Goodbye 2024, you were weird

I'm going to be deleting the LI app on Friday for the rest of 2024 (as I tend to do every year), but for cathartic reasons thought I'd review my year. 'Weird' is the word my partner Pinar uses to describe things she doesn't like, without saying she doesn't like it. And that just about sums up 2024 for me. Started great, better than great actually, ended in limbo, some shit, some good, mostly just glad it's over, although not exactly motivated to see in 2025. Probably not alone here in UK academia in that respect.

The year started as it usually does, with an emergency senior management team meeting (SMT) to discuss the latest post holiday VC insight, or usually, panicked new strategy on the back of a cigarette packet. I do new year's resolutions and one was to focus on what I could change and not get angry at stuff I couldn't, so that was one resolution that barely lasted past the 1st Jan.

We were informed indications on numbers were not positive but the VC had a new framework, the 6R's she called it, which we were going to be working to. They weren't bad things in and of themselves (bar the self absorbed focus on research and the lack of mention of students), but they were necessary because of failings in the past, changes I'd been advocating for and largely been ignored on. It does seem strange that universities discover basic marketing truths only in crisis, although we still haven't really got there. One of the 6Rs was 'rebudgeting' and so far it's the only one that has been actioned - several times in fact. Redundancy wasn't one of those, but it's now reality, so perhaps it's time for 7R's. So the year started as it would end, defined by frustration, increasing to anger, giving way to resignation (not yet literally).

A little later I wrote to the VC and Provost to express my concern about our marketing. Most will know I'm not impressed by our branding here and remain more convinced we need a clean start of personnel. They duly responded, noting it was urgent, and therefore creating diary space to talk in three months time. We had what I thought was an honest conversation about branding. I soon realised I'd been humoured in that not so nice English way, as the failing campaign was doubled down on with predictable results.

Since then we've been told on numerous occasions that "we had a great campaign but it failed to win the competition". This seems to be the position of the morally righteous in which practical outcomes are always second to winning arguments (our own MP believes the debt ridden i360 still "works as an attraction" for example). Later it would become clear just how dismal the results were, despite the optimistic forecasts and great clearing campaigns. In the marketing discipline we've always had a good story but even asking for some promotion around this evinces indifference from the central marketing team (and not much from the local one either).

That frustration did give way to joy. The last night I was in Delft with my partner, I got an email indicating my Journal of Consumer Research article on analog technology and consumer work was accepted. A perfect marriage of work and interests, and a way of extending a lot of my work on authenticity and effortful consumption. Many years ago I had been in a bit of rut research wise and yet now I'd gone back into JCR for the third time and also was enjoying a nice run of publications.

Not long after my partner and I had our paper published in Technovation which also ended a project and was testament to Pinar's attention to detail and perseverance. Our textbook Brand Management: Co-creating Meaningful Brands (3rd edition) would arrive via courier in March, much improved, again thanks to the addition of Pinar as full coauthor.

And on the partner front, January was when we both started planning for a life change. She was moving to join me at Sussex and we were both therefore moving houses, me from London, she from Delft. I'll miss visiting Delft, but I did believe she would benefit from being in a business school. I still believe that, but boy do I wish it wasn't Sussex. Nothing could prepare us for rapid enshitification of the workplace, which has left both of us angry and me feeling immensely guilty for ever suggesting it might be good idea. How do you explain to a partner that the school you sold them on six month's earlier was not the cluster fuck they've arrived in?

Nonetheless, initially it did heighten excitement, along with the stress of moving (which finally took place in a hectic and accident filled September). The move, involving sales of houses, withdrawn bids on one and a successful bid on another finally completed December 13th and its probably the only thing that feels like an achievement in the second half of this year, even though it largely involves one of the most inefficient institutions I've ever seen, the UK housing market (although my uni gives that a run for its money).

I'd also reengaged with community, attending conferences and workshops in support of special issues in Industrial Marketing Management, a project with long time colleagues on ecosystem fragility, and my first attendance at Consumer Culture Theory since 2014. On the latter I've always felt like an outsider, largely lacking the self belief that my work is any good. I realised that I did have a community of scholars who respected my work and whose work excited me. I immediately started planning on papers for the next year and greater engagement.

Research success continued this year, as did engagement. A major impact award from Journal of Product Innovation Management was received, and ignored by my business school (who are defined I'm told, by innovation). My analog work got picked up as a long read for The Conversation, was reprinted in India and also by BBC Future (with cooler photos). I squeezed everything I could into this article, mentions of Dune, Human League, Leica, a friend's photographic film (Kosmo) and of course Patrick Bateman. If we were supported by a decent media team the impact would have been even greater.

The eagle eyed among you will recognise that many of my informant names in my papers tend to be drawn from the movies, and as luck would have it one informant provided a very Bateman-esque quote in the Journal of Consumer Research paper that ultimately had to be relegated to a table as it was in the way of the main story (lesson for aspiring qual researchers, the quotes you love usually should not be in the final text so don't be afraid to cut them, they've probably served their purpose in crystallising your story for you, but don't work for readers). We all find humour in different ways and I don't have any problem with not taking my work 100% seriously.

Later that year I was interviewed in El Pais for my work which was a big thrill. Virtually all my engagement work was done under my own auspices, as I fall outside the privileged group that gets all the media support at Sussex. In fact, with staff surveys regularly asking whether we are supported to achieve our best it should come as no surprise that my answer is a hard 'no', given that literally everything I and most of my colleagues in my former Dept do is ignored by the school/university. I became increasingly aware that no matter what I do, I'm always working at a weak, internally focused organisation that will never provide basis for engagement more widely. I'm watching on the sidelines while others get opportunities that could be mine (I do appreciate the scraps they pass on to me).

Judging the Effie Awards, is always fun, and I love the different approaches panel members take in judging but celebrating the sheer quality of work done in this country. A keynote in Milan also went well, and again, it was nice to combine with amazing practitioners and academics to explore a topic of interest (brand purpose). The interactions also reminded me of the potential for engagement between town and gown, as the different approaches often provide unique parts of a puzzle. Further engagement with students, both informally and formally reminded me of what I'd lost as HoD when my teaching had to give way for leadership.

I was fast heading to a dream situation whereby all my pipeline would be complete. I've long hoped to get to this state so I could start something genuinely new. Pinar and I had a new study guide accepted by Sage, which we wrote in record time (out Feb, no doubt to be ignored by the uni). In October the end of the pipeline happened when my former PhD student Belinda had her first paper accepted for Organisation Studies. A big thrill to see this work in a special issue on craft with some of the authors I admire most. Belinda quickly gained extensive media coverage for her work, again without any support from the university. I've supervised a number of PhD's over the years and in many cases they've gone on to be great academics or have fulfilling careers but Belinda's success was the first at that level. The pipeline was cleared, now the sabbatical beckoned.

On that, after a stint of six years as Head of Department for Strategy & Marketing, I stood down (I was done, and also that is the maximum term). A full year sabbatical was awarded and I was looking forward to trialling my new voice recorders in data collection, theorise projects before heading into the field, and doing new stuff that also extended my work on branding, authenticity, and consumer work. I had also built up funds to do this, ostensibly by working above load for a few years and placing the money into what we call an incentive fund. I was to find out what a mistake that was in a very short amount of time.

Sabbaticals are precious for academics. I've only ever had one in my career and it helped me get back on track (and meet my future partner to be). This one was to be career defining. Instead it's a flop (at half way point). With the university's finances being squeezed all incentive funds were frozen (while research funds for conferences were simply cut to zero). Fortunately my performance review (which isn't anything of the sort) occurred after this decision so I could flag up that the intended outcomes would need to be rewritten. And how they have, basically focusing on bits and pieces of salami sliced projects which I largely wanted to avoid. Another wasted opportunity at Sussex, and one that would most likely be my last (if I sound bitter its because I am).

On the HoD element, stepping down I had left the Dept strong, with good rankings, strong research and in my final round saw nine colleagues through to promotion including those in the education and scholarship track. My last senior management team meeting was a portent of what was to come with storm clouds brewing, but I took the time to write on here a number of reflections about leadership. I still stand by those, but I'd add a qualifier - no matter how much you do you job, sustaining that success relies on others doing there's, and if they don't, you are left feeling like you wasted your time.

Within an hour of the first School meeting for 24/25 outlining extensive budget cuts I was having meetings with motivated academics who asked me (1) whether the uni would turn things around and (2) pointing out the loss of resources has thrown all their plans into disarray. I could only sympathise but absent a plan to turn the university around I had to advise people to start looking elsewhere. I'm conscious of the pressure new staff are under to publish and also to teach well and absent any support for either, I felt only honesty would work.

And, I'm conscious that even more established staff are passionate about their work and are conscious of declining conditions (the professoriate for example agreed to forgo conference funding in favour of allocating it to ECRS only to find it had been cut for all. How long they're supposed to continue accepting this is anyone's guess). Since then we have lost good people, and several others are planning on exiting. Six years of building a Dept suddenly felt like a complete waste.

The sudden announcement of a voluntary redundancy scheme in November made these conversations more salient. The sector has been hit by some external factors, but I'm not one who accepts that's all there is to it. Some universities are more resilient than others and Sussex had plenty of time and resources to be one of those that could absorb shocks and less the blow. Instead, 300 job cuts is the plan and I believe the first of several given the lack of a forward looking narrative that will work.

During the announcement mention was made of among others things the VC's inability to read instructions and also that some of us who may be "fed up" should maybe take the package. I felt this was probably targeted at the likes of me and was left not only insulted but wondering why engagement by those of us who have been here a while and want to see the place succeed are so flippantly dismissed and seen as a problem. Maybe it's time to become that academic I despise - disengaged, instrumental, transactional, who works to contract and nothing more.

And that's where we leave it, work is a mess. A relationship is now defined by guilt and shared anger. I'm conscious of also having few options. No matter the quality of one's CV, pedigree counts for all in the UK's more elite universities and as a self taught academic with a PhD from Australia, I simply don't have it. Second or really third tier is the best I can aim for and like us, they're all in the same boat financially. It's too late to head back overseas. Hopefully, a new opportunity that is doable may present itself.

Hopefully the new year will see less phoney war and more reality bites, whereby staff who need to step up actually bring their A game (it might not really be an A game but at least a bit of pride would help) and stop operating as everything is normal. I've been asked to do some segmentation work for the school but are left wondering why I would on sabbatical and what our marketing team have been doing.

Since I don't want to end on a negative note, there have been many highs this year. March saw the return to Arrakis with Dune 2 and since I'm a huge fan, I spent many an evening at the IMAX absorbing Denis Villeneuve's brilliant film. Dementus from Furiosa became a new anti hero when he announced "there is no hope" and inspired my Wasteland post that got a lot of traction. Music and arts provided relief. I had my second creative work 'published' with a photograph of mine featured in a show of our photo walkers. LI has provided me with another sense of community, those who are not performatively humble, but just very professional and passionate about marketing and branding, especially in HE.

Things could be worse, and undoubtedly many people have it much worse (I'm aware this could be complaining from a position of privilege but it is the position I have and it's my post). And, work wise it's not all been bad. I'm writing again and collecting some data, on projects that will pay off for all concerned. An opportunity has arisen that I didn't think would, potentially resulting in an article in a dream outlet. Out of the blue students at Sussex have contacted me because they used our text and wanted to talk branding, which reminded me who we ultimately serve. I've moved offices with some colleagues I love dearly, and not being HoD has had an instant and remarkable impact on the number of pointless emails and cc-ed conversations I get.

Hopefully 2025 will be better (it will start with graduation which is always the best), perhaps competence may even make a comeback (instead of vibes), and since I'll be returning to the classroom (absent a new post), I'm looking forward to doing the most important thing we do, teach.

Hope everyone has a great holiday, stay safe and focus on what matters.