum
• How to make sure you're not just hearing what you want to hear in your client or agency partner's responses

I even found some useful tidbits for my world (press pitching's different, but it's still stressful). And there were tonnes of questions we didn't get time to get into, questions I'll be trying to return to in our reporting in coming weeks.

I covered some of the advice from their report on The Drum, though of course the whole thing is worth a read.

Pretend you are not procrastinating on Monday with these

• I spoke to analysts and a few agency leaders to try and get an overview of agency investments in retail media
• Webb Wright looked into why brands are still helping to fund the heart of darkness (the Vegas Sphere)
• Turns out a head of music doesn't just choose which chill lo-fi/hip-hop playlist goes on in the office